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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Arm environment'
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Yao, Jie 1978. "Human arm gesture detection and recognition in a classroom environment." Thesis, McGill University, 2002. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=79274.
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Detecting (and recognizing) human arm motion in a typical classroom environment is a challenging task due to the noisy and highly dynamic background, varying light conditions, as well as the small size and multiple number of possible matched objects. A robust vision system that can detect events of students' hands being raised for asking questions is described. This system is intended to support the collaborative demands of distributed classroom lecturing and further serve as a test case for real-time gesture recognition vision systems.<br>Various techniques including temporal and spatial segmentation, skin color identification, as well as shape and feature analysis are investigated and discussed. Limitations and problems are also analyzed and experimental results are illustrated.
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Hoda, Mohamad. "SHECARE: Shared Haptic Environment on the Cloud for Arm Rehabilitation Exercises." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/34247.
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It is well known that home exercise is as good as rehab center. Unfortunately, passive devices such as dumbbells, elastic bands, stress balls and tubing that have been widely used for home-based arm rehabilitation do not provide therapists with the information needed to monitor the patient’s progress, identify any impairment, and suggest treatments. Moreover, the lack of interactivity of these devices turns the rehabilitation exercises into a boring, unpleasant task.
In this thesis, we introduce a family of home-based post-stroke rehabilitation systems aimed at solving the aforementioned problems. We call such applications: “Shared Haptic Environment on the Cloud for Arm Rehabilitation Exercises (SHECARE)”.
The systems combine recent rehabilitation approaches with efficient, yet affordable skeleton tracking input technologies, and multimodal interactive computer environment. In addition, the systems provide a real-time feedback to the stroke patients, summarize the feedback after each session, and predict the overall recovery progress. Moreover, these systems show a new style of home-based rehabilitation approach that motivate the patients by engaging the whole family and friends in the rehabilitation process and allow the therapists to remotely assess the progress of the patients and adjust the training strategy accordingly.
Two mathematical models have been presented in this thesis. The first model is developed to find the relationship between upper extremity kinematics and the associated forces/strength. The second model is used to evaluate the medical condition of the stroke patients and predict their recovery progress depending on their performance history. The objective assessments, clinical tests, and the subjective assessments, usability studies have shown the feasibility of the proposed systems for rehabilitation in stroke patients with upper limb motor dysfunction.
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Adelstein, Bernard D. "A virtual environment system for the study of human arm tremor." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1989. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/14235.
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Jůn, Lukáš. "Vývojový modul s 32bitovým procesorem typu ARM." Master's thesis, Vysoké učení technické v Brně. Fakulta elektrotechniky a komunikačních technologií, 2009. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-218027.
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The content of this thesis is to create a detailed description of 32-bit ARM-based processors. Reader will be inform about the each one of the family of ARM-based processor, about the options of creating applications for these CPUs. The Applications are commonly developed by using the C/C++ language. This text also deal's with the development environments. These tools are making easier the development of new applications. This thesis also contains a complete design and description of development board with Atmel AT91SAM7S64 MCU (with sample of source code included).
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Boberg, Arvid. "HRC implementation in laboratory environment : Development of a HRC demonstrator." Thesis, Högskolan i Skövde, Institutionen för ingenjörsvetenskap, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:his:diva-15798.
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Eurofins is one of the world's largest laboratories which, among other things, offer chemical and microbiological analyses in agriculture, food and environment. Several 100.000 tests of various foods are executed each year at Eurofins’ facility in Jönköping and the current processes include much repeated manual tasks which could cause ergonomic problems. The company therefore wants to investigate the possibilities of utilizing Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) at their facility. Human-Robot Collaboration is a growing concept that has made a big impression in both robot development and Industry 4.0. A HRC approach allow humans and robots to share their workspaces and work side by side, without being separated by a protective fence which is common among traditional industrial robots. Human-Robot Collaboration is therefore believed to be able to optimize the workflows and relieve human workers from unergonomic tasks. The overall aim of the research project presented is to help the company to gain a better understanding about the existing HRC technologies. To achieve this goal, the state-of-the-art of HRC had to be investigated and the needs, possibilities and limitations of HRC applications had to be identified at Eurofins’ facility. Once these have been addressed, a demonstrator could be built which could be used for evaluating the applicability and suitability of HRC at Eurofins. The research project presented used the design science research process. The state-of-the-art of HRC was studied in a comprehensive literature review, reviewing sterile robots and mobile robotics as well. The presented literature review could identify possible research gaps in both HRC in laboratory environments and mobile solutions for HRC applications. These areas studied in the literature review formed together the basis of the prepared observations and interviews, used to generate the necessary data to develop the design science research artefact, the demonstrator. ABB's software for robotic simulation and offline programming, RobotStudio, were used in the development of the demonstrator, with the collaborative robot YuMi chosen for the HRC implementation. The demonstrator presented in the research project has been built, tested and refined in accordance to the design science research process. When the demonstrator could illustrate an applicable solution, it was evaluated for its performance and quality using a mixed methods approach. Limitations were identified in both the performance and quality of the demonstrator's illustrated HRC implementation, including adaptability and sterility constraints. The research project presented could conclude that a HRC application would be possible at a station which were of interest by the company, but would however not be recommended due to the identified constraints. Instead, the company were recommended to look for stations which are more standardized and have less hygienic requirements. By the end of the research project, additional knowledge was contributed to the company, including how HRC can affect today's working methods at Eurofins and in laboratory environments in general.
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Baleia, José Rodrigo Ferreira. "Haptic robot-environment interaction for self-supervised learning in ground mobility." Master's thesis, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10362/12475.
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Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em
Engenharia Eletrotécnica e de Computadores<br>This dissertation presents a system for haptic interaction and self-supervised learning mechanisms to ascertain navigation affordances from depth cues. A simple pan-tilt telescopic arm and a structured light sensor, both fitted to the robot’s body frame, provide the required haptic and depth sensory feedback. The system aims at incrementally develop the ability to assess the cost of navigating in natural environments. For this purpose the robot learns a mapping between the appearance
of objects, given sensory data provided by the sensor, and their bendability, perceived by the pan-tilt telescopic arm. The object descriptor, representing the object in memory and used for comparisons with other objects, is rich for a robust comparison and simple enough to allow for fast computations.
The output of the memory learning mechanism allied with the haptic interaction point evaluation prioritize interaction points to increase the confidence on the interaction and correctly identifying obstacles,
reducing the risk of the robot getting stuck or damaged. If the system concludes that the
object is traversable, the environment change detection system allows the robot to overcome it. A set of field trials show the ability of the robot to progressively learn which elements of environment are traversable.
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Dreifaldt, Ulrika, and Erik Lövquist. "The construction of a Haptic application in a Virtual Environment as a post-Stroke arm Rehabilitation exercise." Thesis, Linköping University, Department of Science and Technology, 2006. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-6155.
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<p>This thesis describes a six-month project based on stroke rehabilitation and involves designing with medical doctors, a physiotherapist and an occupational therapist, prototyping and evaluating with both stroke patients and other users. Our project involves the construction of a rehabilitation exercise system, based on virtual environments (VE) and haptics, designed for stroke patients. Our system uses a commercially available haptic device called the PHANTOM Omni, which has the possibility of being used as a rehabilitation tool to interact with virtual environments. The PHANTOM Omni is used in combination with our own developed software based on the platform H3D API. Our goal is to construct an application which will motivate the stroke patient to start using their arm again.</p><p>We give a review of the different aspects of stroke, rehabilitation, VE and haptics and how these have previously been combined. We describe our findings from our literature studies and from informal interviews with medical personnel. From these conclusions we attempt to take the research area further by suggesting and evaluating designs of different games/genres that can be used with the PHANTOM Omni as possible haptic exercises for post-stroke arm rehabilitation. We then present two different implementations to show how haptic games can be constructed. We mainly focus on an application we built, a game, using an iterative design process based on studies conducted during the project, called "The Labyrinth". The game is used to show many of the different aspects that have to be taken into account when designing haptic games for stroke patients. From a study with three stroke patients we have seen that "The Labyrinth" has the potential of being a stimulating, encouraging and fun exercise complement to the traditional rehabilitation. Through the design process and knowledge we acquired during this thesis we have created a set of general design guidelines that we believe can help in the future software development of haptic games for post-stroke arm rehabilitation.</p>
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Braga, Marilita Gnecco de Camargo. "The vehicle driver's perception of attributes of the road environment that influence safety at four-arm uncontrolled junctions." Thesis, Imperial College London, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/47784.
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Miller, David Paul. "The generation of human-like reaching motion for an arm in an obstacle-filled 3-D static environment /." The Ohio State University, 1993. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1487848531361949.
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Torres, Rocco Ana Catalina. "Development and Testing of a New C-Based Algorithm to Control a 9-Degree-ofFreedom Wheelchair-Mounted-Robotic-Arm System." Scholar Commons, 2010. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/1792.
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A Wheelchair-Mounted Robotic Arm (WMRA) was designed to aid people with limited or no upper-limb usage to accomplish activities of daily living (ADLs). The primary objective of this research was to enhance the performance of the WMRA by improving the communication protocols and functions between the hardware and software used for its control.
