Personal Work Space and Content Analysis Functionality in a Cultural Heritage Digital Library

The paper presents a different vision for personalization of the user’s stay in a cultural heritage digital library that models services for personalized content marking, commenting and analyzing that doesn’t require strict user profile, but aims at adjusting the user’s individual needs. The solution is borrowed from real work and studying of traditional written content sources (incl. books, manuals), where the user mainly performs activities such as underlining the important parts of the content, writing notes and inferences, selecting and marking zones of their interest in pictures, etc. In the paper a special attention is paid to the ability to execute learning analysis allowing different ways for the user to experience the digital library content with more creative settings.

Acoustic telemetry and network analysis reveal the space use of multiple reef predators and enhance marine protected area design

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are commonly employed to protect ecosystems from threats like overfishing. Ideally, MPA design should incorporate movement data from multiple target species to ensure sufficient habitat is protected. We used long-term acoustic telemetry and network analysis to determine the fine-scale space use of five shark and one turtle species at a remote atoll in the Seychelles, Indian Ocean, and evaluate the efficacy of a proposed MPA. Results revealed strong, species-specific habitat use in both sharks and turtles, with corresponding variation in MPA use. Defining the MPA's boundary from the edge of the reef flat at low tide instead of the beach at high tide (the current best in Seychelles) significantly increased the MPA's coverage of predator movements by an average of 34%. Informed by these results, the larger MPA was adopted by the Seychelles government, demonstrating how telemetry data can improve shark spatial conservation by affecting policy directly.

Acoustic telemetry and network analysis reveal the space use of multiple reef predators and enhance marine protected area design

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are commonly employed to protect ecosystems from threats like overfishing. Ideally, MPA design should incorporate movement data from multiple target species to ensure sufficient habitat is protected. We used long-term acoustic telemetry and network analysis to determine the fine-scale space use of five shark and one turtle species at a remote atoll in the Seychelles, Indian Ocean, and evaluate the efficacy of a proposed MPA. Results revealed strong, species-specific habitat use in both sharks and turtles, with corresponding variation in MPA use. Defining the MPA's boundary from the edge of the reef flat at low tide instead of the beach at high tide (the current best in Seychelles) significantly increased the MPA's coverage of predator movements by an average of 34%. Informed by these results, the larger MPA was adopted by the Seychelles government, demonstrating how telemetry data can improve shark spatial conservation by affecting policy directly.

Analysis of physical pore space characteristics of two pyrolytic biochars and potential as microhabitat

Studies on hacking have typically focused on motivational aspects and general personality traits of the individuals who engage in hacking; little systematic research has been conducted on predispositions that may be associated not only with the choice to pursue a hacking career but also with performance in either naïve or expert populations. Here, we test the hypotheses that two traits that are typically enhanced in autism spectrum disorders—attention to detail and systemizing—may be positively related to both the choice of pursuing a career in information security and skilled performance in a prototypical hacking task (i.e., crypto-analysis or code-breaking). A group of naïve participants and of ethical hackers completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient, including an attention to detail scale, and the Systemizing Quotient (Baron-Cohen et al., 2001, 2003). They were also tested with behavioral tasks involving code-breaking and a control task involving security X-ray image interpretation. Hackers reported significantly higher systemizing and attention to detail than non-hackers. We found a positive relation between self-reported systemizing (but not attention to detail) and code-breaking skills in both hackers and non-hackers, whereas attention to detail (but not systemizing) was related with performance in the X-ray screening task in both groups, as previously reported with naïve participants (Rusconi et al., 2015). We discuss the theoretical and translational implications of our findings.

