Measuring the Prevalence of WiFi Bottlenecks in Home Access Networks

As broadband Internet speeds continue to increase, the home wireless ("WiFi") network may more frequently become a performance bottleneck. Past research, now nearly a decade old, initially documented this phenomenon through indirect inference techniques, noting the prevalence of WiFi bottlenecks but never directly measuring them. In the intervening years, access network (and WiFi) speeds have increased, warranting a re-appraisal of this important question, particularly with renewed private and federal investment in access network infrastructure. This paper studies this question, developing a new system and measurement technique to perform direct measurements of WiFi and access network performance, ultimately collecting and analyzing a first-of-its-kind dataset of more than 13,000 joint measurements of WiFi and access network throughputs, in a real-world deployment spanning more than 50 homes, for nearly two years. Using this dataset, we re-examine the question of whether, when, and to what extent a user's home wireless network may be a performance bottleneck, particularly relative to their access connection. We do so by directly and continuously measuring the user's Internet performance along two separate components of the Internet path -- from a wireless client inside the home network to the wired point of access (e.g., the cable modem), and from the wired point of access to the user's ISP. Confirming and revising results from more than a decade ago, we find that a user's home wireless network is often the throughput bottleneck. In particular, for users with access links that exceed 800~Mbps, the user's home wireless network was the performance bottleneck 100% of the time

3D virtual geology field trips: opportunities and limitations

As a part of The OpenScience Laboratory, (http://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/openscience/), an initiative of The Open University (OU) and The Wolfson Foundation, we are developing a 3D simulation of a Geology field trip based around Skiddaw in the Lake District, using the Unity 3D software (http://unity3d.com/). We are using digital data and imagery to reconstruct the landscape faithfully enough to provide a real sense of presence for the user. The application will be based around a 10km x 10km low/medium detail model of the terrain and LiDAR data around Skiddaw, with overlaid aerial photography, and including walls, trees, buildings etc. The Skiddaw field trip in the Lake District is an integral part of Earth science teaching at the OU; students carry out a real field trip and can also learn about it through DVD activities. The primary objective of developing an authentic 3D interactive simulation has been to provide an immersive experience to the users through sense of space. The virtual embodiment in the form of avatars and the multi-user environment will help give a sense of co-presence and provide opportunities for collaborative learning. The interactions and the learning activities within the 3D environment are designed to mirror the experience of a real field trip. We aim to have an operational 3D virtual geology trip by the time of the Conference in April 2013. During the workshop and through demonstration of the 3D field trip, we plan to address: comparison of the 3D experience with 2D virtual field trips; the role that a 3D virtual geology field trip can play in terms of preparation and reflection before and after a real field trip; and whether and how a 3D simulation helps in gaining geological fieldwork skills and what are the limitations of 3D virtual geology field trips

Are you lookin’ at me? A mixed-methods case study to investigate the influence of coaches’ presence on performance testing outcomes in male academy rugby league players

Richardson, B., Dobbin, N., White, C., Bloyce, D., & Twist, C., Are you lookin’ at me? A mixed-methods case study to investigate the influence of coaches’ presence on performance testing outcomes in male academy rugby league players, International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, (Journal Volume Number and Issue Number) pp. xx-xx. Copyright © [2022] (Copyright Holder). Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.The study used a mixed-methods approach to examine how the presence of coaches influenced male academy rugby league players’ performance during physical performance testing. Fifteen male rugby players completed two trials of 20 m sprint, countermovement jump and prone Yo-Yo test; one with only the lead researcher present and a second where the lead researcher conducted the battery with both the club’s lead S&C coach, academy manager, and the first team assistant and head coach present. Players and coaches then completed one-to-one semi-structured interviews to explore their beliefs, attitudes and opinions towards physical performance testing. In all tests, the players’ performance was better when the coaches were present compared to when this was conducted by the sport scientist alone. Interviews revealed performance testing was used by coaches to exercise their power over players to socialise them into a desired culture. Players’ own power was evident through additional effort during testing when coaches were present. Practitioners should ensure consistency in the presence of significant observers during performance testing of male rugby players to minimise their influence on test outcome

Disruptive technology for vector control: the Innovative Vector Control Consortium and the US Military join forces to explore transformative insecticide application technology for mosquito control programmes

