Implementation and role of device management Solutions to the end users

This research is based on consumer complaints with respect to recently purchased consumer electronics. This research document will investigate the instances of development and device management as a tool used to aid consumer and manage consumer’s mobile products in order to resolve issues in or before the consumers is aware one exists. The problem at the present time is that mobile devices are becoming very advanced pieces of technology, and not all manufacturers and network providers have kept up the support element of End users. As such, the subject of the research is to investigate how device management could possibly be used as a method to promote research and development of mobile devices, and provide a better experience for the consumer. The wireless world is becoming increasingly complex as revenue opportunities are driven by new and innovative data services. We can no longer expect the customer to have the knowledge or ability to configure their own device. Device Management platforms can address the challenges of device configuration and support through new enabling technologies. Leveraging these technologies will allow a network operator to reduce the cost of subscriber ownership, drive increased ARPU (Average Revenue per User) by removing barriers to adoption, reduce churn by improving the customer experience and increase customer loyalty. DM technologies provide a flexible and powerful management method but are managing the same device features that have historically been configured manually through call centers or by the end user making changes directly on the device. For this reason DM technologies must be treated as part of a wider support solution. The traditional requirement for discovery, fault finding, troubleshooting and diagnosis are still as relevant with DM as they are in the current human support environment yet the current generation of solutions do little to address this problem. In the deployment of an effective Device Management solution the network operator must consider the integration of the DM platform, interfacing with many areas of the business, supported by knowledge of the relationship between devices, applications, solutions and services maintained on an ongoing basis. Complementing the DM solution with published device information, setup guides, training material and web based tools will ensure the quality of the customer experience, ensuring that problems are completely resolved, driving data usage by focusing customer education on the use of the wireless service In this way device management becomes a tool used both internally within the network or device vendor and by the customer themselves, with each user empowered to effectively manage the device without any prior knowledge or experience, confident that changes they apply will be relevant, accurate, stable and compatible. The value offered by an effective DM solution with an expert knowledge service will become a significant differentiator for the network operator in an ever competitive wireless market. This research document is intended to highlight some of the issues the industry faces as device management technologies become more prevalent, and offers some potential solutions to simplify the increasingly complex task of managing devices on the network, where device management can be used as a tool to aid customer relations and manage customer’s mobile products in order to resolve issues before the user is aware one exists. The research is broken down into the following, Customer Relationship Management, Device management, the role of knowledge with the DM, Companies that have successfully implemented device management, and the future of device management and CRM. And it also consists of questionnaires aimed at technical support agents and mobile device users. Interview was carried out with CRM managers within support centre to further the evidence gathered. To conclude, the document is to consider the advantages and disadvantages of device management and attempt to determine the influence it will have over customer support centre, and what methods could be used to implement it.

A web application for follow-up of results from a mobile device test battery for parkinson’s disease patients

Background: A test battery consisting of self-assessments and motor tests (tapping and spiral drawing) was developed for a hand computer with touch screen in a telemedicine setting. Objectives: To develop and evaluate a web-based system that delivers decision support information to the treating clinical staff for assessing PD symptoms in their patients based on the test battery data. Methods: The test battery is currently being used in a clinical trial (DAPHNE, EudraCT No. 2005-002654-21) by sixty five patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD) on 9991 test occasions (four tests per day during in all 362 week-long test periods) at nine clinics around Sweden. Test results are sent continuously from the hand unit over a mobile net to a central computer and processed with statistical methods. They are summarized into scores for different dimensions of the symptom state and an ‘overall test score’ reflecting the overall condition of the patient during a test period. The information in the web application is organized and presented graphically in a way that the general overview of the patient performance per test period is emphasized. Focus is on the overall test score, symptom dimensions and daily summaries. In a recent preliminary user evaluation, the web application was demonstrated to the fifteen study nurses who had used the test battery in the clinical trial. At least one patient per clinic was shown. Results: In general, the responses from nurses were positive. They claimed that the test results shown in the system were consistent with their own clinical observations. They could follow complications, changes and trends within their patients. Discussion: In conclusion, the system is able to summarise the various time series of motor test results and self-assessments during test periods and present them in a useful manner. Its main contribution is a novel and reliable way to capture and easily access symptom information from patients’ home environment. The convenient access to current symptom profile as well as symptom history provides a basis for individualized evaluation and adjustment of treatments.

Adaptive device with underlying mechanism defined by a programming language

An adaptive device is made up of an underlying mechanism, for instance, an automaton, a grammar, a decision tree, etc., to which is added an adaptive mechanism, responsible for allowing a dynamic modification in the structure of the underlying mechanism. This article aims to investigate if a programming language can be used as an underlying mechanism of an adaptive device, resulting in an adaptive language.

