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Aspects of Somali Tonology
No full textThe thesis shows a work of the somali language, tonology and phonetic.Figraddani waxay soo bandhigaysaa hawl laga qabtay af Soomaaliga, xagga codaynta iyo codkaca.La tesi presenta un lavoro di analisi della lingua somala, tratta nello specifico la fonetica e l'uso del tono.Document provided to the Somali Studies Centre by Prof. Morgan Nilsson.Prof. Morgan Nilsson ayaa dokumentigan ku deeqay xarunta cilmibaarista (Centro Studi Somali).Documento messo a disposizione del Centro Studi Somali dal Prof. Morgan Nilsson
Aeroelastic formulations for performance and stability predictions of horizontal axis wind turbines
No full textToday wind turbines are assuming great importance in the generation of electrical power worldwide. Due to
the increased dimensions of the rotor blades, design of a wind turbine is a very complex and multidisciplinary
task in which aeroelasticity plays a crucial role. In this context, the present thesis proposes the development of
numerical aeroelastic tools for the analysis of performance, response and aeroelastic stability of horizontal-axis
wind turbines. The objective of the present work is the formulation of numerical solvers combining accuracy and
numerical e ciency that can be useful in the preliminary phase of the design process. A nonlinear beam model
for blades structural dynamics is coupled with di erent aerodynamic models of increasing complexity able to
predict unsteady effects due to wake vorticity, flow separations and dynamic stall. Several computational fluid
dynamics and structural dynamics coupling approaches are investigated to take into account rotor wake inflow
influence on downwash. Sectional steady aerodynamic coefficients are extended to high angles of attack in order
to characterize wind turbine operations in deep stall regimes. The first aeroelastic tool proposed is based on a
spectral approach in which the Galerkin method is applied to the aeroelastic differential system; to improve the
efficiency of the proposed solver, a novel approach for the spatial integration of additional aerodynamic states,
related to wake vorticity and dynamic stall, is introduced and assessed. The second aeroelastic formulation
is based on the Finite Element Method (FEM); Hamilton's principle is applied to derive blade equations of
motion on which a devoted fifteen-degrees-of-freedom finite element is introduced to model kinematics and
elastic behavior of rotating blades. Spatial discretization of the aeroelastic equations is carried-out to derive
a set of coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations solved by a time marching algorithm. Different time
marching schemes are discussed and compared. Due to the aeroelastic similarity between wind turbine and
helicopter rotor blades, validation of the FEM-based solver firstly deals with the response and performance of
helicopter rotors in hovering and forward flight. Then, the performance of a wind turbine examined in terms
of blade elastic response and delivered thrust and power is predicted and the results are compared with those
provided by the solver based on modal approach, as well as with experimental data
Expectations and Fiscal Policy: How Foresight Affects Policy Transmission
No full textThis thesis studies how expectations a ect scal policy transmission. It revisits the
empirical evidence on the domestic and cross-border e ects of fiscal policy at the light
of scal foresight.
Fiscal measures are the result of a complex decision process, entailing long lags be-
tween the moment when the decision is taken and when it is e ectively implemented. It
follows that scal policy can be easily anticipated, with agents modifying their actions
when they receive signals about changes in policy, well before the actual implementation.
This anticipation poses non-trivial challenges for the empirical analysis. It implies that
economic variables may move well before the policy shocks estimated in macroeconomic
models take place. Overlooking the e ects of anticipation can be a major problem in VAR
models. The parsimony required to conserve degrees of freedom makes the information
carried by the few endogenous variables contained in the model much smaller than the
information possessed by private agents. This leads to a problem of non-fundamentalness
that might bias estimation results.
The predictability of scal actions is likely to in uence their cross-border e ects
as well. National scal policies can a ect other countries through a variety of potential
channels. First, an increase in public spending could fall on foreign products, stimulating
directly the foreign economy. Second, an expansionary policy could stimulate domestic
economic activity, leading to more imports from other countries and thus helping to
stimulate foreign activity as well. Third, if the scal expansion results in higher public
debt, it could push long-term interest rates up in nancial partners, crowding out private
investment. Government's nances could even become unsustainable with the risk of a
systemic crisis.