Previously, the control algorithm of the robotic arm was tested in simulation and in the physical arm. These implementations required a combination of Matlab and C++ language and introduced some software instability under Windows operating system. To improve the performance of the WMRA, the programs for hardware control were separated from the ones intended for simulation. The control algorithm of the arm was rewritten using C++ language to facilitate the communication with the controller boards and to make the system more stable and reliable. As a result, the communication delays were decreased since the interfaces between different programs is no longer needed. Preliminary tests were performed to demonstrate the stability and reliability of the new control algorithm. The overall response of the control implementation was enhanced and the algorithm routines and optimization procedures achieved the same goals with more efficiency. Accuracy and repeatability tests were performed, and data was collected and analyzed.
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Gavoille, Clément. "Approche de projection de performance pour l’exploration de paramètres de conception de l’environnement Arm en HPC." Electronic Thesis or Diss., Bordeaux, 2024. http://www.theses.fr/2024BORD0004.
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La science d’aujourd’hui utilise de plus en plus la simulation pour modéliser et comprendre le monde qui nous entoure. Pour permettre à celles-ci d’être plus rapides, précises et modélisant de plus grand phénomènes, les scientifiques utilisent des supercalculateurs, domaine d’expertise du Calcul Haute-Performance. Or, à mesure que la demande en puissance de calcul grandit, ces machines se doivent d’être de plus en plus performantes. Seulement, la réduction de la taille des transistors prévue par la loi de Moore ne suffit plus à diriger l’évolution des processeurs, noyau de la puissance des supercalculateurs. Ainsi, pour continuer à être capable de répondre à cette demande, ces machines deviennent de plus en plus complexes. Et les performances des applications HPC dépendent des interactions entre les nombreux comportements des applications, les architectures des processeurs de plus en plus complexes et des choix faits par les différentes piles logicielle. Les efforts à fournir pour l’optimisation des performances des applications sur les machines sont donc de plus en plus importants. Une solution pour simplifier ces efforts d’optimisation et obtenir de meilleures performances des applications est de rassembler l’ensemble des acteurs du HPC dans un environnement de codesign pour la conception des futures machines. Ainsi, dans un tel environnement où les choix faits par les concepteurs sont dirigés par les intérêts des applications, les processeurs et la pile logicielle seront adaptés aux besoins des futurs utilisateurs. Cela est encore plus important depuis la récente arrivée de l’environnement Arm en HPC, représentant 10% de la puissance de calcul totale du Top500 avec seulement 6 machines. En effet, celui-ci offre une plus grande liberté aux constructeurs dans les choix des caractéristiques des processeurs. Seulement, dans un tel environnement de codesign, il est nécessaire d’utiliser une approche de prédiction de performance prenant en compte l’impact des choix faits par l’ensemble des acteurs pour pouvoir effectuer une exploration viable de l’espace de conception. Au cours de cette thèse, nous mettons en place une approche de projection de performance adaptée à notre définition d’un environnement de codesign regroupant les acteurs et les aspects des performances des applications en 3 groupes : l’application, la pile logicielle et le matériel. Ce modèle se présente en trois étapes pour effectuer la projection d’un triplet application/pile logicielle/matériel source, et accessible, vers un futur triplet cible d’intérêt, et inaccessible. Ces étapes sont : la caractérisation des performances sur nos trois aspects, suivi de l’analyse des performances sur le triplet source qui va enfin conduire à une projection des performances vers le triplet cible en fonction des différences entre les paramètres de celui-ci et du triplet source. Cette approche est ensuite implémentée à l’aide d’une représentation fondée sur le modèle Roofline dans laquelle on se concentre sur le maximum de performance atteignable par les triplets et on projette les performances avec une hypothèse de conservation de l’efficacité architecturale. Nous utilisons ensuite ce modèle pour l’analyse et l’exploration de paramètres matériels tels que la taille des vecteurs ou le choix du type de mémoire sur différentes architectures de coeurs Arm. Enfin, nous étendons cette exploration à des architectures multicoeurs en affinant la caractérisation de la bande passante et le travail effectués par chaque coeur. L’utilisation de cette approche se concentre sur l’exploration de paramètres applicatifs et de pile logicielle sur une future architecture d’intérêt pour le HPC : le processeur EPI (pour European Processor Initiative)<br>Today’s science increasingly uses simulation to model and understand the world around us. To improve their speed, accuracy, and modeling capabilities, scientists rely on supercomputers, the domain of expertise of High-Performance Computing. As the demand for computing power keeps growing, these machines must become ever more powerful. However, the reduction in transistor size predicted by Moore’s Law is no longer sufficient to drive the evolution of processors, the core of supercomputer power. Hence, these machines are becoming increasingly complex to answer this increasing demand. The performance of HPC applications depends on interactions between varied application behavior, a complex processor architecture, and the choices made by the software stack. As a result, optimizing applications’ performance on these machines is a tedious task. One solution to simplify optimization efforts and improve applications’ performance is to bring together all HPC actors in a codesign environment for designing future machines. In an environment where the interests of applications drive the choices made by constructors, the processors and software stack will be adapted to the needs of future users. It is all the more vital with the recent arrival of the Arm environment in HPC, already representing 10% total computing power of the Top500 with just six machines, because this environment offers manufacturers great freedom in their choice of processor characteristics. However, in such a codesign environment, it is mandatory to use a performance prediction approach that accounts for the impact of the choices made by all players to drive the design-space exploration. In this thesis, we implement a performance projection approach adapted to our definition of a codesign environment that groups the actors and aspects of application performance into three groups: the application, the software stack, and the hardware. This model takes the form of a three-step process for projecting an accessible application/software stack/source hardware triplet onto a future target triplet of interest, which is inaccessible. These steps are performance characterization of our three aspects, followed by performance analysis on the source triplet, which finally leads to a projection of performance towards the target triplet as a function of the differences between its parameters and those of the source triplet. Then, we implement this approach using a Roofline model representation, in which we focus on the maximum performance attainable by the triplets and project performance with an assumption of architectural efficiency conservation. We then use this model to analyze and explore hardware parameters such as hardware vector size and choice of memory type on different Arm core architectures. Finally, we extend this exploration to multi-core architectures by refining the characterization of the bandwidth and the workload of each core. Then, we use this extension for the exploration of application and software stack parameters on a future HPC architecture of interest: the EPI (European Processor Initiative) processor
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Boberg, Arvid. "Virtual lead-through robot programming : Programming virtual robot by demonstration." Thesis, Högskolan i Skövde, Institutionen för ingenjörsvetenskap, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:his:diva-11403.
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This report describes the development of an application which allows a user to program a robot in a virtual environment by the use of hand motions and gestures. The application is inspired by the use of robot lead-through programming which is an easy and hands-on approach for programming robots, but instead of performing it online which creates loss in productivity the strength from offline programming where the user operates in a virtual environment is used as well. Thus, this is a method which saves on the economy and prevents contamination of the environment. To convey hand gesture information into the application which will be implemented for RobotStudio, a Kinect sensor is used for entering the data into the virtual environment. Similar work has been performed before where, by using hand movements, a physical robot’s movement can be manipulated, but for virtual robots not so much. The results could simplify the process of programming robots and supports the work towards Human-Robot Collaboration as it allows people to interact and communicate with robots, a major focus of this work. The application was developed in the programming language C# and has two different functions that interact with each other, one for the Kinect and its tracking and the other for installing the application in RobotStudio and implementing the calculated data into the robot. The Kinect’s functionality is utilized through three simple hand gestures to jog and create targets for the robot: open, closed and “lasso”. A prototype of this application was completed which through motions allowed the user to teach a virtual robot desired tasks by moving it to different positions and saving them by doing hand gestures. The prototype could be applied to both one-armed robots as well as to a two-armed robot such as ABB’s YuMi. The robot's orientation while running was too complicated to be developed and implemented in time and became the application's main bottleneck, but remained as one of several other suggestions for further work in this project.
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Gunnarsson, Ann-Britt, and Minke Wersäll. "Hand Arm RiskbedömningsMetod (HARM) : Utvärdering av en metod för riskbedömning av biomekanisk belastning av övre extremiteten vid manuellt arbete samt dess lämplighet vid arbetsmiljötillsyn." Thesis, KTH, Ergonomi, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-98418.
