Effectiveness of Self-Instructional Mediator Training in Applied Behaviour Analysis

Interventions using applied behaviour analysis (ABA) are widely used with children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Individuals who work with this population are important to target for ABA education. This study evaluated the efficacy of a self-directed program in increasing parent and student ABA knowledge and skills, self-efficacy, and new skill development in children with ASD. Study 1 was a pilot study of the newly developed evaluation materials. Study 2 tested the self-instructional package with three parents of children with ASD, three university students, and eight children diagnosed with ASD. Parents and students were given the Simple Steps ABA training package to use independently and were measured using a multiple baseline across participants and/or skills design. After training, ABA knowledge scores and self-efficacy showed variable improvement as did children’s appropriate behaviours. These results suggest that more research is needed to determine the efficacy of a self-instructional ABA package.

An Introduction to Behaviour Analysis

Behaviour Analysis is a distinct philospophy of science. Individuals new to the approach often find difficulty in understanding the basic principles involved. This presentation, aimed at Final Year undergraduates, is designed to provide an introduction to the principles of operant conditioning (e.g., reinforcement, punishment, and extinction), making clear that these words describe functional, rather than structural, relations.

In vitro simulator with numerical stress analysis for evaluation of stent-assisted coiling embolization in cerebral aneurysm treatments

There are several complications associated with Stent-assisted Coil Embolization (SACE) in cerebral aneurysm treatments, due to damaging operations by surgeons and undesirable mechanical properties of stents. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an in vitro simulator that provides both training and research for evaluating the mechanical properties of stents.

Forming behaviour analysis and constitutive modelling of Ti-6Al-4V at room temperature.

 A constitutive model was proposed in this thesis and a promising approach for accurate prediction of forming behaviour of high strength titanium alloy sheet metal forming at room temperature is presented. Outcomes showed a potential solution of cold roll forming of this material for aerospace and automotive structural applications.

Activity and flight trajectory monitoring of mosquito colonies for butomated behaviour analysis

Monitoring and tracking of mosquitoes using image processing is important to facilitate the mosquitos’ behaviour analysis automatically over longer period of times. In this paper, we propose a simple methodology to monitor mosquitos’ activity using multiple cameras optimally placed. In order to ensure optimal camera coverage for the area of observation and desired image quality; we propose to simulate the experimental setup in a 3D virtual environment to obtain one-off optimum camera placement parameters. Our proposed methodology is demonstrated to have improved the activity monitoring process using two cameras for accurate count of occluded mosquitoes and 3D trajectory path reconstruction. This framework will enable working out more challenging tasks of constructing 3D trajectories using information received from multiple low quality cameras, which provide inconsistent and discontinuous trajectories.

Using hybrid latent class model for city-HUBs´users behaviour analysis

Data from an attitudinal survey and stated preference ranking experiment conducted in two urban European interchanges (i.e. City-HUBs) in Madrid (Spain) and Thessaloniki (Greece) show that the importance that City-HUBs users attach to the intermodal infrastructure varies strongly as a function of their perceptions of time spent in the interchange (i.e.intermodal transfer and waiting time). A principal components analysis allocates respondents (i.e. city-HUB users) to two classes with substantially different perceptions of time saving when they make a transfer and of time using during their waiting time.

Hierarchical Task Network Planning with Common-Sense Reasoning for Multiple-People Behaviour Analysis

Safety on public transport is a major concern for the relevant authorities. We
address this issue by proposing an automated surveillance platform which combines data from video, infrared and pressure sensors. Data homogenisation and integration is achieved by a distributed architecture based on communication middleware that resolves interconnection issues, thereby enabling data modelling. A common-sense knowledge base models and encodes knowledge about public-transport platforms and the actions and activities of passengers. Trajectory data from passengers is modelled as a time-series of human activities. Common-sense knowledge and rules are then applied to detect inconsistencies or errors in the data interpretation. Lastly, the rationality that characterises human behaviour is also captured here through a bottom-up Hierarchical Task Network planner that, along with common-sense, corrects misinterpretations to explain passenger behaviour. The system is validated using a simulated bus saloon scenario as a case-study. Eighteen video sequences were recorded with up to six passengers. Four metrics were used to evaluate performance. The system, with an accuracy greater than 90% for each of the four metrics, was found to outperform a rule-base system and a system containing planning alone.

