Utilizing sensor fusion in markerless mobile augmented reality

One of the key challenges of markerless Augmented Reality (AR) systems, where no a priori information of the environment is available, is map and scale initialization. In such systems, the scale is unknown as it is impossible to determine the scale from a sequence of images alone. Implementing scale is vital for ensuring that augmented objects are contextually sensitive to the environment they are projected upon. In this paper we demonstrate a sensor and vision fusion approach for robust and user-friendly initialization of map and scale. The map is initialized, using inbuilt accelerometers, whilst scale is initialized by the camera auto-focusing capability. The later is possible by applying the Depth From Focus (DFF) method, which was, till now, limited to high precision camera systems. The demonstrated illustrates benefits of such a system, which is running on a commercially available mobile phone Nokia N900

The Firm Size Distribution and Inter-Industry Diversification

We show that the stylized facts of the Firm Size Distribution (FSD) by age cohorts, as shown in Cabral and Mata (2003), bind within 4-digit manufacturing industries in the UK and Belgium. As in Klepper and Thompson (2006) and Sutton (1998), we explore whether time to build a portfolio of products is a mechanism that relates age to firm size. While inter industry diversification, to some extent, accounts for the role of age, we find that the presence of economies of scope has a separate impact on firm size when controlling for age, amongst other factors. Using the techniques in Cabral and Mata's we show that the FSD by degrees of product diversification shifts to the right, but more so in older age groups. This shows a role for inter-industry diversification over and above an age effect.

Has Chapter 766 accomplished its goals? : The views of parents of children with special needs.

EducationDoctor of Education (Ed.D.

The Development of Pentecostalism Out of Revivalism in America: a Reaction against the Established Churches

Because the writer has been personally involved with neo-Pentecostals in the charismatic movement, this thesis was undertaken in an attempt to understand that movement in terms of its history. Such history cannot yet be written. At the same time, traditional Pentecostalism has had a strong influence on the charismatic movement. Apart from the fact that the charismatic movement is much less institutionalized than the older Pentecostalism, there is no essential normative difference between the two. A thorough understanding of the latter contributes material to an understanding of the former

Open Letter to Charismatic Lutherans

The author is pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, St. Louis, Missouri, and has been actively involved in aspects of the charismatic movement

Crafting an outdoor classroom: the nineteenth-century roots of the outdoor education movement

This dissertation examines the antecedents to the outdoor education movement that proliferated in the first decades of the twentieth century, arguing that it stemmed from the Romanticism that emerged in the nineteenth century. Drawing on a Romantic approach to pedagogy, early outdoor educators looked to nineteenth-century literature and art as inspiration for their educational methods, curriculum and marketing. Rejecting the concepts of "rugged individualism," these outdoor educators expressed an ideal of "rugged communalism" where concepts of selflessness, community, and democracy became the lessons learned in the outdoors. The first chapter provides an overview of Puritan understanding of the wilderness and corresponding perspectives on childhood and education by drawing on the writings of John Winthrop, Cotton Mather, and Jonathan Edwards as well as John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and the experience of King Philip's War. The Romantic revolution as expressed by Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper and others form the basis of the second chapter. Chapter three charts the transformation of American perspectives on wilderness through the visual arts and literature, specifically those writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne combined with the work of Thomas Cole. This chapter also explores the White Mountain tourist industry as an expression of these ideals. The fourth chapter follows the changing conceptions of childhood throughout the nineteenth century with a focus on the image of the barefoot boy and street urchins. Chapter five discusses the development of a Transcendental pedagogy through the writings and educational experiments of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Bronson Alcott, Margaret Fuller, Henry David Thoreau, and Louisa May Alcott, including the impact of the Temple School and Brook Farm. The second half of the dissertation addresses specific applications of experiential outdoor pedagogy. This includes the Boston Farm School on Thompson Island, Charlesbank and the playground movement in Boston, the North Bennett Street Industrial School's outdoor programs, the relationship between the Grand Army of the Republic and the Boy Scouts of America, and the impact of Dudley Allen Sargent and Sargent Camp

Methods for the quantitative evaluation of program impacts

This item is archived in the repository for materials published for the USAID supported Orphans and Vulnerable Children Comprehensive Action Research Project (OVC-CARE) at the Boston University Center for Global Health and Development.The USAID | Project SEARCH, Orphans and Vulnerable Children Comprehensive Action Research (OVC-CARE) Task Order, is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development under Contract No. GHH-I-00-07-00023-00, beginning August 1, 2008. OVC-CARE Task Order is implemented by Boston University. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agency

The behavior of statically-indeterminate structural members and frames with cracks present

Arts et Métiers ParisTech, invitation en tant que professeur invité de Paul C. Paris au LAMEFIPCrack stability is discussed as affected by their presence in statically-indeterminate beams, frames, rings, etc. loaded into the plastic range. The stability of a crack in a section, which has become plastic, is analyzed with the remainder of the structure elastic and with subsequent additional plastic hinges occurring. The reduction of energy absorption characteristics for large deformations is also discussed. The methods of elastic–plastic tearing instability are incorporated to show that in many cases the fully plastic collapse mechanism must occur for complete failure.The authors acknowledge Arts et Metiers Paris Tech and Foundation Arts et Metiers for the financial support of the Prof. P.C. Paris’ stay at LAMEFIP in 2008 and 2009. The encouragement of Prof. Ivan Iordanoff, Director of LAMEFIP, is also acknowledged with thanks

The crash and offence experience of drivers eligible for the South Australian driver intervention program

This report compares the crash and driving offence experience of two groups of offending drivers: those attending the Driver Intervention Program (DIP, a small-group workshop for disqualified L- or P-plate drivers), and those who could have attended the DIP but chose not to and paid an expiation fee instead; both before and after they became eligible for the DIP. Concerning crashes, the DIP group did not have a statistically significantly different rate from the Expiation group. Concerning moving offences (such as speeding), the DIP group had a statistically significantly lower rate than the Expiation group. Concerning administrative offences (such as driving without a licence), the DIP group had a statistically significant and much lower rate than the Expiation group. The fact that drivers themselves chose whether to attend the DIP or pay an expiation fee means that any differences found could not be ascribed solely to the DIP: pre-existing differences in the sex, age and offending rates were found. No comment could be made on the effect of the DIP on offences. It does seem unlikely that the DIP results in a large reduction in crash rate among its attendees. However, given that the DIP is a cheap measure and that the current study could not show that it is not having an effect large enough to justify this small cost, there is no reason in this study for its discontinuation. In the Discussion a true randomised experiment is described that would, if conducted, be expected to detect if the DIP program has a substantial impact.C.N. Kloeden and T.P. Hutchinso

South Australia's Driver Intervention Program: Participant characteristics, best practice discussion and literature review

The Driver Intervention Program (DIP) is a 90-minute interactive small group workshop that aims to address the over representation of young drivers in crashes by confronting them with the potential risk and consequences of road trauma. Any driver aged 25 years and under who has breached the conditions of their South Australian Learner's Permit or Provisional Licence, and has been subsequently disqualified from driving, is required to attend. In the present report, the operation, content and program delivery of the DIP was compared to programs elsewhere that have similar aims. Methodological limitations are acknowledged. Results are given of a survey of personality characteristics and driving related attitudes of a sample of DIP participants, and a comparison is made with those of other young South Australian drivers (University students). DIP participants were found to be personally well adjusted and not very different from the students. However, there were differences on some measures related to aggression. Finally, key findings from the literature review and the psychological profile of DIP participants are brought together and discussed in terms of potential future directions for the DIPL.N. Wundersitz and T.P. Hutchinso