The innovative contribution of this thesis is to study scal spillovers and scal an-
ticipation together. The aim is to estimate how national scal measures a ect foreign
economies through an approach that allows to solve the problem of non-fundamentalness
in VAR analysis, while at the same time assessing the role of expectations for the inter-
national transmission of scal policy. The questions of interest that this analysis aims at
answering are the following: are policy shocks estimated in standard scal VAR models
really unanticipated? How does anticipation in uence domestic and cross-border e ects?
What are the implications for real economic activity of a change in forecasts about policy
actions? Should governments consider the implications of their claims and actions for
the formation of expectations? Should national scal policies be coordinated at a supra-
national level? These questions have important policy implications that encouraged me
to delve into these issues further and study them in depth.
The thesis comprises three chapters. The rst chapter provides a survey of the VAR
models used in the empirical literature. The second and third chapters assess from a
1
di erent perspective and with a di erent focus how the anticipation of future policy
regimes changes the transmission of scal shocks.
The rst chapter reviews how the econometric model adopted in this thesis -the vector
autoregression (VAR) - has been used in the empirical literature on scal policy. First, it
illustrates the basic characteristics of the VAR approach, describing the reasons behind
its widespread use in applied macroeconomic research. Second, it analyzes the challenges
that the VAR approach poses. Standard VAR models need to be identi ed in order to
perform structural analysis, giving economic meaning to the shocks estimated in these
systems. This chapter reviews the di erent approaches proposed in the literature to solve
the problem, classifying them in four main categories. Standard VAR models are also low-
dimensional models. The parsimony is imposed in order to conserve degrees of freedom
and implies that VAR models can carry only a limited amount of information. The
misalignment of the information space between private agents and econometricians may
lead to a problem of non-fundamentalness, biasing the estimation of policy innovations.
Discussing the solutions to this problem, I describe some innovative speci cations of
the basic approach which address this issue by taking advantage of the improvements
in computing power and data availability (GVAR, FAVAR, Panel VAR). An ulterior
limitation of standard VAR models is linearity. In this regard, this chapter outlines
a further enhancement which allows for time-varying relationships among endogenous
variable (TVC-VAR). Finally, the rst chapter focuses on reviewing how VAR models
have been used to study the international transmission of scal shocks, addressing the
issue of cross-border e ects.
The second chapter estimates the impact of expectations on scal spillovers. More
precisely, the analysis studies how the anticipation of the future scal stance a ects
the international transmission of scal measures in the US. To address this challenge use a set of two-country Bayesian VAR models. In each model, the US is the domes-
tic economy, considering its leading role in the global economy. As foreign countries,
I include Canada, France, Germany and UK because they represent the lion share of
US foreign trade. The innovative feature of this contribution is to apply an identi -
cation strategy which di erentiates an unanticipated or surprise shock from a foresight
or news shock. The former represents a discretionary increase in government spending
that was not foreseen by agents. The latter represents news received by agents which
a ect their expectations about prospective policy actions. The Philadelphia FED Survey
of Professional Forecasters provides the data used to construct the indicators of scal
forecast. This approach has a twofold advantage: it allows to address the problem of
non-fundamentalness, as well as to assess the international repercussions of both surprise
and foresight shocks. Results show the importance of expectations for the international
transmission of US scal policies. A surprise scal stimulus has negligible cross-border
e ects when it is associated with expectations of spending reversals. Foresight shocks,
on the contrary, are associated with expectations of increasing government spending and
yield positive spillovers, despite no expansionary action is taken. The sign and magnitude of these external e ects are country sensitive, suggesting an active role of country-speci c
factors in a ecting the international transmission of US scal policies. These ndings
provide novel evidence in support of the hypothesis that foresight alters scal policy
e ects on a national and international level.
The third chapter provides further evidence in support of the hypothesis that scal
policy is largely anticipated and its e ects depend on expectations. The analysis draws
on two-country VAR models between major European economies and applies the same
identi cation approach adopted in the second chapter, using this time the o cial fore-
casts of the European Commission to construct the indicators of scal forecast. Data
refer to Italy, France and Germany over the period 1971-2011. This third contribu-
tion rst documents the forecasting accuracy of the European Commission forecasts and
shows that they help address the problem of non-fundamentalness in scal VAR models.