Pedestrian behaviour analysis using the microsoft kinect

An important challenge for brick-and-mortar retail businesses is how to monitor the interest of customers in displays and products in a store. We investigate the effectiveness of the Microsoft Kinect as a sensor to monitor the behaviour of pedestrians, which may reflect their interest in a store display or advertisement. In a controlled environment, participants acting as pedestrians are requested to show different levels of interest as they pass an object that is being monitored by a Kinect sensor. The sensor collected measurements such as the positions and orientation of the pedestrian's body and head, which were analysed to detect the movements of the pedestrians and thus infer the behaviour they exhibited. Our results demonstrate that when the Kinect is able to detect a behaviour that indicates a pedestrian's interest in an object, then the classification of the level of interest in terms of the type of behaviour is reasonably accurate under varying light conditions and numbers of pedestrians.

可压平面混合层稳定性分析及数值模拟

可压平面混合层是包含复杂多时空尺度运动的非定常流体力学部问题，具有深刻的理论意义和广泛的应用背景。针对该问题所涉及内容的多面性，本文的目的是，基于高精度、高分辨率数值算法的构造、发展和数值行为分析，采用线性稳定性分析和直接数值模拟方法。从理论和计算两方面集中研究压缩性效应、粘性效应、初值效应以及燃烧反应放热效应等对可压平面混合层早期稳定性行为和大尺度拟序涡结构非线性演化的影响。以混合层已有研究成果的分析和综述为开端，论文主体共包括四部分：第一部分是可压平面混合层时间/空间模式数值线性稳定性分析。实现了高精度对称紧致差分格式（SCD）对可压粘性扰动线性稳定性边值问题的求解，对导出的线性和非线性离散特征值问题，提出了两个高效局部解法。研究涉及二维/三维扰动波、无粘/粘性扰动波、特征函数和特征值谱、第一/第二模态、超声速快/慢模态、速度比和密度比等。验证了对流Mach数Mc为一个合理的压缩性参数。指出压缩性效应和粘性效应对最不稳定扰动波的波数（频率）和增长率呈相拟的抑制作用，且时间模式稳定性分析结果在许多方面是可信的。从随机和线性扰动场出发，采用高精度五阶迎风紧致和六阶对称紧致混合差分算法（UCD5/SCD6）对可压平面混合层的稳定性特征进行了直接数值模拟，揭示了初始主导线性扰动与一些实际涡结构非线性作用形态间的内在关联，印证了线性稳定性分析方法的合理性和有效性。第二部分是高精度迎风紧致差分格式（UCD）时空全离散数值行为分析。导出了其一维/二维一般色散表达式。研究表明，UCD格式在高波数区具有内在的全离散耗散和色散特性；其数值群速度的快/慢特征可因CFL数不同而改变；在稳定CFL数下简单附加人工粘性可强化UCD格式在高波数区的耗散量；提高时间精度可放宽稳定CFL数限制；UCD格式的二维全离散色散介质中存在三个不同性质的数值波，其全离散稳定性由数值声波主控。第三部分实现了高精度UCD5/SCD6差分算法对空间发展可压平面混合层的直接数值模拟。通过亚谐扰动波的个数和扰动频率的控制，捕捉到了基频涡的饱和、一次和二次对并等现象，显示了大尺度涡结构与入中初始扰动方式之间的内在联系。利用参数Mc观察了压缩性效应对大尺度涡空间演化及其相互作用的影响。第四部分实现了高精度UCD5/SCD6差分算法对非预混扩散火焰化学反应平面混合层的直接数值模拟。研究指出，放热效应可抑制和延迟涡的形成，使基频涡卷拉伸甚至丧失，混合层Reynolds 应力ρu'v'和流向速度波动关联项u'v'下降，以致涡结构与外流动量交换和标量输运减少，脉动输运能力被削弱，从而混合效率、产物生成率和混合层增长率下降，放热主要通过膨胀效应和斜压效应来抑制大尺度涡的演化。