Banning information as a redistributive device

In this paper we analyze the optimality of allowing firms to observe signals of workers’ characteristics in an optimal taxation framework. We show that it is always optimal to prohibit signals that disclose information about differences in the intrinsic productivities of workers like mandatory health exams and IQ tests, for example. On the other hand, it is never optimal to forbid signals that reveal information about the comparative advantages of workers like their specialization and profession. When signals are mixed (they disclose both types of information), there is a trade-off between efficiency and equity. It is optimal to prohibit signals with sufficiently low comparative advantage content.

Remote presence: supporting deictic gestures through a handheld multi-touch device

This thesis argues on the possibility of supporting deictic gestures through handheld multi-touch devices in remote presentation scenarios. In [1], Clark distinguishes indicative techniques of placing-for and directing-to, where placing-for refers to placing a referent into the addressee’s attention, and directing-to refers to directing the addressee’s attention towards a referent. Keynote, PowerPoint, FuzeMeeting and others support placing-for efficiently with slide transitions, and animations, but support limited to none directing-to. The traditional “pointing feature” present in some presentation tools comes as a virtual laser pointer or mouse cursor. [12, 13] have shown that the mouse cursor and laser pointer offer very little informational expressiveness and do not do justice to human communicative gestures. In this project, a prototype application was implemented for the iPad in order to explore, develop, and test the concept of pointing in remote presentations. The prototype offers visualizing and navigating the slides as well as “pointing” and zooming. To further investigate the problem and possible solutions, a theoretical framework was designed representing the relationships between the presenter’s intention and gesture and the resulting visual effect (cursor) that enables the audience members to interpret the meaning of the effect and the presenter’s intention. Two studies were performed to investigate people’s appreciation of different ways of presenting remotely. An initial qualitative study was performed at The Hague, followed by an online quantitative user experiment. The results indicate that subjects found pointing to be helpful in understanding and concentrating, while the detached video feed of the presenter was considered to be distracting. The positive qualities of having the video feed were the emotion and social presence that it adds to the presentations. For a number of subjects, pointing displayed some of the same social and personal qualities [2] that video affords, while less intensified. The combination of pointing and video proved to be successful with 10-out-of-19 subjects scoring it the highest while pointing example came at a close 8-out-of-19. Video was the least preferred with only one subject preferring it. We suggest that the research performed here could provide a basis for future research and possibly be applied in a variety of distributed collaborative settings.

Effect of timing of estradiol benzoate administration upon synchronization of ovulation in suckling Nelore cows (Bos indicus) treated with a progesterone-releasing intravaginal device

The present study investigated how the timing of the administration of estradiol benzoate (EB) impacted the synchronization of ovulation in fixed-time artificial insemination protocols of cattle. To accomplish this, two experiments were conducted, with EB injection occurring at different times: at withdrawal of the progesterone-releasing (N) intravaginal device or 24 h later. The effectiveness of these times was compared by examining ovarian follicular dynamics (Experiment 1, n = 30) and conception rates (Experiment 2, n = 504). In Experiment 1, follicular dynamics was performed in 30 Nelore cows (Bos indicus) allocated into two groups. on a random day of the estrous cycle (Day 0), both groups received 2 mg of EB i.m. and a P4-releasing intravaginal device, which was removed on Day 8, when 400 IU of eCG and 150 mu g of PGF were administered. The control group (G-EB9; n = 15) received 1 mg of EB on Day 9, while Group EB8 (G-EB8; n = 15) received the same dose a day earlier. Ovarian ultrasonographic evaluations were performed every 8 h after device removal until ovulation. The timing of EB administration (Day 8 compared with Day 9) did affect the interval between P4 device removal to ovulation (59.4 +/- 2.0 h compared with 69.3 +/- 1.7 h) and maximum diameter of dominant (1.54 +/- 0.06 a cm compared with 1.71 +/- 0.05 b cm, P = 0.03) and ovulatory (1.46 +/- 0.05 a cm compared with 1.58 +/- 0.04 b cm, P < 0.01) follicles. In Experiment 2,504 suckling cows received the same treatment described in Experiment 1, but insemination was performed as follows: Group EB8-AI48h (G-EB8-AI48h; n = 119) and Group EB8-AI54h (G-EB8-AI54h; n = 134) received 1 mg of EB on Day 8 and FrAI was performed, respectively, 48 or 54 h after P4 device removal. Group EB9-AI48h (G-EB9-AI48h; n = 126) and Group EB9-AI54h (G-EB9-AI54h n = 125) received the same treatments and underwent the same FTAI protocols as G-EB8-AI48h and G-EB8-AI54h, respectively; however, EB was administered on Day 9. Conception rates were greater (P < 0.05) in G-EB9-AI54h 163.2% (79/125) a], G-EB9-AI48h [58.7% (74/126) a] and G-EB8-AI48h [58.8% (70/119) a] than in G-EB8-AI54h [34.3% (46/134) b]. We concluded that when EB administration occurred at device withdrawal (D8), the interval to ovulation shortened and dominant and ovulatory follicle diameters decreased. Furthermore, when EB treatment was performed 24 h after device removal, FTAI conducted at either 48 or 54 h resulted in similar conception rates. However, EB treatment on the same day as device withdrawal resulted in a lesser conception rate when FTAI was conducted 54 h after device removal. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Stress responses of juvenile matrinxã (Brycon amazonicus) after transport in a closed system under different loading densities

