Tracking using a local closed-world assumption : tracking in the football domain

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Media Arts & Sciences, 1994.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-85).by Stephen Sean Intille.M.S

Behaviour of grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) and their prey in and near set traps

The seal populations of the Baltic Sea Area were at historically low levels in the 1970’s, due to two factors. The first was an extensive hunt and the second was emissions of organochlorines, which affected the reproductive abilities of the females. Laws and regulations were set in force to improve the marine environment and from the early 1990’s the populations of the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus), the harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) and the ringed seal (Pusa hispida) have recovered. It is a success for the management of the Baltic Sea Area environment that the seal populations have increased. Coupled with the increase of the populations, is also an increase of conflicts with the inshore fisheries. The seals frequenting the fishing gear takes fish and damage gear. It is mainly the grey seal which is the culprit and it is predominantly males. These males have been proven to be specialists. Two studies were conducted to learn more about the behaviour of seals and of their prey. The first study investigated the pattern of seal visits in the middle chamber of a herring pontoon trap. A camera filmed the seals which entered and the seals were identified. There were almost 1400 visits by 12 individuals. Of all visits, 84 % took place within 5 minutes of each other. Of all visits, 3.7 % were concurrent visits, i.e. two males inside the middle chamber at the same time. By studying these visits in detail, it could be concluded that there was a dominance hierarchy among the seals in the trap. A simulation of the visits was executed to examine whether the proportion of concurrent visits was random or non-random. The simulations used the same distribution pattern of the realized visits. If the visits had been random, then c 9.5 % of them would have been concurrent. This suggests that there is a pattern to their visits. The second study investigated the effect of a Seal Exclusion Device (SED) on seal visits and on catch. The experiment was conducted during two years. In 2012, using a SED with a diamond mesh and in 2016 using two SEDs; the diamond mesh and a square mesh - with the entire frame rotated 45°. The expectation was that the SEDs would reduce the number of seal visits, increase the catch and possibly deter larger fish from entering. In 2012, the diamond mesh had an effect on the size of trout, with larger trout entering the control trap, whereas large salmon were not affected by the presence of the SED. In 2016, larger salmon were caught in the traps with a SED. There was no significant result regarding the catch of trout, possibly due to small samples. The number of seal visits in both sets of experiments were too low to be able to draw any conclusions regarding presence of seals. The SEDs did not have any effect on the quantity of caught fish

The potential of a classroom network to support teacher feedback:a study in statistics education.

In het wiskundeonderwijs ervaren docenten voortdurend een gebrek aan tijd om hun leerlingen goed te instrueren. In Nederland is daarbij de contacttijd voor wiskunde in de afgelopen vijftien jaar nog eens afgenomen. Wiskunde wordt door leerlingen bovendien als moeilijk ervaren. Dit onderzoek richt zich op de vraag: hoe kunnen we de contacttijd in het wiskundeonderwijs beter benutten? Meta-analyses van leeropbrengsten, zoals die beschreven door Hattie (2009), laten zien dat feedback één van de krachtigste enkelvoudige middelen is om die leeropbrengst te verhogen. In dit onderzoek benutten we de mogelijkheid van grafische rekenmachines (GR), verbonden met de computer van de docent via een draadloos netwerk, om de feedback in wiskundeonderwijs te verbeteren. Enerzijds kregen de leerlingen via hun GR onmiddellijke feedback op bepaalde opgaven en anderzijds gaf de docent, meestal in de volgende les, feedback op het werk van de leerlingen, daarbij ondersteund door een analyse van dat werk door het systeem. Het onderzoek richtte zich in eerste instantie op het ontwikkelen van zogenaamde 'gegevens geletterdheid' bij de leerlingen, waarbij de 'algoritmische vaardigheden' niet vergeten werden. Gedurende vier empirische rondes is deze wijze van werken in negen klassen ontworpen, getest, geëvalueerd en bijgesteld. De wiskundedocenten en hun leerlingen waren over het algemeen enthousiast over het resultaat. Zo adviseren zij bijvoorbeeld om de helft van de lessen aan deze werkvorm te besteden. De docenten geven daarbij aan dat ze een hoge werkdruk hebben ervaren om deze manier van doceren onder de knie te krijgen. De studie expliciteert de voorwaarden waaraan moet worden voldaan voordat de werkwijze succesvol kan zijn. In mathematics education teachers experience a constant lack of time to properly instruct their students. In the Netherlands the contact time for mathematics in secondary education during the last fifteen years again declined. Mathematics is also perceived as difficult by students. This research focuses on the question: how can we better utilize contact time in mathematics education? Meta-analyses of learning outcomes, such as those described by Hattie (2009), show that feedback is one of the most powerful single tools for improving learning achievements. In this study we explore the possibility of graphing calculators (GR), connected to the teacher computer through the use of a wireless network, to improve the feedback in mathematics education. First, students received immediate feedback on their worked out mathematics assignments GR and second, the teacher, usually in the next lesson, gave feedback on the work of the students, supported by an analysis of that work through the system. This study focused primarily on the development of 'data literacy' among students, while the 'algorithmic skills' were not forgotten. In four stages, a prototype of the intervention designed, tested, evaluated and adjusted in nine groups of students. The mathematics teachers and their students are generally enthusiastic about the results. They for instance recommend to spend half of each lesson working this way. Though, the teachers explicitly state that they have experienced a tough workload while mastering this way of teaching. The study makes the conditions to be met before the method can be successful explicit.

