6,171 research outputs found
Odenwalder, Mrs. Peter (Amy Florence Murphy).
No full textPhotograph from the C.R. Savage Portrait Studio. Name associated with the photograph: Mrs. P. Odenwalder. Amy Florence Murphy Odenwalder, daughter of Mary Elizabeth Bean and William Columbus Murphy, was born on 18 June 1886 in Salina, Utah. Amy Florence Murphy married Peter Odenwalder on 7 November 1907 in Salt Lake City, Utah
The energy problem in resource constrained wireless networks
No full textToday Wireless Sensor Networks are part of a wider scenario involving several wireless and wired communication technology: the Internet Of Things (IoT). The IoT envisions billions of tiny embedded devices, called Smart Objects, connected in a Internet-like structure. Even if the integration of WSNs into the IoT scenario is nowadays a reality, the main bottleneck of this technology is the energy consumption of sensor nodes, which quickly deplete the limited amount of energy of available in batteries. This drawback, referred to as the energy problem, was addressed in a number of research papers proposing various energy optimization approaches to extend sensor nodes lifetime. However, energy problem is still an open issue that prevents the full exploitation of WSN technology.
This thesis investigates the energy problem in WSNs and introduces original solutions trying to mitigate drawbacks related to this phenomenon. Starting from solutions proposed by the research community in WSNs, we deeply investigate critical and challenging factors concerning the energy problem and we came out with cutting-edge low-power hardware platforms, original software energy-aware protocols and novel energy-neutral hardware/software solutions overcoming the state-of-art.
Concerning low-power hardware, we introduce the MagoNode, a new WSN mote equipped with a radio frequency (RF) front-end which enhances radio performance. We show that in real applicative contexts, the advantages introduced by the RF front-end keep packet re-trasmissions and forwards low. Furthermore, we present the ultra low-power Wake-Up Radio (WUR) system we designed and the experimental activity to validate its performance. In particular, our Wake-up Radio Receiver (WRx) features a sensitivity of -50 dBm, has a current consumption of 579nA in idle-listening and features a maximum radio range of about 19 meters. What clearly resulted from the experimental activity is that performance of the WRx is strongly affected by noise. To mitigate the impact of noise on WUR communication we implemented a Forward Error Correction (FEC) mechanism based on Hamming code. We performed several test to determine the effectiveness of the proposed solution. The outcome show that our WUR system can be employed in environment where the Bit Error Rate (BER) induced by noise is up to 10^2, vice versa, when the BER induced by noise is in the order of 10 ́3 or below, it is not worth to use any Forward Error Correction (FEC) mechanism since it does not introduce any advantages compared to uncoded data.
In the context of energy-aware solutions, we present two protocols: REACTIVE and ALBA-WUR. REACTIVE is a low-power over-the-air programming (OAP) protocol we implemented to improve the energy efficiency and lower the image dissemination time of Deluge T2, a well-known OAP protocol implemented in TinyOS. To prove the effectiveness of REACTIVE we compared it to Deluge exploiting a testbed made of MagoNode motes. Results of our experiments show that the image dissemination time is 7 times smaller than Deluge, while the energy consumption drops 2.6 times. ALBA-WUR redesigns ALBA-R protocol, extending it to exploit advantages of WUR technology. We compared ALBA-R and ALBA-WUR in terms of current consumption and latency via simulations. Results show that ALBA-WUR
estimated network lifetime is decades longer than that achievable by ALBA-R. Furthermore, end-to-end packet latency features by ALBA-WUR is comparable to that of ALBA-R.
While the main goal of energy optimization approaches is motes lifetime maximization, in recent years a new research branch in WSN emerged: Energy Neutrality. In contrast to lifetime maximization approach, energy neutrality foresees the perennial operation of the network. This can be achieve only making motes use the harvested energy at an appropriate rate that guarantees an everlasting lifetime. In this thesis we stress that maximizing energy efficiency of a hardware platform dedicated to WSNs is the key to reach energy neutral operation (ENO), still providing reasonable data rates and delays. To support this conjecture, we designed a new hardware platform equipped with our wake-up radio (WUR) system able to support ENO, the MagoNode++. The MagoNode++ features a energy harvester to gather energy from solar and thermoelectric sources, a ultra low power battery and power management module and our WUR system to improve the energy efficiency of wireless communications. To prove the goodness in terms of current consumption of the MagoNode++ we ran a series of experiments aimed to assess its performance. Results show that the MagoNode++ consumes only 2.8 μA in Low Power Mode with its WRx module in listening mode.
