The reliability, accuracy and minimal detectable difference of a multi-segment kinematic model of the foot-shoe complex

Kinematic models are commonly used to quantify foot and ankle kinematics, yet no marker sets or models have been proven reliable or accurate when wearing shoes. Further, the minimal detectable difference of a developed model is often not reported. We present a kinematic model that is reliable, accurate and sensitive to describe the kinematics of the foot–shoe complex and lower leg during walking gait. In order to achieve this, a new marker set was established, consisting of 25 markers applied on the shoe and skin surface, which informed a four segment kinematic model of the foot–shoe complex and lower leg. Three independent experiments were conducted to determine the reliability, accuracy and minimal detectable difference of the marker set and model. Inter-rater reliability of marker placement on the shoe was proven to be good to excellent (ICC = 0.75–0.98) indicating that markers could be applied reliably between raters. Intra-rater reliability was better for the experienced rater (ICC = 0.68–0.99) than the inexperienced rater (ICC = 0.38–0.97). The accuracy of marker placement along each axis was <6.7 mm for all markers studied. Minimal detectable difference (MDD90) thresholds were defined for each joint; tibiocalcaneal joint – MDD90 = 2.17–9.36°, tarsometatarsal joint – MDD90 = 1.03–9.29° and the metatarsophalangeal joint – MDD90 = 1.75–9.12°. These thresholds proposed are specific for the description of shod motion, and can be used in future research designed at comparing between different footwear.

Towards an accurate biomechanical model of the ankle

When compared with similar joint arthroplasties, the prognosis of Total Ankle Replacement (TAR) is not satisfactory although it shows promising results post surgery. To date, most models do not provide the full anatomical functionality and biomechanical range of motion of the healthy ankle joint. This has sparked additional research and evaluation of clinical outcomes in order to enhance ankle prosthesis design. However, the limited biomechanical data that exist in literature are based upon two-dimensional, discrete and outdated techniques1 and may be inaccurate. Since accurate force estimations are crucial to prosthesis design, a paper based on a new biomechanical modeling approach, providing three dimensional forces acting on the ankle joint and the surrounding tissues was published recently, but the identified forces were suspected of being under-estimated, while muscles were . The present paper reports an attempt to improve the accuracy of the analysis by means of novel methods for kinematic processing of gait data, provided in release 4.1 of the AnyBody Modeling System (AnyBody Technology, Aalborg, Denmark) Results from the new method are shown and remaining issues are discussed.

An aspect query language model based on query decomposition and high-order contextual term associations

In information retrieval (IR) research, more and more focus has been placed on optimizing a query language model by detecting and estimating the dependencies between the query and the observed terms occurring in the selected relevance feedback documents. In this paper, we propose a novel Aspect Language Modeling framework featuring term association acquisition, document segmentation, query decomposition, and an Aspect Model (AM) for parameter optimization. Through the proposed framework, we advance the theory and practice of applying high-order and context-sensitive term relationships to IR. We first decompose a query into subsets of query terms. Then we segment the relevance feedback documents into chunks using multiple sliding windows. Finally we discover the higher order term associations, that is, the terms in these chunks with high degree of association to the subsets of the query. In this process, we adopt an approach by combining the AM with the Association Rule (AR) mining. In our approach, the AM not only considers the subsets of a query as “hidden” states and estimates their prior distributions, but also evaluates the dependencies between the subsets of a query and the observed terms extracted from the chunks of feedback documents. The AR provides a reasonable initial estimation of the high-order term associations by discovering the associated rules from the document chunks. Experimental results on various TREC collections verify the effectiveness of our approach, which significantly outperforms a baseline language model and two state-of-the-art query language models namely the Relevance Model and the Information Flow model

Mining a data reasoning model for personalized text classification

It is a big challenge to acquire correct user profiles for personalized text classification since users may be unsure in providing their interests. Traditional approaches to user profiling adopt machine learning (ML) to automatically discover classification knowledge from explicit user feedback in describing personal interests. However, the accuracy of ML-based methods cannot be significantly improved in many cases due to the term independence assumption and uncertainties associated with them. This paper presents a novel relevance feedback approach for personalized text classification. It basically applies data mining to discover knowledge from relevant and non-relevant text and constraints specific knowledge by reasoning rules to eliminate some conflicting information. We also developed a Dempster-Shafer (DS) approach as the means to utilise the specific knowledge to build high-quality data models for classification. The experimental results conducted on Reuters Corpus Volume 1 and TREC topics support that the proposed technique achieves encouraging performance in comparing with the state-of-the-art relevance feedback models.

