1522 research outputs found
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Take off a Load: Load-Adjusted Video Quality Prediction and Measurement
Get PDFAn algorithm for predicting the quality of video received by a client from a shared server is presented. A statistical model for this client-server system, in the presence of other clients, is proposed. Our contribution is that we explicitly account for the interfering clients, namely the load. Once the load on the system is understood, accurate client-server predictions are possible with an accuracy of 12.4% load adjusted normalized mean absolute error. We continue by showing that performance measurement is a challenging sub-problem in this scenario. Using the correct measure of prediction performance is crucial. Performance measurement is miss-leading, leading to potential over-confidence in the results, if the effect of the load is ignored. We show that previous predictors have over (and under) estimated the quality of their prediction performance by up to 50% in some cases, due to the use of an inappropriate measure. These predictors are not performing as well as stated for about 60% of the service levels predicted. In summary we achieve predictions which are ≈50% more accurate than previous work using just ≈2% of the data to achieve this performance gain –a significant reduction in computational complexity results
Selecting Energy Efficient Cluster-Head Trajectories for Collaborative Mobile Sensing
Get PDFWe study the design of energy-efficient stochastic leader-selection algorithms in environments which are sensed by mobile handsets. This work optimizes the energy usage of the interaction between mobile handsets and an application server. The energy-efficiency of mobile handset communications is of increasing importance given the convergence of mobile computing and cloud computing. In some scenarios the lack of WiFi forces mobile devices to expend additional energy transmitting application specific sensed data over cellular networks. This paper focuses on (1) fairly allocating the overhead of transmitting sensed data to a cellular base station amongst the mobile devices by selecting a cluster-head (Fairness is measured in terms of the relative energy expended); (2) successively improving the location of the selected leader such that the efficiency of the entire system is improved; and finally, (3) allowing the mobile devices to gradually forget what they have learned so that the life-time of the mobile devices is increased (without significantly affecting energy savings). We present two algorithms in this paper and demonstrate that the battery life-time associated with sensor data transmissions of the mobile handsets may be increased by 20-40% without incurring a sensing accuracy penalty
Prevalence of age-related macular degeneration in the Republic of Ireland
Get PDFAbstract
Background Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) remains the most common cause of visual loss among subjects over 50 years of age in the developed world. The Irish Longitudinal study on Ageing (TILDA) is a population-based study of subjects aged 50 years or older, designed to investigate factors that influence ageing, and has enabled this investigation of the prevalence of AMD in the Republic of Ireland (ROI).
Methods Data collected from a nationally representative sample of community-living older adults aged 50 years and over in ROI over the period November 2009 to July 2011. 5035 participants attended the TILDA health centre for assessment. Retinal photographs were obtained in 4859 of these participants. Retinal grading was performed in a masked fashion using a modified version of the International Classification and Grading System for AMD.
Results Adjusting for lower response rates among older subjects, the estimated overall prevalence of any AMD was 7.2% (95% CI 6.5% to 7.9%) in the population aged 50 years or older. The estimated prevalence of early AMD was 6.6% (95% CI 5.9% to 7.3%), and the estimated prevalence of late AMD was 0.6% (95% CI 0.4% to 0.8%). Statistically significant associations with AMD included increasing age and family history of the condition.
Conclusions This is the first study to provide prevalence estimates of AMD in ROI and will inform eye care professionals and policymakers involved in the delivery and planning of care for those afflicted with this condition
A new perspective on Einstein's philosophy of cosmology
Get PDFIt has recently been discovered that Einstein once attempted - and subsequently abandoned - a 'steady-state' model of the universe, i.e., a cosmic model in which the expanding universe remains essentially unchanged due to a continuous creation of matter from empty space. The discovery offers several new insights into Einstein's cosmology, from his view of the role of the cosmological constant to his attitude to the question of cosmic origins. More generally, Einstein's exploration of steady-state cosmology casts new light on his philosophical journey from a static, bounded cosmology to the dynamic, evolving universe, and is indicative of a pragmatic, empiricist approach to cosmology
Sport and physical activity for ethnic minority groups in Ireland-an evaluation of participation and programme provision
Get PDFIntroduction: Knowledge on the engagement of ethnic minority groups in sport and physical activity (PA) in Ireland is lacking. This research investigates sports and PA participation among ethnic minority groups, provision of programmes in Ireland for this group, and the role of sport, PA and recreation in promoting social inclusion.
