Constructivist Multi-Access Lab Approach in Teaching FPGA Systems Design with LabVIEW

Embedded systems play vital role in modern applications [1]. They can be found in autos, washing machines, electrical appliances and even in toys. FPGAs are the most recent computing technology that is used in embedded systems. There is an increasing demand on FPGA based embedded systems, in particular, for applications that require rapid time responses. Engineering education curricula needs to respond to the increasing industrial demand of using FPGAs by introducing new syllabus for teaching and learning this subject. This paper describes the development of new course material for teaching FPGA-based embedded systems design by using ‘G’ Programming Language of LabVIEW. A general overview of FPGA role in engineering education is provided. A survey of available Hardware Programming Languages for FPGAs is presented. A survey about LabVIEW utilization in engineering education is investigated; this is followed by a motivation section of why to use LabVIEW graphical programming in teaching and its capabilities. Then, a section of choosing a suitable kit for the course is laid down. Later, constructivist closed-loop model the FPGA course has been proposed in accordance with [2- 4; 80,86,89,92]. The paper is proposing a pedagogical framework for FPGA teaching; pedagogical evaluation will be conducted in future studies. The complete study has been done at the Faculty of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Aleppo University

Design of software radio

Software Define Radio (SDR) has become a prevalent technology in wireless systems. In SDR some or all of the signal specific handling is implemented in software functions, while other functions like decimation, interpolation, digital up-conversion and digital down conversion are done on reprogrammable Digital Signal Processor or Field Programmable Gate Arrays.Twelve laboratory exercises have been designed to lead the student through the process of using the Universal Software Radio peripheral (USRP) hardware and GNU Radio open source software

Design of software radio

Software Define Radio (SDR) has become a prevalent technology in wireless systems. In SDR some or all of the signal specific handling is implemented in software functions, while other functions like decimation, interpolation, digital up-conversion and digital down conversion are done on reprogrammable Digital Signal Processor or Field Programmable Gate Arrays.Twelve laboratory exercises have been designed to lead the student through the process of using the Universal Software Radio peripheral (USRP) hardware and GNU Radio open source software

Remote hearing aid fitting

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.Hearing aid fitting is a costly process due to the cost of hearing aids, audiologists' hourly rates, and large travelling distances caused by regionally sparse audiologist populations. This dissertation is focused on the development of a system which aims at reducing the severity of this problem

Differences in Student Perceptions with Virtual Clinical Simulation

Background: Simulation has been a part of nursing education since its inception, with virtual clinical simulation gaining expanded use since the Coronavirus Pandemic. Once considered only a supplemental teaching method, this form of education has become an imperative means of program progression for nursing students when hospital clinical spaces are limited. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to evaluate potential differences in nursing student perceptions of anxiety and self-confidence with clinical decision making in virtual clinical simulation compared to traditional face-to-face clinicals. Design Methods: A descriptive, quantitative study using the NASC-CDM© tool completed by 5th (final) semester nursing students was analyzed using a series of paired t-tests. The 27-item post-test survey was completed after both virtual clinical simulation sessions and traditional face-to-face clinical sessions using a numerical scale for students to rate their perceptions of anxiety and self-confidence with clinical decision making. Conclusion: Fourteen items were identified as statistically significant for reported increased self-confidence with clinical decision making in traditional face-to-face clinicals compared to virtual clinical simulation. Two items were identified as statistically significant for increased anxiety with clinical decision making in virtual clinical simulation compared to traditional face-to-face clinicals. Implications for Nursing: This study may enlighten the schools of nursing, accrediting bodies, and state boards of nursing with the usefulness of virtual clinical simulation in future nursing curriculum

District safety plans : towards a model for safer road-based transport systems in rural and urban settings in the Western Cape

Thesis (MEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2022.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The development of road safety paradigms around the world which identify traffic injuries as emerging from the traffic system as a whole have proved extremely successful in reducing traffic injury burdens dramatically since their peaks in the 1970s and early 1980s. These benefits have not however been universally shared across the globe, and at this time road safety outcomes in higher income countries are in stark contrast to those continuing to be suffered in middle- and lower-income countries. South Africa in general, and the Western Cape in particular has features of both middle- and lower-income countries. Road traffic injuries, including fatalities, have remained stubbornly high, despite global, national and regional initiatives. The introduction by the Western Cape Government of an evidence based, vertically and horizontally integrated “District Safety Plan” concept as part of its adoption of Vision Zero provides an opportunity to examine the applicability and efficacy of planning systems that attempt to address the traffic system as a whole in a manner customized to a specific locality. The piloting of this concept in the rural Caledon Traffic District by the Western Cape Government, and subsequent testing within the densely urbanized township of Khayelitsha by the City of Cape Town created an opportunity to further contrast such a mechanism when implemented in differing environments. In addition, the data generated by the implementation of these District Safety Plans created an opportunity to attempt to devise a theoretical predictive model for the design of integrated planning systems aimed at improving safety within the traffic system in a given area. The core study was limited to a six-month post implementation period and was limited to the impact of enforcement and education activities due to this timeframe. Study of the implementation and impact of the plans showed potential for improving road safety outcomes within the traffic systems in both rural and urban areas. However, impact in the rural environment was shown to be higher, notably due to the impact of predictable external shocks in the urban environment, especially civil unrest. The most promising results were shown to be potentially significant impacts on pedestrian fatalities in Caledon: after six months, these were observed to have fallen 63% year on year, and 63.6% when compared to the five-year average. The development of a rudimentary predictive model that scores combinations of law enforcement and education activities showed promise for the future ability of planners to develop minimum thresholds for significant positive impacts by identifying numbers of operations and numbers and types of media activities necessary. Future studies conducted over longer terms could incorporate engineering interventions as well as study the potential impacts of social media.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geen opsomming beskikbaarMaster