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AbstractIntroduction: Hand Arm Risk Assessment Method (HARM) is a tool to assess the risks of developing complaints of the arm, neck or shoulders during manual work. The method was developed in the Netherlands primarily for employers, but is also used as an aid to work environment inspectors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the HARM-method for assessment of biomechanical exposure of the upper limbs when performing manual tasks as well as its suitability to be used within work environment inspection. Methods: Ten labour inspectors conducted assessments of five video-recorded work tasks. Assessments made with HARM were compared with those made with the Assessment of Repetitive Tasks (ART) tool and with ACGIH Hand Actvity Level (HAL) - both methods for assessment of biomechanical exposure of the upper limbs - and with the model for the assessment of repetitive work in the provisions of the Swedish Work Environment Authority on ergonomics for the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders, AFS 1998:1. HAL is based on a threshold limit value for hand activity. The method combines the assessment of hand activity with perceived effort in the hand and forearm. The assessments were made twice, two weeks apart. Following each assessment the inspectors answered questions about the suitability of each method. Three experts (X) made the same assessments, first individually just like the inspectors’, and then they agreed upon a consensus estimation. Head and upper arm position were registered by inclinometer, wrist movements with electro goniometer. The observers' assessments were compared with a “gold standard” that was created by the results of the technical measurements which replaced the consensus estimates for the head and arm positions as well as wrist motions in the HARM, ART and HAL assessments. Results: The inspectors' assessment of HARM and ART showed in comparison with the respective “gold standard” some underestimation of risks. Conformity in the test-retest was 68 % at appraisal with HARM and 66 % with ART. Based on the inspectors' observations it was revealed that force and frequency were experienced as the most difficult to assess. On the other hand the individual assessments indicated that the work position of the hand and forearm showed the largest deviation. Hand activity was both over and undervalued in comparison with technical measurements, suggesting that it is difficult to simply assess hand activity by observation. Furthermore, the model for identifying repetitive work in AFS 1998:1 was perceived to be the most difficult to use for performing assessments, as it has few criteria and no support for the assessment of hand/arm and hand intensive movements. This underlines that there is a need for other models as a supplement to the provisions. Conclusions: The results showed that the HARM and ART are relatively similar in content and structure and provided relatively similar results. HARM is more detailed than ART as it takes into account the vibration exposure as a single factor and shows more consideration to the duration of exposure. The HARM-method provides support for the assessment; it is easy to use, it needs pen and paper only and is in that sense readily available, it is fast and takes into account the whole of the assessment of biomechanical exposure of the upper limbs. ART is very similar to HARM; HAL is more limited and can be used as a rapid screening of hand load.<br>Sammanfattning Inledning: Hand Arm RiskbedömningsMetod (HARM) är ett verktyg för bedömning av belastning på hand och arm vid manuellt arbete. Metoden är framtagen i Nederländerna, i första hand till arbetsgivare, metoden används också som ett stöd för arbetsmiljöinspektörer. Syftet med den här studien var att utvärdera HARM-metodens tillförlitlighet och dess lämplighet som hjälpmedel för arbetsmiljöinspektörer vid riskbedömning av belastning på hand, arm och axel vid manuellt arbete. Metod: Tio observatörer tillika arbetsmiljöinspektörer genomförde bedömningar av fem videoinspelade arbetsmoment. Bedömningar gjorda med HARM jämfördes med bedömningar med Assessment of Repetitive Tasks (ART) och Hand Activity Level (HAL) samt modellen för bedömning av ensidigt upprepat arbete i Arbetsmiljöverkets föreskrifter om belastningsergonomi, AFS 1998:1. HAL bygger på ett gränsvärde för handaktivitet. Metoden kombinerar bedömning av handens aktivitet med upplevd ansträngning i hand och underarm. Bedömningarna gjordes två gånger med två veckors mellanrum. I anslutning till varje bedömning besvarades frågor om respektive metods användbarhet. Tre experter (X) gjorde först enskilt motsvarande bedömningar som observatörerna och enades därefter i en konsensusbedömning. Huvudets- och överarmarnas position registrerades med inklinometer, handledsrörelser med elektrogoniometer. En ”gyllene standard” som observatörernas mätningar kunde jämföras med, skapades genom att resultaten av de tekniska mätningarna ersatte konsensusbedömningen för huvud- och armposition samt handledsrörelserna för HARM, ART och HAL. Resultat: Observatörernas bedömningar med HARM och ART visade i jämförelse med respektive gyllene standard på en viss undervärdering av risker. Överensstämmelsen vid test-retest av arbetsmomenten var 68 % vid bedömning med HARM och 66 % med ART. Av observatörernas synpunkter framkom att kraft och frekvens upplevdes svårast att bedöma. Av de enskilda bedömningarna framkom dock att det var arbetsställning i hand och underarm som visade den största avvikelsen. Handaktivitet både över- och undervärderades i jämförelse med tekniska mätningar, vilket pekar på att det är svårt att enbart genom observation bedöma handaktivitet. Vidare framgick att AFS upplevdes vara svårast att använda som underlag till en belastningsergonomisk riskbedömning, då den har få kriterier och saknar bedömningsstöd för hand/arm och handintensiva rörelser. Detta understryker att det kan behövas ett komplement till AFS. Slutsatser: Resultaten visade att HARM och ART är relativt lika till innehåll och struktur och gav förhållandevis likvärdiga resultat. HARM är mer nyanserad än ART då den dels tar hänsyn till vibrationsexponering som en enskild faktor och dels justerar för exponeringstid. HARM-metoden ger stöd vid bedömning, är snabb och lätt att använda, endast papper och penna krävs och den tar hänsyn till helheten vid bedömning av nack- och arm belastning. ART är mycket lik HARM. HAL är mer begränsad och kan användas som en snabb screeningmetod för handbelastning.
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Tarbouriech, Sonny. "Dual-Arm control strategy in industrial environments." Thesis, Montpellier, 2019. http://www.theses.fr/2019MONTS111.
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Le besoin grandissant de flexibilité en milieu industriel conduit à reconsidérer la manière dont les robots sont utilisés dans de tels environnements. Il s'ensuit que la relation entre l'homme et les machines doit évoluer au profit d'une plus grande proximité, en leur permettant de partager un espace de travail commun et d'interagir physiquement.Dans cette optique, cette thèse a pour objectif de contribuer au contrôle de robots bi-bras à des fins collaboratives dans un contexte industriel. Pour ce faire, nous proposons une approche de contrôle cinématique réactif basée sur une loi de contrôle en admittance. Celle-ci permet une manipulation d'objets sécuritaire en collaboration physique avec des opérateurs humains. Le contrôleur résout un problème d’optimisation quadratique (QP) afin de trouver le déplacement articulaire permettant de satisfaire la commande spécifiée dans l'espace de la tâche, ceci tout en respectant un ensemble de contraintes (e.g. limites articulaires, évitement de collision).La résolution cinématique peut être adaptée afin de générer des solutions parcimonieuses au niveau des vitesses articulaires, ce qui signifie qu'un nombre minimal d'actionneurs est activé pour assurer la réalisation de la tâche. Cela induit un comportement potentiellement plus sûr dans un environnement évolutif partagé avec des individus.Les plateformes bi-bras comprennent parfois des extensions (par exemple, une base mobile, un torse articulé, etc.). Dans cette thèse, nous présentons une méthode hiérarchique originale pour le contrôle de systèmes multi-robots.Une implémentation open source du travail, acrfull {rkcl}, a été développée. Cette librairie rassemble tous les composants décrits dans cette thèse et peut être facilement configuré pour inclure de nouveaux robots. Tout au long des développements, des validations expérimentales ont été effectuées sur le cobot mobile à deux bras BAZAR<br>The growing need for flexibility in industrial settings leads to reconsidering the way robotic systems are exploited in such environments. It follows that the relationship between humans and machines has to evolve in favor of more proximity, by letting them share the same workspace and physically interact together.With this in mind, this thesis aims at contributing beyond the state of art in the control of dual-arm robots for collaborative purposes in an industrial context. We propose a generic online kinematic control approach based on an admittance control law which enables safe manipulation of objects in physical collaboration with humans. The controller solves a acrfull{qp} optimization problem to find the joint space motion that satisfies the task space command while respecting a set of constraints (e.g. joint limits, collision avoidance).The kinematic solver can be tuned to generate parsimonious solutions at the joint velocity level, meaning that as few actuators as possible are activated to achieve the tasks. This induces potentially safer behavior in an unstructured environment shared with humans.Dual-arm platforms are sometimes extended to include additional robots (e.g., mobile base, articulated torso, ...). In this thesis, we also present an original hierarchical method for the control of multi-robot systems.An open-source implementation of the work, acrfull{rkcl}, is available. It implements all the components described in this thesis and can be easily configured to work with new robots. Throughout the developments, experimental validations have been performed on the dual-arm mobile cobot BAZAR
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Brown, Dane Andrew. "Analysis of Firmware Security in Embedded ARM Environments." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/102776.
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Modern enterprise-grade systems with virtually unlimited resources have many options when it comes to implementing state of the art intrusion prevention and detection solutions. These solutions are costly in terms of energy, execution time, circuit board area, and capital. Sustainable Internet of Things devices and power-constrained embedded systems are thus forced to make suboptimal security trade-offs. One such trade-off is the design of architectures which prevent execution of injected shell code, yet have allowed Return Oriented Programming (ROP) to emerge as a more reliable way to execute malicious code following attacks. ROP is a method used to take over the execution of a program by causing the return address of a function to be modified through an exploit vector, then returning to small segments of otherwise innocuous code located in executable memory one after the other to carry out the attacker's aims. We show that the Tiva TM4C123GH6PM microcontroller, which utilizes anARM Cortex-M4F processor, can be fully controlled with this technique. Firmware code is pre-loaded into a ROM on Tiva microcontrollers which can be subverted to erase and rewrite the flash memory where the program resides. That same firmware is searched for a Turing-complete gadget set which allows for arbitrary execution. We then design and evaluate a method for verifying the integrity of firmware on embedded systems, in this case Solid State Drives (SSDs). Some manufacturers make firmware updates available, but their proprietary protections leave end users unable to verify the authenticity of the firmware post installation. This means that attackers who are able to get a malicious firmware version installed on a victim SSD are able to operate with full impunity, as the owner will have no tools for detection. We have devised a method for performing side channel analysis of the current drawn by an SSD, which can compare its behavior while running genuine firmware against its behavior when running modified firmware. We train a binary classifier with samples of both versions and are able to consistently discriminate between genuine firmware and modified firmware, even despite changes in external factors such as temperature and supplied power.<br>Doctor of Philosophy
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Nuñez, Aida M. (Aida Marisol). "NAFTA and its environmental parallel agreement : how NGOs are shaping domestic and bilateral environment policy in Mexico." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/12410.