A space-time hybrid hourly rainfall model for derived flood frequency analysis

For derived flood frequency analysis based on hydrological modelling long continuous precipitation time series with high temporal resolution are needed. Often, the observation network with recording rainfall gauges is poor, especially regarding the limited length of the available rainfall time series. Stochastic precipitation synthesis is a good alternative either to extend or to regionalise rainfall series to provide adequate input for long-term rainfall-runoff modelling with subsequent estimation of design floods. Here, a new two step procedure for stochastic synthesis of continuous hourly space-time rainfall is proposed and tested for the extension of short observed precipitation time series. First, a single-site alternating renewal model is presented to simulate independent hourly precipitation time series for several locations. The alternating renewal model describes wet spell durations, dry spell durations and wet spell intensities using univariate frequency distributions separately for two seasons. The dependence between wet spell intensity and duration is accounted for by 2-copulas. For disaggregation of the wet spells into hourly intensities a predefined profile is used. In the second step a multi-site resampling procedure is applied on the synthetic point rainfall event series to reproduce the spatial dependence structure of rainfall. Resampling is carried out successively on all synthetic event series using simulated annealing with an objective function considering three bivariate spatial rainfall characteristics. In a case study synthetic precipitation is generated for some locations with short observation records in two mesoscale catchments of the Bode river basin located in northern Germany. The synthetic rainfall data are then applied for derived flood frequency analysis using the hydrological model HEC-HMS. The results show good performance in reproducing average and extreme rainfall characteristics as well as in reproducing observed flood frequencies. The presented model has the potential to be used for ungauged locations through regionalisation of the model parameters.

ANALYSIS OF MACROINVERTEBRATE COMMUNITIES IN SEASONAL WETLANDS THROUGH TIME, ACROSS SPACE, AND USING SPECIES TRAITS

Restoration of natural wetlands may be informed by macroinvertebrate community composition. Macroinvertebrate communities of wetlands are influenced by environmental characteristics such as vegetation, soil, hydrology, land use, and isolation. This dissertation explores multiple approaches to the assessment of wetland macroinvertebrate community composition, and demonstrates how these approaches can provide complementary insights into the community ecology of aquatic macroinvertebrates. Specifically, this work focuses on macroinvertebrates of Delmarva Bays, isolated seasonal wetlands found on Maryland’s eastern shore. A comparison of macroinvertebrate community change over a nine years in a restored wetland complex indicated that the macroinvertebrate community of a rehabilitated wetlands more rapidly approximated the community of a reference site than did a newly created wetland. The recovery of a natural macroinvertebrate community in the rehabilitated wetland indicated that wetland rehabilitation should be prioritized over wetland creation and long-term monitoring may be needed to evaluate restoration success. This study also indicated that characteristics of wetland vegetation reflected community composition. The connection between wetland vegetation and macroinvertebrate community composition led to a regional assessment of predaceous diving beetle (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) community composition in 20 seasonal wetlands, half with and half without sphagnum moss (Sphagnum spp.). Species-level identifications indicated that wetlands with sphagnum support unique and diverse assemblages of beetles. These patterns suggest that sphagnum wetlands provide habitat that supports biodiversity on the Delmarva Peninsula. To compare traits of co-occurring beetles, mandible morphology and temporal and spatial variation were measured between three species of predaceous diving beetles. Based on mandible architecture, all species may consume similarly sized prey, but prey characteristics likely differ in terms of piercing force required for successful capture and consumption. Therefore, different assemblages of aquatic beetles may have different effects on macroinvertebrate community structure. Integrating community-level and species-level data strengthens the association between individual organisms and their ecological role. Effective restoration of imperiled wetlands benefits from this integration, as it informs the management practices that both preserve biodiversity and promote ecosystem services.

