PETS2009 and Winter-PETS 2009 results: a combined evaluation

This paper presents the results of the crowd image analysis challenge of the Winter PETS 2009 workshop. The evaluation is carried out using a selection of the metrics developed in the Video Analysis and Content Extraction (VACE) program and the CLassification of Events, Activities, and Relationships (CLEAR) consortium [13]. The evaluation highlights the detection and tracking performance of the authors’systems in areas such as precision, accuracy and robustness. The performance is also compared to the PETS 2009 submitted results

The Journal of the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning

IMPACT: The Journal of the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning is a peer-reviewed, biannual online journal that publishes scholarly and creative non-fiction essays about the theory, practice and assessment of interdisciplinary education. Impact is produced by the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning at the College of General Studies, Boston University (www.bu.edu/cgs/citl).How do our students learn what it means to be a human being, with all the attendant responsibilities and joys? How do we learn to teach in a truly interdisciplinary manner? These are some of the questions that preoccupy this issue’s contributors

A new approach to public housing

Since 1996, a federal demonstration project called Moving to Work has shown that if public housing agencies are permitted to merge funds from various programs and are exempted from most regulations, they can administer housing programs better.Public housing - New England ; Public housing ; Housing policy

Building from strength: asset-based community development

Before embarking on a community development effort, consider making a list of local strengths instead of just problems. A new assessment technique encourages all residents to participate in mapping community assets and helps generate the can-do attitude needed to move mountains.Community development

Technology education in New Zealand

Technology is one of the seven essential learning areas included to achieve the knowledge and understanding that all New Zealanders need to acquire (Ministry of Education, 1993). Responsibility for the implementation of these curricula rests with schools which have flexibility in making implementation decisions. Within the national curriculum framework, all curriculum statements must reflect the principles of the national curriculum framework, specify clear learning outcomes against which students’ achievements can be assessed, have learning outcomes or objectives defined over eight progressive levels, and be grouped in a number of strands. The national curriculum framework’s principles relate to learning and achievement, development of school programs, and aspects of social justice and equity

The Complex X-ray Spectrum of the Sefyert 1.5 Source NGC 6860

The X-ray spectrum of the Seyfert 1.5 source NGC 6860 is among the most complex of the sources detected in the Swift Burst Alert Telescope all-sky survey. A short XMM-Newton follow-up observation of the source revealed a flat spectrum both above and below 2 keV. To uncover the complexity of the source, in this paper we analyze both a 40 ks Suzaku and a 100 ks XMM-Newton observation of NGC 6860. While the spectral state of the source changed between the newer observations presented here and the earlier short XMM-Newton spectrum - showing a higher flux and steeper power law component - the spectrum of NGC 6860 is still complex with clearly detected warm absorption signatures. We find that a two component warm ionized absorber is present in the soft spectrum, with column densities of about 10^20 and 10^21 cm$^-2, ionization parameters of xi = 180 and 45 ergs cm s^-1, and outflow velocities for each component in the range of 0-300 km s^-1. Additionally, in the hard spectrum we find a broad (approx 11000 km s^-1) Fe K-alpha emission line, redshifted by approx 2800 km s^-1.Comment: 35 pages, 9 figures, Accepted to Ap

Winter Anomaly 1982/83 in Comparison with Earlier Winters (1960-82)

The winter anomaly in the winter of 1982/83 is compared with the winter anomalies of earlier winters (1960-82) from the point of view of amplitude and timing of the winter anomaly, and geomagnetic and dynamic activity influences. Some evidence of a negative influence of sudden stratospheric warnings on the winter anomaly is given

The nuclear dimension of C*-algebras

We introduce the nuclear dimension of a C*-algebra; this is a noncommutative version of topological covering dimension based on a modification of the earlier concept of decomposition rank. Our notion behaves well with respect to inductive limits, tensor products, hereditary subalgebras (hence ideals), quotients, and even extensions. It can be computed for many examples; in particular, it is finite for all UCT Kirchberg algebras. In fact, all classes of nuclear C*-algebras which have so far been successfully classified consist of examples with finite nuclear dimension, and it turns out that finite nuclear dimension implies many properties relevant for the classification program. Surprisingly, the concept is also linked to coarse geometry, since for a discrete metric space of bounded geometry the nuclear dimension of the associated uniform Roe algebra is dominated by the asymptotic dimension of the underlying space.Comment: 33 page