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Hancock, Jan Mark Michael. "Are there environmental human rights?" Thesis, University of Southampton, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.369874.
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Smith, Douglas A. "Trade and the environment : how are they related /." abstract and full text PDF (free order & download UNR users only), 2005. http://0-wwwlib.umi.com.innopac.library.unr.edu/dissertations/fullcit/1433111.
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Thesis (M.S.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2005.<br>"August, 2005." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-77). Library also has microfilm. Ann Arbor, Mich. : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [2005]. 1 microfilm reel ; 35 mm. Online version available on the World Wide Web.
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Helmfrid, Fredrik, and Joakim Yrjönheikki. "HAND- OCH ARMVIBRATIONSSKADOR INOM BYGGBRANSCHEN BETEENDE – EN ORSAK TILL ATT PROBLEMET KVARSTÅR." Thesis, Tekniska Högskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, JTH, Byggnadsteknik, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-40427.
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Syfte: Problem med vibrationsskador har funnits i branschen lika länge som vibrerande maskiner har funnits. Idag är upp till 51 procent av alla belastningsskador som vibrationsrelaterade, enligt AFA. Det vanligaste är att män i åldrarna 47–49 har problem med vibrationsskador, men på senare år har skadorna krupit nedåt i åldrarna. Skador som kan uppstå av för hög vibrationsexponering är cirkulatoriska symtom (kalla/vita fingrar), neurologiska symtom (domningar, stickningar, nedsatt känsel) eller en kombination av dessa. Karpaltunnelsyndrom är även en följd av för hög exponering. Föreliggande arbete undersöker huruvida det kan vara ett beteende som ligger bakom den höga vibrationsexponeringen och om det i sådana fall kan brytas. Yrkesarbetarnas och platsledningens kunskaper och förståelse för de körtider som finns för maskiner har även studerats. Metod: En litteraturstudie har genomförts i arbetet. Sedan har totalt har tolv intervjuer utförts, åtta intervjuer med yrkesarbetare, tre med platsledningen och en med maskintillverkare. Det har även gjorts en mindre dokumentanalys av arbetsberedningar. Resultat: Studien visar att ett beteende ligger bakom det faktum att körtider överskrids och hantverkare utsätts för vibrationsexponering över gränserna. Det står även klart att kunskapen och förståelsen hos yrkesarbetarna och platsledningen behöver ökas gällande körtider och hur man tar fram vibrationsaccelerationen på maskiner. Konsekvenser: Branschen bör ställa krav på beställare och företag att ge utrymme för den kostnad som tillkommer när körtider följs. På så sätt kan beteendet brytas genom att tiden finns för särskilda moment. Genom att utbilda sin personal om vibrationsskador kan företaget få en mer kompetent och förstående personal i utbyte. Begränsningar: Denna undersökning är inte företagsspecifik vilket medför att resultatet kan vara applicerbart på de flesta byggföretag i Sverige. Studien undersöker endast hand- och armvibrationsskador, medan helkroppsvibrationer har uteslutits. Nyckelord: Hand- och armvibrationsskador, Teorin om överlagt beteende, Arbetsberedningar, Arbetsmiljöverkets föreskrifter, insatsvärde och gränsvärde.<br>Purpose: The issue with vibration injury have been around in the construction industry for as long as there have been vibrating machines available. Today it’s up to 51 percent of all strain injury’s that’s vibration-related, according to AFA. The most common thing is that men in the ages of 47-49 who suffers from vibration injury, but in recent years the injuries have crept down in the ages. The injuries that may emerge from excessive vibration exposure are circulatory symptoms (cold / white fingers), neurological symptoms (numbness, tingling, feeling impaired) or a combination of these. Carpal tunnel syndrome is also a consequence of too high exposure. This paper will investigate whether may be a behaviour that is behind the high vibration exposure and if it in such case can be broken. The operator’s knowledge and understanding of the operating hours for the machines have also been studied. Method: A literature study has been carried out at work. Then a total of twelve interviews have been conducted, eight with constructions workers, three with site managers and one with a power tool manufacture. A smaller document analysis of job planning has also been made. Findings: This study shows that behaviour is behind the fact that operating times are exceeded, and constructions workers are exposed to vibration exposure above the allowed limit. It is also clear that the knowledge and understanding of the workforce and the management team needs to be increased in operating hours and how to read vibration acceleration on machines. Implications: The industry should require customers and companies to provide space for the costs that are incurred when driving times are met. In this way, behaviour can be broken by giving time for special moments. By training their staff about vibration damage, the company can get a more competent and understanding staff in exchange. Limitations: This survey is not company-specific, which means that the results can be applied to most construction companies in Sweden. The study only examines hand and arm vibration damage, while whole body vibrations have been ruled out. Keywords: Vibrations injury of hand and arm, Theory of Reasoned action, Job planning, Swedish work environment authority regulation, Input Value and Limit.
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Losher, Albert Justin. "The geochemistry of sediments and mine tailings in the Alice Arm area." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1985. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/24847.
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A geochemical study of the composition of natural sediments and contaminating mine tailings in Hastings and Alice Arms has been carried out. Apart from the geochemical investigation on the solid fraction, pore waters from six sediment cores have been analyzed to evaluate the diagenetic processes in the sediments of these two inlets. Differences in the mineralogy as well as in the chemical composition of the sediments were used to distinguish the natural sediments from contaminated sediments and pure tailings.
In Alice Arm, two types of tailings could be differentiated with these methods. The first tailings type originated from the Kitsault Mo-deposit, which was mined in the past two decades by the B.C. Molybdenum Corporation and AMAX/Canada. These tailings are characterized by a number of features which make them distinguishable from natural sediments. The K-feldspar content of the tailings is significantly increased, mainly at the expense of plagioclase, which is the main characteristic for the mineralogical identification of this tailings type. The enhanced K-feldspar content is the cause for increased K and Rb values in the Mo-mine tailings. Another indicator specific to these recent tailings is an increased Mo content.
The second tailings type is derived from an older mining operation in the Kitsault Valley, most likely the Dolly Varden Silver Mine. A specific indicator for these tailings is their high Ba content which is due to large amounts of barite. This mineral phase could be identified by X-ray diffraction methods in a heavy mineral fraction of the relevant sediment layers.
Both tailings types show enrichment in their Pb, Zn and S concentrations, caused by an increased amount of metal-sulphides in the ore materials. In this area, these elements can therefore serve as a general indicator for the contamination of natural sediment with either tailings type.
The interstitial water analyses indicated that the sediments in both inlets become reducing at a fairly shallow depth (10-15 cm), resulting in the mobilization of Mn, Fe and Mo from the solid phase. In the deeper parts of the cores, consumption of these metals could usually be observed which is likely due to precipitation of authigenic components. The dissolved Mo concentrations in the sediments contaminated with the modern tailings were much higher than in the natural sediments. In the pore water of the pure tailings the concentration reaches some 300 times that of the overlying water, which is the highest value ever reported for saline pore waters. These high Mo concentrations must support a flux of Mo from the sediment into the overlying water, and it is shown that such a flux could increase the inventory of naturally occurring dissolved Mo in the deep waters of Alice Arm by up to 4%.<br>Science, Faculty of<br>Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of<br>Graduate
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Fowles, Diàn D. "Animals, advertising and the environment : how are our perceptions of the environment influenced by the way animals are used in advertising images? /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 2001. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09AEVH/09aevhf789.pdf.
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Belford, Angel. "How Are Environmental Health Risks Communicated?" Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1148305230.
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Buchta, Christian, and Josef Mazanec. "SIMSEG/ACM. A simulation environment for artificial consumer markets." SFB Adaptive Information Systems and Modelling in Economics and Management Science, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, 2001. http://epub.wu.ac.at/254/1/document.pdf.
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The ACM-Artificial Consumer Market is part of the integrated simulation endeavor named the "Ar-tificial Economy". Complementing and extending the concepts developed in the SIMSEG simulation environment of Working Paper No. 60 this report proceeds in two steps. (1) it outlines the basic con-structs and consumer behavior phenomena implemented in the ACM in a nontechnical manner. (2) it elaborates the formal structure and relationships in full detail. The ACM was never headed for mimicking any real consumer market. However, it is ambitious enough to capture a number of behavioral mechanisms that are deemed crucial for exposing the Artificial Firms' analytical and strategic agents to a challenging artificial marketplace. (author's abstract)<br>Series: Working Papers SFB "Adaptive Information Systems and Modelling in Economics and Management Science"
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Cooke, Thomas Arthur. "High Impedance Arc Fault Detection in a Manhole Environment." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2010. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1767.
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The scope of this thesis was to develop a prototype high-impedance arc detection system that a utility worker could use as an early warning system while working in a manhole environment. As part of this system sensors and algorithms were developed to increase the sensitivity of detecting an arc while ignoring loads that can give false positive signatures for arcing. The latest technology was used to repeat measurements performed in previous research from decades ago that lacked in sampling speed and amplitude resolution. Several types of arcs were produced and analyzed so to establish a library of various waveform and frequency signatures. The system was constructed as a development unit and is currently gathering information in the field. Data being collected will be analyzed so future revisions will give higher confidence levels of arc detection. Other future plans involve designing a more compact and portable unit.
