Maximising screen-space on mobile computing devices

One major problem with mobile computing devices is lack of screen space. One way to overcome this is to reduce the size of the graphical components on screen and present information in sound. This paper describes a small pilot study to investigate the usability of sonically-enhanced buttons of different sizes. Results showed that sounds improved usability for both standard and small button sizes and that the most sophisticated sounds were the most effective

Sudan, Resolution 1593, and International Criminal Justice

The UN Security Council has recently referred the situation in Darfur, Sudan, to the International Criminal Court. This has been hailed as a breakthrough in international criminal justice. However, aspects of the referral resolution can be criticized from the point of view of their consistency with both the Rome Statute and the UN Charter.The limitations of the referral with respect to whom the Court may investigate also raise issues with respect to the rule of law. In addition, Sudan has accused the Security Council of acting in a neo-colonial fashion by referring the situation in Darfur to the Court. This article investigates these criticisms against the background of the international system in which international criminal law operates, and concludes that although the referral cannot be considered neo-colonial in nature, the referral can be criticized as selective and as an incomplete reaction to the crisis in Darfur. The referral remains, however, a positive step

On certain functionals of normal processes Technical report no. 1

Probabilistic modeling and stochastic process investigations to provide measures of quality of performance and reliability for systems engineering - Chebyshev approximatio

Development of reliability methodology for systems engineering. Volume III - Theoretical investigations - An approach to a class of reliability problems Final report

Random quantities from continuous time stochastic process with application to reliability and probabilit

On multigrid for anisotropic equations and variational inequalities: pricing multi-dimensional European and American options

Partial differential operators in finance often originate in bounded linear stochastic processes. As a consequence, diffusion over these boundaries is zero and the corresponding coefficients vanish. The choice of parameters and stretched grids lead to additional anisotropies in the discrete equations or inequalities. In this study various block smoothers are tested in numerical experiments for equations of Black–Scholes-type (European options) in several dimensions. For linear complementarity problems, as they arise from optimal stopping time problems (American options), the choice of grid transfer is also crucial to preserve complementarity conditions on all grid levels. We adapt the transfer operators at the free boundary in a suitable way and compare with other strategies including cascadic approaches and full approximation schemes

Alternative project delivery in rural Alaska: experiences, quality and claims

Master's Project (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2015The popularity of alternative project delivery systems has expanded beyond the private sector and into the public sector. Alaska embodies unique challenges that may present obstacles while using alternative project delivery systems. This analysis will provide an understanding of alternative project delivery systems in Alaska and how local experiences, quality and claims are affected. Alaska's unique characteristics present both challenges and opportunities for implementing alternative project delivery systems. This report begins with a discussion of experiences from several rural Alaska projects, and how alternative project delivery systems can be utilized. Some impacts that alternative project delivery systems have on quality are then presented, including a perspective on quality and recommendations for achieving customer satisfaction. A treatment of construction claims is then provided, followed by conclusions and recommendations for stakeholders in selecting an appropriate project delivery system. Alternative project delivery systems were researched by means of scholarly literature reviews, professional interviews and seminars. The report of these findings is intended to provide owners and contractors with a concise presentation of the challenges and advantages for using alternative project delivery systems in Alaska

Use of quantitative ultrasound scans of the calcaneus to diagnose osteoporosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Background: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis are recognized as being at risk for osteoporosis as a result of the disease process as well as the medication used to treat it. This study was conducted to consider the use of calcaneal scanning with quantitative ultrasound—contact ultrasound bone analysis (CUBA)—to diagnose osteoporosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.Methods: Forty-six patients (11 men and 35 women) with established rheumatoid arthritis underwent dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) of the nondominant wrist andCUBA of the nondominant heel. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were used to determine the correlation between osteoporosis as diagnosedby the CUBA heel scan compared with the DEXA wrist scan given that DEXA is widely seen as the gold standard for the diagnosis of osteoporosis.Results: The CUBA heel scan revealed a sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 44% for a diagnosis of osteoporosis compared with DEXA. The positive predictive value of theCUBA scan was 31%, and the negative predictive value was 94%. Therefore, if normal bone density is found using CUBA, there is 94% certainty this is correct. However, if osteoporosis is diagnosed using CUBA, there is only 31% certainty this is correct. In such instances a secondary scan using a different method (eg, DEXA) would be required. Future work should consider the effect of minor alterations to the equipment or scanning protocol, because this may improve diagnosis.Conclusions: The CUBA unit could be used as a primary screening device. Given the cost and accessibility issues associated with DEXA, quantitative ultrasound may have arole in screening for osteoporosis in the primary-care setting to determine the most appropriate routes of referral for patients requiring further investigations. <br/

The role of culture and diversity in the prevention of falls among older Chinese people

Original article can be found at : http://journals.cambridge.org/ Copyright Canadian Association on GerontologyThis grounded-theory study explored the perceptions of Chinese older people, living in England, on falls and fear of falling, and identified facilitators and barriers to fall prevention interventions. With a sample of 30 Chinese older people, we conducted two focus groups and 10 in-depth interviews in Mandarin or Cantonese. Interview transcripts, back translated, were analyzed using N6. Constant comparative analysis highlighted a range of health-seeking behaviors after a fall: Chinese older people were reluctant to use formal health services; talking about falls was avoided; older people hid falls from their adult children to avoid worrying them; and fatalistic views about falls and poor knowledge about availability and content of interventions were prevalent. Cost of interventions was important. Chinese older adults valued their independence, and cultural intergenerational relations had an impact on taking action to prevent falls. Cultural diversity affects older adults’ acceptance of fall prevention interventions.Peer reviewe

Cauchy Biorthogonal Polynomials

The paper investigates the properties of certain biorthogonal polynomials appearing in a specific simultaneous Hermite-Pade' approximation scheme. Associated to any totally positive kernel and a pair of positive measures on the positive axis we define biorthogonal polynomials and prove that their zeroes are simple and positive. We then specialize the kernel to the Cauchy kernel 1/{x+y} and show that the ensuing biorthogonal polynomials solve a four-term recurrence relation, have relevant Christoffel-Darboux generalized formulae, and their zeroes are interlaced. In addition, these polynomial solve a combination of Hermite-Pade' approximation problems to a Nikishin system of order 2. The motivation arises from two distant areas; on one side, in the study of the inverse spectral problem for the peakon solution of the Degasperis-Procesi equation; on the other side, from a random matrix model involving two positive definite random Hermitian matrices. Finally, we show how to characterize these polynomials in term of a Riemann-Hilbert problem.Comment: 38 pages, partially replaces arXiv:0711.408