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Cold Shoulder CH 4
|Posted by Ian StormStaff on May 12, 2014 at 7:30 AM
|comments (0)
Read Chapters THREE, TWO, ONE.
"There's no way I can possibly supply you with what you think you need to fight this, Mr. StormStaff." A pom...Read Full Post »
The Princess and the Wizard: Prologue
|Posted by Marissa Petal on March 22, 2014 at 1:00 PM
|comments (0)
"I can't believe we're so close!" A woman with brown hair and blue eyes said with glee. She slightly leaned over the railing, getting a good glimpse of El Dorado, the stars of the Spiral twinkling above the windlane. A man with blonde hair and green eyes had approached the woman, gently pulling her back, "Careful Charlotte; we don't need you going overboard." He told her lightly. Charlotte scoffed, "Why must you always be so cautious, John? We're on an adventure!" John nodded in agreement,...Read Full Post »
The Locket (Short story)
|Posted by Marissa Petal on February 22, 2014 at 3:00 PM
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A woman had slowly paced throughout Avery's empty office, admiring his different collections throughout the Spiral. With every calm and slow step, there would be a soft ring of bells that came along with it. The woman had hair black as night and eyes blue as the sea. She wore a black dress that were decorated with blue wraps. Around her hips was a gold chain decorated with small gold bells, along with gold bracelets and anklets with the same bells. She also wore black ankle-length boots, forc...Read Full Post »
Unknown Identities - Epilogue
|Posted by Marissa Petal on February 15, 2014 at 3:00 PM
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Boris's POV
The Commons were highly decorated in celebration of Ravenwood's Anniversary. There were streamers, banners, and balloons everywhere. Most of the students wore colorful party hats as they partied and played games. I was leaning against of the outside pillars of the library with crossed arms, surveying the area. I heard the doors open behind me and familiar footsteps approaching me. "Aren't you going to go have fun?" Vanessa asked as she pulled her red ha...Read Full Post »
Unknown Identities - (CHP 17) I Promise I Will Find You
|Posted by Marissa Petal on February 15, 2014 at 2:00 PM
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We appeared in the Crown of Fire. There was a gaping hole in the middle of the area, smoke coming out of it. "Is that supposed to be a volcano?" I asked. Boris shrugged, "I guess. I don't know." "Aren't you supposed to know this, Anna?" Vanessa asked with furrowed eyebrows. I blinked, "I don't remember. I don't remember being here, or fighting Malistaire." "I'm guessing that's Malistaire." Boris said, pointing at a pile of bones, "At least the Protectors had the decency to bury your body." "T...Read Full Post »
Unknown Identities - (CHP 16) Crystallized Stone
|Posted by Marissa Petal on February 15, 2014 at 1:00 PM
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"Now this. This is beautiful." Vanessa said in awe. We stood in front of one of the crystal groves, which sparkled and glittered before our eyes. "Yeah, might be more beautiful if there wasn't huge spiders." Boris deadpanned, frowning at the sight of the crystallized spiders. She rolled her eyes, "Whatever, let's just go get this crystal and finish this."
Once we approached the abandoned tent, there were holes and spider webs. Boris brushed off some spider webs before approaching the de...Read Full Post »
Unknown Identities - (Chp 15) Streets of Broken Memories
|Posted by Marissa Petal on February 8, 2014 at 2:00 PM
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The trip throughout the Plaza of Conquests was quick. It was deserted. The streets and buildings were cracked, ruined, or burned. The trees and rivers were burned and taken over by lava. The Necropolis was practically the same. "It's a cementery." Vanessa pointed out once we saw staircases that led to underground tombs and stone purple coffins that rested beneath ruined arches. She started to walk towards each one during the walk towards Dragonspyre Academy, reading off every name. But then, ...Read Full Post »
Unknown Identities - (CHP 14) Forgotten Librarian
|Posted by Marissa Petal on February 8, 2014 at 1:00 PM
|comments (0)
"Anna." Boris said calmly. I ignored him. I was staring at the cracked sidewalk in front of me, hugging my knees to my chest tightly. "Anna." He had repeated, slowly knelting beside me. He gently placed a hand on my back, brushing away a few strands of my hair. "My.... My childhood..." I muttered. "Those memories will return. I promise." He said softly. "It appears the closer we get, the more she starts to forget." Vanessa said a few feet behind us. "Then let's go back to Wizard City. Forget ...Read Full Post »
Cold Shoulder CH 3
|Posted by Ian StormStaff on February 3, 2014 at 7:30 AM
|comments (0)
"Oh my!" Gamma called as he followed Ian into Ambrose's office. Greyrose lay floating in mid-air surrounded by green aura, which was cycling around her, healing her and removing the dark impurities. Moolinda Wu turned as Ian entered and gasped. "This boy needs help too!" She flicked her wrist and a card cracked the ground, a fairy burst from it and began checking Ian for injuries, splashing healing dust wherever he was cut or bruised. He began to feel les...Read Full Post »
Unknown Identities - (CHP 13) Unknown Identity
|Posted by Marissa Petal on February 1, 2014 at 2:00 PM
|comments (0)
The journey from Mooshu to Dragonspyre wasn't long considering everybody has a spiral key to the world except for me. "Guys..." No answer. "Guys." Still no answer. "GUYS!" I yelled. Both of them abruptly stopped to look at me with questioning looks. "What's going on?" I asked, looking confused. Everything and everybody was silent, so silent you can hear a pindrop. Finally, Vanessa huffed a sigh, breaking the silence, "You're undead." She announced. I blinked, "Funny, considering I can't walk ...Read Full Post »


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subset: commoncrawl


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Llewellyn from the Franschhoek Boutique Hotel invited us over for two nights last week, and we had such a lovely time visiting this new establishment in Franschhoek!
Johan and I arrived late in the afternoon and were welcomed at reception by very friendly staff, a lovely fireplace and a glass of exquisite red wine! It felt like arriving at home after a long day, we could just settle in and relax right there! We were then taken to our room, Sapphire, where we had our own little fireplace keeping our room nice and comfy! (more about this now)
The Franschhoek Boutique Hotel is situated just off the main road which makes it the perfect spot to stay when you want to explore Franschhoek. Allora, an authentic Italian restaurant is right by the hotel and we decided to give it a go seeing as it was so close we could enjoy a nice bottle of red wine and walk back to our room. Oh the food was divine! Definitely the place to go if you are looking for Italian cuisine.
We had a good nights rest and woke up looking for some coffee but found Nomu Hot Chocolate in our room - hot chocolate heaven - is all I can say. We then headed down to breakfast, where we were totally spoilt - again! The fruit was so fresh and tasty, and the breakfast menu had so much to choose from!
The second evening they were so kind to offer Thea a room as well and she chose to stay in Blanc, which is right next to our room. So just to make it really interesting we are having a face-off to prove whose room was the best!
Room : Sapphire
From Lindi's perspective:
I loved the feeling I got when walking into this room! It felt warm, cozy and inviting. The interior doesn't match, but it does? That sounds weird, I know but it just works. I loved all the colours, it was one of the most colourful rooms I have ever stayed in. The inspiration of this room comes from the bo-kaap in Cape Town, which consists of brightly coloured houses all lined up on the streets.
You see that bright blue tub? How cool is that? I have never seen one like it, but I love it. I want it in my house! The bathroom also boasts a huge shower and makes you want to shower for days! The room leads into the bathroom with sliding doors which, if you are more private, can be closed completely. This Hotel drips of luxury, and I enjoyed every minute of our stay!
I appreciated every bit of funkiness in this room. It is such a cool inspiration for our blog because it brings so much life by bringing in bursts of colour! I tend to lean more to the Blanc kind of life - everything in grey and white - but this room has given me so much ideas to bring into my own home.
Room : Blanc
From Thea's perspective:
This room is drenched in luxury - from the bedding to the bathroom. Walking in you already feel super spoilt. The overall colour scheme is white, grey and beige - from there the name Blanc is obviously derived.
The interior of the room was done superbly with all items unique but matching in so many ways. The desk lamp, the chair, the couch, the (super beautiful!) orchid is connected, somehow making the whole picture beautiful! The bedroom flows into the bathroom with the modern bath and sparkly white shower. The shower gel from Healing Earth had me showering 3 times during my stay of 1 night! The smell is divine and fills your senses.
After making the best hot chocolate from NOMU using the well fitted kitchenette, I climbed into bed and was totally absorbed by the soft crispy white sheets. It felt like sleeping on a cloud!
So now you can decide! They have 4 other rooms to choose from as well:
Hennesy - which is dark and leather - more manly
Aztec - Getting inspiration from all things geometric
Hestia - "goddess of the hearth, home, architecture and family"
Palm - Exactly that - Palm trees and bronze glamour
They are currently having a super secret season special, so don't postpone and book your weekend of pure bliss at this fantastic establishment!!
