The CLEAR 2007 Evaluation

Abstract. This paper is a summary of the 2007 CLEAR Evaluation on the Classification of Events, Activities, and Relationships which took place in early 2007 and culminated with a two-day workshop held in May 2007. CLEAR is an international effort to evaluate systems for the perception of people, their activities, and interactions. In its second year, CLEAR has developed a following from the computer vision and speech communities, spawning a more multimodal perspective of research eval-uation. This paper describes the evaluation tasks, including metrics and databases used, and discusses the results achieved. The CLEAR 2007 tasks comprise person, face, and vehicle tracking, head pose estimation, as well as acoustic scene analysis. These include subtasks performed in the visual, acoustic and audio-visual domains for meeting room and surveillance data.

Labour's record on financial regulation

In 1997 the new Labour government launched major initiatives in the area of financial regulation, setting up the Financial Services Authority as a comprehensive regulatory body, supported by the legislative framework of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. We evaluate the Labour government’s record on financial regulation in terms of its achievements and failures, especially in dealing with the global financial crisis that started in 2007. While we identify some clear flaws in regulatory design and enforcement, our evaluation highlights some inherent difficulties of financial regulation

Acoustic event detection: SVM-based system and evaluation setup in CLEAR’07

In this paper, the Acoustic Event Detection (AED) system developed at the UPC is described, and its results in the CLEAR evaluations carried out in March 2007 are reported. The system uses a set of features composed of frequency-filtered band energies and perceptual features, and it is based on SVM classifiers and multi-microphone decision fusion. Also, the current evaluation setup and, in particular, the two new metrics used in this evaluation are presented.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author’s final draft

A set of nine principles for distributed-design information storing

The issues of distributed working are many, with problems relating to information access and information acquisition the most common (Crabtree et al., 1997). Keeping track of project and team information is becoming more complex as design is increasingly being carried out collaboratively by geographically dispersed design teams across different time zones. The literature notes that little prescription or guidance exists on information management for designers (Culley et al., 1999) and Hicks (2007) highlights a relative lack of overall principles for improving information management. Additionally, evidence from earlier studies by the author into ‘How information is stored in distributed design project work’ reinforces the need for guidance, particularly in a distributed context (Grierson, 2008). Distributed information collections were found to be unorganised, contained unclear information and lacked context. Storing and sharing of distributed information was often time consuming and the tools awkward to use. This can lead to poor project progress and can impact directly on the quality and success of project outcomes (Grierson et al., 2004, 2006). This paper seeks to address these issues by presenting the development, implementation and evaluation of a set of Principles and a Framework to support distributed design information storing in the context of a Global Design class. Through both quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods the Principles were found to help in a number of ways – with the easy access of information; the structuring and organising of information; the creation of an information strategy; the making of information clear and concise; the supporting of documentation during project work; and the strengthening of team work; all helping teams to work towards project outcomes

Visualisation, Story And Metaphor As Tools To Build Self-Belief And Moral Awareness. An Ethnographic Case Study With Disengaged Pupils.

This case study of the Swindon Youth Empowerment Project 2001-2007, explores personal and social transformations when young people are encouraged to talk through their life choices conceptually using visualisation, symbol and metaphor. This educational project was designed to empower disaffected pupils in urban schools who are failing academically. They are referred to as ‘dispirited’ as they lacked motivation and ambition. The SYEP project is unique in that the procedure was created by the team and has no direct parallels. The fieldwork took place over three years, 2004-2007 with the researcher working as ethnographer as an outsider to the project. Data collection has included ethnographic observations, of training and events, and planning meetings. Interviews were conducted, group and individual pupils, teachers and learning mentors. The research drew on naturalistic data of the pupils involved, taken before, during and after the intervention. In doing so the team were trained to become evaluators and researchers. The researcher was allowed access to the work in order to encourage a long-term culture of evaluation, in schools as well as in the project. The research used a range of qualitative and ethnographic data collection methods and encouraged co-researcher dialogue. The analytical process was interpretative. The research demonstrates a clear effect on some of the young people involved. It reveals a range of factors contributing to this success. It also discusses the learning and development processes of the project team, including the process by which evaluation was improved and a future action plan is set. It locates the benefits of the project in relation to theoretical discussions about holistic education, self-belief, emotional literacy and wellbeing, and therapeutic approaches. It argues that young people can transcend their limited world view, learning to see themselves differently as people with energy, potential, compassion and the ability to affect positive change. In this they can reach out to others and with others, building moral understanding and cascading positive attitudes and energies to those around them