Then, it identi es surprise and foresight shocks through a recursive ordering in which
the realized policy does not react within the year to innovations in any other variable
in the system. The expected policy, on the contrary, is allowed to react to innovations
in the realized policy, re ecting the revision of expectations upon arrival of news. The
ndings show that an unanticipated scal stimulus leads to expectations of strong de cit
reversals over the subsequent two to three years. This in turn depresses domestic and
foreign activity over the same horizon. Foresight shocks, on the contrary, have positive
e ects on domestic activity. Di erences in the responses to surprise and foresight shocks
re ect the role of expectations. The evidence is consistent with a regime where de cit
reversals are mainly based on taxation alone and suggests that the incentive to reform
scal regimes in an uncoordinated way may be small, while incentives for opportunistic
behavior may be strong.
Final Remarks
The thesis has examined how the anticipation of future policy regimes in uence the
e ects of discretionary scal actions on a national and international level. The analysis
draws on the VAR approach with an identi cation scheme that allows to estimate the
e ects of truly unanticipated scal measures as well as changes in expectations about
future policies. The results obtained provide support to the hypothesis that foresight
a ects signi cantly the response of domestic and foreign economies to scal policy. More
in details:
Chapter 2 tells us that a scal stimulus in the US produces a temporary boost in
domestic output and has no e ects on foreign economies as long as it is associated
with expectations of spending reversals. Conversely, the anticipation of an expansionary
policy has positive e ects on both domestic and foreign output, despite no scal measure
is taken.
Chapter 3 tells us that expectations about future policy actions in uence the trans-
mission of scal policy in Europe. Expansionary policies associated with previsions of
strong expenditure retrenchments over the subsequent two to three years depress domes-
tic and foreign activity over the same period. Forecasts of expansionary de cit- nanced
measures, on the contrary, have positive e ects on domestic output.
The evidence provided in this thesis has non-negligible policy implications. First,
it shows that the e ects of scal policy depend strongly on how agents foresee future
policy actions. Second, it highlights that scal policy is e ective as long as it succeeds
in steering expectations. This revives the debate on the credibility of policy institutions
as a necessary prerequisite for optimal policy. Third, it con rms the existence of scal
cross-border e ects, providing support to the theory that a coordinated approach to
scal policy on an international base could be bene cial. In this regard, it also suggests
that the incentive to reform scal regimes in an uncoordinated way may be small. On
the one side, the incentives for opportunistic behavior may be strong.
The thesis can be extended further in a number of directions. For example, the
proposed VAR analysis can be applied to a panel dataset, exploiting the cross-country dimension much further through the analysis of dynamic and static interdependencies.
Another direction for extension of this research concerns the possibility to allow for
regime-dependent responses. Strong recessions or persistent periods of steady economic
growth can in uence the way agents formulate forecasts, changing the e ects that these
forecasts have on scal policy transmission
Dehydration and deprotonation processes in minerals: development of new spectroscopic techniques
No full textA convenient way to address in detail the mechanisms of dehydration and
deprotonation processes in minerals is by using in situ-FTIR spectroscopy. This
technique allows measuring the variations in the arrangements of either OH or H2O
molecular groups at the ppm scale, in real-time and directly in operando. In this work,
high temperature (HT) FTIR methods were preliminarily set-up by studying the
dehydration of the Fe-sulfate hohmannite, and then extensively used to study the
deprotonation process of iron-rich amphiboles.
The thermal transformation of hohmannite, Fe2[O(SO4)2] 8H2O, a secondary
iron-bearing hydrous sulfate, was investigated by in situ HT-FTIR spectroscopy.
Spectroscopic data were used to complement the X-ray powder diffraction results,
allowing to better define the reaction paths for homannite and the stability of its HT
products. Five dehydration/transformation steps were identified in the heating range
of 25 – 800 °C (Ventruti et al., 2015).
Previous HT studies on amphiboles (e.g. Addison et al., 1962a; Ernst and Wai,
1970; Hodgson et al., 1965; Ungaretti, 1980), pointed out a significant coupling
between deprotonation and oxidation of Fe2+. More recently, oxidation reactions in
Fe-rich amphiboles have been considered to be responsible for the enhanced
electrical conductivity in subduction zones (Wang et al., 2012).