Hilbert Space Valued Signal Plus Noise Models: Analysis of Structural Breaks under High Dimensionality and Temporal Dependence

This thesis is concerned with change point analysis for time series, i.e. with detection of structural breaks in time-ordered, random data. This long-standing research field regained popularity over the last few years and is still undergoing, as statistical analysis in general, a transformation to high-dimensional problems. We focus on the fundamental »change in the mean« problem and provide extensions of the classical non-parametric Darling-Erdős-type cumulative sum (CUSUM) testing and estimation theory within highdimensional Hilbert space settings. In the first part we contribute to (long run) principal component based testing methods for Hilbert space valued time series under a rather broad (abrupt, epidemic, gradual, multiple) change setting and under dependence. For the dependence structure we consider either traditional m-dependence assumptions or more recently developed m-approximability conditions which cover, e.g., MA, AR and ARCH models. We derive Gumbel and Brownian bridge type approximations of the distribution of the test statistic under the null hypothesis of no change and consistency conditions under the alternative. A new formulation of the test statistic using projections on subspaces allows us to simplify the standard proof techniques and to weaken common assumptions on the covariance structure. Furthermore, we propose to adjust the principal components by an implicit estimation of a (possible) change direction. This approach adds flexibility to projection based methods, weakens typical technical conditions and provides better consistency properties under the alternative. In the second part we contribute to estimation methods for common changes in the means of panels of Hilbert space valued time series. We analyze weighted CUSUM estimates within a recently proposed »high-dimensional low sample size (HDLSS)« framework, where the sample size is fixed but the number of panels increases. We derive sharp conditions on »pointwise asymptotic accuracy« or »uniform asymptotic accuracy« of those estimates in terms of the weighting function. Particularly, we prove that a covariance-based correction of Darling-Erdős-type CUSUM estimates is required to guarantee uniform asymptotic accuracy under moderate dependence conditions within panels and that these conditions are fulfilled, e.g., by any MA(1) time series. As a counterexample we show that for AR(1) time series, close to the non-stationary case, the dependence is too strong and uniform asymptotic accuracy cannot be ensured. Finally, we conduct simulations to demonstrate that our results are practically applicable and that our methodological suggestions are advantageous.

Hydrazine-hydrate intercalated halloysite under controlled-rate thermal analysis conditions

The thermal behaviour of halloysite fully expanded with hydrazine-hydrate has been investigated in nitrogen atmosphere under dynamic heating and at a constant, pre-set decomposition rate of 0.15 mg min-1. Under controlled-rate thermal analysis (CRTA) conditions it was possible to resolve the closely overlapping decomposition stages and to distinguish between adsorbed and bonded reagent. Three types of bonded reagent could be identified. The loosely bonded reagent amounting to 0.20 mol hydrazine-hydrate per mol inner surface hydroxyl is connected to the internal and external surfaces of the expanded mineral and is present as a space filler between the sheets of the delaminated mineral. The strongly bonded (intercalated) hydrazine-hydrate is connected to the kaolinite inner surface OH groups by the formation of hydrogen bonds. Based on the thermoanalytical results two different types of bonded reagent could be distinguished in the complex. Type 1 reagent (approx. 0.06 mol hydrazine-hydrate/mol inner surface OH) is liberated between 77 and 103°C. Type 2 reagent is lost between 103 and 227°C, corresponding to a quantity of 0.36 mol hydrazine/mol inner surface OH. When heating the complex to 77°C under CRTA conditions a new reflection appears in the XRD pattern with a d-value of 9.6 Å, in addition to the 10.2 Ĺ reflection. This new reflection disappears in contact with moist air and the complex re-expands to the original d-value of 10.2 Å in a few h. The appearance of the 9.6 Å reflection is interpreted as the expansion of kaolinite with hydrazine alone, while the 10.2 Å one is due to expansion with hydrazine-hydrate. FTIR (DRIFT) spectroscopic results showed that the treated mineral after intercalation/deintercalation and heat treatment to 300°C is slightly more ordered than the original (untreated) clay.

Numerical approximation of a fractional-in-space diffusion equation (II) - with nonhomogeneous boundary conditions

In this paper, a space fractional di®usion equation (SFDE) with non- homogeneous boundary conditions on a bounded domain is considered. A new matrix transfer technique (MTT) for solving the SFDE is proposed. The method is based on a matrix representation of the fractional-in-space operator and the novelty of this approach is that a standard discretisation of the operator leads to a system of linear ODEs with the matrix raised to the same fractional power. Analytic solutions of the SFDE are derived. Finally, some numerical results are given to demonstrate that the MTT is a computationally e±cient and accurate method for solving SFDE.