Find out more about their rooms and rates on the Franschhoek Boutique Hotel Website or on social media:


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Now showing items 3-22 of 1234Next Page
Cheung, Chi-ho
Acceleration techniques for on-line transient and dynamic stability assessment
|Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations
Transients (Electricity)
Electric power system stability
Acceleration (Mechanics)
|xiv, 105 leaves : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm
|This thesis presents several new acceleration techniques for on-line transient and dynamic stability assessment. In recent years, power systems have grown in both size and complexity owing to extensive interconnection, de-regulation, high growth rate of electric power demand. The dynamic characteristics of the power system could vary rapidly as the system conditions change. Online transient and dynamic stability assessment has now become a critical issue for secure and reliable operation of the power system. In order to realize on-line transient and dynamic stability simulation for large-scale networks, it is necessary to use neoteric technology of hardware and software to speed up the computation. As the computation speed of serial personal computer cannot match the demand of on-line dynamic stability simulation, parallel method is an attractive low cost substitution. Furthermore, not only the parallel computer is used, but also the novel algorithm to further speed up the computation is necessary. Early studies showed that for the transient stability, solving the linear algebraic sparse network equation is the most computational demanding process. Parallel method had been adopted included W-matrix and parallel piecewise solution method. In piecewise solution method, solve the cut-node block is required in the final step to obtain the overall solution. However, conventionally, it is solved sequentially. In this thesis, the serial cut-node block solution has been identified as the bottleneck of the parallel piecewise method. An innovative add and change scheme is proposed to solve the cut-node block in parallel. Results on the UK 811 bus power system showed that the new approach significantly improves the performance of parallel piece-wise solution method. For dynamic stability assessment, Prony analysis has been shown as an effective method for the modal analysis of power system oscillations using measured or simulated data. However, for on-line applications, the computation speed of Prony analysis has to be improved. One of the bottlenecks of Prony analysis is as the need for solving the linear predication matrix using the single value decomposition (SVD) technique. In this thesis, a novel solution method called GEAE is proposed to accelerate the solution of the linear predication matrix. Test results showed that a significant speed-up can be achieved with an acceptable accuracy when compared to the standard SVD method. The above two novel algorithms have been proved to be effective and could significantly speed up the transient stability computation and dynamic stability assessment. In addition, an AI based damping classifier has been developed to automate the process of contingency screening and ranking.
Ye, Daojun
Accident analyses in Hong Kong : accident blackspot identification, casualty injury severity and before-after analysis
|Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Traffic accidents -- China -- Hong Kong.
Traffic accident investigation -- China -- Hong Kong.
Traffic safety -- China -- Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations
|xvi, 113 leaves : col. ill. ; 30 cm.
Road safety is a major concern because of the social and economic costs resulting from traffic crashes. Numerous studies investigating traffic collisions and the resulting costs have been conducted. One important research topic in these studies is accident blackspot identification. The measures of accident frequency and accident rate are commonly adopted as identification criteria. However, identifying accident blackspots based solely on accident frequency or accident rate has been found, in practice, to be inefficient as neither can correctly reveal the extent of accident consequences. For example, high accident frequency does not necessarily result in a large number of fatalities or serious injuries. To supplement the knowledge gained by previous researchers, a new method to rank accident blackspots is proposed in this study. In the proposed blackspot identification method, instead of accident frequency, accident consequences (in terms of injury or accident costs) are considered when identifying accident blackspots. The merit of the proposed method is that it takes not only number of injuries (or accident frequency) but also injury severity (or accident severity) into the consideration. To illustrate the proposed method, a case study was carried out using Hong Kong traffic accident data. The results indicate that adopting accident consequences, such as injury costs, can identify accident blackspots with higher injury costs but the methods of using accident frequency only or the Hong Kong Transport Department's blackspot definition may not be guaranteed.
In view of the importance of casualty injury costs as regards identification of accident blackspots, this feature is further investigated in this study. Focus is on an analysis of the effects of various contributory factors (categorized by environmental, site, and vehicle factors) on the injury severity of driver, passenger and pedestrian casualties and on accident costs in Hong Kong. Binary logistic regression model is adopted to quantify the associations between injury severity of casualties and the contributory factors, while linear regression model is used for modeling the effects of contributory factors on accident costs. A Hong Kong traffic accident dataset for the whole territory from 2007 to 2009 is used in this study to estimate the coefficients of the regression models. The results of the regression models reveal that accident time, rain conditions, speed limits, traffic congestion levels, road types, and vehicle types significantly affect casualty injury severity and accident costs. Each contributory factor has a different effect or a different degree of effect on driver/passenger and pedestrian casualties. A Before-After analysis is also used for investigation of accident effects on traffic speed in this study. Factors affecting the accident effects on traffic speed are firstly identified. Regression models are calibrated with empirical data to quantify the influences of factors on the degree of accident effects. A case study is carried out in which there is a total of 313 accidents occurred on a local urban area of Hong Kong during the study period: from September 2009 to December 2010 together with the corresponding speed data before and after the occurrence of these accidents. From the results of the case study, three factors, namely accident severity, accident time and accident location, were found to significantly affect the degree of accident effects on traffic speed.
Yu, Sin-ying
Accommodative responses in non-Chinese adults, Chinese adults and Chinese children and their association with myopia development in Chinese children
|Dept. of Optometry and Radiography
Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations
Myopia -- China
Eye -- Accommodation and refraction -- China
Vision disorders in children -- China
|xv, 286 leaves : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm
|Introduction Recent research findings suggested a link between nearwork and the onset, as well as development, of myopia. Extensive investigations on accommodative responses in different refractive groups have been carried out, but it remains unclear whether there are discrepancies in responses between groups. None of these previous studies compared responses in different ethnic groups using the same protocol, by the same examiner, an approach which may be illuminating, given the different prevalence rates for myopia between ethnic groups. In addition, recent technical advances allow the time patterns of accommodative responses, in particular nearwork-induced transient myopia (NITM), to be investigated. Objectives 1. To investigate the amplitude of accommodation, accommodative stimulus-response curve, tonic accommodation and NITM in United Kingdom non-Chinese adults, Hong Kong Chinese adults and Hong Kong Chinese children using the same protocol by the same examiner. 2. To compare these measures in myopic and emmetropic subjects. 3. To study the effect of race by comparing these measures between United Kingdom non-Chinese adults and Hong Kong Chinese adults. 4. To investigate the effect of age by comparing these measures between Hong Kong Chinese adults and children. 5. To determine any changes in these responses in Hong Kong Chinese children as myopia develops over one year. Methods A modified Shin-Nippon SRW-5000 auto-refractor (Shin-Nippon, Japan), an open-field instrument, was used to measure the accommodative responses in static or continuous modes as appropriate. Data collections for non-Chinese adults were carried out in the United Kingdom, while those for Chinese adults and children were carried out in Hong Kong. Results Chinese and non-Chinese adults gave similar amplitude of accommodation, tonic accommodation, accommodative response gradient and NITM results. Chinese adults had a gradient closer to unity and greater tonic accommodation as well as NITM (except NITM in the third 10-seconds post-change after the 5.0 D task), but lower amplitude of accommodation than children. There was no significant change in accommodative amplitude, gradient and NITM in children followed up longitudinally. Chinese myopic children showed an increase in tonic accommodation in the longitudinal study which was not related to their increase in myopia. There was no significant difference in amplitudes of accommodation, tonic accommodation, accommodative response gradient or NITM between myopes and emmetropes. The only difference was a greater accommodative amplitude in child emmetropes than myopes. Conclusions Chinese adults had similar amplitude of accommodation, accommodative response gradient, tonic accommodation and NITM with non-Chinese adults. Current findings indicated that the above accommodative functions were not factors explaining the higher prevalence of myopia found in Chinese. It is not clear if NITM is a factor causing the onset or progression of myopia as both refractive groups demonstrated similar amount of NITM after nearwork and the increase in myopia over time did not have any influence on NITM. The current results are different from previous findings in Chinese children, in which myopes were shown to have significantly greater NITM than emmetropes. The discrepancy in results between the current and previous studies in Chinese children could be due to the different age range of subjects recruited.
Wen, Yantu
Accounting conservatism and the structure of CEO compensation
|School of Accounting and Finance
Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations.
Chief executive officers -- Salaries, etc.