Detailed HT-FTIR experiments were done on a synthetic Fe-richterite close to
Na(Na,Ca)2Fe2+
5Si8O22(OH)2 and on a riebeckite from Malawi, close to Na2Fe3+
2
Fe2+
3Si8O22(OH)2. A multi-methodological approach was used, including HT-FTIR
spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, single crystal structural refinement (SREF),
and Mössbauer spectroscopy, to characterize possible structural changes induced by
increasing temperature. The main results obtained during this study are:
Abstract
1) IR spectra collected in situ for both amphiboles show an anomalous and
strong increase in the OH-stretching absorption as a function of T, whereas data
collected on quenched samples show no OH-loss before the deprotonation
temperature. This feature has never been observed before for OH-bearing minerals
and cannot be explained based on the tilting of the O-H vector with T as proposed,
for example, for micas (Tokiwai and Nakashima, 2010). We have no final explanation
at present for this issue, but such an increase of the OH-stretching intensity seems to
be related to the OH-loss mechanism which is active in the studied amphiboles.
2) X-ray single crystal structural refinements (XR-SREF) done by Oberti et al.
(2016) on potassic-ferro-richterite and those done here on riebeckite are consistent
with an oxidation of Fe2+ to Fe3+ occurring completely at M(1). The same result was
obtained by Mössbauer spectroscopy done on heat-treated riebeckite. Refinement of
cell-parameters for both potassic-ferro-richterite (Oberti et al., 2016) and riebeckite
(this study) showed an abrupt contraction of the unit cell dimensions in the 350-
450°C, and 400-500°C T range for potassic-ferro-richterite and riebeckite
respectively. Such a feature is compatible with oxidation of Fe2+ at the octahedral
sites, coupled to H-loss, responsible in particular, for the contraction along the a*
crystallographic direction. HT-FTIR experiments done on both amphiboles show in
fact the disappearance of the OH-stretching absorption in the same T range,
although a significant shift is observed in the deprotonation T when comparing data
from both techniques. This shift is particularly significant for data collected on single-
crystals.
3) HT-FTIR experiments done on riebeckite powders embedded in KBr matrix
showed no hydrogen loss after 180 minutes at 520°C, suggesting that, in agreement
with previous authors (Addison et al., 1962a; Ernst and Wai, 1970) the Fe-oxidation
process, coupled/responsible for the deprotonation process, occurs basically at the
crystal surface, where interaction with the atmospheric oxygen is possible. HT-FTIR
experiments done on single crystals using a N2 flux are compatible with this scenario.
On the basis of these results, the deprotonation of Fe-amphiboles can be
schematically represented as:
4Fe2+ + 4OH- + O2 = 4Fe3+ + 4O2- + 2H2O
Abstract
The reactants Fe2+ and OH- are provided by the amphibole, while O2 is provided by
the external atmosphere. Single-crystal XRD demonstrates that Fe3+ and O2
2- on the
right-side of this equation are still part of the (oxo)-amphibole, while only H+ is
released, by reacting at the crystal surface with external O2 to produce H2O. For the
reaction to proceed, there is the need of continuous availability of Fe2+ and H at the
crystal surface, and these must be provided by inside the crystal, via electron and
proton diffusion. Comparison on the XRD and spectroscopic data suggests that, as
expected, the electron diffusion is faster that the H diffusion. Isothermal experiments
done on powdered riebeckite yielded an activation energy (Ea) for the H diffusion of
20 ± 2 kJ/mol.
Key words: deprotonation of amphiboles, potassic-ferro-richterite, riebeckite, HT-
FTIR spectroscopy, single-crystal and powder HT X-ray diffraction, EMP analysis,
Mössbauer spectroscopy
A source-to-sink history of the supradetachment Gediz Graben (W Turkey): from exhumation of the Central Menderes Massif through the Gediz detachment fault to sedimentation in the basin
No full textThe Menderes Massif is an outstanding example of Tertiary continental metamorphic core complex, exhumed in the upper Oligocene – Miocene time, during the deposition of a series of E-W trending basins. Several studies address to the exhumation history but the geometry of deposition and the depositional history is still poorly defined. The aim of this study is to reconstruct the source-to-sink evolution of the Gediz Graben, constraining the activation of the extensional detachment tectonics in the area, defining the exhumation/cooling pattern of the Central Menderes Massif at the footwall of the Gediz Detachment Fault and reconstructing the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the supradetachment basin. We applied a multidisciplinary approach, mainly consisting in field observations and geological mapping, detrital apatite fission track analyses, in-situ U-Th-Pb titanite dating coupled with detailed textural and petrographic analyses, and micropaleontological analyses to constrain the age of sedimentation.
