Grammatical Relations and Grammatical Categories in Malay; the Indonesian Prefix MeN- Revisited

The lexical roots of Malay are flexible with regard to their grammatical categories, which presents a problem in providing grammatical evidence for their category determination. This paper attempts to propose the use of affixes as one way to deal with the issue. Data from Indonesian and Ambon (Malay) language are among others given for clarification. The grammatical evidence from Indonesian active meN-, together with other affixes, are revisited as they can contribute to our understanding of the matter

Predictive Duty Cycle Adaptation for Wireless Camera Networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) typically employ dynamic duty cycle schemes to efficiently handle different patterns of communication traffic in the network. However, existing duty cycling approaches are not suitable for event-driven WSN, in particular, camera-based networks designed to track humans and objects. A characteristic feature of such networks is the spatially-correlated bursty traffic that occurs in the vicinity of potentially highly mobile objects. In this paper, we propose a concept of indirect sensing in the MAC layer of a wireless camera network and an active duty cycle adaptation scheme based on Kalman filter that continuously predicts and updates the location of the object that triggers bursty communication traffic in the network. This prediction allows the camera nodes to alter their communication protocol parameters prior to the actual increase in the communication traffic. Our simulations demonstrate that our active adaptation strategy outperforms TMAC not only in terms of energy efficiency and communication latency, but also in terms of TIBPEA, a QoS metric for event-driven WSN

A Parallel Histogram-based Particle Filter for Object Tracking on SIMD-based Smart Cameras

We present a parallel implementation of a histogram-based particle filter for object tracking on smart cameras based on SIMD processors. We specifically focus on parallel computation of the particle weights and parallel construction of the feature histograms since these are the major bottlenecks in standard implementations of histogram-based particle filters. The proposed algorithm can be applied with any histogram-based feature sets—we show in detail how the parallel particle filter can employ simple color histograms as well as more complex histograms of oriented gradients (HOG). The algorithm was successfully implemented on an SIMD processor and performs robust object tracking at up to 30 frames per second—a performance difficult to achieve even on a modern desktop computer

Evaluating Methods for Research in Physical Weed Control and Farm Asset Tracking

Effective weed control has long been recognized as critical for agricultural production, yet weeds remain a major constraint to production and economic return in many agroecosystems. Moreover, improvements in physical weed control are necessary to address increasing problems of herbicide resistance in weeds of grain and fiber crops and the high cost of hand weeding in vegetables. From tractor-mounted cultivation tools to autonomous weeders, weeding implements are affected by weeds, crops, soil conditions, and actuator effectiveness. In order to address these complex and often interacting factors concerning weed control, new and innovative tools must be designed and evaluated. Chapter one addresses a series of experiments designed to determine the functionality and efficacy of Franklin Robotics’ TertillTM and to explore its place in the growing field of robotic weeding. The TertillTM demonstrated high weed control efficacy, supporting its utility as a tool for home gardeners. However, in its current form, the TertillTM would require modification to be viable for farmscale use. Yet, its simple and effective design may offer insights to inform future development of farmscale weeding robots. Chapter two addresses an analysis of the early growth characteristics of wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum L.) and four related Brassica species commonly used as surrogate weeds in physical weed control research. Plants of each species were grown in a greenhouse, destructively harvested at three distinct growth stages, and analyzed for anchorage force and root architecture. Wild radish and the selected Brassica surrogate weeds were comparable in biomass and root architecture. However, differences in anchorage force necessitates caution and field validation. Chapter three builds upon the previous chapter by making the explicit comparisons between surrogate weeds and their weedy counterparts that have hitherto been absent from the literature. Additionally, the viability of golf tees as artificial weeds was assessed. Field experiments were conducted in 2019 and 2020 using six flex-tine harrows to compare the reactions to cultivation of wild radish, two Brassica surrogate weeds, and golf tee artificial weeds. Rates of efficacy for both surrogate weed species were comparable to those of wild radish, indicating that these species are useful surrogates for this weed species. However, golf tees failed to accurately simulate weed seedling response to cultivation, and their response was highly variable. Chapter four addresses the challenges and inefficiencies apparent in diversified organic farming by evaluating the potential of inexpensive, wearable GPS watches to monitor farm labor. Labor data acquired with GPS watches was correlated with a reference system. However, elevated rates of error associated with commercially available GPS devices potentially limits their viability in tracking labor on small farms where error may result in significant inaccuracies

Adding Executable Context to Executable Architectures: Enabling an Executable Context Simulation Framework (ECSF)

A system that does not stand alone is represented by a complex entity of component combinations that interact with each other to execute a function. In today\u27s interconnected world, systems integrate with other systems - called a system-of-systems infrastructure: a network of interrelated systems that can often exhibit both predictable and unpredictable behavior. The current state-of-the-art evaluation process of these system-of-systems and their community of practitioners in the academic community are limited to static methods focused on defining who is doing what and where. However, to answer the questions of why and how a system operates within complex systems-of-systems interrelationships, a system\u27s architecture and context must be observed over time, its executable architecture, to discern effective predictable and unpredictable behavior. The objective of this research is to determine a method for evaluating a system\u27s executable architecture and assess the contribution and efficiency of the specified system before it is built. This research led to the development of concrete steps that synthesize the observance of the executable architecture, assessment recommendations provided by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Code of Best Practice for Command and Control (C2) Assessment, and the metrics for operational efficiency provided by the Military Missions and Means Framework. Based on the research herein, this synthesis is designed to evaluate and assess system-of-systems architectures in their operational context to provide quantitative results

Technology Education Teacher Supply and Demand in the United States

This research investigated the supply and demand of technology education teachers in each of the United States. The research goals guiding this study were to determine (1) the number of technology education teachers produced in the United States, (2) the number of technology education teachers employed in the United States public schools during the spring of 2009, (3) the number of vacant technology education teacher positions in United States public schools during the spring of 2009, and (4) the projected number of technology education teacher vacancies for the fall semesters of 2009, 2012, and 2014. The 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007, and 2007-2008 Industrial Teacher Education (ITE) Directories were reviewed to determine the number of teachers (supply) produced during those years. In 2004-2005, 34 institutions produced 338 technology teachers, in 2005-2006, 32 institutions produced 315 teachers, in 2006-2007, 29 institutions produced 311 teachers, and in 2007-2008, 27 institutions produced 258 technology teachers. State technology education supervisors were surveyed to answer the remaining three goals. Their responses indicated that there were 12,146 middle school and 16,164 high school (a total of 28,310) teachers employed in the United States during the spring of 2009. Supervisors also reported that there were 367 middle school and 549 high school vacancies. Supervisors expected that there will be 823 vacancies during the fall of 2009, 1,152 in 2012, and 1,435 in 2014, for a total of 3,410 vacancies. The survey also asked supervisors questions concerning alternative technology education teacher processes. Forty-three of the 50 states offered alternative technology education teacher licensure processes. Of those 43 states, 34 modified existing state teacher licensure processes. Supervisors were asked if their state had incorporated or were planning to incorporate pre-engineering curriculum into their technology education programs. Forty-nine of the 50 state supervisors responded with a “yes.” Data indicated that there were a total of 1,969 Project Lead The Way ®, 939 Engineering by Design™, and 368 other types of pre-engineering programs in the United States. Forty-seven state supervisors also indicated that their state had or were planning to integrate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) components into their technology education programs