Accounting -- Management.
|viii, 121 leaves ; 30 cm.
|Using a large sample of US firms during the period 1993-2005, this study investigates the relation between structures of the CEO compensation package from a management incentive perspective, and accounting conservatism; In other words, this study investigates how the managerial incentives of CEO compensation plans influence conservative accounting policy choices. This paper adopts Basu's (1997) conditional accounting conservatism proxied by stock returns response to bad news relative to good news as a measure of accounting conservatism. There are two types of CEO compensation: one is cash compensation consisting of basic salary and bonus; the other is equity-based compensation comprised of stock options and restricted stock. This study anticipates that firms with larger cash compensation are more conservative and reflect bad news in a timelier manner. In contrast, firms with larger equity-based compensation may encourage CEOs to delay the recognition of bad news for opportunistic reasons. The results of this study show that conditional accounting conservatism varies with the structure of CEO compensation. It provides evidence which is consistent with the view that different managerial incentives affect the choice of accounting conservatism. In particular, when the compensation contract is more incentive-based, the degree of accounting conservatism tends to be lower. Due to the existence of different characteristics of components of the CEO compensation package, this study considers structure of CEO compensation package rather than treats the CEO compensation package as a whole. The interaction between accounting conservatism and different components of CEO compensation is employed as a proxy to measure the degree of accounting conservatism in different elements of CEO compensation. The findings of this thesis show that the coefficients of these interaction terms on accounting conservatism are significantly different for various components of CEO compensation. The coefficient of interaction on accounting conservatism and CEO cash compensation is positive and significant. It implies that accounting is more conservative for CEO cash compensation. While the coefficient of interaction on accounting conservatism and CEO equity-based compensation is negative and significant, this means that accounting conservatism tends to be lower for CEO equity-based compensation than for CEO cash compensation. The results are robust after controlling for firm-specific, manager-specific and industry-specific characteristics. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether firms recognize bad news in a timelier manner than good news and whether to a greater extent under certain components of the CEO compensation. More particularly, when a CEO equity-based compensation contract is the dominant choice, although firms recognize bad news in a timelier manner than they do good news, the timeliness of their doing so is less efficient compared to a cash-based compensation contract. The influence of the structure of CEO compensation on conservative accounting policy choices implies that the compensation committee should consider the relation between components of CEO compensation and conservative accounting policy choices when designing CEO compensation contracts and programs for improving accounting quality.
Chat, Wing-shan Sandy
Accuracy and reliability of the Shin-Nippon SRW-5000 open-field autorefractor, and tonic accommodation and accommodative lag in Hong Kong children from 4 to 8 years of age
|Dept. of Optometry and Radiography
Eye -- Accommodation and refraction
Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations
|xxiv, 223 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm
|Introduction The Shin-Nippon SRW-5000 autorefractor is a new open-field autorefractor which allows refraction to be measured at different fixation distances, making it suitable for the investigation of aspects of accommodation. The goals of this study were to evaluate the accuracy and reliability of this new autorefractor, and to examine tonic accommodation and accommodative lag in Hong Kong children from 4 to 8 years of age. Results were analysed in terms of the dioptric power matrix, coordinate vector h. This analytical approach overcomes the problems associated with the reduction of the three-dimensional sphero-cylinder to any of the one-dimensional expressions commonly used to quantify refractive error, all of which result in loss of information. The spherical equivalent refractive error was also used in statistical analysis to permit comparison with other studies. Methods Subjects were children from 4 to 8 years of age. Autoreftaction measures taken in the normal accommodative state (n=53) and under cycloplegic conditions (n=44) were compared with cycloplegic refraction, as well as measures taken from a closed-field autorefractor (the Canon RK5). The reliability of the distance autorefraction was characterized by the 95 % limits of agreement between two sets of measurement taken by one observer (repeatability) and two observers (reproducibility). Tonic accommodation (TA), the accommodation when the eye is in its resting state, was determined by measuring refractive error in 56 children in total darkness. Ocular accommodative lag, the difference between the accommodative stimulus and its response, was determined in 33 children, with a target placed at 40 cm. Three stimulus conditions were investigated, namely, white letters on a dark background in dim light, white letters on a dark background in normal room lighting and black letters on a light background in normal room lighting. Results The overall accuracy of the SRW-5000 was high, and similar to that reported for the Canon R-1 open-field autorefractor. As would be expected, the agreement between cycloplegic open-field autorefraction and cyclopelgic refraction was better than between non-cyclopelgic open-field autorefraction and cyclopelgic refraction. Autorefraction taken under both conditions tended to produce results which were more myopic than cycloplegic refraction. Non-cyclopelgic SRW-5000 autorefiaction produced slightly more myopic results than closed-field autoreftaction using the RK5, and the difference was mainly for hyperopes. Reliability was considerably better for cycloplegic than non-cycloplegic autorefraction, and slightly better for one compared with two observers. Repeatability results from the SRW-5000 autorefractor, both with and without cycloplegia, were similar to those reported for the Canon R-1. The mean tonic accommodation for all the children was 1.07 DS/-0.05 DC x 138 and 1.09 DS/-0.04 DCx68 for children under 6 years of age. There was no relationship between tonic accommodation and age for the age range tested. Hyperopes exhibited the highest TA, followed by emmetropes and then myopes. The 95% limits of agreement between two spherical equivalent measures was 0.83 D. Accommodative lag was greatest for white letters on a dark background in dim light (condition DD), followed by white letters on a dark background in normal room lighting (condition LD) and black letters on a light background in normal room lighting (condition LL). Myopes tended to exhibit higher ocular accommodative lag than hyperopes. The 95 % limits of agreement obtained from three conditions were similar and was around 0.55 D in spherical equivalent. Conclusions This is the first report of tonic accommodation and accommodative lag presented in terms of vector h. Tonic accommodation values in children younger than six years of age were also presented for the first time. Tonic accommodation was found to be lower in myopes than in other refractive groups and, in agreement with the suggestions of other workers, this may reflect an overall reduction in autonomic innervation. Accommodative response tended to be lower in myopes but the results were equivocal. It is still possible that the hyperopic retinal defocus resulting from greater lag may cause myopia development in children. Target presentation could be improved for the measurement of distance autorefraction and near accommodative response and it is suggested that measurement of tonic accommodation would be improved by use of a difference of Gaussian target in semi-darkness.
Lau, Sien-ting
Acoustic sensors using 0-3 nanocomposites
|Dept. of Applied Physics
Composite materials
Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations
|1 v. (various pagings) : ill. ; 30 cm
|This thesis describes the optimum conditions for poling 0-3 nanocomposite thin films to obtain high piezoelectric and low pyroelectric activities. The design and the performance of piezoelectric hydrophones with such materials as the sensing elements have been evaluated. Piezoceramic/piezopolymer 0-3 composites with nanosized lead titanate (PT) ceramic powders imbedded in a vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene (P(VDF-TrFE) 70/30 mole%) copolymer have been fabricated. The ceramic powder was prepared using the sol-gel method, and the average crystallite diameter was about 60 nm. The powder was blended into a solution containing dissolved P(VDF-TrFE) to form a composite suspension, which was then fabricated into thin films of thickness 5 um using the spin-coating technique. The two phases of the composite film were poled either in opposite directions or in the same direction using a two-step procedure. The ceramic phase was first poled under a dc electric field at a temperature above the ferroelectric-to-paraelectric phase transition temperature of the copolymer. The copolymer phase was then poled under an ac field at 70 C. By controlling the field direction in the last half-cycle of the ac field, the copolymer phase was poled either in opposite directions or in the same direction to the ceramic phase. Hence, composites of different polarization states were then prepared. The relative permittivity, piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties of the composite films were studied. Composite with two phases poled in opposite directions has enhanced piezoelectric response and reduced pyroelectric response. It is because the piezoelectric coefficients of the ceramic and the copolymer phase have opposite signs, while their pyroelectric coefficients are of the same sign. As its piezoelectric response is about 30 % larger than that of the copolymer, such composite material can be fabricated into hydrophones with good receiving sensitivity. The composite and the copolymer films were used to fabricate single element needle-type hydrophones. Besides, an 8-element hydrophone array was also fabricated using the composite with two phases poled in opposite directions as sensing element. The receiving sensitivity and the angular response of the needle-type hydrophones and the hydrophone array were evaluated in water. It is found that the sensitivity of the hydrophone is approximately proportional to the piezoelectric coefficient d33 of the sensing element. Composite hydrophone with two phases poled in opposite directions shows better receiving response than the copolymer hydrophone. The hydrophone array also has good sensitivity with low inter-element coupling. Both the needle-type hydrophones and the hydrophone array have good angular responses that can be predicted accurately using the unbaffled piston model.