Learning algebra in a computer algebra environment : design research on the understanding of the concept of parameter

It is well known that algebra is a difficult topic in the school mathematics curriculum, and is often experienced as a stumbling-block. One of the directions in which solutions to the problems with the learning of algebra can be sought is the integration of information technology (IT) into mathematics education. Although originally not developed for educational purposes, a computer algebra system is an IT tool that seems promising because of its algebraic power. The basic aim of this study, therefore, is to investigate whether computer algebra use can contribute to the understanding of algebra. This leads to the following main research question: How can the use of computer algebra promote the understanding of algebraic concepts and operations? Chapter 1 contains the research questions and explains the aims and backgrounds of the study. In Chapter 2 the research design and methodology are described. Key words are design research and hypothetical learning trajectory. Chapters 1 and 2 together indicate what the research is about and how it is conducted. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 form the theoretical part of the thesis. They treat the main themes of the study: algebra in general, the concept of parameter in particular and the possible roles of computer algebra. Chapter 3 concerns algebra in general. It sketches different views on algebra and describes the standpoint of this study. The theoretical issues of symbol sense, symbolizing, the process-object duality and Realistic Mathematics Education are addressed. In Chapter 4, we zoom in on the concept of parameter. After a brief historical perspective, a conceptual analysis of the parameter is given. Then we describe what we consider a higher level understanding of the concept of parameter. This is connected to the theoretical notions from Chapter 3. Chapter 5 deals with the tool that students use in this research project: computer algebra. Besides an overview of previous research in this domain, it contains a description of the theory of instrumentation that will be used in Chapter 10 in particular. Chapters 6 - 10 form the empirical part of the dissertation. Chapters 6, 7 and 8 describe the development of the hypothetical learning trajectory and the classroom experiences during the three subsequent research cycles. Chapter 9 concerns the contribution of computer algebra use to the understanding of the concept of parameter. In Chapter 10, the results concerning the instrumentation of computer algebra are presented. Chapter 11, finally, answers the main research question. After that, we look back on the study and discuss the results and the methodology. Also, the relevance of the theoretical framework and the generalizability of the findings are evaluated. The chapter ends with recommendations for teaching, for software design and for further researc

Third International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Automation for Space 1994

The Third International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Automation for Space (i-SAIRAS 94), held October 18-20, 1994, in Pasadena, California, was jointly sponsored by NASA, ESA, and Japan's National Space Development Agency, and was hosted by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of the California Institute of Technology. i-SAIRAS 94 featured presentations covering a variety of technical and programmatic topics, ranging from underlying basic technology to specific applications of artificial intelligence and robotics to space missions. i-SAIRAS 94 featured a special workshop on planning and scheduling and provided scientists, engineers, and managers with the opportunity to exchange theoretical ideas, practical results, and program plans in such areas as space mission control, space vehicle processing, data analysis, autonomous spacecraft, space robots and rovers, satellite servicing, and intelligent instruments

Environments of Intelligence

What is the role of the environment, and of the information it provides, in cognition? More specifically, may there be a role for certain artefacts to play in this context? These are questions that motivate "4E" theories of cognition (as being embodied, embedded, extended, enactive). In his take on that family of views, Hajo Greif first defends and refines a concept of information as primarily natural, environmentally embedded in character, which had been eclipsed by information-processing views of cognition. He continues with an inquiry into the cognitive bearing of some artefacts that are sometimes referred to as 'intelligent environments'. Without necessarily having much to do with Artificial Intelligence, such artefacts may ultimately modify our informational environments. With respect to human cognition, the most notable effect of digital computers is not that they might be able, or become able, to think but that they alter the way we perceive, think and act. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.tandfebooks.com/doi/view/10.4324/9781315401867, has been made available under a Creative Commons CC-BY licenc

Exploring a Biomimicry Approach to Enhance Ecological Sustainability in Architecture