Detrital apatite fission track revealed three exhumation events recorded in the area: (i) a Late Oligocene – Early Miocene event related to the regional exhumation of the menderes, (ii) a Late Miocene event involving only the southern margin of the basin and (iii) a Late Pliocene –
Early Quaternary event extremely localized at the area of the Gediz Detachment; the reconstructed short-term exhumation pattern closely reflects this latter event.
In-situ U-Th-Pb dating on two generation of titanite related to the magmatic intrusion of the Salihli Granodiorite and to the onset of ductile deformation on the Gediz Detachment revealed that the magmatic emplacement (at ~16-17 Ma) predates by ~2 Ma the onset of detachment extensional tectonics (at ~14 Ma) in the area.
The integration of all the collected data allowed to propose a possible evolutionary model for the Gediz Graben that (i) started during Middle Miocene as a ramp-basin and during this phase recorded and upper Tortonian marine episode, (ii) evolved in to an half-graben in the Messinian with the activation of the southern margin and (iii) transformed in to a symmetric graben during the Quaternary
Nuove pratiche di lettura : l’introduzione degli e-book illustrati e interattivi nella scuola primaria
No full textL’introduzione nelle scuole di libri in formato digitale, recentemente avviata anche in Italia, porta a
nuove pratiche di lettura con implicazioni pedagogiche e didattiche sulle quali la comunità
scientifica si sta interrogando.
L’ipotesi della ricerca è che gli e-book illustrati e interattivi possano sviluppare negli alunni le
competenze necessarie per diventare lettori maturi e consapevoli e contribuiscano quindi a
qualificare e a estendere la proposta didattica. L’obiettivo è analizzare, approfondire e
problematizzare l’integrazione dei nuovi formati di testo nel contesto scolastico. La ricerca empirica
si è svolta raccogliendo in modo sistematico dati di tipo quali-quantitativo, che sono stati
successivamente elaborati e discussi. L’unità di analisi risulta composta da 214 studenti di classe
quarta di scuola primaria.
Le domande che hanno guidato la ricerca sono state formulate in riferimento alla letteratura
scientifica nazionale e internazionale e vertono principalmente su questi aspetti: la capacità di
comprensione del testo, le abilità meta cognitive, le strategie di lettura e la motivazione a leggere.
La triangolazione degli strumenti di indagine ha permesso di individuare la forza delle relazioni
presenti tra alcune delle variabili più importanti sottoposte a osservazione nell’ambito della ricerca.
I risultati emersi possono contribuire a individuare e ad approfondire nuove e ulteriori prospettive di
ricerca
Amori che diventano odio : fattori sociali rilevanti della violenza maschile sulle donne
No full textOgni giorno siamo investiti da notizie di donne uccise dal proprio partner o da un ex.
La cronaca ci informa di separazioni che si concludono con un femminicidio.
Sappiamo molto sulle donne che grazie ai centri anti violenza riescono ad uscire dalla
spirale della violenza, ma degli autori, degli uomini maltrattanti cosa sappiamo?
Questa ricerca pilota vuole analizzare e trovare ragionevoli fattori sociali comuni negli
uomini maltrattanti, analizzare, attraverso una verifica empirica, vissuti, motivazioni
modi del dominio. Le violenze operate, letali e non letali, sono utilizzate per
dominare la donna e avere un potere su di lei. Il nostro obiettivo è approfondire un
tema, quello degli uomini maltrattanti ancora poco indagato
Processi di sostenibilità nei complessi universitari: responsabilità ambientale, sociale e economica nell'alta formazione : una proposta di protocollo e possibili applicazioni per l'ateneo Roma Tre
No full textIl G8 di Genova : rappresentazione di un conflitto
No full textL’intento del presente studio è quello di indagare la rappresentazione audiovisiva “dal basso” dei fatti sanguinosi del G8 di Genova del 2001, costituita da diversi documentari a da un film di finzione. In quell’occasione le forze di polizia commisero una serie di violenze del tutto illegittime e arbitrarie sui manifestanti che contestavano il vertice. Quest’informazione “dal basso”, praticata dai manifestanti muniti di videocamere digitali, che in quel periodo avevano avuto una grande diffusione grazie ai loro costi contenuti, è riuscita in molti casi a stabilire la verità dei fatti in contrasto con l’informazione ufficiale, che tendeva a negarli. Da una parte riuscendo a scalfire un immaginario pubblico dominato dalla televisione e dall’altra fornendo un fondamentale apporto documentale in sede giudiziaria. La prospettiva, dato il nostro oggetto di studio, è inevitabilmente interdisciplinare: oltre agli studi prettamente sul cinema e sulla semiotica dell’immagine, si sono chiamati in causa in particolare gli studi di sociologia della comunicazione e quelli storici.