Lai, Yun-kwok
Acoustic wave propagation through resonating devices : design of acoustic waveguide filters
|Dept. of Civil and Structural Engineering
Acoustic surface waves
Wave guides
Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations
|[238] leaves : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 30 cm
|This experimental study investigates the fundamental mode of sound attenuation in a straight section of a rigid square tube fitted with periodic profiled units of various configurations. The success of this task depends to a large extent on the proper implementation of the two microphone method of measuring the Transmission Loss ( TL ) of the profiled arrangements in the experimental setup. Related errors in transfer functions used in the two microphone method of measurement are studied and its significance on the resulting data noted. The Bloch wave functions for wave propagation in periodic structures are used to identify the characteristic Resonance Scattering Stop Band ( RSB ) and the Bragg Stop Band ( BSB ). In terms of the Resonance Scattering Stop Band (RSB) it is found that the cavity resonance of the test units is more dominant than the cavity resonance effect due to the spatial separation void. On the other hand the spatial separation void provides the main effect for the Bragg reflection attenuation. (BSB) There has been few experimental work done in the past to verify the Bragg StopBand ( BSB ) attenuation though its effect has been known in the Floquet Theorem. The present study aims at experimentally measure this BSB, the RSB and the interaction of BSB and RSB. Of the ten configurations tested in the Test Section length of 140 cm there is an optimal Period Length (P1) and Period Number ( P ) for the best BSB detection. In general the cavity filling does not affect the BSB attenuation effect. For units with the least cavity resonance, detection of BSB is not affected by filling the inter-unit space with either the low or high absorptive foams but the unit height must be higher than a certain barrier height at or below which the BSB is not detected. The experimental result shows that by filling the inter-unit space with 'absorptive' foam the low frequency TL spikes can be substantially reduced. This feature may be exploited under certain circumstances to obtain a smoother low frequency TL spectra. Potential application of this BSB in duct noise control is envisaged due to its simple and straight forward implementation within the length of the duct attenuator. Although no fluid flow conditions are measured with the present setup, due to its smaller degree of discontinuity as compared to a muffler system, flow ndise generation will likely be less; and the length of the waveguide filter can attenuate higher order modes efficiently giving a better performance in term of flow noise control than a single muffler. The overall performance of this type of filter shows potential in improving noise attenuation in duct. The study concludes in suggesting the sequence of designing such periodic configuration and stating the underlying relative importance of the Resonance Scattering Stop Band (RSB ) and the Bragg Stop Band (BSB ) in this type of duct noise attenuators.
Yung, Chung-sheung
Active-passive vibration isolation devices for automation and precision equipment applications
|Dept. of Applied Physics
Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations.
Piezoelectric materials.
Shock (Mechanics)
|xvii, 204 leaves : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm.
Vibration isolation of sensitive and sophisticated parts (e.g., visual-inspection, micro-sensing, and mechatronic apparatuses, etc.) from highly accelerated moving parts (i.e., X-Y motion stages) is an urgently needed technology for the advance of automation and precision equipment. Specifically, the rapid decrease in feature sizes and increase in complexity and volume production of microelectronics components and products have called for a technological breakthrough in increasing both the speed and accuracy of microelectronics manufacturing equipment. While the modern motion technology can enable the moving parts of equipment to attain a high acceleration so as to reach the target speed, an increase in acceleration leads to an increase in dynamic forces. These forces act as a source of disturbance to transmit mechanical vibrations to other functional parts of the equipment due to structural coupling. The higher the acceleration of the motion, the more serious the vibrations that are generated, and the less accuracy the motion that can be obtained. Traditional vibration isolation devices based on high-loss viscoelastic materials are essentially passive in nature, while those based on pneumatic technology suffer from slow response, large reposition error, and bulkiness. Therefore, a compromise between fast response, high repositionability, and small size has urged to increase the intelligence, adaptability, and compactness of isolation devices so that highly integrated devices incorporating active sensoriactuation function with passive isolation function are deemed necessary. In this study, a novel class of active-passive vibration isolation devices, called PiTAPaT (Piezoelectric Trapodizal Active Passive Table), was developed, based on the piezoelectric materials and compliant structure technologies, to provide a reliable tabletop for isolating sensitive and sophisticated parts from their underneath disturbance sources. The active-passive isolation performance of PiTAPaT was demonstrated in a state-of-the-art microelectronics wire bonder. The basic form of PiTAPaT consisted of a metallic compliant frame and two lead zirconate titanate (PZT) piezoceramic patches. To acquire significant passive isolation performance, the compliant frame was bent to form an open trapezoid having a central saddle-like unit and two slanting legs. The saddle-like unit was used to increase the compliance of the frame so as to improve the flexibility of PiTAPaT in the vertical direction even though the two slanting legs were rigidly mounted on the ground. To facilitate active sensoriactuation function, each slanting leg was attached with a PZT patch. In operation, when an electric field was applied across the thickness of the PZT patches, the induced longitudinal deformations of the PZT patches resulted in a bending motion of the slanting legs. This drove the central saddle-like unit to provide a linear vertical motion.
A physical model was derived to predict the free displacement, stiffness, and blocked force of the basic PiTAPaT with different combinations of geometric parameters and material properties. Three characteristic types of basic PiTAPaT were obtained for given material properties, including: TYPE (A) the one with large displacement; TYPE (B) the one with large stiffness and force; and TYPE (C) the one with moderate performance. For given geometric parameters, the use of a high-stiffness alloy and a high piezoelectric d₃₁ coefficient PZT was able to enhance PiTAPaT's performance in general. An ANSYS finite-element model was implemented to further validate the physical model, and the computed results were compared, in good agreement, with the theoretical predications. Three basic PiTAPaT's, each representing one of the three characteristic types of design, were fabricated and characterized. The measured free displacements and stiffnesses of the PiTAPaT's coincided well with those predicted by the physical and finite-element models. Besides, the hysteresis, step response, DC voltage stiffening effect, sensibility, vibration isolatability, and other frequency responses of the PiTAPaT's were measured to provide a full design and operation guide. To demonstrate the modularity of the basic PiTAPaT's, a hybrid PiTAPaT comprising two identical basic PiTAPaT's arranged in orthogonal directions was fabricated and characterized. Without reducing the available displacement output, this hybrid PiTAPaT not only doubled the stiffness and force of its basic PiTAPaT but also enhanced the horizontal stability. In particular, the four distributed PZT patches, when excited independently, were able to provide complex motions involving rolling and pitching motions. Finally, the active-passive vibration isolation performance of the hybrid PiTAPaT was evaluated in-situ on an ASM AB559A wire bonder. It was found that the hybrid PiTAPaT can generally provide a 15-dB isolation with less than ±3-μm reposition accuracy for the isolated parts in the frequency range of 0-150 Hz. A number of publications were produced during the course of this study, elucidating the originality and practical applications of the present work.
Wen, Jiaqi
Activity recognition for health care and individual safety using wireless technologies and smartphones
|Dept. of Computing
Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations
Human activity recognition
Location-based services
|xvi, 123 pages : color illustrations
In recent years, human activity recognition has attracted increasing attention. Technologies and systems have been prepared for various kinds of applications. Among them, health care and individual safety are two important domains. Conventionally, researchers utilize specialized sensors which are not only expensive, but also obtrusive to human bodies. The emergence of smartphone sensing and wireless technologies provides researchers with novel platforms and makes it possible to develop low-priced and unobtrusive activity recognition systems. However, despite the promising capacities of smartphone sensing and wireless technologies, several challenging issues still arise. First, a majority of smartphones equipped with a limited number of sensors and wireless transceivers can only collect coarse physical signals, which poses an obstacle to highly accurate activity recognition. Second, although a smartphone may be able to gather various kinds of physical signals from different sensors, how to incorporate those heterogeneous signals efficiently remains a difficult task. Third, activity recognition systems should not incur excessive obtrusiveness and intrude users' privacy, which poses more constraints to system development. In this thesis, we investigate activity recognition for health care and individual safety using smartphone sensing and wireless technologies. Specifically, we propose a system architecture and based on which, we implement two activity recognition systems, one for the safety of pedestrian mobile phone users and another for contact-less WiFi breath detection system. We identify and describe the the challenging issues when developing the systems and describe our corresponding solutions.
For the safety of mobile phone pedestrian users, it is well recognized that walking while using mobile phones tends to make people more susceptible at various risks. Existing works for improving smartphone users' safety are mainly focused on detecting incoming vehicles, but not able to address more common and equally dangerous accidents such as trips, falling from stairs and platforms or falling into an open manhole. These hazards are generally caused by sudden change of ground level. We design and implement InfraSee, a system that is able to detect sudden change of ground level while mobile phone users walk. InfraSee augments smartphones with a small infrared sensor which measures the distance of the ground surface from the sensor. The temporal variation of distance can provide information about the change of ground surface ahead. InfraSee also leverages the information of smartphone sensors to improve detection accuracy, reduce energy consumption, and avoid unnecessary alarms. We have carried out extensive experiments in different scenarios and with different users. The results show that InfraSee is able to reliably detect about 80% change of ground surfaces. In addition, InfraSee can reduce unnecessary alarms by distinguishing among different modes of the smartphone user. Second, we use WiFi technology to implement a health care system that retrieves fine-grained sleep information like respiration, sleeping postures and rollovers. We develop Wi-Sleep, the first sleep monitoring system based on WiFi signals. Wi-Sleep adopts off-the-shelf WiFi devices and is able to continuously collect the fine-grained wireless channel state information (CSI) around a person. From the CSI, Wi-Sleep extracts rhythmic patterns associated with respiration and abrupt changes due to the body movement. Compared to existing sleep monitoring systems that usually require special devices attached to human body (i.e. probes, head belt, and wrist band), Wi-Sleep is completely contact-less. In addition, different from many vision-based sleep monitoring systems, Wi-Sleep is robust to low-light environments and does not raise privacy concerns. Preliminary testing results show that the Wi-Sleep can reliably track an individual's respiration and sleeping postures in different conditions.