Increased environmental consciousness in recent years, stimulated by concerns about human induced climate change, has motivated a desire to reduce the impact of the built environment through eco efficient design imperatives. This evolution has provided eco practitioners with multifaceted challenges in making their practices more ecologically sustainable through optimal approaches to design. One such design approach to ecological sustainability is to emulate or take creative inspiration from natural systems, often referred to as biomimicry. This study examines how eco practitioners perceive biomimicry as a design approach in architectural eco design practice. An exploratory approach, taking a post-positivist epistemological framework informed a mixed method, correlational, project-based research design. The theoretical contribution was a model and framework for biomimicry thinking which suggested ways of addressing problems of conceptualisation and understanding the complexities of ecological integration that had been identified as barriers to the practice of ecologically sustainable design. The empirical contribution was a recommendation for a Biomimicry Approach, which proposed a simultaneous use of indirectly mimicking and directly mimicking to architectural eco design projects. Multivariate statistical analysis recognised biomimicry principles, design propositions and physical attributes as the most significant predictors that can enhance ecological sustainability in architecture. The study’s outcome in relation to biomimicry advanced understanding of ways to reduce waste by efficient spatial design was seen as a contribution architects can make to the concept of a reduction scenario for the ecological age. This thesis adds important knowledge to underpin future research and recommends biomimicry design indicators, biomimicry design matrix and possibilities for the use of vernacular architectural strategies for the development of architectural eco design practice

Exploring a Biomimicry Approach to Enhance Ecological Sustainability in Architecture

Increased environmental consciousness in recent years, stimulated by concerns about human induced climate change, has motivated a desire to reduce the impact of the built environment through eco efficient design imperatives. This evolution has provided eco practitioners with multifaceted challenges in making their practices more ecologically sustainable through optimal approaches to design. One such design approach to ecological sustainability is to emulate or take creative inspiration from natural systems, often referred to as biomimicry. This study examines how eco practitioners perceive biomimicry as a design approach in architectural eco design practice. An exploratory approach, taking a post-positivist epistemological framework informed a mixed method, correlational, project-based research design. The theoretical contribution was a model and framework for biomimicry thinking which suggested ways of addressing problems of conceptualisation and understanding the complexities of ecological integration that had been identified as barriers to the practice of ecologically sustainable design. The empirical contribution was a recommendation for a Biomimicry Approach, which proposed a simultaneous use of indirectly mimicking and directly mimicking to architectural eco design projects. Multivariate statistical analysis recognised biomimicry principles, design propositions and physical attributes as the most significant predictors that can enhance ecological sustainability in architecture. The study’s outcome in relation to biomimicry advanced understanding of ways to reduce waste by efficient spatial design was seen as a contribution architects can make to the concept of a reduction scenario for the ecological age. This thesis adds important knowledge to underpin future research and recommends biomimicry design indicators, biomimicry design matrix and possibilities for the use of vernacular architectural strategies for the development of architectural eco design practice

Queer transcultural memory: contemporary US culture and the global context

This thesis expands the definition of queerness through exploring its oppositionality to norms of heteronormativity tied to race, class, gender, sexuality, and disability. Reading an interdisciplinary range of cultural texts, I consider the extent to which they can be deployed to provide a counternarrative to concepts of transcultural memory, nationalism, and citizenry following recent historical events, stemming from September 11, 2001. I begin by examining the impact of domestic responses to 9/11 through “vernacular” photography, demonstrating how nationalistic responses marginalize queer identities. Expanding out to explore the transnational effects of the “War on Terror”, my second chapter reads contemporary Iraq War fiction, revealing the queer rendering of bodies that finds a foothold through military occupations abroad. Third, I look to the extra-national sites of Guantánamo Bay and Abu Ghraib to show the insidious extension of national borders, and norms, creating sites that are simultaneously intra- and extra-national. I argue that these sites operate as palimpsests of memory, crossing frontiers of the transnational, transcultural, and transhistorical. Finally, I look at the movement of queer bodies into the United States through migration narratives, returning to the ubiquitous sites of normativity within the country’s borders. My conclusion ties these strands together to understand how memorialization and cultural representations of historical events impact queer bodies and the cultural conditions of the US. I establish how these bodies affect, and are affected by, literal, figurative, and imaginative movements, and the implications for state discourse. Ultimately, I demonstrate the “Americanization” of globalization dictates how such bodies are conceptualized and is subsequently treated in other nations

Safety and Reliability - Safe Societies in a Changing World

The contributions cover a wide range of methodologies and application areas for safety and reliability that contribute to safe societies in a changing world. These methodologies and applications include: - foundations of risk and reliability assessment and management - mathematical methods in reliability and safety - risk assessment - risk management - system reliability - uncertainty analysis - digitalization and big data - prognostics and system health management - occupational safety - accident and incident modeling - maintenance modeling and applications - simulation for safety and reliability analysis - dynamic risk and barrier management - organizational factors and safety culture - human factors and human reliability - resilience engineering - structural reliability - natural hazards - security - economic analysis in risk managemen