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Davuluri, Raghava Sai Chaitanya. "Modeling of spallation phenomenon in an arc-jet environment." UKnowledge, 2015. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/me_etds/63.
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Space vehicles, while entering the planetary atmosphere, experience high loads of heat. Ablative materials are commonly used for a thermal protection system, which undergo mass removal mechanisms to counter the heat rates. Spallation is one of the ablative processes, which is characterized by the ejection of solid particles from the material into the flow. Numerical codes that are used in designing the heat shields ignore this phenomenon. Hence, to evaluate the effectiveness of spallation phenomenon, a numerical model is developed to compute the dynamics and chemistry of the particles. The code is one-way coupled to a CFD code that models high enthalpy flow field around a lightweight ablative material. A parametric study is carried out to examine the variations in trajectories with respect to ejection parameters. Numerical results are presented for argon and air flow fields, and their effect on the particle behavior is studied. The spallation code is loosely coupled with the CFD code to evaluate the impact of a particle on the flow field, and a numerical study is conducted.
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Subramanian, Sandeep. "Effects of feedback on recovery of pointing movements in two training environments in stroke : a pilot study." Thesis, McGill University, 2007. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=112364.
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Virtual reality environments (VEs) are new tools to improve functional recovery in stroke survivors. Elements essential to maximize motor learning, can be optimized in VEs. Study objectives were: (a) to determine whether training in VE with enhanced feedback about movement patterns, leads to greater gains in arm movement quality, motor performance and decreased compensation compared to training in a similarly designed Physical environment (PE); (b) to estimate whether impairments in cognitive functioning affected the changes observed after training. Twelve stroke survivors practiced 72 pointing movements in VE or PE for 10 sessions with enhanced feedback. Kinematic analysis of pointing task, evaluations of arm impairment and function were carried out pre-post training. After training, VE group had increased shoulder flexion (p<0.05), increased shoulder horizontal adduction and decreased compensation, compared to PE group. Use of feedback correlated with fewer deficits in cognitive functioning. Training in VEs may lead to greater gains in movement quality.
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Muntasser, Tarek Ziad. "Properties and durability of slag based cement concrete in the Mediterranean environment." Thesis, University of Surrey, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.247994.
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Barrett-O'Keefe, Lillian S. "“It’s Like We Are Free”: An Analysis of Soccer-Based Programming in a California Prison." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2014. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/pitzer_theses/53.
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The concept of space goes well beyond just buildings and infrastructure; it can represent feelings of attachment and belonging, it can interact with us and generate meaning. The built environment is not just the “backdrop” of our lives, but rather it plays a major role in them. In the state of California prisons have become a prominent element of our communal landscape, now housing 2.4 million Americans today. This paper explores prisons as a rich site of analysis in terms of how our built environment affects our daily lives. In order to delve into this analysis, I will explore sport-based programming in the prison context and how these programs can create alternative spaces to foster social capital and improve the relationship between the individual and his or her surroundings. In order to bring these theories to life, I conducted a case study through the Prison Education Project at The California Rehabilitation Center to explore the efficacy of academic soccer-based programs within this context specifically.
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Ramanujan, Chandra Sekar. "AFM and nanomechanics in ambient and liquid environments." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.414222.
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Sabt, Mohamed. "Outsmarting smartphones : trust based on provable security and hardware primitives in smartphones architectures." Thesis, Compiègne, 2016. http://www.theses.fr/2016COMP2320.
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Le paysage du monde des téléphones mobiles a changé avec l’introduction des ordiphones (de l’anglais smartphones). En effet, depuis leur avènement, les ordiphones sont devenus incontournables dans des différents aspects de la vie quotidienne. Cela a poussé de nombreux fournisseurs de services de rendre leurs services disponibles sur mobiles. Malgré cette croissante popularité, l’adoption des ordiphones pour des applications sensibles n’a toujours pas eu un grand succès. La raison derrière cela est que beaucoup d’utilisateurs, de plus en plus concernés par la sécurité de leurs appareils, ne font pas confiance à leur ordiphone pour manipuler leurs données sensibles. Cette thèse a pour objectif de renforcer la confiance des utilisateurs en leur mobile. Nous abordons ce problème de confiance en suivant deux approches complémentaires, à savoir la sécurité prouvée et la sécurité ancrée à des dispositifs matériels. Dans la première partie, notre objectif est de montrer les limitations des technologies actuellement utilisées dans les architectures des ordiphones. À cette fin, nous étudions deux systèmes largement déployés et dont la sécurité a reçu une attention particulière dès la conception : l’entrepôt de clés d’Android, qui est le composant protégeant les clés cryptographiques stockées sur les mobiles d’Android, et la famille des protocoles sécurisés SCP (de l’anglais Secure Channel Protocol) qui est définie par le consortium GlobalPlatform. Nos analyses se basent sur le paradigme de la sécurité prouvée. Bien qu’elle soit perçue comme un outil théorique voire abstrait, nous montrons que cet outil pourrait être utilisé afin de trouver des vulnérabilités dans des systèmes industriels. Cela atteste le rôle important que joue la sécurité prouvée pour la confiance en étant capable de formellement démontrer l’absence de failles de sécurité ou éventuellement de les identifier quand elles existent. Quant à la deuxième partie, elle est consacrée aux systèmes complexes qui ne peuvent pas être formellement vérifiés de manière efficace en termes de coût. Nous commençons par examiner l’approche à double environnement d’exécution. Ensuite, nous considérons le cas où cette approche est instanciée par des dispositifs matériels particuliers, à savoir le ARM TrustZone, afin de construire un environnement d’exécution de confiance (TEE de l’anglais Trusted Execution Environment). Enfin, nous explorons deux solutions palliant quelques limitations actuelles du TEE. Premièrement, nous concevons une nouvelle architecture du TEE qui en protège les données sensibles même quand son noyau sécurisé est compromis. Cela soulage les fournisseurs des services de la contrainte qui consiste à faire pleinement confiance aux fournisseurs du TEE. Deuxièmement, nous proposons une solution dans laquelle le TEE n’est pas uniquement utilisé pour protéger l’exécution des applications sensibles, mais aussi pour garantir à des grands composants logiciels (comme le noyau d’un système d’exploitation) des propriétés de sécurité plus complexes, à savoir l’auto-protection et l’auto-remédiation<br>The landscape of mobile devices has been changed with the introduction of smartphones. Sincetheir advent, smartphones have become almost vital in the modern world. This has spurred many service providers to propose access to their services via mobile applications. Despite such big success, the use of smartphones for sensitive applications has not become widely popular. The reason behind this is that users, being increasingly aware about security, do not trust their smartphones to protect sensitive applications from attackers. The goal of this thesis is to strengthen users trust in their devices. We cover this trust problem with two complementary approaches: provable security and hardware primitives. In the first part, our goal is to demonstrate the limits of the existing technologies in smartphones architectures. To this end, we analyze two widely deployed systems in which careful design was applied in order to enforce their security guarantee: the Android KeyStore, which is the component shielding users cryptographic keys in Android smartphones, and the family of Secure Channel Protocols (SCPs) defined by the GlobalPlatform consortium. Our study relies on the paradigm of provable security. Despite being perceived as rather theoretical and abstract, we show that this tool can be handily used for real-world systems to find security vulnerabilities. This shows the important role that can play provable security for trust by being able to formally prove the absence of security flaws or to identify them if they exist. The second part focuses on complex systems that cannot cost-effectively be formally verified. We begin by investigating the dual-execution-environment approach. Then, we consider the case when this approach is built upon some particular hardware primitives, namely the ARM TrustZone, to construct the so-called Trusted Execution Environment (TEE). Finally, we explore two solutions addressing some of the TEE limitations. First, we propose a new TEE architecture that protects its sensitive data even when the secure kernel gets compromised. This relieves service providers of fully trusting the TEE issuer. Second, we provide a solution in which TEE is used not only for execution protection, but also to guarantee more elaborated security properties (i.e. self-protection and self-healing) to a complex software system like an OS kernel
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Rowen, Zachary. "Are Streams Protected? Outcomes of Environmental Regulation." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2017. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1011867/.
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Urban areas experience the loss of natural stream channels through conversion to artificial conveyances. This process tends to target headwater and other low order streams. The purpose of this study is to determine the patterns of stream loss in Denton, Texas, and explore the regulatory structure that manages these streams. Historic and current maps and stream data are used to map Denton's streams and categorize them according to their vertical connectivity as: 1) "intact", streams that are open to the atmosphere and connect to groundwater; 2) "concrete", channelized streams open to the atmosphere but cut off from groundwater; and 3) "buried", streams disconnected from the atmosphere and groundwater. A review of federal, state, and local regulatory codes and interviews with local government officials and other stakeholders elucidates stream management in Denton. Results from these analyses reveal high rates of stream loss in the urban center with low rates overall. The federal Clean Water Act and the local Environmentally Sensitive Areas code serve as the primary protective measures for natural streams. These regulations discourage stream impacts through expensive and complex permitting requirements. However the policies allow minor impacts which may cause cumulative effects. This study aims to inform future policy-making decisions and contribute to the knowledge of the environmental regulation of streams.
