Modelling Reactive Multimedia: Design and Authoring

Multimedia document authoring is a multifaceted activity, and authoring tools tend to concentrate on a restricted set of the activities involved in the creation of a multimedia artifact. In particular, a distinction may be drawn between the design and the implementation of a multimedia artifact. This paper presents a comparison of three different authoring paradigms, based on the common case study of a simple interactive animation. We present details of its implementation using the three different authoring tools, MCF, Fran and SMIL 2.0, and we discuss the conclusions that may be drawn from our comparison of the three approaches

Mexitl: Multimedia in Executable Interval Temporal Logic

This paper explores a formalism for describing a wide class of multimedia document constraints, based on an interval temporal logic. We describe the requirements on temporal logic specification that arise from the multimedia documents application area. In particular, we highlight a canonical specification example. Then we present the temporal logic formalism that we use. This extends existing interval temporal logic with a number of new features: actions, framing of actions, past operators, a projection-like operator called filter and a new handling of interval length. A model theory, logic and satisfaction relation are defined for the notation, a specification of the canonical example is presented, and a proof system for the logic is introduced

The salmon louse larval black box: evaluating fecundity and enumerating planktonic stages with an aquaculture management perspective

Modern salmon aquaculture began in 1970 with the innovation of at-sea fish pens which precipitated a rapid growth in production. The expansion of the industry and increased number of farmed fish concentrated within the open net-pens has produced conditions that foster environmental and disease problems. Among the various pathogens impacting the industry, the salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) presents a unique challenge due to its proliferation on farms, welfare impacts on host fish, the threat it poses to wild populations of salmonids, and for the cost of and its resistance to control efforts. Norway, the world leader in salmon production, has responded to the persistent challenge of salmon lice with the implementation of a management regime (Traffic Light System) that links permitted aquaculture production to louse induced mortality of wild Atlantic salmon populations. Those management decisions are reliant on an understanding of salmon louse distribution throughout the Norwegian coast, but aspects of the copepod’s life history and biology which determine their planktonic abundance remain understudied. Nevertheless, to meet the needs of the management regime modelers must forecast salmon louse reproduction and planktonic dispersal from salmon farms. Although these models are validated with observations of salmon louse infections on fish, there is a lack of empirical evidence on the distribution and abundance of planktonic stages. Due to the difficulty of enumerating planktonic lice in a mixed zooplankton sample they are almost unobservable and thus exist in a ‘black-box’. This thesis seeks to shed light on the salmon louse larval black-box within the context of the aquaculture management in Norway through two approaches. A greater knowledge of the planktonic stages can be gained through a better understanding of the salmon louse’s life history, and through empirical data on their planktonic abundance and distribution. This thesis addresses the first approach by refining the current understanding of salmon louse fecundity and the second through the development of a novel method for enumeration of planktonic stages. In paper I, we investigated fecundity by examining egg clutch size of salmon lice collected from farmed salmon, wild salmon, and sea trout from multiple farms and fields sites throughout Norway. The investigation revealed the predominant determinate of clutch size is the body size of females, which is dependent on rearing temperature. We further found that a third of adult female lice on farmed salmon were not sexually mature and 10% of the mature females were not egg-bearing. The female lice parasitizing sea trout were less fecund then those on Atlantic salmon with lower rates of egg-bearing and smaller clutch sizes. In papers II and III, we develop a novel method of planktonic salmon lice enumeration which used fluorescence to differentiate th e lice within a mixed zooplankton sample so they could be rapidly identified. First the fluorescence profiles of lice and non-target copepods were examined to identify a unique and reliable fluorescence signal, then a methodology using that signal was developed and tested. The fluorescence signal was found to be strongest using an excitation wavelength of 470 nm and an emission filter of 525 nm. After storage in formalin preservation the salmon lice copepodids had a fluorescence intensity that was 2.4 times greater than non-target copepods. When a mixed zooplankton sample was illuminated with the excitation light the salmon lice would fluoresce brighter than most other animals in the sample and could be quickly discovered. Participants in a blind trial processed standard zooplankton samples in a mean of 31 minutes and identified the lice with an accuracy of 82%. Compared to traditional taxonomic identification, the novel method was 20 times faster, thus providing a practical tool for the study of lice and monitoring of their planktonic stages. The management of salmon aquaculture is dependent on accurate understanding and modeling of the distribution of planktonic salmon lice. The work of this thesis can reduce the inherent uncertainties of those models through better parameterization and through a new tool which enables validation with direct observation of planktonic abundance. However, for the aquaculture industry to continue to grow in Norway this thesis concludes that a prevention priority must replace the current paradigm of salmon louse control through treatment.Doktorgradsavhandlin