Dynamic characterisation of four nine-story large-panel R.C. buildings in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan): A comparison between experimental ambient vibration analysis and numerical finite element modeling

With the outlook of improving seismic vulnerability assessment for the city of Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), the global dynamic behaviour of four nine-storey r.c. large-panel buildings in elastic regime is studied. The four buildings were built during the Soviet era within a serial production system. Since they all belong to the same series, they have very similar geometries both in plan and in height. Firstly, ambient vibration measurements are performed in the four buildings. The data analysis composed of discrete Fourier transform, modal analysis (frequency domain decomposition) and deconvolution interferometry, yields the modal characteristics and an estimate of the linear impulse response function for the structures of the four buildings. Then, finite element models are set up for all four buildings and the results of the numerical modal analysis are compared with the experimental ones. The numerical models are finally calibrated considering the first three global modes and their results match the experimental ones with an error of less then 20%.

Higher-order non-linear analysis of steel structures. Part I : elastic second-order formulation

This paper presents a higher-order beam-column formulation that can capture the geometrically non-linear behaviour of steel framed structures which contain a multiplicity of slender members. Despite advances in computational frame software, analyses of large frames can still be problematic from a numerical standpoint and so the intent of the paper is to fulfil a need for versatile, reliable and efficient non-linear analysis of general steel framed structures with very many members. Following a comprehensive review of numerical frame analysis techniques, a fourth-order element is derived and implemented in an updated Lagrangian formulation, and it is able to predict flexural buckling, snap-through buckling and large displacement post-buckling behaviour of typical structures whose responses have been reported by independent researchers. The solutions are shown to be efficacious in terms of a balance of accuracy and computational expediency. The higher-order element forms a basis for augmenting the geometrically non-linear approach with material non-linearity through the refined plastic hinge methodology described in the companion paper.

Numerical modelling of fluid-structure interaction with application in hemodynamics

The thesis deals with numerical algorithms for fluid-structure interaction problems with application in blood flow modelling. It starts with a short introduction on the mathematical description of incompressible viscous flow with non-Newtonian viscosity and a moving linear viscoelastic structure. The mathematical model consists of the generalized Navier-Stokes equation used for the description of fluid flow and the generalized string model for structure movement. The arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian approach is used in order to take into account moving computational domain. A part of the thesis is devoted to the discussion on the non-Newtonian behaviour of shear-thinning fluids, which is in our case blood, and derivation of two non-Newtonian models frequently used in the blood flow modelling. Further we give a brief overview on recent fluid-structure interaction schemes with discussion about the difficulties arising in numerical modelling of blood flow. Our main contribution lies in numerical and experimental study of a new loosely-coupled partitioned scheme called the kinematic splitting fluid-structure interaction algorithm. We present stability analysis for a coupled problem of non-Newtonian shear-dependent fluids in moving domains with viscoelastic boundaries. Here, we assume both, the nonlinearity in convective as well is diffusive term. We analyse the convergence of proposed numerical scheme for a simplified fluid model of the Oseen type. Moreover, we present series of experiments including numerical error analysis, comparison of hemodynamic parameters for the Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids and comparison of several physiologically relevant computational geometries in terms of wall displacement and wall shear stress. Numerical analysis and extensive experimental study for several standard geometries confirm reliability and accuracy of the proposed kinematic splitting scheme in order to approximate fluid-structure interaction problems.