A flexible routing scheme for patients with topographical disorientation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Individuals with topographical disorientation have difficulty navigating through indoor environments. Recent literature has suggested that ambient intelligence technologies may provide patients with navigational assistance through auditory or graphical instructions delivered via embedded devices.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>We describe an automatic routing engine for such an ambient intelligence system. The method routes patients with topographical disorientation through indoor environments by repeatedly computing the route of minimal cost from the current location of the patient to a specified destination. The cost of a given path not only reflects the physical distance between end points, but also incorporates individual patient abilities, the presence of mobility-impeding physical barriers within a building and the dynamic nature of the indoor environment. We demonstrate the method by routing simulated patients with either topographical disorientation or physical disabilities. Additionally, we exemplify the ability to route a patient from source to destination while taking into account changes to the building interior.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>When compared to a random walk, the proposed routing scheme offers potential cost-savings even when the patient follows only a subset of instructions.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The routing method presented reduces the navigational effort for patients with topographical disorientation in indoor environments, accounting for physical abilities of the patient, environmental barriers and dynamic building changes. The routing algorithm and database proposed could be integrated into wearable and mobile platforms within the context of an ambient intelligence solution.</p

Programa de educacion bilingue del distrito escolar de Delavan-Darien : un caso de liderazgo de la comunidad latina

El 19 de mayo de 2014, el Consejo Escolar Delavan-Darien de Wisconsin obtuvo una votacion de 5-2 a favor de la implementacion de un programa de educacion bilingue. Esta victoria de la comunidad latina en un distrito pequeno no fue facil y habla sobre una valiosa experiencia en terminos de promocion y movilizacion. Los resultados obtenidos por los estudiantes del distrito en sus evaluaciones son preocupantes: los resultados combinados de los periodos 2013-2014 del Examen de Conceptos y Conocimiento de Wisconsin y de la Evaluacion Alternativa de Wisconsin son los mas pobres del estado. Esta situacion ha presentado dudas sobre la pertinencia cultural y linguistica de la educacion que se ofrece en el distrito. El modelo monolingue de educacion no reconocia la diversidad de la poblacion estudiantil, y un gran porcentaje de estudiantes de primera y segunda generacion de inmigrantes fracasaban en el sistema escolar. Por esta razon, un grupo de padres inicio una serie de acciones para establecer un programa de educacion bilingue de ensenanza. Es posible analizar la demanda por una educacion bilingue en Delavan-Darien en tres fases: 1. Crear conciencia sobre la exclusion de la comunidad latina en relacion a las opciones educativas. disponibles: en esta etapa, los lideres de la comunidad latina se organizaron para impulsar la educacion bilingue en el contexto del plan estrategico 2011 del distrito escolar. 2. La transicion politica-administrativa del distrito y el relanzamiento de la campana: el cambio de liderazgo en las elecciones del distrito y de la junta escolar en 2012 motivo a que los lideres latinos refuercen y construyan progreso con respecto al ano anterior, y defiendan la prioridad de abrir espacios para la comunidad latina en el sistema escolar. 3. Apertura y consolidacion de un marco institucional para la comunidad latina: la promocion y presion de la comunidad latina hizo que esta sea capaz de avanzar hacia sus objetivos. Esto incluyo la aprobacion del Consejo para desarrollar el programa de educacion bilingue, la creacion de la posicion de Director de Adquisicion de Idiomas y Educacion Comunitaria dentro del distrito escolar (para ser ocupada por un profesional latino), y las invitaciones a los padres para participar de las entrevistas para la contratacion del nuevo Director y nuevos maestros. La implementacion del programa comenzo en el ano escolar 2014-2015, con 160 estudiantes quienes participan del programa de educacion bilingue del Distrito Escolar Delavan-Darien

The dual language education program of Delavan-Darien School District: a case of Latino community leadership

On May 19, 2014, the Delavan-Darien School Board of Wisconsin voted 5-2 in favor of installing a Dual Language Immersion Program. This victory of the Latino community in a small district was not easy and speaks of a valuable experience in advocacy and mobilization. The district's student outcomes are worrying: the combined results in 2013-2014 of the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination and the Wisconsin Alternate Assessment are the poorest in the state. This situation has raised questions about the cultural and linguistic relevance of the education provided in the district. The monolingual model was not recognizing the diversity of the student population, and a large percentage of first- and second-generation immigrant students were failing in the school system. That is why a group of parents initiated a series of actions to establish a dual language education program. The demand for dual language education in Delavan-Darien can be analyzed in three phases: 1. Raising awareness around the exclusion of the Latino community in regards to the available educational options: At this stage, the Latino community leaders got organized to push for dual language education in the context of the school district's 2011 strategic plan. 2. The political-administrative transition of the district and re-launching of the campaign: The change of leadership in the district and school board elections in 2012 meant that Latino leaders had to reinforce and build upon their progress made the previous year, and defend the priority to open spaces for the Latino community in the school system. 3. Opening and consolidation of an institutional setting for the Latino community: The Latino community's advocacy and lobbying was able to make progress towards their goals. This included the Board's approval to develop a dual language education program, the creation of the Director of Language Acquisition and Community Education (of Latino origin) position, and parent invitations to participate in interviews for the director and new teacher hires. The installation of the program was in progress during the 2014-2015 school year, when there were 160 students participating in the first generation of the Dual Language Educational Program of the Delavan-Darien School District

Associate Instructional Professor

Popper’s (1972) analytical process of conjecture and refutations highlight how a problem begets a solution that engenders new problems. Efforts, in theory and practice, to increase construction productivity at the strategic level (project delivery systems, internal and external project planning), the logistic level (scheduling theories and lean construction theories and practices) and the tactical level (work task/time studies and value stream mapping) have failed to yield significant improvements. This paper summarizes and links the systemic nature of construction to the three organizational levels in a historical perspective of productivity’s strengths and weaknesses. Structured literature review is used to identify and analyze published research regarding construction productivity at the above-mentioned three levels (Motwani et al. 1995). Sketches of organization and project models are created. These models are based on independent, dependent and interdependent variables uncovered in the literature review. The models use organization and process description language to feed a project simulation that in turn will feed a future meta-project Monte-Carlo simulation expected to generate massive quantity of data. The data will be tested internally and externally through case studies and verified against actual projects, organization and productivity theories and the experience of project personnel

Associate Instructional Professor

Popper’s (1972) analytical process of conjecture and refutations highlight how a problem begets a solution that engenders new problems. Efforts, in theory and practice, to increase construction productivity at the strategic level (project delivery systems, internal and external project planning), the logistic level (scheduling theories and lean construction theories and practices) and the tactical level (work task/time studies and value stream mapping) have failed to yield significant improvements. This paper summarizes and links the systemic nature of construction to the three organizational levels in a historical perspective of productivity’s strengths and weaknesses. Structured literature review is used to identify and analyze published research regarding construction productivity at the above-mentioned three levels (Motwani et al. 1995). Sketches of organization and project models are created. These models are based on independent, dependent and interdependent variables uncovered in the literature review. The models use organization and process description language to feed a project simulation that in turn will feed a future meta-project Monte-Carlo simulation expected to generate massive quantity of data. The data will be tested internally and externally through case studies and verified against actual projects, organization and productivity theories and the experience of project personnel