8,197 research outputs found
Towards a centralized multicore automotive system
Today’s automotive systems are inundated with embedded electronics to host chassis, powertrain, infotainment, advanced driver assistance systems, and other modern vehicle functions. As many as 100 embedded microcontrollers execute hundreds of millions of lines of code in a single vehicle. To control the increasing complexity in vehicle electronics and services, automakers are planning to consolidate different on-board automotive functions as software tasks on centralized multicore hardware platforms. However, these vehicle software services have different and contrasting timing, safety, and security requirements. Existing vehicle operating systems are ill-equipped to provide all the required service guarantees on a single machine. A centralized automotive system aims to tackle this by assigning software tasks to multiple criticality domains or levels according to their consequences of failures, or international safety standards like ISO 26262. This research investigates several emerging challenges in time-critical systems for a centralized multicore automotive platform and proposes a novel vehicle operating system framework to address them.
This thesis first introduces an integrated vehicle management system (VMS), called DriveOS™, for a PC-class multicore hardware platform. Its separation kernel design enables temporal and spatial isolation among critical and non-critical vehicle services in different domains on the same machine. Time- and safety-critical vehicle functions are implemented in a sandboxed Real-time Operating System (OS) domain, and non-critical software is developed in a sandboxed general-purpose OS (e.g., Linux, Android) domain. To leverage the advantages of model-driven vehicle function development, DriveOS provides a multi-domain application framework in Simulink. This thesis also presents a real-time task pipeline scheduling algorithm in multiprocessors for communication between connected vehicle services with end-to-end guarantees. The benefits and performance of the overall automotive system framework are demonstrated with hardware-in-the-loop testing using real-world applications, car datasets and simulated benchmarks, and with an early-stage deployment in a production-grade luxury electric vehicle
An analysis of the effects of certified electronic health records on organizations and patients.
The growing technological advancement of electronic health records can become an issue with quality and electronic patient information exchange if hospitals do not adhere to federal guidelines. It is recommended that hospitals utilize certified electronic health records (EHRs) to receive financial incentives. This certification is supposedly also associated with the quality of the EHR itself. The certification process is criticized for allowing EHR vendors to meet a set of limited functions known in advance. EHRs can affect healthcare quality and electronic health information exchange. This dissertation explored what is known about the effects of certified EHRs on length of stay (LOS) and patient generated health data (PGHD), the relationship between hospital utilization of certified EHRs and LOS, and the relationship between hospital utilization of certified EHRs with hospital capability of allowing the function of PGHD. The first analysis was a scoping review guided by the PRISMA protocol to explore what is known of the effects of certified EHRs on LOS and PGHD. The second analysis used datasets from the American Hospital Association Survey and Information Technology Supplement and Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Office of Health Policy from 2015 to 2019 to understand the relationship between hospital utilization of certified EHRs and LOS through a fixed effects regression model. The final paper analysis used datasets from the American Hospital Association Survey and Information Technology Supplement from 2016 to 2020 to understand the relationship between hospital utilization of certified EHRs and the function of enabling PGHD through a binary logistic regression. There is support amongst researchers on EHRs improving quality, such as, LOS and the function of PGHD improving technology efficiency and others supporting EHRs with more customization and open architecture. There is less known about whether an EHR, certified or non-certified, are different from one another with providing advantages for hospitals. Hospitals with certified EHRs have a longer LOS compared to hospitals with non-certified EHRs. Most hospitals experienced barriers with receiving, sending, or other electronic information exchange. Most hospitals with certified EHRs were more likely to not enable the function for PGHD compared to hospitals with non-certified EHRs. EHRs can be problematic while hospitals are providing hospital care. Although most hospitals possess certified EHRs, most do not enable the function of PGHD. Secondary sources from the survey were completed by the Chief Technology Officer or Chief Information Officer. Further research could be continued with understanding different groups’ health effects with health information technology. Hospitals may be satisfied with their EHRs but not as abreast on how functional the EHR is and how the EHR can benefit patients