Il primo capitolo è una contestualizzazione storica dei fatti del G8 di Genova: si è indagato in particolare il percorso politico che ha portato il movimento no-global, che contestava la globalizzazione capitalista, nella città di Genova in occasione del G8. Dal controvertice di Seattle del 1999, che fece conoscere al mondo il movimento, fino a quello di Goteborg, del giugno 2001, in cui la repressione poliziesca già si era fatta molto dura, quasi anticipando quello che sarebbe successo a Genova da lì a poco.
Il secondo capitolo è basato invece su due linee portanti: uno sguardo all’indietro, che fornisce una genealogia storica dello sguardo “dal basso” del G8 di Genova, collegandolo alle esperienze delle avanguardie novecentesche, e uno in avanti, che cerca di capire come si è evoluta la rete dai tempi del G8. Si è fatto riferimento in particolare ad Indymedia, lo storico network di videoattivisti legato al movimento no-global.
Il terzo capitolo è invece una riflessione sull’intima natura dell’immagine e sulle implicazioni politiche di questa natura. Questo capitolo affronta il rapporto che l’immagine instaura con il reale: quando essa può offrirsi come un suo rispecchiamento e quando invece rischia di falsificarlo? Si è cercato quindi di capire come questa riflessione si possa applicare al nostro oggetto di studio, le immagini audiovisive del G8 di Genova.
Il quarto capitolo, infine, centro teorico del lavoro, affronta il concetto di montaggio delle immagini: si è indagata la capacità del montaggio di offrirsi come un metodo per svelare la realtà, lavorando in qualche misura contro il potere falsificatorio dell’immagine. Esso è stato quindi inteso sia come una tecnica applicata in un prodotto audiovisivo, e, segnatamente, ai documentari sul G8 oggetto del nostro studio, che come un vero proprio metodo critico da adottare nei confronti delle immagini: per permetterci di cogliere con sempre più precisione la complessità della realtà
Identification and classification of motor activities using inertial sensors data
No full textActivity of daily living (ADL) recognition has great importance in the field of rehabilitation, physical monitoring and ubiquitous computing. Recognition of ADL is essential because of the connection between physical inactivity and common health problems, like osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity. This study is motivated by the fact that it is important to monitor the activities of a person in daily routines, so as to associate the day-by-day motor performance with the recommendations given by the physicians. A set of aerobic activities (walking, stairs walking, running, sitting, standing) which are considered useful to promote the well-being of a person are used to design the activity recognition system. Inertial measurement units including accelerometer and gyroscope represent a promising technology in long term physical activity monitoring. This work aims to design a physical activity recognition system intended to classify motor activities from an inertial sensor, which can be profitably used in real-time applications. To achieve this goal, the system is designed and evaluated on different parameters of the algorithm: pre-processing steps involved in signal processing, segmentation of the signal to minimize delays associated with further processing, determination of the best feature set for classification, and training of the classification scheme based on both subject-dependent and subject-independent validation to maximize recognition accuracy. It is believed that the accuracy of systems able to recognize daily living activities in real time heavily depends on the processing steps for signal segmentation. This study presented a modified event-based segmentation algorithm that introduces a much reduced temporal delay between activity occurrence and its detection and recognition. The system is capable of distinguishing those activities which are considered hard to differentiate in the previous studies, such as walking, stairs ascending and stairs descending. The presented scheme is not only capable to classify these activities, but it can also be helpful in ambulatory gait analysis, where on-time processing may be needed, and spaces for motion capture systems are not at hand. Finally, the availability of the inertial data flows coming from mobile phones and smart bracelets makes it possible to include the detection and recognition algorithms presented in this thesis into these commodities, thus expanding their use also for daily living activity long term monitoring for fitness, active ageing, and “active growing” applications