Neste estudo, foram investigadas as densidades de carga adequadas para transporte de matrinxãs juvenis em sistema fechado com sacos plásticos. O transporte de 4h foi feito com peixes (23,5±0,4g; 11,6 (0,08cm) em jejum por 24h, em densidades de 83g L-1 (D1), 125g L-1 (D2), 168g L-1 (D3) e 206g L-1 (D4). Os peixes foram amostrados antes do transporte (AT), logo após o transporte (chegada) (DT) e 24h depois. A qualidade da água foi monitorada antes da captura dos peixes nos tanques de depuração, após o transporte nos sacos plásticos e nos tanques de recuperação. O oxigênio da água diminuiu para valores inferiores a 4mg L-1 em D2, D3 e D4, a temperatura esteve em torno de 32°C, pH 6,5-6,78, a amônia total foi de 1,09-1,7mg L-1, a amônia não-ionizada foi de 3,58-9,33 x 10³mg L-1 e alcalinidade 134-165mg CaCO3 L-1. O cortisol plasmático e a glicose sanguínea aumentaram após o transporte nos peixes em todas as densidades ensaiadas, voltando aos valores controle 24h depois. Os valores de osmolaridade não mudaram logo após o transporte, mas aumentaram 24h depois de modo igual em todas as densidades. O cloreto plasmático diminuiu na chegada, de modo inversamente proporcional à densidade de carga. O hematócrito diminuiu 24h depois da chegada dos peixes, em todas as densidades testadas, mas não houve diferença no número de eritrócitos. Não houve mortalidade até uma semana após o transporte. O matrinxã mostrou ser uma espécie tolerante a altas densidades de carga em embalagens para transporte além de suportar baixos níveis de oxigênio na água.

Transducer Loading Effect on the Performance of PZT-Based SHM Systems

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Fractal characterization of brittle fracture in ceramics under mode I stress loading

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Fractal behavior throughout stretch zone of 15-5PH steel under elastic-plastic loading conditions

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Evaluation of the fretting fatigue behaviour of commercially pure titanium

Fretting fatigue occurs when the contact surfaces of two components undergo small oscillatory movement while they are subjected to a clamping force. A cyclic external load gives rise to the early initiation of fatigue cracks, thus reducing their service life. In this paper, the fretting fatigue behaviour of commercially pure titanium flat samples (1.5 mm thick) is evaluated. A fretting device composed of a frame, load cell, and two screw-mounted cylindrical fretting pads with convex extremities was built and set to a servo-hydraulic testing machine. The fatigue tests were conducted under load control at a frequency of 10 Hz and stress ratio R = 0.1, with various contact load values applied to the fretting pads. Additional tests under inert environment allowed assessing the role of oxidation on the wear debris formation. The fracture surfaces and fretting scars were analysed via scanning electron microscopy in order to evaluate the surface damage evolution and its effect on the fatigue crack features. The effect of the fretting condition on the S-N curve of the material in the range of 10(4)-10(6) cycles is described. Fatigue crack growth calculations allowed estimating the crack initiation and propagation lives under fretting conditions. The effect of the fretting condition in fatigue life is stronger for the lower values of cyclic stress and does not seem to depend on the contact loading value.

Parameterized fast decoupled power flow methods for obtaining the maximum loading point of power systems. Part I. Mathematical modeling

The conventional Newton and fast decoupled power flow (FDPF) methods have been considered inadequate to obtain the maximum loading point of power systems due to ill-conditioning problems at and near this critical point. It is well known that the PV and Q-theta decoupling assumptions of the fast decoupled power flow formulation no longer hold in the vicinity of the critical point. Moreover, the Jacobian matrix of the Newton method becomes singular at this point. However, the maximum loading point can be efficiently computed through parameterization techniques of continuation methods. In this paper it is shown that by using either theta or V as a parameter, the new fast decoupled power flow versions (XB and BX) become adequate for the computation of the maximum loading point only with a few small modifications. The possible use of reactive power injection in a selected PV bus (Q(PV)) as continuation parameter (mu) for the computation of the maximum loading point is also shown. A trivial secant predictor, the modified zero-order polynomial which uses the current solution and a fixed increment in the parameter (V, theta, or mu) as an estimate for the next solution, is used in predictor step. These new versions are compared to each other with the purpose of pointing out their features, as well as the influence of reactive power and transformer tap limits. The results obtained with the new approach for the IEEE test systems (14, 30, 57 and 118 buses) are presented and discussed in the companion paper. The results show that the characteristics of the conventional method are enhanced and the region of convergence around the singular solution is enlarged. In addition, it is shown that parameters can be switched during the tracing process in order to efficiently determine all the PV curve points with few iterations. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.