42,026 research outputs found
Parent Interaction Between an Infant with a Cochlear Implant and Additional Disabilities
Pediatric hearing loss has many spoken language learning issues that can impact parent-infant interaction. Moreover, additional disabilities are likely to increase stress, which could have cascading effects on communication. The purpose of the study was to examine interactions between mother- and father-child dyads with and without hearing loss and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), and global delay. Recordings of the parents speaking with six infants in the study were analyzed: an infant with cochlear implants and ASD (low socioeconomic status, SES), two infants with cochlear implants and normal development (high SES and low SES), one infant with a cochlear implant and CMV (average SES), one infant with a cochlear implant and global delay (average SES), and one infant who was typically developing and had normal hearing (high SES). After analyzing the results for communication measures, such as vocalization attempts, turn-taking in utterances, mean-length of utterances, and type-token ratio, it was concluded that maternal and paternal interaction was negatively affected due not only to the difficulty of the hearing loss and/or additional disability, but rather due to a combination of factors, including the disability, SES, maternal and paternal education, and the home environment
Compact elliptical basis functions for surface reconstruction
In this technical report I present a method to reconstruct a surface representation from a a set of EBF's, and in addition present an efficient top--down method to build an EBF representation from a point cloud representation of a surface. I also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this approach
The global classroom for supply chain management, any time, anywhere!
Academia is facing increasing demands in the design and delivery of their degree programmes due to resource constraints and the demands to embrace. The purpose of this article is to examine the requirement for quality education in the field of supply chain management. The approach adopted here is a reflective one, looking at recent trends in postgraduate Supply Chain Management (SCM) education and focusing in particular on a new mode of delivery, that of e-learning. The paper considers the development of SCM education and presents the range of supply chain management programmes and modules being offered across a selection of UK universities. The article also highlights the dynamic character of SCM education and considers whether the e-learning format is capable of responding to the requirements for quality in this field. Through a focus on one particular programme, the wholly online postgraduate programme in Operations and Supply Chain Management at the University of Liverpool. The conclusions are that new forms of teaching and learning are opening up to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The aim of the
research was to discover the real time dynamic of SCM practice and theory, objective and subjective perspectives
ENHANCING RURAL PUBLIC TRANSPORT ACCESSIBILITY THROUGH IMPLEMENTING A SMART SCAN-ON M-TICKETING SOLUTION: : A UNITED KINGDOM CASE STUDY APPROACH WITHIN RURAL DEREGULATED ENVIRONMENTS
Scott Copsey, Sue Walsh, Liam Fassam, Richard Southern, âEnhancing Rural Public Transport Accessibility Through Implementing a Smart Scan-on M Ticketing Solution: A United Kingdom Case Study Approach Within Rural Deregulated Environmentsâ, paper presented at the European Transport Conference, Barcelona, Spain, 5-7 October, 2016.The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how two UK Local Authorities (Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire), the two Universities of Hertfordshire and Northampton and public transport providers have worked in partnership to develop a smart scan-on m-ticketing solution, that integrates into a wider âsmart cityâ solution delivering social good through connected value propositions. Based on the initial success of a Hertfordshire pilot, a specific objective of this work is to establish smart integrated multi-operator/modal solutions. This pilot is subsequently being collaboratively expanded upon, through the UK Department for Transport funded âNetwork Northamptonshire Total Transportâ initiative, a transformative project to improve connectivity, integration and accessibility for rural transport networks. This forms part of the recently signed âHeart of Englandâ economic tri-county alliance agreement, which aims to work collaboratively across three local authority regions (Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire), consolidating ÂŁ3bn of spending. This provides a further future platform for innovative transport solutions being rolled out across wider geographical areas. The initial Hertfordshire demonstrator pilot project explored how a âsmartâ m-ticketing platform could provide a sustainable financial business model for implementing ticketing solutions for small and medium bus operators within rural Shires, outside of large urban settings. This unique project was the first scan-on bus mobile ticket product used in the UK (outside of London). It