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Sterrett, Emily C. M. D. "Are Quality Improvement Outcomes Sustainable within a Dynamic Clinical Environment?" University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1470752684.
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Alsarawi, Hanan Ahmad. "Developing an integrated strategy for the assessment of hazardous substances in Kuwait's marine environment." Thesis, University of Plymouth, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/10603.
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Kuwait is undergoing rapid economic growth involving substantial developments along its coastal shores and the marine environment. Many of the activities in the region are associated with oil industry, which can pollute the shores leading to contamination from oil residues, tar balls and trace metals. About 2 million barrels of oil are spilled annually from routine discharges into the Gulf, which derives mainly from dirty ballast waters and tank washing. The comprehensive literature review of hazardous substances in Kuwait’s marine environment has concluded that for the majority of these pollutants, contamination is localized around industrialised areas, and elsewhere is generally below the permitted international standards. These finding have been supported by a fieldwork. This has been conducted to assess the use of biomarkers (bile metabolites and EROD activities) for 60 fish consisting of two native species Giant sea catfish (Arius thalassinus) and (Pelates quadrilineatus) to demonstrate the potential for the concentrations of oil based contaminants present to induce detectable levels of biological effects in fish species living in Kuwait’s marine environment. Therefore, the focus of this research has shifted its attention to another anthropogenic source that chronically pollute Kuwait’s marine environment. One of the main sources of contaminants is the continuous discharge of sewage, which impacts many locations around Kuwait. Sewage is known to contain wide array of substances that could pose an ecotoxicological impact at different levels of the ecosystem. One such threat is posed by antimicrobial agents that contribute to the growing global concern surrounding the prevalence of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria. Therefore, a major theme of this research project was to conduct a novel survey of the prevalence of AMR bacteria isolated from Kuwait’s marine environment. The AMR screening, including 598 E.coli isolated from seawater and bivalves samples during summer and winter seasons against 23 frontline antibiotics, revealed that resistance was observed from a number of locations (particularly associated with sewage outlets) for the majority of antibiotics (seawater: summer 89 - 64%; winter 90 - 57% and bivalves: summer 77%; winter 88%). A baseline screening for the class 1 integron which is known to be implicated in disseminating the antimicrobial resistance among bacteria was conducted for the isolated 598 E.coli. The findings highlighted the prevalence of such molecular genetic elements especially around the sewage outlets (36% of tested E.coli). The whole genome sequencing was conducted for a representative E.coli (26 E.coli) and it showed that E.coli derived from Kuwait’s marine environment possessed a variety of genes implicated in antimicrobial resistance potential against wide spectrum of antibiotics and suggesting that genes are exchanged via the horizontal gene transfer. These observations and recording of antimicrobial resistance phenomenon support the notion that marine environment could act not only as a reservoir for antimicrobial resistance but could also play a significant role in driving it. The AMR bacteria is considered as an effective tool for monitoring the impacts of sewage pollution. Furthermore, it highlights one of the key human health risks sewage pollution poses and its assessments allows a fully integrated health assessment of Kuwait’s marine environment to be undertaken. This will ultimately lead to recommendations outlining the future monitoring and remediation requirements required by Kuwait to tackle this issue including rational antibiotics consumption and stewardship; developing effective wastewater treatment processes to improve removal efficiency of these pollutants in sewage treatment plants; more researches on this area will provide scientific information for responsible authorities to make up regulatory standards and guidelines to control environmental dissemination of these emerging contaminants.
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Steinmann, Zoran, Aafke Schipper, Mara Hauck, Stefan Giljum, Gregor Wernet, and Mark Huijbregts. "Resource Footprints are Good Proxies of Environmental Damage." American Chemical Society, 2017. http://epub.wu.ac.at/5657/1/acs.est.pdf.
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Environmental footprints are increasingly used to quantify and compare environmental impacts of for example products, technologies, households, or nations. This has resulted in a multitude of footprint indicators, ranging from relatively simple measures of resource use (water, energy, materials) to integrated measures of eventual damage (for example, extinction of species). Yet, the possible redundancies among these different footprints have not yet been quantified. This paper analyzes the relationships between two comprehensive damage footprints and four resource footprints associated with 976 products. The resource footprints accounted for >90% of the variation in the damage footprints. Human health damage was primarily associated with the energy footprint, via emissions resulting from fossil fuel combustion. Biodiversity damage was mainly related to the energy and land footprints, the latter being mainly determined by agriculture and forestry. Our results indicate that relatively simple resource footprints are highly representative of damage to human health and biodiversity.
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Robertson, M. S. T. "Riparian management guides : are they meeting the needs of the interested public?" Diss., Lincoln University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/601.
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In New Zealand, there are many published guidelines about the management of riparian areas. The question needs to be asked, are these guides useful? This research thesis investigates the extent to which riparian management guides meet the needs of the users. This research also considers the importance of riparian management (with regards to the appropriateness of educational guides) in assisting practitioners and the interested public in the management of riparian areas. The main way of investigating this topic was with the help of discussion groups. Discussion groups were held with interested organisations. These groups fell into three categories; Urban groups, Rural groups and Interest groups. The groups were asked to define what would make a guide most useful and desirable to them under three major categories: 1) what the guide looked like, 2) what information was contained, and 3) how was the information accessed. An opportunity was also provided for any further comments. This information was used to create a list of the most popular criteria that existing guides and further publications could be examined against. Eleven criteria were identified as follows: Information should be available online; Have pictures; Include diagrams; Is simple and easy to understand; Contains how to and appropriate methods; Has a plant list; Considers maintenance issues; Identifies where to locate further information; How to contact experts; Is available in libraries; Is in booklet form. The availability of existing information was investigated and its suitability assessed against the criteria. A list of all regional, territorial and unitary councils as well as 'other organisations' that were regarded as sources of environmental knowledge were investigated to see how many had produced information on riparian and wetland management issues. In terms of sources of information, 'other organisations' produce the greatest rate of riparian management information, followed by regional/unitary authorities. Two guides from Canterbury best meet the criteria identified by the interested parties, for the Canterbury region. Each scored 10/11 and failed on different criteria. This led to the conclusion that riparian management guides in Canterbury, while obviously still having room for improvement, are very close to meeting what interested parties feel is most important. Finally, a prototype (model) based on the research is provided for anyone who might be considering preparing a riparian management guide.
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Murray, Aimee Kaye. "Selection for antibiotic resistance in the aquatic environment : novel assays to detect effect concentrations of micropollutants." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/30325.
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The environment is increasingly recognised as a key player in the emergence and mobilisation of antibiotic resistance, which negatively impacts human health, healthcare systems, and farming practices worldwide. Recent work has demonstrated concentrations of antibiotics in the natural environment may select for resistance in situ, but a scarcity of meaningful data has prevented rigorous environmental risk assessment of antibiotics. Without such data, mitigation strategies, such as improved antibiotic stewardship or environmental discharge limits, cannot be effectively designed or implemented. This thesis designed and developed two methods for determining effect concentrations of antibiotics in complex microbial communities, thereby generating a significant amount of data to address this knowledge gap. Minimal selective concentrations (MSCs) were determined in long term selection experiments for four classes of antibiotic at concentrations as low as 0.4 μg/L, which is below many measured environmental concentrations. Lowest observed effect concentrations were determined using a short term, growth based assay which were highly predictive of MSCs. A novel finding was significant selection for cefotaxime resistance occurred at a wide range of antibiotic concentrations, from 125 μg/L - 64 mg/L, which has important clinical implications. Determination of MSC in single species assays was also shown to be a poor predictor of MSC in a complex microbial community. Co-selection for antimicrobial resistance was demonstrated in selection experiments and through improved understanding of class 1 integron evolution, assessing selective effects on resistance gene acquisition using a novel PCR method and next-generation sequencing. In the final study, a novel resistance determinant (UDP-galactose 4-epimerase) conferring cross-resistance to biocides and antibiotics was discovered, providing a target for further study. These findings indicate selection and co-selection for antimicrobial resistance is likely to occur in the environment, and provides the means to rapidly generate further data to aid in the development of appropriate mitigation strategies.
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Calabrese, Anna-Letizia. "We are special, just the way we are!Listening to children's voices in an Inclusive Multicultural Environment." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Specialpedagogiska institutionen, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-131423.
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The aim of this research is to provide insight into how middle school learners experience an inclusive multicultural learning environment. Increasing diversity is challenging European educational systems, which have the arduous task to foster inclusion of learners with diverse educational needs. In order to explore the participants’ descriptions, a qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews with six learners was employed. Learners’ positions in the educational scenery are central and unique; they are the main experts on their own situations and therefore precious contributors to educational research. Results have been discussed according to a sociocultural perspective. The analysis of my data suggests that the learners perceive their inclusive environment as beneficial. Moreover, they perceive their cultural diversity as strength, reckon social interaction and teamwork with peers as favorable conditions for learning, feel competent in multicultural communication and believe that respect and acceptance towards others are necessary common values. Some implications of multiculturalism in special education are discussed according to the results of a recent European study, which shows that in all the participating European countries, Sweden included, there is a consistent discrepancy in the proportions of learners with immigrant background within special education. Assessment methods developed for mono-cultural learners appear to be a valid reason why multicultural learners are over-or under-represented in special education. Research also shows that inclusion of diversity in educational environment enables the development of social skills in all learners.
