Audio-based event detection for sports video

In this paper, we present an audio-based event detection approach shown to be effective when applied to the Sports broadcast data. The main benefit of this approach is the ability to recognise patterns that indicate high levels of crowd response which can be correlated to key events. By applying Hidden Markov Model-based classifiers, where the predefined content classes are parameterised using Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients, we were able to eliminate the need for defining a heuristic set of rules to determine event detection, thus avoiding a two-class approach shown not to be suitable for this problem. Experimentation indicated that this is an effective method for classifying crowd response in Soccer matches, thus providing a basis for automatic indexing and summarisation

Coping with Congenital Heart Disease: Implementation of an Evidence-Based Intervention in a Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit

Caregivers are exposed to many stressors in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) setting. In caregivers of children diagnosed with congenital heart defects admitted to the CICU, symptoms of psychological distress are prevalent (Doherty et al., 2009). These symptoms include, but are not limited to, feelings of acute and chronic stress, worry, anxiety, and depression. Without intervention, these symptoms can negatively influence the health and behavioral outcomes of the admitted child (Commodari, 2010). Providing support for these caregivers during their child’s admission can reduce the significance of these adverse psychological symptoms and promote both patient and caregiver well-being (Melnyk et al., 2007). The purpose of this evidence-based practice project was to implement a coping intervention for caregivers of children admitted to the pediatric CICU. The Model for Evidence-Based Practice Change, combined with phases from Lippitt’s Theory of Planned Change, guided this project’s development, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination (Larrabbee, 2009; Lippitt, 1958). Eight caregivers of surgical infants in a single center pediatric CICU were provided a palliative care team intervention preoperatively and postoperatively. The aim was to help caregivers cope with common stressors in the CICU setting. Caregivers rated how stressful specific experiences in the pediatric CICU were to them by completing a modified version of the Parental Stressor Scale (PSS:NICU-16). Mean scores were evaluated before and after providing the caregivers with the palliative care team coping intervention. No statistically significant differences were found from baseline to after the palliative care intervention across three subscales (p= .375, .084, .443). However, there were reductions in the mean scores for stressors related to how their baby looked and behaved and stressors involving the parent relationship with their baby, suggesting clinical significance. Interventions that support caregivers’ mental health during their infant’s hospitalization can improve patient recovery and resilience. Palliative care teams have beneficial knowledge and skills that make them resourceful in promoting caregiver coping. Implementing a palliative care team intervention in the pediatric CICU setting for caregivers of patients receiving cardiac surgery may improve caregiver coping mechanisms and thereby promote patient healing and recovery

ECONOMICALLY OPTIMAL WILDFIRE INTERVENTION REGIMES

Wildfires in the United States result in total damages and costs that are likely to exceed billions of dollars annually. Land managers and policy makers propose higher rates of prescribed burning and other kinds of vegetation management to reduce amounts of wildfire and the risks of catastrophic losses. A wildfire public welfare maximization function, using a wildfire production function estimated using a time series model of a panel of Florida counties, is employed to simulate the publicly optimal level of prescribed burning in an example county in Florida (Volusia). Evaluation of the production function reveals that prescribed fire is not associated with reduced catastrophic wildfire risks in Volusia County Florida, indicating a short-run elasticity of -0.16 and a long-run elasticity of wildfire with respect to prescribed fire of -0.07. Stochastic dominance is used to evaluate the optimal amount of prescribed fire most likely to maximize a measure of public welfare. Results of that analysis reveal that the optimal amount of annual prescribed fire is about 3 percent (9,000 acres/year) of the total forest area, which is very close to the actual average amount of prescribed burning (12,700 acres/year) between 1994-99.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Supporting the learning of deaf students in higher education: a case study at Sheffield Hallam University

This article is an examination of the issues surrounding support for the learning of deaf students in higher education (HE). There are an increasing number of deaf students attending HE institutes, and as such provision of support mechanisms for these students is not only necessary but essential. Deaf students are similar to their hearing peers, in that they will approach their learning and require differing levels of support dependant upon the individual. They will, however, require a different kind of support, which can be technical or human resource based. This article examines the issues that surround supporting deaf students in HE with use of a case study of provision at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU), during the academic year 1994-95. It is evident that by considering the needs of deaf students and making changes to our teaching practices that all students can benefit