Integration of opinion into customer analysis model

Nowadays, Opinion Mining is getting more important than before especially in doing analysis and forecasting about customers’ behavior for businesses purpose. The right decision in producing new products or services based on data about customers’ characteristics means profit for organization/company. This paper proposes a new architecture for Opinion Mining, which uses a multidimensional model to integrate customers’ characteristics and their comments about products (or services). The key step to achieve this objective is to transfer comments (opinions) to a fact table that includes several dimensions, such as, customers, products, time and locations. This research presents a comprehensive way to calculate customers’ orientation for all possible products’ attributes. A use case study is also presented in this paper to show the advantages of using OLAP and data cubes to analyze costumers’ opinions.

Statistical eye model for normal eyes

Purpose. To create a binocular statistical eye model based on previously measured ocular biometric data. Methods. Thirty-nine parameters were determined for a group of 127 healthy subjects (37 male, 90 female; 96.8% Caucasian) with an average age of 39.9 ± 12.2 years and spherical equivalent refraction of −0.98 ± 1.77 D. These parameters described the biometry of both eyes and the subjects' age. Missing parameters were complemented by data from a previously published study. After confirmation of the Gaussian shape of their distributions, these parameters were used to calculate their mean and covariance matrices. These matrices were then used to calculate a multivariate Gaussian distribution. From this, an amount of random biometric data could be generated, which were then randomly selected to create a realistic population of random eyes. Results. All parameters had Gaussian distributions, with the exception of the parameters that describe total refraction (i.e., three parameters per eye). After these non-Gaussian parameters were omitted from the model, the generated data were found to be statistically indistinguishable from the original data for the remaining 33 parameters (TOST [two one-sided t tests]; P < 0.01). Parameters derived from the generated data were also significantly indistinguishable from those calculated with the original data (P > 0.05). The only exception to this was the lens refractive index, for which the generated data had a significantly larger SD. Conclusions. A statistical eye model can describe the biometric variations found in a population and is a useful addition to the classic eye models.

‘Show Me Your Wiki and I’ll Show you Mine’: Using Online Interactive Media to Improve Academic Writing and Research in a Public Health Under-Graduate Cohort

The number of Internet users in Australia has been steadily increasing, with over 10.9 million people currently subscribed to an internet provider (ABS, 2011). Over the past year, the most avid users of the Internet were 15 – 24 year olds, with approximately 95% accessing the internet on a regular basis (ABS, Social Trends, 2011). While the internet has been described as fundamental to higher education students, social and leisure internet tools are also increasingly being used by these students to generate and maintain their social and professional networks and interactions (Duffy & Bruns 2006). Rapid technological advancements have enabled greater and faster access to information for learning and education (Hemmi et al, 2009; Glassman and Kang, 2011). As such, we sought to integrate interactive, online social media into the assessment profile of a Public Health undergraduate cohort at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). The aim of this exercise was to engage students to both develop and showcase their research on a range of complex, contemporary health issues within the online forum of Wikispaces (http://www.wikispaces.com/) for review and critique by their peers. We applied Bandura’s Social Learning Theory (SLT) to analyse the interactive processes from which students developed deeper and more sustained learning, and via which their overall academic writing standards were raised. This paper outlines the assessment task, and the students’ feedback on their learning outcomes in relation to the Attentional, Retentional, Motor Reproduction, and Motivational Processes outlined by Bandura in SLT. We conceptualise the findings in a theoretical model, and discuss the implications for this approach within the broader tertiary environment.

Fast detection of exact clones in business process model repositories

As organizations reach higher levels of business process management maturity, they often find themselves maintaining very large process model repositories, representing valuable knowledge about their operations. A common practice within these repositories is to create new process models, or extend existing ones, by copying and merging fragments from other models. We contend that if these duplicate fragments, a.k.a. ex- act clones, can be identified and factored out as shared subprocesses, the repository’s maintainability can be greatly improved. With this purpose in mind, we propose an indexing structure to support fast detection of clones in process model repositories. Moreover, we show how this index can be used to efficiently query a process model repository for fragments. This index, called RPSDAG, is based on a novel combination of a method for process model decomposition (namely the Refined Process Structure Tree), with established graph canonization and string matching techniques. We evaluated the RPSDAG with large process model repositories from industrial practice. The experiments show that a significant number of non-trivial clones can be efficiently found in such repositories, and that fragment queries can be handled efficiently.

Factors of process model comprehension : findings from a series of experiments

In order to make good decisions about the design of information systems, an essential skill is to understand process models of the business domain the system is intended to support. Yet, little knowledge to date has been established about the factors that affect how model users comprehend the content of process models. In this study, we use theories of semiotics and cognitive load to theorize how model and personal factors influence how model viewers comprehend the syntactical information of process models. We then report on a four-part series of experiments, in which we examined these factors. Our results show that additional semantical information impedes syntax comprehension, and that theoretical knowledge eases syntax comprehension. Modeling experience further contributes positively to comprehension efficiency, measured as the ratio of correct answers to the time taken to provide answers. We discuss implications for practice and research.