We Must Provide a Family, Not Rebuild Orphanages: The Consequences of Russias Invasion of Ukraine for Children in Ukrainian Residential Institutions
This report documents risks to children from institutions in areas directly affected by the conflict as well as those evacuated to other areas of Ukraine or to European countries. According to government figures, Ukraine had more than 105,000 children in institutions before Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, the largest number in Europe. Nearly half were children with disabilities, according to UNICEF. Russia bears responsibility for the crisis facing these children, but the war adds to the urgency for Ukraine, with support from foreign governments and humanitarian agencies, to stop institutionalizing children and expand family- and community-based care
Referring to discourse participants in Ibero-Romance languages
Synopsis:
This volume brings together contributions by researchers focusing on personal pronouns in Ibero-Romance languages, going beyond the well-established variable of expressed vs. non-expressed subjects. While factors such as agreement morphology, topic shift and contrast or emphasis have been argued to account for variable subject expression, several corpus studies on Ibero-Romance languages have shown that the expression of subject pronouns goes beyond these traditionally established factors and is also subject to considerable dialectal variation. One of the factors affecting choice and expression of personal pronouns or other referential devices is whether the construction is used personally or impersonally. The use and emergence of new impersonal constructions, eventually also new (im)personal pronouns, as well as the variation found in the expression of human impersonality in different Ibero-Romance language varieties is another interesting research area that has gained ground in the recent years. In addition to variable subject expression, similar methods and theoretical approaches have been applied to study the expression of objects. Finally, the reference to the addressee(s) using different address pronouns and other address forms is an important field of study that is closely connected to the variable expression of pronouns. The present book sheds light on all these aspects of reference to discourse participants. The volume contains contributions with a strong empirical background and various methods and both written and spoken corpus data from Ibero-Romance languages. The focus on discourse participants highlights the special properties of first and second person referents and the factors affecting them that are often different from the anaphoric third person. The chapters are organized into three thematic sections: (i) Variable expression of subjects and objects, (ii) Between personal and impersonal, and (iii) Reference to the addressee
Challenges in the Design and Implementation of IoT Testbeds in Smart-Cities : A Systematic Review
Advancements in wireless communication and the increased accessibility to low-cost sensing and data processing IoT technologies have increased the research and development of urban monitoring systems. Most smart city research projects rely on deploying proprietary IoT testbeds for indoor and outdoor data collection. Such testbeds typically rely on a three-tier architecture composed of the Endpoint, the Edge, and the Cloud. Managing the system's operation whilst considering the security and privacy challenges that emerge, such as data privacy controls, network security, and security updates on the devices, is challenging. This work presents a systematic study of the challenges of developing, deploying and managing urban monitoring testbeds, as experienced in a series of urban monitoring research projects, followed by an analysis of the relevant literature. By identifying the challenges in the various projects and organising them under the V-model development lifecycle levels, we provide a reference guide for future projects. Understanding the challenges early on will facilitate current and future smart-cities IoT research projects to reduce implementation time and deliver secure and resilient testbeds
Rendezvous at Chesuncook: A Chronicle of Surveyors, Landowners, Loggers, Settlers, & Sports
Abstract provided by the author:
Rendezvous at Chesuncook, 1827-1902 is the only comprehensive history of Chesuncook Lake and Chesuncook settlement (village) from 1827 through 1902.
The text’s two major focal points are people and old photographs. Over 350 biographical sketches include surveyors, landowners, lumbermen, drive bosses, loggers, settlers, and builders of dams and boats. For the 170 plus pictures this book is their only aggregate presentation. The photos communicate a history of what the landscape and settlements once looked like and how they changed over the decades in this book.
This book purposely ends December 30, 1902. Through 1902 the loggers were independent and orchestrated their cooperation through their organization the Penobscot Log Driving Company, an entity that reformed every year with those who were logging. The book’s decade-by-decade chapter organization draws attention to their consistent year-to-year remarkable efforts and successes.