Searching for highly obscured AGN in the XMM-Newton serendipitous source catalog

The majority of active galactic nuclei (AGN) are obscured by large amounts of absorbing material that makes them invisible at many wavelengths. X-rays, given their penetrating power, provide the most secure way for finding these AGN. The XMM-Newton serendipitous source catalog is the largest catalog of X-ray sources ever produced; it contains about half a million detections. These sources are mostly AGN. We have derived X-ray spectral fits for very many 3XMM-DR4 sources ($\gtrsim$ 114 000 observations, corresponding to $\sim$ 77 000 unique sources), which contain more than 50 source photons per detector. Here, we use a subsample of $\simeq$ 1000 AGN in the footprint of the SDSS area (covering 120 deg$^2$) with available spectroscopic redshifts. We searched for highly obscured AGN by applying an automated selection technique based on X-ray spectral analysis that is capable of efficiently selecting AGN. The selection is based on the presence of either a) flat rest-frame spectra; b) flat observed spectra; c) an absorption turnover, indicative of a high rest-frame column density; or d) an Fe K$\alpha$ line with an equivalent width > 500 eV. We found 81 highly obscured candidate sources. Subsequent detailed manual spectral fits revealed that 28 of them are heavily absorbed by column densities higher than 10$^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$. Of these 28 AGN, 15 are candidate Compton-thick AGN on the basis of either a high column density, consistent within the 90% confidence level with N$_{\rm H}$ $>$10$^{24}$ cm$^{-2}$, or a large equivalent width (>500 eV) of the Fe K$\alpha$ line. Another six are associated with near-Compton-thick AGN with column densities of $\sim$ 5$\times$10$^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$. A combination of selection criteria a) and c) for low-quality spectra, and a) and d) for medium- to high-quality spectra, pinpoint highly absorbed AGN with an efficiency of 80%.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&

A database and tool for boundary conditions for regional air quality modeling: description and evaluation

Transported air pollutants receive increasing attention as regulations tighten and global concentrations increase. The need to represent international transport in regional air quality assessments requires improved representation of boundary concentrations. Currently available observations are too sparse vertically to provide boundary information, particularly for ozone precursors, but global simulations can be used to generate spatially and temporally varying lateral boundary conditions (LBC). This study presents a public database of global simulations designed and evaluated for use as LBC for air quality models (AQMs). The database covers the contiguous United States (CONUS) for the years 2001–2010 and contains hourly varying concentrations of ozone, aerosols, and their precursors. The database is complemented by a tool for configuring the global results as inputs to regional scale models (e.g., Community Multiscale Air Quality or Comprehensive Air quality Model with extensions). This study also presents an example application based on the CONUS domain, which is evaluated against satellite retrieved ozone and carbon monoxide vertical profiles. The results show performance is largely within uncertainty estimates for ozone from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument and carbon monoxide from the Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT), but there were some notable biases compared with Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) ozone. Compared with TES, our ozone predictions are high-biased in the upper troposphere, particularly in the south during January. This publication documents the global simulation database, the tool for conversion to LBC, and the evaluation of concentrations on the boundaries. This documentation is intended to support applications that require representation of long-range transport of air pollutants

Unequal relationships in high and low power distance societies: a comparative study of tutor - student role relations in Britain and China

This study investigated people's conceptions of an unequal role relationship in two different types of society: a high power distance society and a low power distance society. The study focuses on the role relationship of tutor and student. British and Chinese tutors and postgraduate students completed a questionnaire that probed their conceptions of degrees of power differential and social distance/closeness in this role relationship. ANOVA results yielded a significant nationality effect for both aspects. Chinese respondents judged the relationship to be closer and to have a greater power differential than did British respondents. Written comments on the questionnaire and interviews with 9 Chinese academics who had experienced both British and Chinese academic environments supported the statistical findings and indicated that there are fundamental ideological differences associated with the differing conceptions. The results are discussed in relation to Western and Asian concepts of leadership and differing perspectives on the compatibility/incompatibility of power and distance/closeness

On the implications of aerosol liquid water and phase separation for modeled organic aerosol mass

Water is an important component of PM2.5 Many traditional SOA species are highly soluble and thus can be considered extractable Water can influence the partitioning of compounds traditionally considered insoluble in models Organic aerosol takes up water according to RH Organic aerosol interacts with inorganic water Deviations in ideality (solubility) must be considered