Waterloo Library Journal Publishing Service (University of Waterloo, Canada)
Not a member yet
2023 research outputs found
Sort by
Sisyphus’s Broadband: Exploring models of rural community participation in digital infrastructure and connectivity
No full textRural communities continue to face inequitable access to digital infrastructure and Internet connectivity, and pervasive digital divides in both infrastructure and capacities remain. A growing number of rural communities have taken (or attempted taking) active roles in the connectivity landscape. The literature investigating these community-led initiatives is emergent, with little understanding about the range of rural community-led initiatives and little empirical evidence to guide community decision-making in terms of which approach, if any, to use. This paper outlines the development of a set of rural community models with the aim of inviting further refinement and challenge of these models and to help communities understand the challenges and options for building local Internet access
Foreign direct investment and innovation in Europe regions: The moderating role of institutional quality
No full textThis paper examines the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on innovation using country-level data for Europe regions. It also investigates the moderating role of institutional quality in this relationship. The results show that FDI has a negative effect on innovation in the host country. They also reveal that institutional quality plays a moderating role in this relationship. They point out that institutional items do not equally matter in the relationship between FDI and local innovation for Western Europe as for Eastern and Central Europe. These findings highlight the channels through which institutions can boost innovation from FDI
Value of Bidders Default Risk Information: Designing Reliable Auction Using Post-Bidding Mechanism
No full textTraditional auction theory typically assumes that bidders will fully honor their commitments upon winning. However, this assumption often proves inadequate in high-stakes auctions, such as those for infrastructure projects or luxury assets, where securing the necessary funds post-auction can pose challenges. Factors such as market volatility, liquidity constraints, or delays in financing frequently result in bidder defaults, leading to substantial disruptions for sellers, including the costs of re-auctioning and project delays. This paper seeks to bridge this gap in auction theory by exploring how comprehensive information about bidders’ default risks can be utilized through a straightforward post-bidding mechanism. Furthermore, it highlights the advantages this approach offers to the auctioneer compared to scenarios where such critical information is unavailable
Fatigue of Cold Spray-Assisted Resistance Spot Welding of Aluminum to Magnesium
No full textDirect fusion welding of Al to Mg creates brittle intermetallics (IMCs) that restrict the application of these joints in structural applications. An interlayer foil can be employed to prevent intermetallic formation allowing successful resistance spot weld joint. However, the presence of a foil increases the part count, and is difficult to place during welding. Cold spray coating is a promising solid-state coating deposition technology used here to provide an enhanced interface to facilitate joining Al to Mg sheets by means of resistance spot welding. The ability of cold spray coating technology to deposit an intermediate layer on a substrate surface using powder material is shown to be beneficial in restricting the formation of the brittle intermetallic between Al and Mg. In this study, Ni powder has been successfully coated onto Al and Mg sheets. The Ni-coated coupons were then welded via resistance spot welding using optimized welding parameters. Successful welds were produced using 27 kA for 15 cycles in 2 pulses with 5 delay cycles between pulses. Metallurgical bonding between the Al, Mg, and Ni coating in the fusion zone were revealed by using scanning electron microscopy. It is shown that the bonding between the three elements prevents the formation of Al-Mg IMCs and restricts formation of deleterious IMCs. Fatigue test was then performed to evaluate the joint performance under cyclic load. The develop weld survived 2M cycles at maximum cyclic load of 1.28 kN at R=0.2. While there are no reports on fatigue of direct weld of Al/Mg, the monotonic tensile strength of lap shear samples of the developed weld is five-fold more than the direct Al/Mg welds, showing significant improvement
Evaluating the Impact of Stereo Overlap on Calibration parameters in Camera and Projector Systems
No full textStereo overlap plays a key role in projection mapping, influencing calibration accuracy and system cost. Understanding the relationship between stereo overlap and calibration error allows for reducing overlap while maintaining acceptable accuracy, thus reducing the number of cameras needed and cutting costs. This paper investigates the impact of stereo overlap on camera and projector calibration using synthetic data. The first study examines camera calibration accuracy as a function of stereo overlap between cameras, while the second extends the analysis to projectors. The findings contribute to insight in reducing costs while maintaining system accuracy
A success metric for individual player encounters in Ice Hockey videos
No full textPlayer scouting is a critical component of hockey,
enabling teams to identify standout players, devise
strategies, and assess performance. However, traditional
scouting methods are resource-intensive, requiring
substantial time and travel expenses for organizations.
An approach to performance assessment
has been video footage analysis; however, in
the context of ice hockey, challenges arise primarily
due to the fast-paced nature of the sport and
the limited field of view in broadcast footage.This
makes it difficult to consistently track all players
on the ice simultaneously. A solid performance
metric that would make the most out of the information
at hand is thus required. We present a
1v1 Success Metric Pipeline, an autonomous system
designed to analyze video footage and calculate
a success metric to evaluate defensive plays.
By automating the tracking and evaluation process,
this tool not only streamlines scouting but also provides
coaches with valuable insights for player performance,
which may come into play during line
matching and other strategic decision-making during
games. Results show that the ISM metric properly
reflects the danger level of a one on one encounter
and that despite the sample size being small,
the model achieves low root mean square error
Improving Speech Emotion Recognition: A Semi-Supervised Approach for Fine-Grained Analysis
No full textA key challenge in speech emotion recognition
(SER) is the lack of fine-grained datasets contain-
ing both emotion and intensity labels, which lim-
its the performance of data-demanding deep learn-
ing models in applications like social companion
robots. Most existing datasets cover only ba-
sic emotions and rarely include nuanced inten-
sity annotations. To address this gap, we present
using semi-supervised learning (SSL) to create a
larger fine-grained SER (FGSER) dataset from lim-
ited available datasets. Our model classifies 5
distinct emotions—anger, sadness, happiness, dis-
gust, and fear—each represented across three inten-
sity levels: low, medium, and high. We propose
two SSL approaches tailored to different applica-
tion needs: a Random Forest Classifier (RFC) for
edge-computing environments that demand compu-
tational efficiency, and a Convolutional Neural Net-
work (CNN) for scenarios where higher accuracy is
critical. Including only high-confidence predictions
to the original small dataset will increase the size
of the dataset and hence improvement of the clas-
sifier’s accuracy and generalization. This enhance-
ment supports the development of conversational
AI with high emotional intelligence (EQ), advanc-
ing FGSER for richer human-computer and human-
robot interactions, more specifically for social com-
panion robotic applications
Stampede Story Map
No full textStampede Story Map by Adrian Stimson
Adrian Stimson, a member of the Siksika Nation, was invited by the Calgary Institute for the Humanities at the University of Calgary to create a story map that highlights lesser-known and sometimes controversial histories of the Calgary Stampede. The first Calgary Stampede was held in 1912, evolving from the Calgary Exhibition, which began in 1886