Malaria vector control technology has remained largely static for decades and there is a pressing need for innovative control tools and methodology to radically improve the quality and efficiency of current vector control practices. This report summarizes a workshop jointly organized by the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC) and the Armed Forces Pest Management Board (AFPMB) focused on public health pesticide application technology. Three main topics were discussed: the limitations with current tools and techniques used for indoor residual spraying (IRS), technology innovation to improve efficacy of IRS programmes, and truly disruptive application technology beyond IRS. The group identified several opportunities to improve application technology to include: insuring all IRS programmes are using constant flow valves and erosion resistant tips; introducing compression sprayer improvements that help minimize pesticide waste and human error; and moving beyond IRS by embracing the potential for new larval source management techniques and next generation technology such as unmanned “smart” spray systems. The meeting served to lay the foundation for broader collaboration between the IVCC and AFPMB and partners in industry, the World Health Organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and others

Design and Evaluation of the Probation/Parole and Reentry Coach App (PARCA): A Platform to Support a Successful Reentry into Community

Justice-involved people (JIP), especially those with substance use disorder (SUD), face multiple challenges and inadequate resources as they re-enter their communities post-incarceration. Technology interventions have proven to be feasible in supporting this unique population. In this study, we applied iterative development methodology and user-centered design to develop and evaluate a technology artifact called Probation/Parole and Reentry Coach App (PARCA) composed of a JIP mobile app and justice team (JT) portal. PARCA assists recently released JIP with SUD with their reentry. We completed three feedback cycles involving healthcare and criminal justice experts and JIP (N=16) in design workshops, interviews, and usability studies. We collected and analyzed qualitative (semi-structured interviews) and quantitative (System Usability Scale and app use) data. As a pilot study that focuses on qualitative observations, the results indicate that PARCA provides an excellent usability experience for JIP (SUS scores>80) and is useful and satisfactory (based on qualitative responses)

Postcategorical auditory distraction in short-term memory: Insights from increased task load and task type

Task-irrelevant speech impairs short-term serial recall appreciably. On the interference-by-process account, the processing of physical (i.e., pre-categorical) changes in speech yields order cues that conflict with the serial-ordering process deployed to perform the serial recall task. In this view, the post-categorical properties (e.g., phonology, meaning) of speech play no role. The present study reassessed the implications of recent demonstrations of auditory post-categorical distraction in serial recall that have been taken as support for an alternative, attentional-diversion, account of the irrelevant speech effect. Focusing on the disruptive effect of emotionally valent compared to neutral words on serial recall, we show that the distracter-valence effect is eliminated under conditions—high task-encoding load—thought to shield against attentional diversion whereas the general effect of speech (neutral words compared to quiet) remains unaffected (Experiment 1). Furthermore, the distracter-valence effect generalizes to a task that does not require the processing of serial order—the missing-item task—while the effect of speech per se is attenuated in this task (Experiment 2). We conclude that post-categorical auditory distraction phenomena in serial short-term memory are incidental: they are observable in such a setting but, unlike the acoustically driven irrelevant speech effect, are not integral to it. As such, the findings support a duplex-mechanism account over a unitary view of auditory distraction

The diversity of residential electricity demand – a comparative analysis of metered and simulated data

A comparative study between simulated residential electricity demand data and metered data from theUK Household Electricity Survey is presented. For this study, a high-resolution probabilistic model wasused to test whether this increasingly widely used modelling approach provides an adequate represen-tation of the statistical characteristics the most comprehensive dataset of metered electricity demandavailable in the UK. Both the empirical and simulated electricity consumption data have been analysedon an aggregated level, paying special attention to the mean daily load profiles, the distribution of house-holds with respect to the total annual demands, and the distributions of the annual demands of particularappliances. A thorough comparison making use of both qualitative and quantitative methods was madebetween simulated datasets and it’s metered counterparts. Significant discrepancies were found in thedistribution of households with respect to both overall electricity consumption and consumption ofindividual appliances. Parametric estimates of the distributions of metered data were obtained, and theanalytic expressions for both the density function and cumulative distribution are given. These can beincorporated into new and existent modelling frameworks, as well as used as tools for further analysis