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Brooks, Elizabeth. "Are country towns and villages sustainable environments for older people?" Thesis, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10443/1160.
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This thesis asks the question of whether country towns and villages are sustainable environments for older people, through three case studies in the rural North East of England. The Introduction lays out the theoretical approaches of the study, in particular the 'critical human ecology‘ approach, within which is slotted the study‘s own proposed theory of ageing as a distinctive stage in the life-course characterised by strong temporal dynamics. The third chapter reviews research on rural ageing. The fourth chapter reviews the various national policies that impact on ageing in rural places. These introductory chapters result in three sub-questions about the physical, social and policy impacts on older people in rural places. The Methodology chapter describes the qualitative approach to data gathering that includes unstructured interviews, observational place audit and policy content analysis. Within findings that broadly confirm the literature on rural ageing in identifying a range of physical barriers and mixed social impacts, the study proposes understanding rural ageing in line with its own elaboration of 'critical human ecology‘. A series of interwoven environmental layers are posited that interact with people in later life, centring around two dynamics: a cohort/period dynamic and a transition/duration dynamic. As a study that is part central government-funded, the policy layer is of particular importance to this study‘s analysis. At this level several important trends are identified: grant revenue focused on urban places; spatial policy focused on 'city-regions‘ with notions of the rural economy centred on tourism and attracting and retaining younger age groups; while problems raised by spatial remoteness are to be solved largely through interventions such as broadband internet and 'assistive technology‘. The study concludes by counterposing such trends with rural elders‘ considerable community contributions and proposes a perspective within which greater recognition is accorded, and support provided, to elders‘ rural stewardship.
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Rivera, Michael David. "Smaller Bumble Bee Workers are Safeguards Against Poor Resource Environments." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/579067.
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Bumble bees workers (Bombus sp.) exhibit a large variation in worker body size, with up to a ten fold weight difference between full genetic sisters. Stranger still is that there appears to be little adaptive benefit for producing them as smaller workers are worse at performing colony tasks. However smaller workers can survive starvation for longer than their larger sisters. We test the hypothesis that smaller workers are either adaptations to poor resource environments or highly variable resource environments. By raising colonies in the lab of different resource regimes we find that colonies in poor resource treatments show decreased average body size, but there appears to be no tradeoff in producing either larger or more workers.
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Schafer, D. Sue. "Environmental Scanning Behavior in Physical Therapy Private Practice Firms: its Relationship to the Level of Entrepreneurship and Legal Regulatory Environment." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1988. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc331736/.
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This study examined the effects of entrepreneurship level and legal regulatory environment on environmental scanning in one component of the health services industry, private practice physical therapy. Two aspects of scanning served as dependent variables: (1) extent to which firms scrutinized six environmental sectors (competitor, customer, technological, regulatory, economic, social-political) and (2) frequency of information source use (human vs. written). Availability of information was a covariate for frequency of source use. Three levels of entrepreneurship were determined by scores on the Covin and Slevin (1986) entrepreneurship scale. Firms were placed in one of three legal regulatory categories according to the state in which the firm delivered services. A structured questionnaire was sent to 450 randomly selected members of the American Physical Therapy Association's Private Practice Section. Respondents were major decision makers, e.g., owners, chief executive officers. The sample was stratified according to three types of regulatory environment. A response rate of 75% was achieved (n = 318) with equal representation from each stratum. All questionnaire subscales exhibited high internal reliability and validity. The study used a 3x3 factorial design to analyze the data. Two multivariate analyses were conducted, one for each dependent variable set. Results indicated that "high" entrepreneurial level firms scanned the technological, competitor and customer environmental sectors to a significantly greater degree than "middle" or "low" level groups, regardless of type of legal regulatory environment. Also, "high" level firms were found to use human sources to a significantly greater degree than did lower level groups. Empirical evidence supporting Miles and Snow's (1978) proposition that "high" level entrepreneurial firms (prospectors) monitor a wider range of environmental conditions when compared to "low" level (defender) firms was presented. The results also confirmed that market and technological environments were scanned most often. Finally, the results added to the construct validity of the Covin and Slevin entrepreneurship scale and provided evidence of its generalizability to small businesses.
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Barrentine, Scott Davis. "Analyzing the Online Environment| How Are More Effective Teachers Spending Their Time?" Thesis, Portland State University, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10606359.
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<p> Teaching at an online school is so different from classroom teaching that traditional training includes few of the skills necessary to be a successful online teacher. New teachers to an online environment face a steep learning curve in how they’ll use the instructional technology, prioritize their time, and establish relationships with their students. The literature has advice for these teachers about effective online practices, but there has been little research to establish which strategies are most effective in motivating students. This pre-experimental study, conducted at an online 6th-12th grade hybrid school, investigated the practices used more often by the most effective teachers. Teacher effectiveness was measured by the number of assignments their students had not completed on time. Recognizing that the effectiveness of different practices will vary from student to student, the research analysis included two covariates, measured by surveys: the academic identity and motivational resilience of the students, and the students’ self-reported preferences for motivational strategies. More effective teachers were found to make videos more frequently, both of the teacher for motivational purposes and recorded by the teacher to help students move through the curriculum. Quick grading turnaround and updating a blog were also more common with all effective teachers. Distinct differences between middle and high school students came out during data analysis, which then became a major point of study: according to the data, more effective middle school teachers emphasized individual contact with students, but the less effective high school teachers spent more time on individualized contact. The surveys used in this study could be modified and implemented at any online school to help teachers discover and then prioritize the most effective strategies for keeping students engaged.</p><p>
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AL-KHALAF, ADNAN, and STEVE OSKAR GUSTAFSSON. "Are hedge funds of benefit forinstitutional investors in a lowinterest-rate environment?" Thesis, KTH, Skolan för industriell teknik och management (ITM), 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-223726.
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Zubko, Yulia. "The development of economics and due level of environment. Are they incompatible?" Thesis, Видавництво СумДУ, 2007. http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/7982.
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Nelson, Rachel A. "Cultivating a Healthy School Environment: Evaluation of a Virginia School Nutrition Training Program." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/98470.
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The Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework was used to evaluate the impact of the Virginia Department of Education's (VDOE) implementation of the USDA's Team Nutrition training program on Virginia elementary schools from 2017-2020. The VDOE provided training for school nutrition directors (SNDs) at workshops in June 2018 and September 2019 and continued technical assistance to help SNDs improve the school food environment within their divisions. SNDs' perceived support, self-efficacy, and intention to implement changes to the school food environment was measured through pre- and post-training surveys and quarterly check-ins. Implementation was measured using lunchroom environment observations and strategic plans created at the workshops. SNDs representing 83.9% of Virginia elementary students (512,953 students) in 111 divisions attended at least one of the workshops. Within effectiveness, perceived support from cafeteria staff was highest among all stakeholders for both the 2018 and 2019 trainings, though it significantly decreased from before to after the training for both workshops. Average perceived support did not significantly change over time. Self-efficacy was significantly higher following the 2018 training workshop only. The intervention was adopted by 84% of divisions and both intention to implement and actual implementation were highest for strategies related to Farm to School, a VDOE priority. Effectiveness and implementation are expected to improve as it takes up to years for changes to occur in schools. Despite RE-AIM not being part of the initial evaluation plan, 62% of indicators were assessed. With some adaptations to improve effectiveness, the intervention should continue and be expanded.<br>Master of Science<br>Interventions to improve the dietary habits of children are often conducted in schools, as most children attend school and children consume up to two meals while at school. USDA's Team Nutrition initiative trains school nutrition staff to serve healthy school meals and provides materials to implement nutrition education for students. The Virginia Department of Education implemented the Team Nutrition program statewide through two training workshops for school nutrition directors (SNDs), June 2018 and September 2019, and technical assistance between the trainings. This study examined the process of implementing the intervention, as well as the outcomes. Overall, 84% of Virginia elementary students were represented by SNDs at the training workshops. SNDs were most likely to intend to implement and implement changes in their divisions related to Farm to School programs and least likely change their culinary skills trainings for staff. It can take up to two years after a training for changes to be implemented in schools, therefore it may be too early to know the full effect of the training. The results showed that the intervention was widely adopted, with 84.1% of divisions in Virginia attending at least one of the training workshops. Although participation was high in-person, less SNDs participated in the intervention activities outside of the trainings. Overall, the intervention was successful in reaching many students and had a small positive effect. With some adaptations to improve the effectiveness, the intervention should continue to be implemented and expanded to the rest of the state.
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Горбань, Н. "The development of economics and due level of environment. Are they incompatible? (The influence of economic development on the environment)." Thesis, Видавництво СумДУ, 2006. http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/21786.
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Pulchan, K. Jerry. "Environmental biogeochemistry of the Northwest Arm and Trinity Bay, Newfoundland : novel molecular and carbon isotopic approaches /." Internet access available to MUN users only, 2001. http://collections.mun.ca/u?/theses,33207.
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Fuseiller, Guillaume. "Perception et génération de trajectoires en cobotique dans des environnements dynamiques." Thesis, Limoges, 2019. http://www.theses.fr/2019LIMO0103.