Yu, Peiran
Adaptation of extrapolation techniques in the proximal gradient algorithm and an iteratively reweighted l₁ algorithm
|Dept. of Applied Mathematics
Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations
Mathematical optimization
|xiv, 91 pages : illustrations
|Many areas like engineering, statistics and computing et.al involve solving optimization models. The proximal gradient algorithm is a popular kind of algorithm for solving these problems. This algorithm, though simple and widely used, can be slow in practice; see for example [64, 90, 95]. To accelerate the proximal gradient algorithm, various approaches such as extrapolation techniques or line-search have been adopted. In this thesis, we first present some existing convergence results of the proximal gradient algorithm such as the global complexity. Then, we focus on the adaptation of the extrapolation techniques which is usually easier to implement in practice and leads to provably better iteration complexity for a large class of convex problems. We review this latter fact concerning iteration complexity and also present some existing convergence properties of the proximal gradient algorithm with extrapolation. Another popular kind of first-order algorithms is the iteratively reweighted algorithm. For this class of algorithms, the line-search techniques have also been adopted for acceleration while the extrapolation techniques have not. In view of the success in accelerating the proximal gradient algorithm empirically via extrapolations, in the last section of this thesis, we investigate how extrapolation techniques can be suitably incorporated into an iteratively reweighted ℓ₁ algorithm. We specifically consider extrapolation techniques motivated from three popular optimal first-order methods: the fast iterative soft-thresholding algorithm (FISTA) [10,68], the method by Auslender and Teboulle [6] and the method by Lan, Lu and Monteiro [53]. For each algorithm, we exhibit an explicitly checkable condition on the extrapolation parameters so that the sequence generated provably clusters at a stationary point of the optimization problem. We also investigate global convergence under additional Kurdyka-Lojasiewicz assumptions on certain potential functions. Our numerical experiments show that our algorithms usually outperform the general iterative shrinkage and thresholding algorithm in [46] and an adaptation of the iteratively reweighted ℓ₁ algorithm in [56, Algorithm 7] with nonmonotone line-search for solving random instances of log penalty regularized least squares problems in terms of both CPU time and solution quality. The results concerning extrapolation techniques applied to iteratively reweighted algorithm are based on the manuscript [101] available on ArXiv.
Yang, Shengtao
Adaptive data management for cloud-based wireless mesh networks
|Dept. of Computing
Wireless communication systems.
Routers (Computer networks)
Database management.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations
|xix, 99 pages : color illustrations
|In recent years, there has been considerable interest in developing and using wireless mesh networks. Compared to wireless local area networks, wireless mesh networks are more flexible because wireless mesh routers are interconnected by wireless links. In addition, they can be much easier to install and maintain, especially in environments where cables are difficult to install. Inspired by cloud computing, the aim of this project is to investigate a cloud-based wireless mesh network with adaptive data storage functions for storing data dynamically and flexibly in a wireless environment. In particular, a person-based adaptive data management scheme and a group-based adaptive data management scheme were designed. The person-based adaptive data management scheme seeks to provide upload/download functions for mesh clients, and adaptively moves files along with the movements of the owner to enhance access efficiency. The group-based adaptive data management scheme seeks to determine how the data resources/files should be stored and replicated in the wireless mesh routers such that the overall access cost can be minimized. Both a heuristic algorithm and a genetic algorithm were investigated. To support a cloud-based wireless mesh network, a distributed file system called MeshFS was also developed. A key technical challenge is to develop a lightweight software system that can be implemented over memory-limited wireless mesh network environments. MeshFS integrates scattered storage resources from wireless mesh routers to provide a mountable file system with fault-tolerant capabilities and cloud computing-like storage functions.
Chiu, Suk-yi Kitty
Adaptive dynamic game balancing based on data mining of sequential patterns
|Dept. of Computing
Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations.
Computer games -- Design.
Computer games -- Programming.
Data mining.
|viii, 123 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm.
|It is the responsibility of a game or game level designer to provide players with a balanced game, one that offers a satisfying level of challenge. This can be done using traditional game programs and artificial intelligence (Al) techniques but it is becoming increasingly common for researchers are using dynamic game balancing, which uses reinforcement learning and focuses on the movement of non-player characters, especially in scripted games. However, this is not suitable for all game genres, such as those that use mazes or require dynamic terrains. In this paper we propose to adjust the level of difficulty of a game by using data mined for sequential patterns that can be used to analyze a player's behaviors. Our method first mines individual gameplay data and then transforms it into a set of sequential patterns. This approach is tested here on a maze game. We capture the behavior of several player's and the parameters of the game environment such as the number of dead ends achieved, hammers used on every level, how quickly players achieve the goal, the size of the maze, number of monsters hit, and the number of walls broken on each level. Feedback from participants in our experiments was very positive as they found the games designed using the proposed approach to be both more interesting and more balanced. This proposed approach differs from existing rule base game Al algorithms in three ways: (1) the game levels are based on the past experience of the player; (2) the approach is data-driven; (3) the game levels are unique and are not predefined, making them more adaptive, which contributes to making the game more interesting and balanced.
Wang, Qiuwei
Adaptive integer kernels and dyadic approximation error analysis for state-of-the-art video codecs
|Dept. of Electronic and Information Engineering
Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations
Video compression
Coding theory
Digital video
|xiii, 86 leaves : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm.
In this thesis, new integer kernels are found and adaptive transform coding techniques are proposed to improve the coding efficiency of state-of-the-art video codecs with detailed analyses. The nonorthogonality error analysis is extended and improved. An error caused by the dyadic fraction approximation due to the integerization of transform coding is defined and followed by deep investigation. The desire for the removal of the mismatch between encoder and decoder has been ever increasing. In the state-of-the-art video coding standard - the H.264/AVC - the transform coding stage was thus integerized to cope with this desire. One of our objectives is to improve the coding efficiency of video codec based on this "integer framework". We propose a new DCT-like integer kernel IK(5,7,3) and revitalize another DCT-like integer kernel IK(13,17,7) for the transform coding process of hybrid video coding. Making use one of these kernels together with the H.264/AVC Kernel IK(1,2,1), we are able to design new multiple-kernel schemes which give better coding performance over that of the conventional approaches. All these schemes make use of the Adaptive Kernel Mechanism (AKM) at macroblock level, which requires heavy computation during the encoding process. We subsequently discovered that a rate-distortion feature extracted from a pair of kernels gives an intrinsic property that can be used to select a better kernel for a two-kernel macroblock-level AKM system. This is a power tool with theoretical interest and practical uses. In order to reduce computation substantially, we make use of this tool to make an analysis and design of a frame-level AKM and come up with a simple solution that the kernel IK(1,2,1) be used for I- and P-Frames and the kernel IK(5,7,3) be used for B-Frames coding. This proposed frame-level AKM is similar, or even better, than the proposed macroblock-level AKM. Furthermore it substantially reduces computation and certainly gives a good improvement in terms of the PSNR and bitrate compared to those obtained from the H.264/AVC default arrangement and other macroblock-level AKM schemes available in the literature.
Nowadays, the demand for large-size (e.g. 16×16) integer transform kernels is increasing due to the explosive increase of resolution of videos. However, the orthogonality constraint for designing 16×16 integer kernels is much stronger than that for designing 4×4 kernels. Hence, several kernel designs violating the constraint in a controllable manner which roughly ensures the orthogonality have been proposed. An error analysis by Dong et al. showed that the well-controlled nonorthogonality noise is approximately negligible as compared to the quantization noise. In this thesis, we enhance the original analysis by pointing out three problems found in derivations and also giving two comments. Nevertheless, the problems are defects only, hence do not affect the overall justifications to the nonorthogonality analysis. Although the integerization of transform coding process ensures no mismatch between encoder and decoder, it also introduces a by-product and we define it as the "dyadic approximation error" which can largely affect the visual quality of a reconstructed video sequence. We derive the analytical forms of the dyadic approximation error, and compare the significances among possible error terms (i.e. the quantization error, nonorthogonality error, and dyadic approximation error) using various transform kernels. We conclude that the dyadic approximation error is much larger than the nonorthogonality error, and it is comparable to the quantization error for fine quantization. We point out that the existence of this error is equivalent to scaling each frequency component by a position dependent scalar which is slightly larger or smaller than the unity, and also quantizing them with different stepsizes. Hence in the reconstruction process, many distorted frequency components are used, and eventually a reconstructed frame with frequency artifacts is generated. The conditions to eliminate the effect of dyadic approximation error for 16×16 transform kernels are found by experimental work. On the whole, inspired by the establishment of the "integer framework" since the emergence of the H.264/AVC, we carry out a comprehensive investigation on the old problems under the new constraint, starting from the optimization of coding performance to the analyses of errors.