offers a partnership model and governance structure for local authorities, commercial operators and other stakeholders with an interest in integrated sustainable transport to take forward, and leads to the possibility of new, socially innovative models for procuring and delivering transport solutions. Initial user reactions have been positive, generating large digital data sets, analysis of which indicates rapid user uptake in comparison to other schemes. This data enables detailed analysis such as precise user geo-spatial distribution, supporting targeted marketing and route-specific promotions to encourage further service uptake. A critical success factor of the project was to target a reduction of on-bus cash handling by five per cent within the first 12 months. This would aid in reducing bus loading times, improve reliability and operator efficiencies. After an initial 16 month operational use, uptake growth in excess of 7 per cent of total revenue has been achieved, on specific routes the transfer to m-ticket has exceeded 12 per cent, with targets of 10 per cent of total cash to mobile conversion predicted by the middle of 2017, likely to be realised. The effectiveness of marketing campaigns, technical development aspects and implementation issues will be reported. These projects have a wider context. Public transport services in rural areas in England are deregulated, and have at present no effective statutory backing or ring-fenced funding. As a result, with reductions in funding to local authorities, funding for non-commercial bus services is being sharply reduced and many authorities are proposing to cease all funding for local bus services (Campaign for Better Transport, 2016). These projects may offer alternative cost-effective ways of providing local transport services in non-metropolitan areas, and thus provide the potential for unique future research opportunities. These include understanding the uptake of smart multi-modal solutions in rural areas to improve accessibility and connectivity through enhanced services for new users and for those with restricted or reduced mobility networks, whilst also offering efficiencies for operators. This research has added importance, because the UK Government is proposing legislation on bus services in England, which would confer significant extra powers on local authorities to intervene in the bus market in various ways. These projects may act as pathfinders for the use of these powers in non-metropolitan areas. Structures supporting a partnership approach involving all those with an interest in public transport are a critical part of improving rural connectivity and accessibility. Through the experience of establishing quality partnership models in Hertfordshire, this paper will go on to detail the subsequent work now underway developing a Social Enterprise model involving local government, universities, operators, health and education services in Northamptonshire, which will form the basis of the transformation of rural integrated sustainable transport delivery.Non peer reviewedSubmitted Versio
Novel QCD Phenomenology
I review a number of topics where conventional wisdom in hadron physics has
been challenged. For example, hadrons can be produced at large transverse
momentum directly within a hard higher-twist QCD subprocess, rather than from
jet fragmentation. Such "direct" processes can explain the deviations from
perturbative QCD predictions in measurements of inclusive hadron cross sections
at fixed x_T= 2p_T/\sqrt s, as well as the "baryon anomaly", the anomalously
large proton-to-pion ratio seen in high centrality heavy ion collisions.
Initial-state and final-state interactions of the struck quark lead to
Bjorken-scaling single-spin asymmetries, diffractive deep inelastic scattering,
the breakdown of the Lam-Tung relation in Drell-Yan reactions, as well as
nuclear shadowing and antishadowing. The Gribov-Glauber theory predicts that
antishadowing of nuclear structure functions is not universal, but instead
depends on the flavor quantum numbers of each quark and antiquark, thus
explaining the anomalous nuclear dependence measured in deep-inelastic neutrino
scattering. One cannot attribute such phenomena to the structure of the hadron
or nucleus itself. It is thus important to distinguish "static" structure
functions computed from the square of the target light-front wavefunctions,
versus "dynamical" structure functions which include the effects of the
final-state rescattering of the struck quark. The importance of the J=0
photon-quark QCD contact interaction in deeply virtual Compton scattering is
emphasized. The scheme-independent BLM method for setting the renormalization
scale is discussed. Eliminating the renormalization scale ambiguity greatly
improves the precision of QCD predictions and increases the sensitivity of
searches for new physics at the LHC. Other novel features of QCD are discussed,
including the consequences of confinement for quark and gluon condensates.Comment: Invited talk, presented at the Gribov-80 Memorial Workshop on Quantum
Chromodynamics and Beyond, May, 2010, Abdus Salam International Centre for
Theoretical Physics. Trieste, Ital
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