While carrying on our research work on solutions trying to mitigate the energy problem, we also faced a challenging application context where the employment of WSNs is considered efficient and effective: structural health monitoring (SHM). SHM deals with the early detection of damages to civil and industrial structures and is emerging as a fundamental tool to improve the safety of these critical infrastructures. In this thesis we present two real world WSNs deployment dedicated to SHM. The first concerned the monitoring of the Rome B1 Underground construction site. The goal was to monitor the structural health of a tunnel connecting two stops. The second deployment concerned the monitoring of the structural health of buildings in earthquake-stricken areas. From the experience gained during these real world deployments, we designed the Modular Monitoring System (MMS). The MMS is a new low-power platform dedicated to SHM based on the MagoNode. We validated the effectiveness of the MMS low-power design performing energy measurements during data acquisition from actual transducers
FIT Authors Talks: "The Miracles" with Amy Lemmon
No full textProfessor and Chair of English and Communication Studies Amy Lemmon reads from and talks about her book The Miracles.With lyricism and grace, Amy Lemmon gives us a worldview to live by. The all-too-familiar “wear of sorrow’s rub” is presented alongside the world’s miracles, including the author’s two children. Fearlessly bridging the gap between tradition and artistic innovation, the author moves us forward with her into the unknown, to entertain new relationships with herself, her children, and the world
American Women Writers: Amy M. Clark
No full textA 2011 conversation with the author Amy M. Clark about her life and the inspiration for her work
Dr. Amy Howard – Faculty Author Interview
No full textAmy Howard, executive director of the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement and associated faculty in American studies, discusses her new book, More Than Shelter: Activism and Community in San Francisco Public Housing, published recently by the University of Minnesota Press. Her research and book looks closely at three public housing projects in San Francisco and brings to light the dramatic measures tenants have taken to create communities that mattered to them
Austerity in the United Kingdom: the intersections of spatial and gendered inequalities
No full textThis commentary examines gendered and spatial inequalities that are increasing under a regime of austerity in the United Kingdom. It is concerned with how inequalities intersect and interact across space and populations. A sense of urgency is vital when discussing the effects of austerity on regions and local communities; five years of cuts have had devastating effects on many deprived areas. An examination of the specific risks to women under austerity is essential. The commentary will be of interest to geographers concerned with the intersections of gender, economy and place. This paper proposes a feminist political economy perspective for the analysis of austerity and place, to acknowledge the centrality of gendered political economy, absent from many geographical studies of austerity
Payton, Amy Louise. "Looking Back" radio show on Paytons book on Georgina Stirling.
No full textCBC freelance broadcaster Cathy Porter talking to author Amy Louise Payton about the life of Georgina Stirling, Soprano Premadonna from Twillingate. Payton talks about her interest in the singer and her book on Stirling; Hiram Silk interviews Amy Louise Payton on the program Looking Back about her book Nightingale of the North about Georgina Stirling. Payton talks about Stirling and the history of the Twillingate area
Sparrows can't sing : East End kith and kinship in the 1960s
No full textSparrows Can’t Sing (1963) was the only feature film directed by
the late and much lamented Joan Littlewood. Set and filmed in
the East End, where she worked for many years, the film deserves
more attention than it has hitherto received. Littlewood’s career
spanned documentary (radio recordings made with Ewan MacColl
in the North of England in the 1930s) to directing for the stage
and the running of the Theatre Royal in London’s Stratford East,
often selecting material which aroused memories in local audiences
(Leach 2006: 142). Many of the actors trained in her Theatre
Workshop subsequently became better known for their appearances
on film and television. Littlewood herself directed hardly any material
for the screen: Sparrows Can’t Sing and a 1964 series of television
commercials for the British Egg Marketing Board, starring Theatre
Workshop’s Avis Bunnage, were rare excursions into an area of practice
which she found constraining and unamenable (Gable 1980: 32).
The hybridity and singularity of Littlewood’s feature may answer,
in some degree, for its subsequent neglect. However, Sparrows Can’t
Sing makes a significant contribution to a group of films made in
Britain in the 1960s which comment generally on changes in the
urban and social fabric. It is especially worthy of consideration,
I shall argue, for the use which Littlewood made of a particular
community’s attitudes – sentimental and critical – to such changes and
for its amalgamation of an attachment to documentary techniques
(recording an aural landscape on location) with a preference for nonnaturalistic
delivery in performance
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