Within each chapter the content focuses on who surveyed the land, who bought property, who logged, who settled, and who worked with sports; what were their activities; and how and with what did they function. Within this information are the wilderness farms that served the area: Lily Bay, Roach River, Ragged Lake, Ripogenus Lake, Deer Pond, and the head of Chesuncook Lake. The decade-by-decade organization reveals how ways and means of living and logging evolved. For example loggers used horses, but prior to the 1890s the predominant work animal was an ox; why was that? The last chapter, “Remembering the drive bosses,” has pictures of 13 of these 22 men and for everyone a verbal snap shot through which to remember them
The influence of culture and religion on the capital structure of SME – A pan European quantitative research
Diferentes teorías financieras han tratado de explicar la estructura de capital de las empresas considerándola como una elección racional con resultados limitados. Por el contrario, la teoría de las élites directivas destaca la influencia de los valores y creencias de los altos directivos en las decisiones de las empresas y la teoría institucional complementa esta visión con el papel de los valores y normas institucionales en las decisiones y opciones financieras. Nuestra investigación analiza la influencia de los valores culturales y la pertenencia a una religión en la explicación de por qué las PYMEs difieren en sus preferencias financieras, con el objetivo de enriquecer las teorías racionales del área financiera con la propuesta de la teoría de las élites directivas y la teoría institucional. Por lo tanto, el presente estudio utiliza el marco cultural de Hofstede (2021) y datos de pertenencia al cristianismo de 24 países europeos -y de las dos principales religiones cristianas- para analizar su impacto en la estructura de capital, específicamente en sus preferencias entre capital y pasivo. Además, analiza el impacto de la cultura y la religión en el comportamiento de asunción de riesgos de las PYMEs. A través de una base de datos de 27.778 pymes manufactureras de 24 países de la UE con información financiera de 2015-2019 y utilizando análisis multinivel, encontramos evidencia de que la cultura y la religión influyen en la elección de la estructura de capital en las pymes y afectan su comportamiento de toma de riesgos. Sin embargo, y en contraste con varios investigadores anteriores, que encuentran una fuerte relación entre la cultura, la religión y el comportamiento financiero de las empresas, nuestros resultados muestran un efecto de la cultura y la religión en la dirección prevista, pero, de pequeño tamaño.Different finance theories have tried to explain the capital structure of companies considering it as a rational choice with limited results. In contrast, upper echelons theory highlights the influence of top managers’ values and beliefs in the decisions of firms and the institutional theory complements this vision with the role of institutional values and norms in financial decisions and options. The research looks into the influence of cultural values and religious belonging in explaining why SMEs differ in their financial preferences aiming to fill the gap between rational finance theories and upper echelons proposal. Therefore, the present study uses the cultural framework from Hofstede (2021) and Christian belonging data from 24 European Countries and the two main Christian faiths to analyze their impact on the capital structure, specifically in their preferences between equity and liabilities. Furthermore, this study looks into the SME’s risk-taking behavior and the cultural and religious impact on this issue. Through a database of 27.778 manufacturing SMEs from 24 countries of EU with financial information from 2015-2019 and using multilevel analysis, this study finds evidence that culture and religion influences the choice of capital within SMEs and impacts their risk-taking behavior. However, and in contrast to various previous researchers, who find a strong relationship between culture and religion and financial behavior within firms, the results show a very low size effect of culture and religion on the predicting directions of financial behavior
Towards a holistic understanding of the role of green infrastructure in improving urban air quality
Air pollution has been identified as a major problem in modern societies, threatening urban population health. Pedestrians, in particular, are directly exposed to one of the main sources of air pollutants: road transport, which is concentrated in proximity to the road, worsening the air.
Green infrastructure (GI) has been promoted as a natural method for reducing exposure to local street air pollutants and providing additional Ecosystem Services with a range of environmental, social and economic benefits for citizens. The effectiveness of GI for improving air quality depends on the spatio-temporal context and the species-specific characteristics of the GI. Urban planting could maximise this benefit by a holistic understanding of the effects of GI in cities, balancing its benefits and constraints. However, little is currently known about the application of GI design and planning with regard to air pollution mitigation. Moreover, there is little agreement on the quantifiable effectiveness of GI in improving street air quality as its effectiveness is highly context dependent. Holistic guidance is therefore needed to inform practitioners of site- and species- specifics, trade-offs, and GI maintenance considerations for successful urban planting. This research reviews the academic literature addressing GI-related characteristics in streets, creating a holistic framework to help guide decision-makers on using GI solutions to improve air quality. Additionally, this research aims to understand how and which GI, along with other local characteristics, influence pedestrian air quality and how these characteristics are considered in real-world practice within the United Kingdom.