Evaluating local implementation: An evidence-based approach

This article, based on data collected from a year-long study, investigates the evaluation of a UK local government policy implementation and the use of evaluation data as an evidence-base for public policy (Bovaird & Loeffler, 2007; McCoy & Hargie, 2001; Schofield, 2004; Stern, 2008). Our case study highlights a number of issues. First, uncertainty and ambiguity of policy direction inhibiting the establishment of clear evaluation goals, which, second, results in frustration among stakeholders at a perceived disparity between what we term problem-inspired policy and problem-solving policy. Finally, this perception can be compounded by a lack of consideration for local variations of, for example, specific cultures, geographies or historical contexts. In responding to these problems our article argues that regardless of where policy control and decision-making occurs, the importance of the experiences of policy-implementers at a local level (where subject/geographical/cultural specialism and familiarisation exists) is crucial.N/

Assessment Of Bubblepoint Oil Formation Volume Factor Empirical PVT Correlations

The oil formation volume factor (FVF) among other factors is the most important factor that enables the calculation of the amount of reserves in a particular reservoir. In this paper, the existing oil formation volume factor correlations were assessed for their performance using data from the Niger Delta Region. Two hundred and fifty PVT reports were validated for this study from various oil fields. Both quantitative and qualitative analytical methods were implemented through statistical parameters and performance plots respectively. From the general evaluation i.e. using the full range of the data, Hemmati and Kharrat (2007) correlation performed the best for the Niger Delta crude with percent mean absolute relative error (Ea) of 1.9055 and correlation coefficient (r) of 0.9897. From the oil API gravity ranges reliabilityanalysis, it is clear that different correlations other than Hemmati and Kharrat (2007) would be more appropriate for API≤ 35

Idiopathic club foot treated with the Ponseti method. Clinical and sonographic evaluation of Achilles tendon tenotomy. A review of 221 club feet

SummaryThe Ponseti method applied to treating idiopathic club foot consists in placing successive corrective casts, possibly an Achilles tendon tenotomy, then derotation braces, a method that has proven its efficacy. This study compared 221 cases of club foot treated with this method between 2002 and 2007 divided into two groups, based on whether or not Achilles tendon tenotomy was performed. Assessment was both clinical and sonographic. We observed clear improvement of the results in the group that underwent Achilles tendon tenotomy and a significant difference in the rate of secondary surgery. The sonographic evaluation also showed improvement of the morphological results. We now systematically propose Achilles tendon tenotomy however severe club foot may be

Influenza vaccine effectiveness among high-risk groups: a systematic literature review and metaanalysis of case-control and cohort studies

Vaccination represents the most effective intervention to prevent infection, hospitalization and mortality due to influenza. This meta-analysis quantifies data reporting influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) on influenza visits and hospitalizations of case-control and cohort studies among high-risk groups. A systematic literature review including original articles published between 2007 and 2016, using a protocol registered on Prospero with No. 42017054854, and a meta-analysis were conducted. For three high-risk groups (subjects with underlying health conditions, pregnant women and health care workers) only a qualitative evaluation was carried out. The VE quantitative analysis demonstrated a clear significant overall effect of 39% (95%CI: 32%-46%) for visits and 57% (95%CI: 30%-74%) for hospitalization among children. Considering the elderly influenza VE had a clear effect of 25% (95%CI: 6%-40%) for visits and 14% (95%CI: 7%-21%; p<0.001) for hospitalization. This study showed the high VE of influenza vaccination among high-risk groups, representing a tool for public health decision-makers to develop evidence-based preventive interventions to avoid influenza outcome

Midwives for Haiti: Process Evaluation

The reduction of maternal mortality is a long-time international objective. One often underemphasized component of addressing complex and context-driven health problems, such as maternal mortality, is the importance of program evaluation. Program evaluation has been identified as particularly scarce among safe motherhood initiatives, which seek to reduce maternal deaths and improve the health outcomes of mothers (Freedman et al., 2007). Useful program evaluation starts with process evaluation. This study is a case study process evaluation of postpartum data collection, which utilizes interviews, observations, and document review. The purpose of this study was to evaluate, describe, and compare the intended and actual data collection processes of Midwives for Haiti’s postpartum program at Hospital Saint Therese (HST). This process evaluation included the identification of barriers and facilitators of data collection. Some consistent intentions for data use were identified despite limited planning for data collection and evaluation prior to implementation. These intentions include monitoring outputs, connecting identified complications to interventions used, and improving the quality of care provided. The next step to improving postpartum data collection at HST is to develop a clear program logic model and evaluation plan, which should include short-term and mid-term objectives to effectively address their long-term objective of reducing maternal mortality. The utilization of near-miss cases as proxy for maternal mortality may enable Midwives for Haiti to better understand postpartum outcomes and the impact of the postpartum program