Real-Time Object Classification Using a Custom Sparse Array Profile Sensor on an Embedded Microcontroller

This thesis presents implementation of data acquisition and object classification algorithms on a low-resource microcontroller for real-time, broad-scale object classification using a low-cost sparse detector imaging sensor. The sensor is designed to detect and classify objects into the broad categories of human, vehicle, or animal, making note of objects of high interest. This paper encompasses software for implementation onboard a low-resource microcontroller platform to acquire, process, and classify crude images of subjects for classification purposes. This paper also encompasses improvements made to a prototype hardware system to form a custom sensor array from commercially available, off-the-shelf hardware components. The sensor is designed for deployment scenearios to monitor vast geographic areas where broad monitoring is required with low false-alarm rates generated by objects of less interest

Monasticism and Christian pilgrimage in early Islamic Palestine c.614-c.950

Recent studies of early Islamic Palestine have stressed the minimal impact of the Arab conquest on the Christian communities of the region. None, however, have sought to trace the trajectories of these communities beyond the eighth century. This thesis provides the first long-term study of the impact of the Arab conquest on monasticism and pilgrimage between 614 and 950. The study explores the changes to the physical landscape of monasteries and Christian cult sites, in terms of site abandonment and continuity, and situates these processes in the broader political and economic context of the Palestinian region between the seventh and tenth centuries. This thesis offers a systematic critique of current theories which view Palestinian monasticism and Christian pilgrimage as social entities dependent upon patronage from Byzantium and the early medieval west. Rather, it stresses the need for a more nuanced recognition of monastic communities and Christian cult sites as places closely interlinked with localised developments and the high degree of variation between communities in terms of patron economies and social transactions. This study demonstrates that these variances often provide the key to understanding the highly varied response of Palestinian monastic communities and Christian cult sites to early Muslim rule

Athletic Success and Contributions to Universities’ Athletic Departments

The economic analysis of athletic success on contributions for university athletic departments is studied through panel regression, and panel vector auto regression, along with dynamics through directed acyclical graphs, impulse response functions, and forecast error variance decompositions. Previous literature suggests a mixed picture throughout the literature in determining the effect college athletics have on contributions to universities athletic departments. The key question is what athletic variables drive contributions to the athletic department, and what their impact is. This thesis analyzes the effect of different independent variables on the dependent variables football, basketball, other sports winning percentages and contributions through various systems based on conference alignment. These 160 universities with eight years of data are tested first through panel regression to determine error terms for the dependent variables then using these error terms through Orthogonal Partitioned Regression and Frisch-Waugh Theorems. Once these theorems have been applied, panel vector auto regression is used to provide dynamics to the study and literature. The dynamic analysis of the results are evaluated by using directed acyclical graphs, impulse response functions, and forecast error variance decomposition provide visual evidence to support the hypothesis. The causal flows provided through the directed acyclical graphs demonstrate the impact athletics have on contributions though all systems. The impulse response functions also provide visual analysis though shocking a specific variable and determining the impact of the shock. The impulse response functions also support the hypothesis, that increasing athletic winning percentage provide a positive impact on contributions. Forecast error variance decompositions demonstrate what percentage of the system is determined from each variable. Economic analysis through panel regression and dynamic analysis support the hypothesis that successful athletic programs have a positive impact, and generate contributions. Further results indicate through all systems, football, basketball and other sports winning percentage cause contributions and conference alignment has a significant impact on contributions. This information is beneficial to athletic departments to aid in decision making in determining what drives contributions

Defining a baseline complexity model for ERP systems over SaaS

Our research investigates applying the Software as a Service (SaaS) model for hosted applications to more complex business systems such as an Enterprise Resource Management System (ERP). This application of the service model is still in its infancy and we present some challenges to the technology. We will initially be defining a measure of complexity for business systems and applying this as a baseline to complex business systems within a pure SaaS model on the cloud, considering the elements making up SaaS and inter-relating these with this definition of business complexity. In this research we will be applying elements of Complex Systems Theory, Network Complexity Theory and Programmatic Complexity Models, in extending these for our own application to this service model within this complex business context