Media gateway utilizando um GPU

Mestrado em Engenharia de Computadores e Telemátic

Sexuality Workplace Issues Among Direct Service Personnel Working With Populations Who Are Intellectually Disabled In Community Integrated Living Arrangements: A Case Study

TITLE: SEXUALITY WORKPLACE ISSUES AMONG DIRECT SERVICE PERSONNEL WORKING WITH POPULATIONS WHO ARE INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED IN COMMUNITY INTEGRATED LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: A CASE STUDY MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Roberta Ogletree Background: The purpose of this study was to explore DSP workplace experiences, preparation, employee training, emotions, and perceptions in regards to types of sexual and affectionate behaviors exhibited by intellectually disabled adults in their care in the CILA setting. The study focused on analyzing these topics in relation to sexuality/affectionate behaviors experienced in the CILA workplace using a qualitative case study method. This analysis provided an understanding of what ideas and values DSPs brought to their roles of guiding the sexuality/affectionate behaviors of residents in their care and identified additional training needs from the DSP perspective to help them better do their jobs. Methods: Principles found in qualitative evaluation research were used to examine the influence of sexuality and affectionate behaviors and training within its naturally occurring world. The case was comprised of DSPs from the selected organization, located in a rural college town of approximately 25,000 people. Nine DSPs from five different CILA homes participated in the study. Data were generated using semi-structured interviews, observation of behaviors on interview video tapes, observation of emotional verbal cues on interview audio tapes, document analysis, and field notes. Results: Major themes were identified from data and organized around the research questions. Common categories under affectionate behaviors were dating, flirting, friendship/socialization, holding hands/hugging, media/technology, and problematic behaviors. Common categories under sexuality behaviors were groping, masturbation/females, masturbation/males, and problematic behaviors. Less common categories were affectionate behaviors-attention seeking/ego, sexuality behaviors – sexual intercourse, and sexuality behaviors – dating and marriage. Once data were categorized, each category’s responses were sorted to identify overarching theme areas for recommendations. The themes were Employee Training and Development, Socialization Needs (Affectionate Behaviors, Sexuality, and Relationships), and Language Issues (Positive, Negative, and First Person). Primary strengths identified included thinking of residents as family, the feeling of strong management support, and lack of significant conflict within the CILA homes. Elements that detracted from the DSP experience included low rate of hourly pay, employee turnover among DSP supervisors, lack of specific sexuality education for both staff and residents, limited retention of mandatory training topics, and lack of communication of sexuality policies and procedures. Conclusions were a need for additional training for DSPs and staff on the topics of human sexuality and affectionate behaviors in CILA homes; examining DSP training to increase knowledge retention in the staff; better communication of policies, procedures, and protocols regarding sexuality and affectionate behaviors that pertain to how situations are handled in CILA homes; and ensuring all training materials use first person language

An efficient implementation of lattice-ladder multilayer perceptrons in field programmable gate arrays

The implementation efficiency of electronic systems is a combination of conflicting requirements, as increasing volumes of computations, accelerating the exchange of data, at the same time increasing energy consumption forcing the researchers not only to optimize the algorithm, but also to quickly implement in a specialized hardware. Therefore in this work, the problem of efficient and straightforward implementation of operating in a real-time electronic intelligent systems on field-programmable gate array (FPGA) is tackled. The object of research is specialized FPGA intellectual property (IP) cores that operate in a real-time. In the thesis the following main aspects of the research object are investigated: implementation criteria and techniques. The aim of the thesis is to optimize the FPGA implementation process of selected class dynamic artificial neural networks. In order to solve stated problem and reach the goal following main tasks of the thesis are formulated: rationalize the selection of a class of Lattice-Ladder Multi-Layer Perceptron (LLMLP) and its electronic intelligent system test-bed – a speaker dependent Lithuanian speech recognizer, to be created and investigated; develop dedicated technique for implementation of LLMLP class on FPGA that is based on specialized efficiency criteria for a circuitry synthesis; develop and experimentally affirm the efficiency of optimized FPGA IP cores used in Lithuanian speech recognizer. The dissertation contains: introduction, four chapters and general conclusions. The first chapter reveals the fundamental knowledge on computer-aideddesign, artificial neural networks and speech recognition implementation on FPGA. In the second chapter the efficiency criteria and technique of LLMLP IP cores implementation are proposed in order to make multi-objective optimization of throughput, LLMLP complexity and resource utilization. The data flow graphs are applied for optimization of LLMLP computations. The optimized neuron processing element is proposed. The IP cores for features extraction and comparison are developed for Lithuanian speech recognizer and analyzed in third chapter. The fourth chapter is devoted for experimental verification of developed numerous LLMLP IP cores. The experiments of isolated word recognition accuracy and speed for different speakers, signal to noise ratios, features extraction and accelerated comparison methods were performed. The main results of the thesis were published in 12 scientific publications: eight of them were printed in peer-reviewed scientific journals, four of them in a Thomson Reuters Web of Science database, four articles – in conference proceedings. The results were presented in 17 scientific conferences