Monitoring Success in Choice Neighborhoods: A Proposed Approach to Performance Measurement

Offers a framework and tools for performance management in the initiative to transform poor neighborhoods into revitalized, sustainable mixed-income communities. Proposes system components, logic model, management reports, and performance indicators

Real-time simulations to evaluate the RPAS integration in shared airspace

This paper presents the work done during the first year in the WP-E project ERAINT (Evaluation of the RPAS-ATM Interaction in Non-Segregated Airspace) that intends to evaluate by means of human-in-the-loop real-time simulations the interaction between a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) and the Air Traffic Management (ATM) when a Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) is being operated in shared airspace. This interaction will be evaluated from three different perspectives. First, the separation management, its results are presented in this paper. Secondly, during the next year, the contingency management, also including loss of link situations and, lastly, the capacity impact of such operations in the overall ATM system. The used simulation infrastructure allows to simulate realistic exercises from both the RPAS Pilot-in-Command (PiC) and the Air Traffic Controller (ATCo) perspectives. Moreover, it permits to analyze the actual workload of the ATC and to evaluate several support tools and different RPAS levels of automation from the PiC and ATC sides. The simulation results and the usefulness of the support tools are presented for each selected concept of operations.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Wellness Protocol: An Integrated Framework for Ambient Assisted Living : A thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Electronics, Information and Communication Systems At School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, Massey University, Manawatu Campus, New Zealand

Listed in 2016 Dean's List of Exceptional ThesesSmart and intelligent homes of today and tomorrow are committed to enhancing the security, safety and comfort of the occupants. In the present scenario, most of the smart homes Protocols are limited to controlled activities environments for Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) of the elderly and the convalescents. The aim of this research is to develop a Wellness Protocol that forecasts the wellness of any individual living in the AAL environment. This is based on wireless sensors and networks that are applied to data mining and machine learning to monitor the activities of daily living. The heterogeneous sensor and actuator nodes, based on WSNs are deployed into the home environment. These nodes generate the real-time data related to the object usage and other movements inside the home, to forecast the wellness of an individual. The new Protocol has been designed and developed to be suitable especially for the smart home system. The Protocol is reliable, efficient, flexible, and economical for wireless sensor networks based AAL. According to consumer demand, the Wellness Protocol based smart home systems can be easily installed with existing households without any significant changes and with a user-friendly interface. Additionally, the Wellness Protocol has extended to designing a smart building environment for an apartment. In the endeavour of smart home design and implementation, the Wellness Protocol deals with large data handling and interference mitigation. A Wellness based smart home monitoring system is the application of automation with integral systems of accommodation facilities to boost and progress the everyday life of an occupant

Organic Agriculture in Saudi Arabia - Sector Study 2012

This publication compiles the facts and figures of the organic sector in Saudi Arabia. It is a valuable resource for local stakeholders and interested trading companies. The publication is resulting from a collaboration between GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) and FiBL together with its partners of the Saudi Ministry of Agriculture and Saudi Organic Farming Association (SOFA)

Promoting libraries through wall : Needs, wants and opportunities

Most of the libraries nowadays were changing their promotion strategy by utilizing online social network such as Facebook as a channel to reach their services to the public. Libraries in Malaysia were not left behind in using this opportunities as a platform to promote their services towards the patrons a whole. However, there are still some limitations for the libraries in Malaysia to use Facebook applications thoroughly. Libraries in Malaysia need to do some research and observations to the maximum by utilizing the Facebook application in order for them to attract more patrons utilizing the Facebook that was developed by libraries.Facebook is developed as a medium for the patrons in getting to know the latest information, events, resources, products and services available in the libraries. This paper will focus on the barriers and limitations face by the librarians in using the Facebook towards promoting libraries resources, services, events, products and etc. Moreover, this paper also will discuss on how the libraries in Malaysia promoting their services as compare to the others international libraries. Standard frameworks of Facebook applications will be developed and used by Malaysian Libraries to ensure that they can utilize the Facebook successfully

Recent and upcoming BCI progress: overview, analysis, and recommendations

Brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) are finally moving out of the laboratory and beginning to gain acceptance in real-world situations. As BCIs gain attention with broader groups of users, including persons with different disabilities and healthy users, numerous practical questions gain importance. What are the most practical ways to detect and analyze brain activity in field settings? Which devices and applications are most useful for different people? How can we make BCIs more natural and sensitive, and how can BCI technologies improve usability? What are some general trends and issues, such as combining different BCIs or assessing and comparing performance? This book chapter provides an overview of the different sections of this book, providing a summary of how authors address these and other questions. We also present some predictions and recommendations that ensue from our experience from discussing these and other issues with our authors and other researchers and developers within the BCI community. We conclude that, although some directions are hard to predict, the field is definitely growing and changing rapidly, and will continue doing so in the next several years

Measurement of radon-induced backgrounds in the NEXT double beta decay experiment

The measurement of the internal $^{222}$Rn activity in the NEXT-White detector during the so-called Run-II period with $^{136}$Xe-depleted xenon is discussed in detail, together with its implications for double beta decay searches in NEXT. The activity is measured through the alpha production rate induced in the fiducial volume by $^{222}$Rn and its alpha-emitting progeny. The specific activity is measured to be $(38.1\pm 2.2~\mathrm{(stat.)}\pm 5.9~\mathrm{(syst.)})$~mBq/m$^3$. Radon-induced electrons have also been characterized from the decay of the $^{214}$Bi daughter ions plating out on the cathode of the time projection chamber. From our studies, we conclude that radon-induced backgrounds are sufficiently low to enable a successful NEXT-100 physics program, as the projected rate contribution should not exceed 0.1~counts/yr in the neutrinoless double beta decay sample.Comment: 28 pages, 10 figures, 6 tables. Version accepted for publication in JHE