Acousto-optic interaction in seimiconductor multi-layer optical waveguides for device applications.

This thesis reports on work undertaken over the last three years on the modelling of the physical processes relevant to acousto-optic diffraction in multi-layered, single and multiple quantum well (QW) structures, and is mainly concerned with the AlGaAs/GaAs material system. The propagation of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) on top of a general multi-layer structure is modelled using a basis of orthonormal polynomials to represent the appropriate solutions. The guided optical mode profiles are then determined through Maxwell's equations and matching of optical fields and field gradients at layer interfaces. The acousto-optic diffraction efficiency as a function of the wavelength of the SAW is calculated from the framework of coupled mode theory and the effects of compositional variations to the structure are considered. The effect of the SAWs on the electron/hole energy eigenvalues and envelope functions in QW structures is then considered in more detail, using a simple static approximation for the SAW. The change in complex refractive index of the QW structures is then calculated using the results of a density matrix theory expressed within the context of a semi-classical approach. Results show that multi-layer structures have distinct advantages over single layer structures for acousto-optic applications in terms of the added control available over both the SAW induced field quantities and the guided optical mode profiles. In addition, the possibilities for constructing multiple quantum well (MQW) structures within the multi-layer structure will lead to enhanced changes in refractive index due to the presence of a SAW induced electric field. It is shown that these refractive index changes are significantly larger than those possible in bulk materials for the same acoustic powers. Also, the results indicate that the non-linearity of the SAW induced fields will, for high enough acoustic frequencies, produce different SAW induced electric fields within adjacent quantum wells of the MQW structure, an effect not suggested previously when such devices have been proposed

Techniques for Viewing Pollen Tubes in Angiosperm Flowers

In angiosperm plants, pollen is produced in the anthers and dispersed by pollinators to the stigmas of either the same plant or other flowers. After pollen reaches the stigma, pollen tubes grow down the style transporting the male gametes, cytoplasm, and a vegetative nucleus to the ovary, which fertilizes the flower. Currently there are many different techniques to stain and study pollen tubes in order to investigate reproductive techniques of many angiosperms. Though many techniques are available, few result in images that facilitate counting of pollen tubes at different stages of pollination. In this study, a number of promising techniques for fixing, softening, and staining stigmas were compared to determine the most efficient way of viewing the numerous pollen tubes in terms of time, cost, and images produced, and therefore learn more about the reproduction process in angiosperm

CONDITIONAL FORECASTING FOR THE U.S. DAIRY PRICE COMPLEX WITH A BAYESIAN VECTOR AUTOREGRESSIVE MODEL

A dynamic Bayesian Vector Autoregressive model of the U.S. dairy price complex is estimated based on the Normal-Wishart distribution. The Gibbs sample technique is use with the Normal-Wishart distribution to provide conditional forecasts on the future time-paths of the model variables. The conditional forecasts for key prices are examined. Confidence intervals are calculated for the conditional forecasts.Demand and Price Analysis,