Methodology: This research uses mixed quantitative (modified International Physical Activity Questionnaire and a stakeholder questionnaire) and qualitative methods (focus groups and semi structured interviews). Participants were conveniently selected Nigerian, Cameroonian, Congolese, Ghanaian, Ivory Coast, Kenyan, South African, Sudanese, Zimbabwean, Bangladeshi, Chinese, Brazilian, Spanish, Turkish, Czech Republic and Polish origin men and women aged 20+ years with an additional 8 key stakeholders representatives. The setting was four urban counties (Dublin, Waterford, Kilkenny, Offaly) for the interviews with stakeholders and three urban counties (Dublin, Kilkenny, Waterford) for the focus groups with ethnic minority group members. Questionnaires and focus groups were administered to ethnic minority groups to assess PA participation.
Results: Analysis of questionnaires (n=150) revealed a significant difference in total PA participation levels between males and females and between nationalities (p<.05=.000). A survey of Local Sports Partnerships and National Governing Bodies of sport (n=35) revealed that 34.4% offer/deliver specific programmes for ethnic minorities. The policy/strategy review of agencies revealed a lack of specific ethnic minority group actions that encourage participation and improve programme provision. Focus group discussions highlighted cultural understanding/appropriate programmes, education/awareness and inclusive policies as enablers to participation. Barriers included finance, language, access to facilities and policies. Stakeholders’ interviews showed how funding, policies and context of programmes can positively or negatively facilitate the development, sustainability and provision of programmes for ethnic minority groups.
Conclusion: While there is considerable interest in promoting social inclusion in and through sport and PA in Ireland, action is often uncoordinated and undocumented. There is a need for policies that facilitate opportunities to access various programs and facilities which can encourage/increase sport and PA participation in ethnic minority groups
Business model innovation: a temporal perspective
Get PDFRecent years have seen an explosion in the number of academic and practitioner-oriented publications on
business models and business model innovation. Indeed, companies that traditionally focused on product and
service innovation, are turning toward business model innovation as an alternative or complement to product or
process innovation. Nevertheless, companies struggle to innovate the business models through which
commercialisable new ideas and technologies will pass. At the same time, the literature remains skewed toward
product and process innovation rather than business model innovation. This paper highlights the need for a
temporal view of the business model innovation process and proposes a conceptual model of the business model
innovation process to enable organizations to identify, model and prioritise potential business models for their
technological innovation . It also develops a prioritisation framework to be used for ranking alternative business
models, which serves as an input towards developing an IT-based business model decision support system
Einstein's cosmic model of 1931 revisited: an analysis and translation of a forgotten model of the universe
Get PDFWe present a translation and analysis of a cosmic model published by Einstein in 1931. The paper, which is not widely known, features a model of a universe that undergoes an expansion followed by a contraction, quite different to his static model of 1917 or the monotonic Einstein-de Sitter model of 1932. The paper offers many insights into the cosmology of Albert Einstein in the light of the first evidence for an expanding universe, and we discuss his views of issues such as the curvature of space, the cosmological constant, the singularity and the timespan of the expansion. We argue that retrospective descriptions of this model as cyclic or periodic are not historically or mathematically accurate. We find that calculations in the paper of the matter density and radius of the universe contain a numerical error, a finding that is supported by writing on a blackboard used by Einstein during a lecture at Oxford University in May 1931. Our article concludes with a general discussion of his philosophy of cosmology
Cultural Constructs of National Identity in Irish Saga-Inspired Musical Composition
No full textThe performance of saga-inspired works, composed within the last fifty years, has given life to a number of the best-known tales from the ancient manuscripts. This thesis undertakes an examination of selected compositions derived from two specific sagas from early Irish literature — the Táin and Buile Suibhne. One way for composers to forge an Irish identity is through the fusion of an aggregate of components from the European canon with ancient Irish sagas, thus affirming the universality of Irish culture. The timelessness and social impact of the local and universal themes of early Irish sagas, centuries after they were documented, resonate in our daily lives. How the composers chose to embrace the Irish past is reflected in their attitudinal responses to the sagas. The linking of traditions provides a path for the composer to either succumb to global homogeneity or particularisation, or to embrace pluralism, which serves to enrich Irish culture
The Provision of Antenatal Care for Low Risk Pregnant Women in the South Eastern Region of Ireland: A Mixed Methods Study [Volume 2]
No full textDreamland
Get PDFIt is June 1934 and Seafield, a fictitious coastal town near Waterford, which provides the setting for Jim Nolan’s new play Dreamland. Atmospheric and sensory conditions are oppressive as a 70-tonne whale, washed up on the strand, stinks, rots and bakes in a heat wave. Johnny Kinanne, an Irish man referred to by some as “the Yank” because of his thirty years in New York, has bought the salvage rights to the whale whose skeleton he intends to display as the first of many attractions in his planned theme park, the eponymous Dreamland