Stability analysis and control of multiple converter based autonomous microgrid

In this paper, the stability of an autonomous microgrid with multiple distributed generators (DG) is studied through eigenvalue analysis. It is assumed that all the DGs are connected through Voltage Source Converter (VSC) and all connected loads are passive. The VSCs are controlled by state feedback controller to achieve desired voltage and current outputs that are decided by a droop controller. The state space models of each of the converters with its associated feedback are derived. These are then connected with the state space models of the droop, network and loads to form a homogeneous model, through which the eigenvalues are evaluated. The system stability is then investigated as a function of the droop controller real and reac-tive power coefficients. These observations are then verified through simulation studies using PSCAD/EMTDC. It will be shown that the simulation results closely agree with stability be-havior predicted by the eigenvalue analysis.

Combination strategies for a factor analysis phone-conditioned speaker verification system

This work aims to take advantage of recent developments in joint factor analysis (JFA) in the context of a phonetically conditioned GMM speaker verification system. Previous work has shown performance advantages through phonetic conditioning, but this has not been shown to date with the JFA framework. Our focus is particularly on strategies for combining the phone-conditioned systems. We show that the classic fusion of the scores is suboptimal when using multiple GMM systems. We investigate several combination strategies in the model space, and demonstrate improvement over score-level combination as well as over a non-phonetic baseline system. This work was conducted during the 2008 CLSP Workshop at Johns Hopkins University.

What is that place? Observations of the impact of environment colour through photographic analysis

Isolating the impact of a colour, or a combination of colours, is extremely difficult to achieve because it is difficult to remove other environmental elements such as sound, odours, light, and occasion from the experience of being in a place. In order to ascertain the impact of colour on how we interpret the world in day to day situations, the current study records participant responses to achromatic scenes of the built environment prior to viewing the same scene in colour. A number of environments were photographed in colour or copied from design books; and copies of the images saved as both colour and black/grey/white. An overview of the study will be introduced by firstly providing examples of studies which have linked colour to meaning and emotions. For example, yellow is said to be connected to happiness1 ; or red evokes feelings of anger2 or passion. A link between colour and the way we understand and/or feel is established however, there is a further need for knowledge of colour in context. In response to this need, the current achromatic/chromatic environmental study will be described and discussed in light of the findings. Finally, suggestions for future research are posed. Based on previous research the authors hypothesised that a shift in environmental perception by participants would occur. It was found that the impact of colour includes a shift in perception of aspects such as its atmosphere and youthfulness. Through studio-class discussions it was also noted that the predicted age of the place, the function, and in association, the potential users when colour was added (or deleted) were often challenged. It is posited that the ability of a designer (for example, interior designer, architect, or landscape architect) to design for a particular target group—user and/or clients will be enhanced through more targeted studies relating colour in situ. The importance of noting the perceptual shift for the participants in our study, who were young designers, is the realisation that colour potentially holds the power to impact on the identity of an architectural form, an interior space, and/or particular elements such as doorways, furniture settings, and the like.

Discussions in space

In-place digital augmentation enhances the experience of physical spaces through digital technologies that are directly accessible within that space. This can take place in many forms and ways, e.g., through location-aware applications running on the individuals’ portable devices, such as smart phones, or through large static devices, such as public displays, which are located within the augmented space and accessible by everyone. The hypothesis of this study is that in-place digital augmentation, in the context of civic participation, where citizens collaboratively aim at making their community or city a better place, offers significant new benefits, because it allows access to services or information that are currently inaccessible to urban dwellers where and when they are needed: in place. This paper describes our work in progress deploying a public screen to promote civic issues in public, urban spaces, and to encourage public feedback and discourse via mobile phones.