Gentrification and Vulnerability of Maine Fishing Communities

Maine hosts numerous small fishing villages that contribute greatly to the States economy and culture. The cumulative effects of state and federal regulation, stock depletion and other socio-economic trends threaten these communities. Drawing on ethnographic research and interviews, we examine how gentrification is affecting the vulnerability and resilience of fishing communities. This study has revealed gentrification to be a complex process, which is merely the most readily recognizable symptom of forces that are reshaping the post-industrial landscape. Fishing communities can no longer be thought of as discrete entities isolated from broad social and economic changes. Technology and new markets have unleashed fishing effort from its artisanal restraints, likewise they have enabled capital to expand beyond metropolitan barriers. Findings indicate that a rural restructuring has occurred and amenity migrants are being drawn to these communities. These people from away increase demand for services otherwise not provided and present new economic opportunities for community members and fishermen. However, as wealth migrates out of its metropolitan centers into these communities, it threatens to transform and displace productive economies with service economies. These trends may be beyond the capacity of fisheries management to account for, but policy makers should recognize their cumulative effects. The vulnerability framework readily provides a means of assessing fishing communities and the impact of gentrification on them. The characteristics of gentrification are unique for each community, though a few themes are prominent. Rather than being an entirely negative influence, gentrification can provide benefits for the community. Nevertheless, displacement of both people and the fishing industry may occur. The increased cost of living and process of gentrification is displacing many fishermen and community members from coastal property. Further conflicts arise when fishing operations and access to the waterfront is impeded. It is apparent that when facing the threat of displacement there is much that can be done at the state and municipal level in supporting access to the waterfront

Population Dynamics of the Sub-Arctic Copepod Calanus Finmarchicus in the Gulf of Maine: Demography and Mortality Estimation

Calanus finmarchicus is a widely distributed copepod species that dominants the zooplankton community in the Gulf of Maine. It is of particular interest in its role as a major food source for the endangered northern right whale and stocks of herring, mackerel and cod. More accurate coupled models to predict its distribution requires better life history models. However, due to the difficulty in estimating it, mortality is often used as a closure term in those models; the value is justified mathematically rather than ecologically. Instantaneous mortality is difficult to measure, but the Vertical Life Table method (VLT) has gained some acceptance as an effective estimation technique. Calculations are made using the stage structure of the population and development rates. The VLT mortality estimations are heavily dependent upon development rates determined from temperature dependent functions and several assumptions. The limitations imposed by the VLT and inadvertent violations of assumptions prevented a spatial analysis of mortality. However, a new technique is presented to provide a much more explicit array of instantaneous mortalities that vary with season, stage and distance from shore. The Structured Population Molting rate method uses in situ incubations to directly observe the progressing stage structure and calculate the molting rates. The observed C. finmarchicus demography suggests that there is size selective predation mortality corresponding with bathymetry. Near shore regions host various visual predators of late stage C. finmarchicus and lack a depth refuge through vertical migration. These factors could explain the paucity of later stages when compared to offshore regions, but an alternative hypothesis suggests that the Maine coastal currents are responsible for transporting C. finmarchicus to the deep off shore basins where they are found in great abundance

Evaluating the impact of a defender role-play intervention on adolescent's defender intentions and responses towards name-calling

Researchers and anti-bullying organisations have increasingly turned their attention to the role of bystanders in tackling bullying and peer victimisation (e.g. name-calling). The objective of this study was to develop and assess the impact of a role-play programme designed to strengthen adolescent’s defending behaviour to name-calling. This was measured in two contexts: defending intentions in an outgroup name-calling scenario and cyber-defender behaviour in a scripted online peer interaction. Participants (N = 121, Mage = 12.90 years) were randomly assigned to either a role-play condition or a control condition. Results showed that defender intentions in an outgroup name-calling scenario were higher in the role-play condition, compared to the control; in addition, cyber-defender behaviour was more likely and quicker in the role-play condition, compared to the control. Defender self-efficacy was found to be significantly higher in the role-play condition, and mediated the effect of the role-play programme on defender intentions. Findings also revealed that defender intentions were positively correlated with cyber-defender behaviour, highlighting a link between intentions and behaviour. Implications for theory and practice are discussed