Feng, Bo
Adaptive methods for tropical cyclone prediction from time-series satellite data
|Dept. of Computing
Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations.
Cyclones -- Tropics -- Forecasting.
Time-series analysis -- Mathematical models.
|x, 104 p. : ill. ; 30 cm.
|A tropical cyclone is the generic term for a non-frontal synoptic scale low-pressure system over tropical or sub-tropical waters with organized convection and definite cyclonic surface wind circulation. Associated with the potential destructive winds and heavy rains, they primarily pose a threat to life and property to coastal zones. Their early identification would allow precautions to be put in place that would minimize the associated risks to people's lives and properties. In recent years, more and more research efforts have been involved in tropical cyclone forecasting, and lots of prediction models have been proposed to simulate the intensities of a variety of tropical cyclones, including statistical models, statistical-dynamical models and dynamic models. However, each approach has its own methodologies, assumptions and design goals, making it difficult to adapt to different application requirements. In this thesis, we aim at discovering new approaches in designing reformative forecasting models to predict tropical cyclones using methodologies at different levels that are more reliable for the collected data types, more efficient and effective in terms of predicted accuracy and computational costs, and more scalable to future system expansion. We propose a satellite interpretation based forecasting model, a neural network regression-forecasting model and a similarity retrieval model, each of which has its own background features. In the satellite interpretation-forecasting model, we introduce an integrated approach for tropical cyclone comparison based on typical spiral shapes using time warping technology. The position and the shape of a tropical cyclone extracted from a satellite image is the major concern. The Gradient Vector Flow (GVF) snake model is used to extract the contour points of a dominant tropical cyclone from the satellite image. The similarity of two tropical cyclones is compared using the angle features found among the successive contour points. Furthermore to achieve a better reflection of the spiral shape of tropical cyclones, we adopt a time warping approach to allow fast and accurate comparison of patterns. In the neural network regression forecasting model, we propose an integrated competitive neural network classifier to predict the maximum potential intensity of a tropical cyclone, based on a 10-year sample of western North Pacific tropical cyclones and monthly mean sea surface temperature. A large amount of feature variables are used in the network training including latitude, longitude, pressure, intensity, sea surface temperatures and so on. To deal with variety of variables, we design a variable selection procedure to choose the most important training variables to enhance the speed and accuracy of neural network training. In the similarity retrieval model, we present an approach to predict TC intensities using a feed-forward neural weight generator, which is adopted to generate a set of appropriate weights for various associated features of a tropical cyclone. We also propose the time-series similarity adjustment to measure the similarity of samples on consecutive observations of a tropical cyclone. Comparing with existing similar forecasting models, the experiments show that our proposed ones can achieve promising results.
Fung, Wing Ki
Adaptive radiation therapy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma using megavoltage computed tomography in helical tomotherapy
|Dept. of Health Technology and Informatics
Nasopharynx -- Cancer -- Radiotherapy.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations
|xx, 187 p. : col. ill. ; 30 cm.
Adaptive radiotherapy (ART) has been introduced in treating head and neck cancer recently. It refers to the restoration of the planned dose distribution by modifying the treatment plan according to the radiation-induced anatomic changes during a treatment course. ART in interval basis is feasible in head and neck cases because the organ changes in this region are shown to follow a progressive trend rather than in a random manner. Nevertheless, few studies have been carried out specifically on nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), and the issue of when and how often the ART should be performed is still controversial. This study evaluated the potential dosimetric benefits of applying a three-phase adaptive radiotherapy protocol in NPC patients treated with helical tomotherapy. Comparison was made between the three-phase protocol and the non-adaptive single phase treatment protocol. Using daily megavoltage computed tomographic (MVCT) images provided by the tomotherapy system, this study also quantified and characterized the volumetric and geometric changes of tumors and organs at risk (OARs). An optimum ART strategy for NPC was therefore established by defining various thresholds that indicated significant anatomic changes during the treatment course and hence the needs for replanning. A retrospective study involving 30 NPC patients who had a total of 37-38 fractions of radiotherapy was conducted. Among them, 24 patients that followed the routine three-phase radiotherapy protocol were included in the first part of the study. Two new plans, denoted as PII-ART and PIII-ART, were generated based on the up-to-date CT images and contours and were used for treatment in phase two (PII; after 25th fraction) and phase three (PIII; after 35th fraction) respectively. To simulate the situation of no replanning, two hybrid plans denoted as PII-NART and PIII-NART were generated using the original contours pasted on the PII-and PIII-CT sets by CT-CT fusion. Dosimetric comparisons were made between the NART plans and the corresponding ART plans. For all 30 patients on their alternate day MVCT images, the posterolateral wall of nasopharynx (P-NP) which represented the nasopharyngeal gross tumor, neck volume covering the whole cervical spine level, bilateral parotid glands and vertebral canals at the level of 3 cm (VC3), 6 cm (VC6) and 9 cm (VC9) inferior to the base of skull were manually contoured. Pattern of their anatomic changes throughout the treatment course were being assessed. Statistical analysis was applied to each recorded parameter to define threshold(s), which indicated a significant change that replanning was suggested at any time point of the treatment course.
This study showed that due to the radiation-induced tumor shrinkage took place within the initial planned high-dose region, the dose homogeneity to the targets was better even if no replanning was applied. Nevertheless, the significantly low degree of dose conformity of all target volumes without replanning revealed that there were many abutting normal tissues being unnecessarily irradiated with high dose due to the tumor shrinkage. In particular, some patients would have their brainstem, spinal cord and optic chiasm dose exceeding tolerance, inducing disastrous complications and hence degrading their quality of life after treatment. The present study demonstrated that replannings in between the treatment course restored the target dose conformity, hence allowed significantly better sparing of the surrounding OARs. In addition, ART strategy with multiple replannings was deem necessary to account the continuous anatomic changes over the radiotherapy course. The study also showed that the volumes of the P-NP, the parotid glands and the neck region demonstrated a progressive regression trend over time. For parotid glands, they tended to displace towards the medial and superior directions throughout the treatment course. Due to the decreased neck volume, the cervical cord was displaced backwardly during the treatment course, leading to the significant posterior shifting of the VC6 and VC9 in this study. Based on the found characteristic trends and the threshold occurrences in targets and OARs, an optimum ART strategy specifically for NPC cases was established. Three replans at 9th, 19th and 29th treatment fractions were proposed as most of the thresholds appeared in these time points of the treatment course. The present study emphasized the importance of implementing ART strategy in NPC cases by quantifying the dosimetric benefits of applying the three-phase adaptive radiotherapy protocol. The benefits mainly lied on limiting the dose to OARs than keeping the tumor coverage. This study also emphasized the necessity of multiple replanning strategy, in which an optimum ART strategy for NPC cases involving three replans was proposed. This proposed strategy can accommodate the dosimetric consequences due to anatomic deviation over the treatment course. It also enables prompt reaction to the regressed tumor by conforming the target dose, hence allowing safe target dose escalation without risking the surrounding OARs. This proposed strategy is clinical feasible with justified increase of departmental workload and should be promoted especially in centres where adaptive planning system is not yet available.
Zhou, Binbin
Adaptive traffic light control in wireless sensor network-based Intelligent Transportation System
|Dept. of Computing
Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations
Intelligent transportation systems
Wireless sensor networks
Traffic signs and signals -- Control systems.
|xvi, 134 p. : ill. ; 31 cm.
|Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) refers to a system that integrates advanced communications, computing and electronics technologies into transportation infrastructure and vehicles, to improve safety and efficiency and to reduce traveling time and fuel consumption. The conventional surveillance methods used in ITS to detect real-time traffic data, e.g. video image processing and inductive loops detection, have several shortcomings, such as limited coverage and high costs of implementation and maintenance. Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) offer the potential of providng real-time traffic data without these drawbacks. Hence, in the past decade, WSNs have been applied to ITS to improve the performance of ITS. Controlling traffic lights plays a key role in ITS. An optimal traffic light control approach can increase traffic throughput and reduce waiting time. In this thesis, we investigate how to design methods and algorithms for adaptive traffic light control in a WSN-based ITS. We review the related work on collecting real-time traffic data and on controlling traffic lights, including fixed-time control, actuated control, and adaptive control. We propose models and schemes for adaptive traffic light control for both isolated intersections and multiple intersections. The proposed approaches take advantage of real-time traffic information collected by WSNs to achieve high system throughput, low waiting time and few stops for the vehicles. First, we describe an adaptive traffic light control scheme proposed for an isolated intersection. This scheme can adjust both the sequence and length of traffic lights in accordance with real-time traffic loads. It takes into consideration a number of factors such as traffic volume, waiting time, vehicle density, and others, to determine the sequence and the optimal length of green lights. Simulation results demonstrate that our approach results in much higher throughput and lower average waiting time as compared with the optimal fixed-time control approach and an actuated control approach. We then propose an adaptive traffic light control scheme for multiple intersections. In this case, we need to also consider controlling the traffic lights for multiple adjacent intersections in a distributed way. Our proposed scheme can collect real-time traffic data, and adjust both the sequences and lengths of the green lights of intersections cooperatively. Real-time traffic data, e.g. traffic volumes, waiting time, number of stops, vehicle densities, are taken into account to determine the sequence of green lights in each intersection. The optimal lengths of the green lights can be calculated based on the information about local traffic volumes and the remaining green light durations of neighboring intersections. Simulation results likewise show that our scheme produces much higher throughput, lower average waiting time and fewer average stops, compared with the optimal fixed-time control approach, an actuated control approach, and an adaptive control approach. We have implemented the proposed schemes on our testbed for Intelligent Services with Wireless Sensor Networks, iSensNet to evaluate and demonstrate the performance. Our experimental results show that our approaches can deal with different traffic conditions in an effective manner.