Photoionization of High Altitude Gas in a Supernova-Driven Turbulent Interstellar Medium

We investigate models for the photoionization of the widespread diffuse ionized gas in galaxies. In particular we address the long standing question of the penetration of Lyman continuum photons from sources close to the galactic midplane to large heights in the galactic halo. We find that recent hydrodynamical simulations of a supernova-driven interstellar medium have low density paths and voids that allow for ionizing photons from midplane OB stars to reach and ionize gas many kiloparsecs above the midplane. We find ionizing fluxes throughout our simulation grids are larger than predicted by one dimensional slab models, thus allowing for photoionization by O stars of low altitude neutral clouds in the Galaxy that are also detected in Halpha. In previous studies of such clouds the photoionization scenario had been rejected and the Halpha had been attributed to enhanced cosmic ray ionization or scattered light from midplane H II regions. We do find that the emission measure distributions in our simulations are wider than those derived from Halpha observations in the Milky Way. In addition, the horizontally averaged height dependence of the gas density in the hydrodynamical models is lower than inferred in the Galaxy. These discrepancies are likely due to the absence of magnetic fields in the hydrodynamic simulations and we discuss how magnetohydrodynamic effects may reconcile models and observations. Nevertheless, we anticipate that the inclusion of magnetic fields in the dynamical simulations will not alter our primary finding that midplane OB stars are capable of producing high altitude diffuse ionized gas in a realistic three-dimensional interstellar medium.Comment: ApJ accepted. 17 pages, 7 figure

The economic impact of chronic fatigue syndrome

BACKGROUND: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a chronic incapacitating illness that affects between 400,000 and 800,000 Americans. Despite the disabling nature of this illness, scant research has addressed the economic impact of CFS either on those affected or on the national economy. METHODS: We used microsimulation methods to analyze data from a surveillance study of CFS in Wichita, Kansas, and derive estimates of productivity losses due to CFS. RESULTS: We estimated a 37% decline in household productivity and a 54% reduction in labor force productivity among people with CFS. The annual total value of lost productivity in the United States was $9.1 billion, which represents about$20,000 per person with CFS or approximately one-half of the household and labor force productivity of the average person with this syndrome. CONCLUSION: Lost productivity due to CFS was substantial both on an individual basis and relative to national estimates for other major illnesses. CFS resulted in a national productivity loss comparable to such losses from diseases of the digestive, immune and nervous systems, and from skin disorders. The extent of the burden indicates that continued research to determine the cause and potential therapies for CFS could provide substantial benefit both for individual patients and for the nation

HST-FOS Observations of M87: Ly-a Emission from the Active Galactic Nucleus

The Faint Object Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope was used to obtain spectra of the central region of M87. These spectra cover the wavelength range 1140 - 1606 Angstrom and have a resolution of about 1 Angstrom. The nuclear continuum is clearly visible in the spectra. The only strong line that is observed is Ly-alpha, which has a velocity width of about 3000 km/sec. There is also a marginal detection of C IV 1549. The ratio of Ly-alpha to C IV in the nuclear spectrum is at least a factor of 2 higher than in a spectrum taken at a position on the disk about 0.6" away from the nucleus by Dopita et al. This enhancement of Ly-alpha at the nucleus could point to significant differences in the properties of the emitting gas and/or the excitation mechanism between the outer and inner disk regions. The strength of the observed Ly-alpha places limits on the properties of the absorbing gas present within M87. For instance, if the hydrogen column at the systemic velocity of M87 is greater than about 10^18 cm^{-2} then it can cover only a small fraction of the line emitting region. Spectra separated by 5 days show a 60% difference in the Ly-alpha flux, but the same continuum level. This could be due to either a displacement between the aperture positions for the two sets of observations, or it could be due to intrinsic variability of the source. The current observations do not strongly favor either of these alternatives. The observations do show, however, that the Ly-alpha line is a useful tracer of kinematics in the M87 nucleus.Comment: 14 pages + 5 figures. LaTeX uses aaspp4.sty. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa