Implementation of an algorithm for cylindrical object identification using range data

One of the problems in 3-D object identification and localization is addressed. In robotic and navigation applications the vision system must be able to distinguish cylindrical or spherical objects as well as those of other geometric shapes. An algorithm was developed to identify cylindrical objects in an image when range data is used. The algorithm incorporates the Hough transform for line detection using edge points which emerge from a Sobel mask. Slices of the data are examined to locate arcs of circles using the normal equations of an over-determined linear system. Current efforts are devoted to testing the computer implementation of the algorithm. Refinements are expected to continue in order to accommodate cylinders in various positions. A technique is sought which is robust in the presence of noise and partial occlusions

A Comparison of Conventional and Liberal (Free-Choice) Multiple-Choice Tests

We compare conventional multiple-choice tests with so-called “liberal” multiple-choice tests, also known as “free-choice” tests, from a theoretical standpoint. The style of the questions is identical in these two alternative test formats, but in a liberal/free-choice test candidates may select as many options per question as they wish; the marking scheme penalises incorrect selections via negative marking, to the extent that candidates have nothing to gain through blind guesswork. We show that in the absence of blind guesswork candidates really do get the marks they deserve in a liberal/freechoice test, since the format of the test does not introduce any statistical distribution whatsoever. This is the case even when the candidates have partial knowledge and can therefore engage in educated guesswork. By contrast, in conventional multiple-choice tests candidates will engage in guesswork whenever they are unsure of the correct answer. We also show that liberal/free-choice tests reward partial knowledge more generously than conventional tests do, while on the other hand they punish misinformed students more severely than conventional tests do

Do you feel what I feel? Empowerment contagion in project teams

Psychological empowerment, described as constellation of experienced cognitions manifested as sense of meaning, competence, impact, and self-determination has been identified as an important motivating force in teams with performance consequences for individuals and teams. Prior research have therefore sort to identify factors from the individual-, team-, project- and organisation-levels that impact empowerment cognitions with the hope of providing concrete targets for promoting psychological empowerment. One constituency that has been overlooked is the likelihood that psychological empowerment in teams may be capable of being transmitted from one team member to another. This paper reports a study investigating whether psychological empowerment cognition in project teams is contagious. Using survey responses from 380 individuals, nested in 115 project management teams, we test the psychological empowerment contagion hypothesis using analysis of variance, interrater agreement and hierarchical linear modelling as proxies. Analysis of variance indicates that the between-team variance of team psychological empowerment is statistically significant and substantially larger than the within-team variance. Several measures of interrator agreement also show considerable agreement (consensus) within teams, further confirming the prevalence of psychological empowerment in teams. Team psychological empowerment also has a significant positive and independent impact on individual psychological empowerment, even after controlling for the impact of variables previously identified as influencing psychological empowerment. Team members who reported higher levels of team psychological empowerment were also more likely to experience higher levels of individual psychological empowerment themselves. Psychological empowerment is contagious and can be transmitted from one team member to another. These findings supplement the traditional sources of antecedents of empowerment and suggest that team members play an important multiplier role in engendering feelings of psychological empowerment both consciously and unconsciously

Incorporating interferometric coherence into lulc classification of airborne polsar-images using fully convolutional networks

Inspired by the application of state-of-the-art Fully Convolutional Networks (FCNs) for the semantic segmentation of high-resolution optical imagery, recent works transfer this methodology successfully to pixel-wise land use and land cover (LULC) classification of PolSAR data. So far, mainly single PolSAR images are included in the FCN-based classification processes. To further increase classification accuracy, this paper presents an approach for integrating interferometric coherence derived from co-registered image pairs into a FCN-based classification framework. A network based on an encoder-decoder structure with two separated encoder branches is presented for this task. It extracts features from polarimetric backscattering intensities on the one hand and interferometric coherence on the other hand. Based on a joint representation of the complementary features pixel-wise classification is performed. To overcome the scarcity of labelled SAR data for training and testing, annotations are generated automatically by fusing available LULC products. Experimental evaluation is performed on high-resolution airborne SAR data, captured over the German Wadden Sea. The results demonstrate that the proposed model produces smooth and accurate classification maps. A comparison with a single-branch FCN model indicates that the appropriate integration of interferometric coherence enables the improvement of classification performance

A Case Study on the Adoption of Measurable Agile Software Development Process

Agile methodologies for software development meet the challenges of the current highly dynamic and competitive business environment. The aim of this case study is to improve existing software development process in a project for the public administration, following the basic principles of agile methodologies. Appropriate metrics for continuous evaluation of the process are introduces to help evaluating and improving the methodology. The main objectives of the new methodology are to improve communication with customers, to improve communication among different distributed teams and inside the teams, and to continuously evaluate the way software is developed through selection and usage of software metrics. The paper presents the results of methodology adoption in two subsequent iterations of a real project

The Limited Effect of Graphic Elements in Video and Augmented Reality on Children’s Listening Comprehension

There is currently significant interest in the use of instructional strategies in learning environments thanks to the emergence of new multimedia systems that combine text, audio, graphics and video, such as augmented reality (AR). In this light, this study compares the effectiveness of AR and video for listening comprehension tasks. The sample consisted of thirty-two elementary school students with different reading comprehension. Firstly, the experience, instructions and objectives were introduced to all the students. Next, they were divided into two groups to perform activities—one group performed an activity involving watching an Educational Video Story of the Laika dog and her Space Journey available by mobile devices app Blue Planet Tales, while the other performed an activity involving the use of AR, whose contents of the same history were visualized by means of the app Augment Sales. Once the activities were completed participants answered a comprehension test. Results (p = 0.180) indicate there are no meaningful differences between the lesson format and test performance. But there are differences between the participants of the AR group according to their reading comprehension level. With respect to the time taken to perform the comprehension test, there is no significant difference between the two groups but there is a difference between participants with a high and low level of comprehension. To conclude SUS (System Usability Scale) questionnaire was used to establish the measure usability for the AR app on a smartphone. An average score of 77.5 out of 100 was obtained in this questionnaire, which indicates that the app has fairly good user-centered design