Ma, Chun-yat
Adaptive wavelet and multiwavelet denoising
|Dept. of Electronic and Information Engineering
Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations.
Wavelets (Mathematics)
Signal processing -- Digital techniques.
|xx, 124 p. : ill. ; 30 cm.
|The wavelet and multiwavelet transforms have been successfully used in many signal denoising applications due to their localization and multiresolution properties. In this work, adaptive denoising schemes in wavelet and multiwavelet domain are studied. As the first part of this work, the problem of speech enhancement using the multitaper spectrum (MTS) estimation technique is investigated. We show that the variance of noise in the log MTS domain varies significantly according to the magnitude of the underlying speech MTS. Thus a spectrally adaptive wavelet denoising scheme, which allows the threshold to be adjusted according to the underlying speech MTS, is suggested to assist in estimating the power spectrum of the original speech signal. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm consistently outperforms the traditional speech enhancement methods evaluated using both subjective and objective measures. It leads to speeches with better intelligibility without increasing the background noise. The second part of this work concerns the denoising of sparse signals. For such kind of signals, traditional wavelet denoising schemes may fail due to insufficient signal wavelet coefficients to reliably determine the required statistics. However, the traditional approaches can be enhanced by an adaptive denoising scheme based on the cross correlation between the vector elements of multiscaling coefficients. Our investigation shows that the behavior of the cross correlation between the vector elements of the multiscaling coefficients for signal and noise is different. Based on this dissimilarity, we can effectively identify the regions of the signal where noise coefficients are dominated. Such coefficients are then removed accordingly. Besides, the traditional multivariate shrinkage can also be applied to the remaining multiwavelet coefficients to further reduce the noise energy. Nevertheless, in order to practically apply the algorithm, there is a need to derive efficient realization methods for the discrete multiwavelet transform. In this thesis, we propose a generalized algorithm for the realization of multifilters. The algorithm is based on an improved order-one factorization method that efficientiy decomposes the polyphase matrix of multifilters into a chain of order-one matrices. Each matrix is further simplified by applying a special form of Givens rotation. The new approach greatly reduces the computational complexity of realizing the discrete multiwavelet transform. On the whole, we show in this thesis that adaptive wavelet and multiwavelet denoising schemes can significantly outperform the traditional methods particularly for signals with varying statistical characteristics. They will play a more important role in the future signal processing researches as it does not only enhance signals in a statistical sense, but can be easily perceived by the users.
Ho, Chi-ho Eddie
Adoption and adaptation of digital photogrammetry in a Hong Kong survey practice
|Dept. of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics
Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations
Surveying -- China -- Hong Kong
|v, 151 leaves : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm
|There are many private land surveying practices existing in Hong Kong. The companies are mainly divided into two groups: concentrating in particular disciplines (cadastral, engineering or fitting out) or in a broad range of types of disciplines. Their competition for business is very high. It is a continuous challenge for the private practices keeping their businesses cost-effective. The manpower, equipment, measurement and data processing techniques applied to tasks are all expenses to the company, which must be offset against income with the aim of making a profit. The management should continually seek ways to achieve this. There are two major arenas that many land surveying companies explore to increase their profitability. First, new markets for providing their services; second, the adoption of new technologies. In the surveying industry, the two arenas do affect each other. This investigation responds to the above situation. Its aim is to introduce digital photogrammetric technology into a Hong Kong private surveying company to investigate the possibility of advancement in its services. There are two covered areas in the research. First, the technological considerations through an equipment and manpower study, and accuracy standard achievement of photogrammetric techniques compared with traditional surveying methods. Second, the economic considerations involving decision making processes, benefit-cost analysis and sensitivity analysis. The approaches set in the research can be divided into four areas. Firstly, the evaluation of the current technology, equipment and software. It is necessary to investigate their effect in the company's everyday fieldwork. According to the nature of different projects, conventional surveying methods and photogrammetric techniques have both pros and cons in different areas. Secondly, the establishment of working procedures. Through the practices involving manpower in the company, the crews can have guidance on basic knowledge in the introduced technology. Thus, a spread in learning photogrammetric techniques can form in the private sector. Thirdly, the development of a decision-making algorithm for the industry to investigate the profitability of the adoption of this technology. This analysis is to provide support to users in evaluating their decisions. The different methodologies are treated as different alternatives in the analysis. The well-known Analytical Hierarchy Process is selected as the tool in the benefit-cost analysis. After the development of several photogrammetric techniques both for independent application and in cooperation with conventional surveying methods, the partnering company started investigation on its tasks. Eventually, the exploitation of new opportunities with the aid of the company's photogrammetric field practices is needed. It is found that for the tasks of 3D visualization model establishment, photographic survey, and terrain modeling, digital photogrammetry show advantages over conventional survey techniques with acceptable costing in equipment and staff training. This conclusion was reached assuming that the photogrammetric systems were already available within the company. However, when their cost is included, only 3D visualization models and photographic survey applications were considered as being feasible. For the studied company, it was found that projects requiring 3D visualization model establishment could be economically undertaken by digital photogrammetric systems comprising of data acquisition devices such as higher resolution digital cameras (e.g. Fujifilm MX700 in this research) and software such as low-cost photogrammetric/modeling packages (e.g. PhotoModeler).
Han, Jide
The adoption of laser micro-cutting and heating in ultra-precision machining process
|Dept. of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations
Lasers -- Industrial applications
|xvi, 114 pages : color illustrations
Diamond machining is an important method for the manufacturing of high precision components with excellent surface finish and high form accuracy. There are limitations in this method for machining such as single crystal silicon and oxygen-free high conductivity (OFHC) copper which are often used in many cases. In this research, two aspects of using laser to assist machining were investigated. Firstly, a hybrid machining method combining laser grooving and diamond shaping was proposed which aimed at machining silicon lenticular lens mold inserts. An exploratory study on the use of a diamond tool to perform the final shaping of a silicon groove roughly cut by laser was performed. Secondly, the formation of surface defects of OFHC copper in the diamond cutting process was investigated and laser heating was introduced in the cutting process to investigate its influence on the cutting performance of OFHC copper. In machining silicon, cracks are easily formed on the machined workpiece surface when the cutting depth is larger than the critical depth of cut which is far less than 1 µm, so machining microstructures with large feature sizes such as lenticular lens mold inserts is time consuming as well as costly. In this research, a hybrid machining method to fabricate silicon lenticular lens mold inserts by combining laser grooving with diamond shaping was proposed. Firstly, laser micro-machining equipment was developed and used to perform laser grooving experiments on silicon workpiece. The influence of the laser parameters, including laser power, laser scan speed and defocus depth on the laser grooving depth was investigated. Grooves were then generated on the silicon workpiece surface with a designed profile shape. Secondly, diamond cutting of laser generated grooves was conducted to investigate the influence of finish cutting depth on the surface quality of grooves produced by this hybrid method. The experimental results indicated that by reducing the finish cutting depth, the surface quality of the machined grooves could be improved. When the finish cutting depth was 4 µm, the surface roughness was 644 nm, and was reduced to 126 nm when the finish cutting depth was 0.2 µm. This preliminary result shows that it is possible to use this method to fabricate silicon lenticular lens mold inserts, however the surface quality still needs to be further improved to fulfill the requirements of a commercial product.
