Personalized Navigation Instruments for Map User Interfaces

A map is a big multi-scale information space. The size of a computer display, however, is limited. Users of digital maps often need to repeatedly resize and reposition the map to seek information. These repeated and excess interactions mar the user experience, and create bottlenecks for efficient information processing. We introduce personalized navigation instruments, a class of navigation instruments that leverage personal important spatial entities (e.g., landmarks and routes) to tackle navigation challenges in map user interfaces. Specifically, we contribute the following three instruments, each of which embodies a novel research idea: 1) Personalized Compass (P-Compass) is a multi-needle compass that extends the concept of a conventional compass to help users establish a reference frame. P-Compass localizes an unknown reference point by visualizing its relationship with respect to landmarks. P-Compass leverages what a user knows to help them figure out what they do not know. 2) SpaceTokens are interactive map widgets that represent locations, and help users see and link locations rapidly. With SpaceTokens, users can use locations directly as controls to manipulate a map, or building blocks to link with other locations. SpaceTokens make locations first-class citizens of map interaction. 3) SpaceBar associates a simple linear scrollbar with a complex nonlinear route, thus facilitates efficient route comprehension and interaction. SpaceBar is akin to a scrollbar for a route. We prototyped these three instruments in a custom smartphone application, used the application regularly in daily life, and validated our design in two formal studies. While maps are the focus in this dissertation, our ideas need not be limited to maps. For example, we have prototyped P-Compass with Google Street View and a 3D virtual earth tour application. We conclude this dissertation with several directions for future work, such as AR/VR and personalized spatial information user interfaces involving sound, gestures, and speech

Workplace gender equality in Kedah: An exploratory analysis

This study aims to identify the workplace gender equality or inequality in term of pay, promotion, decision making and training and development based on employees’ perceptions in private sector, Kedah. Specifically, this paper identifies the relationships between gender equality/inequality and perceived pay fairness, perceived promotion fairness, perceived decision making fairness and perceived training and developments fairness in the workplace. Besides, this study investigates either the facilities that regarding to gender equality are provided or not by employers in the workplace and also to examine the importance of those facilities based on their perception. Data collection method encompass on self-administered surveys to 150 workers in selected private sector companies through a systematic cluster and purposive sampling design. Questionnaires were equally distributed in three sectors which are retail/wholesaler, manufacturing and services sectors. The data obtained were analyzed using descriptive analysis, Probit model and Pearson correlation test. Results from Probit regression indicate that respondents who have higher satisfaction of perceived pay fairness and perceived decision making are more likely to have gender equality in the workplace in the private sector, Kedah. This result shows that gender equality achieve in term of pay and decision making. Conversely, Pearson correlation test shows that there is a significant and strong positive relationship between gender equality and perceived pay fairness, perceived promotion fairness, perceived decision making fairness and perceived training and development fairnes

The Relationship Between Volatility of Malaysia Stock Price and the Volatility of Macroeconomic Variables for Five Asian Countries

The rapid liberalization and globalization of the financial market around the world has been recognized causes to the higher volatility between macroeconomic variables and stock market. Stock market is one of the macro economy variables and as a leading indicator for economy plays an important role in the development of any country. Despite the importance of the establishing of the relationship between macroeconomic variables and stock prices, there is still no general rule or consensus for both theoretical and empirical literature either in emerging, developed, Asian and Europe economies. This thesis attempts to analyze the relationship between volatility of Malaysian stock price and the volatility of macroeconomic variables namely exchange rates, money supply and interest rates for Singapore, Philippine, Thailand, Japan and China from January 2000 until December 2010. All previous studies examined the relationship between macroeconomic variables and stock market in a particular country. It is also interesting and beneficial to study the relationship of Malaysian stock market with other countries macroeconomic factors such as exchange rates, money supply and interest rates. Several tests are used in this study namely Unit Root Tests, Multivariate Cointegration Test, Error Correction Model and Estimation Equation Analysis. Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test and Phillips-Perron (1988) test are used to ensure all variables are stationary. The other techniques are used to identify short-run and long-run relationship between volatility of Malaysian stock price and macroeconomic variables of five Asian countries and also to determine which country macroeconomic variables give the most impact on Malaysian stock price. The study finds that there exist short run cointegrating link or relationship between macroeconomic variables and Malaysian stock price. The empirical findings reveal that relationship between macroeconomic variables and Malaysian stock price do form a long run cointegrating link or relationship. From the result shows that exchange rate from China gives the most impact on Malaysian stock price. Policy-makers need to be careful when trying to influence the economy through changes in macroeconomic variables such as the money supply, interest rates or the exchange rate. They may inadvertently depress the stock market and curtail capital formation which itself would lead to further slowdown of the economy