Collaborative academic/practitioner research in project management : examples and applications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a cost-benefit interpretation of academic-practitioner research by describing and analysing several recent relevant examples of academic-practitioner research with a focus on doctoral theses carried out at universities and business schools in clusters of research centred in North America, Australia and Europe. Design/methodology/approach – Using case study examples, a value proposition framework for undertaking collaborative research for higher degree level study is developed and presented. Findings – Value proposition benefits from this level of collaborative research can be summarised as enhancing competencies at the individual and organisational level as well as providing participating universities with high-quality candidates/students and opportunities for industry engagement. The project management (PM) professional bodies can also extend PM knowledge but they need to be prepared to provide active support. Practical implications – A model for better defining the value proposition of collaborative research from a range of stakeholder perspectives is offered that can be adapted for researchers and industry research sponsors. Originality/value – Few papers offer a value proposition framework for explaining collaborative research benefits. This paper addresses that need.

Genesis and role of standards : theoretical foundations and socio-economical model for the construction and use of standards

A key issue for the economic development and for performance of organizations is the existence of standards. As their definitions and control are source of power, it seems to be important to understand the concept and to wonder about the representations authorized by the concept which give their direction and their legitimacy. The difficulties of classical microeconomics of establishing a theory of standardisation compatible with its fundamental axiomatic are underlined. We propose to reconsider the problem by carrying out the opposite way: to question the theoretical base, by reformulating assumptions on the autonomy of the choice of the actors. The theory of conventions will offer us both a theoretical framework and tools, enabling us to understand the systemic dimension and dynamic structure of standards seen as special case of conventions. This work aims thus to provide a sound basis and promote a better consciousness in the development of global project management standards, aiming also to underline that social construction is not a matter of copyright but a matter of open minds, collective cognitive process and freedom for the common wealth.

A review of models and model usage scenarios for an airport complex system

Airports represent the epitome of complex systems with multiple stakeholders, multiple jurisdictions and complex interactions between many actors. The large number of existing models that capture different aspects of the airport are a testament to this. However, these existing models do not consider in a systematic sense modelling requirements nor how stakeholders such as airport operators or airlines would make use of these models. This can detrimentally impact on the verification and validation of models and makes the development of extensible and reusable modelling tools difficult. This paper develops from the Concept of Operations (CONOPS) framework a methodology to help structure the review and development of modelling capabilities and usage scenarios. The method is applied to the review of existing airport terminal passenger models. It is found that existing models can be broadly categorised according to four usage scenarios: capacity planning, operational planning and design, security policy and planning, and airport performance review. The models, the performance metrics that they evaluate and their usage scenarios are discussed. It is found that capacity and operational planning models predominantly focus on performance metrics such as waiting time, service time and congestion whereas performance review models attempt to link those to passenger satisfaction outcomes. Security policy models on the other hand focus on probabilistic risk assessment. However, there is an emerging focus on the need to be able to capture trade-offs between multiple criteria such as security and processing time. Based on the CONOPS framework and literature findings, guidance is provided for the development of future airport terminal models.

A context sensitive model for querying linked scientific data

This thesis provides a query model suitable for context sensitive access to a wide range of distributed linked datasets which are available to scientists using the Internet. The model is designed based on scientific research standards which require scientists to provide replicable methods in their publications. Although there are query models available that provide limited replicability, they do not contextualise the process whereby different scientists select dataset locations based on their trust and physical location. In different contexts, scientists need to perform different data cleaning actions, independent of the overall query, and the model was designed to accommodate this function. The query model was implemented as a prototype web application and its features were verified through its use as the engine behind a major scientific data access site, Bio2RDF.org. The prototype showed that it was possible to have context sensitive behaviour for each of the three mirrors of Bio2RDF.org using a single set of configuration settings. The prototype provided executable query provenance that could be attached to scientific publications to fulfil replicability requirements. The model was designed to make it simple to independently interpret and execute the query provenance documents using context specific profiles, without modifying the original provenance documents. Experiments using the prototype as the data access tool in workflow management systems confirmed that the design of the model made it possible to replicate results in different contexts with minimal additions, and no deletions, to query provenance documents.

Identifying effective re-engagement practice : Brisbane North and West Youth Connections Consortium Action Research Project

This report summarises the participatory action research (PAR) undertaken by the Brisbane North and West (BNW) Youth Connections Consortium service during 2010 and 2011. The objective of the service, which is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), is to re-engage young people who have disengaged from education and are at risk of not achieving Year 12 attainment.The PAR element is facilitated by Queensland University of Technology, School of Public Health and Social Work (QUT). The PAR identifies key elements of the model of service as well as provides summary narratives of the PAR inquiries undertaken by Youth Connections staff and their co-participants during this period.