This research progresses through three stages: First, the mechanisms by which GI is considered to influence air quality were identified through literature reviews. A specific literature review was then conducted for each mechanism to extract the associated GI and spatial characteristics that affect the potential for GI to mitigate urban air pollution. In the second stage, this list of characteristics, together with other Ecosystem Services, was discussed in consultation with practitioners in the UK. A survey was conducted to explore and evaluate the recommendations and resources available for planning plantings, as well as the practitioners’ knowledge about the characteristics associated with mitigating air pollution. Supported by results from the survey and the literature reviews, the third stage evaluated (validated) an easy-to-use computational model for its potential use in improving planting decisions for air pollution mitigation.
Green infrastructure influences air quality by providing surfaces for pollutant deposition and absorption, effects on airflow and dispersion, and biogenic emissions. The relationship between the specific GI and the spatio-temporal context also influences air quality. Street structure, weather variables, and the type, shape and size of GI influence the dispersion of pollutants, with micro-and macro-morphological traits additionally influencing particulate deposition and gas absorption. In addition, maintaining GI lessens air quality deterioration by controlling biogenic emissions.
According to participants in the survey, aesthetics were the principal drivers of urban planting, followed by improving well-being and increasing biodiversity and air pollution mitigation as a lesser priority. Characteristics such as airflow manipulation, leaf surface traits, and biogenic emissions were the less important influences in planting decisions in the UK, despite the fact that these characteristics influence air quality. Perhaps, a lack of communication of current information and low confidence about which specific characteristics have a tangible effect on air quality reduces the incorporation of GI for air pollution mitigation purposes.
Uncertainties exist about the quantification of pollutants removed by GI. Field campaigns and computational models still need improvement to address the effectiveness of GI in real-world environments adequately and also to understand whether GI can exert a significant effect on pollutant levels under real-world conditions. This research showed that a promising and easy-to-use model used to evaluate the effectiveness of trees in removing particles was not an acceptable model to study the effect of GI on streets. The validation results showed a poor agreement between wind tunnel data and the model results. More effort is needed to develop better modelling tools that can quantify the actual effect of GI on improving street air quality.
This research contributes to the air pollution mitigation field, explicitly helping to inform decision-making for more health-promoting urban settings by optimising the expected benefits of GI through a holistic understanding of their impacts. Facilitating the communication of current evidence through a holistic guide that considers both the benefits and trade-offs of planting decisions for air quality improvement. Improving information on air pollution mitigation to feed the decision-making process might maximise the benefits of GI planting for air pollution mitigation in streets.Open Acces
Healthcare Costs and Health Status: Insights from the SHARE Survey
The substantial rise in hospital costs over recent years is associated with the rapid increase in the older age population. This study addresses an empirical gap in the literature concerning the determinants of high hospital costs in a group of older patients in Europe. The objective of the study is to examine the association of patient health status with in-hospital costs among older people across European countries. We used the data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) database. The analysis included 9671 patients from 18 European countries. We considered socio-demographic, lifestyle and clinical variables as possible factors influencing in-hospital costs. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to determine the determinants of in-hospital costs. To benchmark the hospital costs across European countries, we used the cost-outlier methodology. Rates of hospital cost outliers among older people varies from 5.80 to 12.65% across Europe. Factors associated with extremely high in-patient costs differ among European countries. In most countries, they include the length of stay in the hospital, comorbidities, functional mobility and physical activity. The treatment of older people reporting heart attack, diabetes, chronic lung disease and cancer are more often connected with cost outliers. The risk of being a cost outlier increased by 20% with each day spent in the hospital. We advocate that including patient characteristics in the reimbursement system could provide a relatively simple strategy for reducing hospitals’ financial risk connected with exceptionally costly cases
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