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L'apparition au début des années 2010 des robots collaboratifs en parallèle du développement de l'industrie 4.0 a incité les industriels à repenser la robotique. L’intégration de robots au contact des humains permet de cumuler leurs points forts en terme de flexibilité et d’adaptabilité à des tâches complexes. Cependant de nombreux défis sont posés à la communauté robotique par ces nouvelles pratiques et notamment : comment sécuriser l'interaction entre l'Homme et le Robot. Nous proposons de traiter cette problématique en proposant un pipeline complet permettant de déplacer en autonomie le robot dans l'espace partagé avec l'humain tout en garantissant sa sécurité. Pour cela nous construisons une représentation de l'espace de travail du robot sous forme d'une grille d'occupation 3D sémantique à partir de la perception du robot de son environnement. Nous projetons alors en temps réel les obstacles et humains présents dans la zone de travail du robot vers l'espace des configurations, une représentation adaptée aux bras robotiques. En utilisant l’axe médian dans l’espace des configurations, la trajectoire du robot vers l’objectif est calculée au plus loin des obstacles. Nous adaptons cette trajectoire au changement dynamique de l'environnement et modulons sa vitesse en fonction de la distance séparant l’humain et le robot. L’intérêt de cette méthode a été démontré en simulation et avec des expérimentations réelles sur des robots collaboratifs en contexte industriel<br>The appearance in the early 2010s of collaborative robots in parallel with the development of industry 4.0 prompted manufacturers to rethink robotics. Theintegration of robots in contact with humans makes it possible to combine their strengths in terms of flexibility and adaptability to complex tasks. However, many challenges are posed to the robotics community by these new practices and in particular: howto secure the interaction between Human and Robot. We propose to address this problem by proposing a complete pipeline allowing the robot to move autonomously in the space shared with humans while guaranteeing its safety. For this we build a representation of the robot's workspace in the form of a 3D semantic occupation grid from the robot's perception of its environment. We then project in real time the obstacles and humans present in the robot's work area to the configurationsspace, a representation adapted to robotic arms. Using the medialaxis in the configurationsspace, the robot's trajectory towards the objective is calculated as far as possible from obstacles. We adapt this trajectory to the dynamic change of the environment and modulate its speed according to the distance separating the human and the robot. The interest of this method has been demonstrated in simulation and with real experiments on collaborative robots in an industrial context
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Bignold, Stella Mary. "The initiation and magmatic evolution of a juvenile island arc : the Kohistan arc, Pakistan Himalaya." Thesis, Kingston University, 2001. http://eprints.kingston.ac.uk/20671/.
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The Kohistan arc, situated in the northwestern Himalaya of North Pakistan, is a Cretaceous intra-oceanic island arc which was erected during subduction of the Tethys Ocean consequent on the northward flight of India. Following accretion to the Asian margin, the arc behaved as an Andean-type continental arc prior to the collision of India with the Asian continent, which uplifted the arc and tilted it, thus providing a unique opportunity to study a complete succession of rocks from the very earliest stages of arc evolution. A combination of fieldwork, geochemical and radiogenic isotope analysis, and rare earth element modelling are used to determine the main magma sources in the mantle beneath the arc. The Kamila Amphibolites fall into two successions. The 'E-type' rocks have a MORB-type signature and were formed from 6% partial melting of a primitive, garnet¬bearing, mantle source. The 'D-type' Kamila Amphibolites have an arc signature and represent the earliest arc volcanic rocks. They originated from 15.5% partial melting of a primitive spinel-bearing, mantle source. The Jaglot Group (Gashu Confluence Volcanics and Peshmal Volcanics) and Western Volcanics of the Chalt Volcanic Group were generated by 7.5%, 13% and 2.5% partial melting, respectively, of a primitive, garnet¬bearing, mantle source. The Hunza Valley Volcanics of the ChaIt Volcanic Group, which contain boninites, have MORB-type chemistries and an arc signature. These rocks were generated from 15% melting of a depleted, spinel-bearing mantle source which may be the residuum from partial melting which produced the 'E-type' Kamila Amphibolites. That the Hunza Valley Volcanics were generated from this source is consistent with the 'E-type' Kamila Amphibolites fonning the basement and the Hunza Valley Volcanics occurring in the back-arc. Radiogenic Nd, Sr and Pb isotope analyses address an hypothesis that the magmas were generated from 'Dupal' -type mantle. The results indicate that this is not the case, but show that the isotopic chemistry of the rocks is the result of fluids from dehydration and melting of sediments carried on the downgoing ocean crust into the subduction zone affecting magma chemistry. A recent controversy concerns the polarity of subduction beneath the arc. This is partly' based on the presence of boninites, and the prevalent understanding that this rock-type occurs solely in the fore-arc. Evidence from this thesis suggests that the boninites of the Hunza Valley Volcanics were erupted into a back-arc setting, and arguments are made that boninites may also be erupted into the back-arc, and that the polarity of subduction was to the north. A model is presented for the erection of the Kohistan arc in which subduction was initiated by gravitational instability at an oceanic transform fault which connected two mid-ocean spreading ridge segments. The first arc magmas were generated by decompression melting beneath extending lithosphere during initial subsidence, and as this turned into subduction, magmas were generated at progressively greater depths in the spinel and garnet lherzolite facies, respectively. Lithospheric extension and rifting behind the volcanic front provided the setting for deompression melting to produce the back-arc Hunza Valley Volcanics, including high-Mg basalts and andesites. The arc signature in these rocks became reduced as the spreading centre developed and became progressively removed from the vicinity of the subduction zone.
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Golding, Yvonne Carole. "Are droneflies Batesian mimics of honeybees?" Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2001. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/21607/.
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This thesis explores the presumed Batesian mimicry of honeybees (Apis mellifera) (Hymenoptera:Apidae) by droneflies (Eristalis species) (Diptera:Syrphidae). Because droneflies do not show particularly close morphological similarity to honeybees, apart possibly in their size, the work has mainly concentrated on aspects of behaviour which may enhance their mimicry. Analysis of model:mimic ratios revealed that dronefly and honeybee numbers were not consistent with what might be expected if Batesian mimicry was operating. It is suggested that droneflies, which out number their models, may still gain protection by adopting a safety in numbers strategy; they could enhance their mimicry by appearing to forage in small groups, like their honeybee models. On a range of flowers it was found that droneflies behaved in a more similar way to honeybees than to other more closely related flies and bumblebees; they spent similar times on flowers and took similar times to fly between them. This was difficult to explain other than in terms of mimicry and suggests that dronefly behaviour may be evolving to be more like that of their honeybee models than other hoverflies. Further work explored this behaviour in more detail. Analysis of flight behaviour showed unexpected similarities between the dronefly Eristalis tenax and the honeybee in the flight speed, time spent hovering and routes taken between flowers. Analysis of pollen in faeces indicated that the pollen diets of droneflies were more similar to those of honeybees than to other hoverflies and suggested that further research may show that droneflies are flower constant, like their honeybee models. Having established that droneflies employ behavioural strategies to enhance their mimicry of honeybees, the work moved on to try and establish whether the mimicry enabled them to gain protection from their major predators, which are thought to be birds. It was found that dunnocks, robins, great tits and coal tits discriminate in their prey choice when offered dead droneflies and honeybees along with other flies. However, only dunnocks avoided both models and mimics but ate the other insects. More research is needed to fully establish the effectiveness of the mimicry. Finally, the effectiveness of the mimicry of a honeybee, social wasp and bumblebee by their hoverfly mimics was tested on humans using a questionnaire and coloured photographs. It was established that, in general, students could not distinguish between models and mimics but also found that many students would be prepared to kill hoverflies which looked like stinging insects. This raises serious conservation issues for hoverflies. Overall, the findings of the work are consistent with the theory that droneflies are Batesian mimics of honeybees and that they employ behavioural strategies to enhance their mimicry. It also establishes that the mimicry is effective for humans and some birds.
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Tahiri, Arber, and Samira Youkhanna. "Who are they? : Communication of brand personality by business schools inan online environment." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Ekonomihögskolan, ELNU, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-19562.
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Title: Who are they: a study about Communication of brand personality by business schools inan online environmentCourse: 4FE02E, Master Programme Degree Thesis, 15 ECTSAuthors: Arber TahiriSamira YoukhannaTutor: Dr. Rana MostaghelExaminer: Dr. Sarah PhilipsonIntroduction: MBA programs have increased from having 3200 awarded degrees during the50‟s to 1695 business schools offering different types of MBA. Researchers claim that thegrowth of MBA programs may have changed human perception of the offered program, thatMBAs have gone from being a first class ticket to a successful career to a more accommodatedservice. Brand and brand personality is another discussed aspect. Researchers suggest thatorganizations should implement more strategic communication based on brand personality, ontheir websites to attract a large audience and clearly communicate what and who they are as anorganization.Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the brand personality communication ofEuropean business schools MBA Programs in an online environment.Methodology: The study includes a comparative study were a correspondence analysis wasconducted. Aakers (1997) model of brand personality dimension was used as an inspirationaltool and randomly selected two samples; Cluster one, consisting of five Top European businessschools according to Financial Times, and Cluster two, five general European schools.Conclusion: According to findings, there are some areas such as the usage of Aaker‟s brandpersonality dimensions and their synonyms that are different between top ranked Europeanbusiness schools and other business schools in Europe. Also, top European business schoolsappear not to be closely associated to Aaker‟s brand personality traits whilst other Europeanschools are closely knitted and communicated clear brand personality dimensions.