Focal Sweep Camera for Space-Time Refocusing

A conventional camera has a limited depth of field (DOF), which often results in defocus blur and loss of image detail. The technique of image refocusing allows a user to interactively change the plane of focus and DOF of an image after it is captured. One way to achieve refocusing is to capture the entire light field. But this requires a significant compromise of spatial resolution. This is because of the dimensionality gap - the captured information (a light field) is 4-D, while the information required for refocusing (a focal stack) is only 3-D. In this paper, we present an imaging system that directly captures a focal stack by physically sweeping the focal plane. We first describe how to sweep the focal plane so that the aggregate DOF of the focal stack covers the entire desired depth range without gaps or overlaps. Since the focal stack is captured in a duration of time when scene objects can move, we refer to the captured focal stack as a duration focal stack. We then propose an algorithm for computing a space-time in-focus index map from the focal stack, which represents the time at which each pixel is best focused. The algorithm is designed to enable a seamless refocusing experience, even for textureless regions and at depth discontinuities. We have implemented two prototype focal-sweep cameras and captured several duration focal stacks. Results obtained using our method can be viewed at www.focalsweep.com

Studies of methylglyoxal synthase: the distribution of enzyme and chemical mechanism of catalysis

Methylgloxal synthase, which catalyzes the conversion of dihydroxyacetone phosphate to methylglyoxal and inorganic phosphate, has been found in several Enterobacteriaceae. The enzyme along with glyoxalase I and II and D-lactate oxidase, therefore, constitute a nonphosphorylated shunt of the normal glycolytic pathwa

A study of probability density functions related to the radar backscattering

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1970 C475Master of Scienc

Long-Term Monitoring of Slope Movements with Time-Domain Reflectometry Technology in Landslide Areas, Taiwan

The study employs time-domain reflectometry (TDR) technology for landslide monitoring to explore rock deformation mechanism and to estimate locations of potential sliding surfaces in several landslide areas, Taiwan, over ten years. Comparing to laboratory and field testing, sliding surfaces in landslide areas occurred mainly at two types, namely shear and extension failure. The TDR technology is used for field monitoring to analyze locations of sliding surfaces and to quantify the magnitude of the sliding through laboratory shear and extension tests. There are several TDR-monitoring stations in six alpine landslide areas in the middle of Taiwan for long-term monitoring. A relation between TDR reflection coefficients and shear displacements was employed for a localized shear deformation in the field. Furthermore, the type of a cable rupture for the TDR monitoring in landslides can be determined as shear, extension, or compound failure through the field TDR waveforms. Overall, the TDR technology is practically used for a long-term monitoring system to detect the location and magnitude of slope movement in landslide areas

Male lifespan extension with 17â α estradiol is linked to a sexâ specific metabolomic response modulated by gonadal hormones in mice

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145263/1/acel12786.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145263/2/acel12786_am.pd

Semiotic Of Sound Technique Impacting the Understanding In Horror Genre Short Film “hawa” (2016)

This study analyses the sound technique that is used to analyse the structure of sound in “Hawa”, Directed by Tan Ce Ding in 2016, a short horror film about a girl who is being locked inside her room by her parents due to her infection. Using semiotic analysis, this research studied their sound technique that they employ to convey a message in each scene. To comprehend how the techniques of various noises used in motion pictures, as well as the temporal evolution of sound energy, create an emotional experience for the audience. In the context of multimedia content analysis and indexing, qualitative methodologies have already been applied to horror film soundtracks. It was decided to use a qualitative research strategy, and more precisely, a hybrid technique that combines thematic analysis with semiotics content analysis. This method was chosen because it was necessary to find, code, classify, and count both obvious and latent meanings in the written responses of the audiences. Thematic analysis is used to analyse the audience’s understanding in Hawa film directed by Tan Ce Ding, that can elicit horror understanding and feeling. Such as the existence of diegetic and non-diegetic sound, contrapuntal sound, parallel sound, and sound bridge can imply to the understanding