Due to the high thermal conductivity and high purity of OFHC copper, it is an ideal material to use for making high power laser mirrors, which require high quality defect-free surfaces to make sure a high laser damage threshold could be achieved. While the cutting performance of OFHC copper in ultra-precision machining is sensitive to the machining parameters. The machined surface quality of OFHC copper deteriorates rapidly with increasing cutting depth. In this research, the second part of our work was to investigate the influence of laser heating on the cutting performance of OFHC copper in the diamond cutting process. Firstly, the formation of surface delamination, which caused the machined surface roughness of OFHC copper to increase, was investigated by using taper cutting experiments and the finite element method (FEM). It was suspected that the formation of surface defects in OFHC copper was influenced by the stress and strain conditions of the workpiece material in the cutting region during the diamond cutting process. Diamond cutting experiments assisted with laser heating were undertaken to investigate the influence of laser power on the cutting performance of OFHC copper. It was found that the use of laser heating was beneficial for the suppression of the surface delamination of OFHC copper at large depth of cut in the diamond cutting process, and led to an improvement in the quality of the machined surface. This research is helpful in enhancing our understanding on the formation of surface defects of OFHC copper in the diamond cutting process and is also useful in designing suitable experimental parameters in the manufacturing practice in order to achieve good surface quality in the diamond cutting of OFHC copper.
Lee, Yee Sum Louisa
Adoption of web-based self-service technology : a case of airline online check-in systems
|School of Hotel and Tourism Management
Internet -- Social aspects.
Service industries -- Data processing.
Consumers -- Effect of technological innovations on.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations
|xiv, 209 p. : ill. ; 30 cm.
The acceptance of technology, particularly various information systems, by tourists has been a well-studied area in tourism literature. Tourism research on technology acceptance has been challenged in a similar setting, from culturally biased perspectives to quantitative investigation. This thesis attempts to fill the knowledge gap by constructing a conceptual model for understanding technology adoption intention of web-based self-service technology (SST) in the tourism industry setting, and by exploring the differences between Asians and Westerners with regard to technology adoption intention dimensions. To achieve the objectives, qualitative and quantitative methods, along with an Etic-Emic approach, were adopted. The entire research followed the Churchill (1979) instrument development procedure to attain the key objectives. To identify the factors affecting web-based SST adoption intention from the perspectives of both Asian and Westerners, the preliminary qualitative study combined the corresponding literature review with focus group interviews with Asians. The following are the eleven factors utilized in the study: perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived behavioral control, trust, subjective norm, perceived risk, customization, word of mouth (WOM), perceived playfulness, prior experience, and attitude. Expert panel assessment was carried out to assess the content reliability and validity of all measuring items. Respondents filled out online, self-administered questionnaires in the pilot testing, after which a total of 202 useable questionnaires were gathered. Exploratory factor analysis was employed to analyze the pilot test data, in which nine factors were finalized: perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived behavioral control, subjective norm, perceived risk, trustworthy and customized experience, WOM, perceived playfulness, and attitude.
The pilot test was followed by the main survey, which was conducted to construct and test the conceptual model and the relationships among the key constructs via hypotheses testing. The survey took place at the Hong Kong International Airport in March 2012. A total of 479 valid questionnaires were gathered. Quota sampling was used to match the sample with the equal proportion of Asians and Westerners. The data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The five constructs, namely, perceived usefulness, trustworthy and customized experience, perceived risk, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norm, were specified as the significant factors affecting adoption intention, mediated by attitude. Attitude was also confirmed to be a critical determinant affecting technology adoption intention. In addition, divergence of Asians and Westerners in terms of adoption factor was also examined. Compared with their counterparts, Asians were likely to be attentive to WOM, subjective norm, and perceived playfulness. In the final section of this thesis, theoretical and practical implications, as well as research limitations and future research directions, are discussed. Theoretically, this research provided a holistic investigation and collation of the major factors examined in previous technology adoption studies. The thesis contributed to technology adoption research by identifying two new dimensions, customization and WOM, that shade technology adoption intention. A reliable and valid conceptual model and corresponding measuring items were generated. Research findings demonstrated the applicability of the model, and the universal application of the model across populations was also confirmed. The study also revealed the overlooked yet important aspect of web-based SST in tourism research. In terms of the practical implications of the thesis, airline and tourism practitioners were recommended to enhance the functionalities of their current web-based SST, provide more human-touch and customized features, educate users in using the system, devote attention to travelers' internal referents, and carry out sophisticated system security. These recommendations were in consideration of usefulness, trustworthy and customized experience, perceived risk, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, which were found to be the critical determinants that affect web-based SST adoption intention. Limitations and future research directions were also included.
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Hay Auction
Tuesday, May 8th, 2017 – 3:00 pm
Mages Auction Site
55780 Hwy 19 W, Winthrop, MN
1/4 mile west of Hwy 19 & 15 Intersection
Starting August 8th, Mages Land & Auction Service will be hosting a hay consignment auction the second Tuesday of every month at 3 pm. Small or big squares and big rounds, all types and kinds of straw, hay & grass. Sellers are responsible for testing.
Consignors can register and drop off from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm the Thursday, Friday and Monday before the auction and until 2:00 pm the day of the sale.
Bring your trailers! No Buyer's Premium!
Auctioneers: Matt Mages ~ 507-276-7002, Lic 08-17-003
& Ryan Froehlich ~ 507-380-9256
Auctioneers: Matt Mages, New Ulm, Lic 08-17-003; Larry Mages, Lafayette; Joe Wersal, Winthrop;
Joe Maidl, Lafayette; John Goelz, Franklin; Ryan Froehlich, Winthrop;
Clerk: Mages Land Co & Auction Service, LLC. All Items Sold "AS IS".
Not responsible for accidents.


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Far north by Michigan's UP is the beautiful resort area of Mackinac Island. Covering only 3.8 square miles, the island is located in Lake Huron and provides an incredible vacation spot and an even more relaxing place to live. There are a variety of fun things to do and see while exploring Mackinac island from the beautiful scenery to the beaches to quaint lodging. Enjoy some sailing at sunset and taste some incredible food next time you stop by. Here's 50 of our favorite activities to try out next time you're in the area:
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Mackinac Island Lilac Festival
Celebrate Mackinac's lilac collection every year in June at Mackinac Island Lilac Festival
Mackinac Island State Park
Explore Mackinac Island State Park with its Historic landmarks, breathtaking vistas, spectacular rock formations, quiet forests and inspiring nature trails
Mackinac Island Sailing Charters
Experience the thrill of steering a 50 foot custom offshore racing sailboat with Mackinac Island Sailing Charters
Fort Mackinac
Hike uphill to Fort Mackinac for a Top Notch history lesson and get a chance to fire the cannon
Haunted Theatre
Prepare for a scare at Haunted Theatre
Mackinac Island Bike Shop
Bike through the city for an unforgettable sightseeing experience by renting from Mackinac Island Bike Shop
Wawashkamo Golf Club
Get in the swing with a 72 hole course at Wawashkamo Golf Club
Wings of Mackinac Butterfly Conservatory
Experience free-flying exotic butterflies in a lush garden environment at Wings of Mackinac Butterfly Conservatory
Great Turtle Kayak Tours
Do the 2 hour "Sunrise Tour" of Arch Rock and the Bay with Great Turtle Kayak Tours
Arch Rock
Climb the stairs to see the Arch Rock: a Natural rock bridge soaring 149 feet above the Straits of Mackinac
Sanders Candies
Top off a night in Mackinac Island with a scoop of ice cream or tasty fudge flavors at Sanders Candies
Maze of Mirrors
Let the mirrors trick you at Maze of Mirrors
Arnold Mackinac Island Ferry
Sip a cocktail as you enjoy a romantic sunset cruise with your someone special at Arnold Mackinac Island Ferry
Round Island Lighthouse
Appreciate the pretty sights at Round Island Lighthouse
Mackinac Bridge
Drive over Mackinac Bridge for spectacular view of the straits of Mackinac
Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park
Soar like an eagle on the zip line during the Adventure Tour at Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park
Haunts of Mackinac
Experience Mackinac Island's spooky side on an evening tour through the city's most eerie locations with Haunts of Mackinac
Fort Holmes
Amble up 141 stairs to the top, to get the best views of the Island from Fort Holmes
Grand Hotel Stable
Take a leisurely ride around the island in a drive-your-own carriage with Grand Hotel Stable
Headlands International Dark Sky Park
Camp under the stars & enjoy shooting stars at Headlands International Dark Sky Park
Colonial Michilimackinac
Pay a visit to Colonial Michilimackinac: an 18th-century fort and fur trading village
Liberty Lego Display
Give your kids' creativity a thorough workout at Liberty Lego Display
The Original Mackinac Island Butterfly House & Insect World
Meet butterflies up close and personal at The Original Mackinac Island Butterfly House & Insect World
Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum Inc
Let your imagination soar at Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum Inc
The Richard and Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum
See a lot of stuff in the small building of The Richard and Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum
Mackinac Bridge Museum
Visit historic artifacts at the Mackinac Bridge Museum & learn about the bridge's construction
Shepler's Lighthouse Cruises
Sail the Straits of Mackinac with Shepler's Lighthouse Cruises
Jack Pine Lumberjack Show
Watch the lumberjacks competing in the exciting events at Jack Pine Lumberjack Show
Biddle House
Catch a glimpse of early island life at Biddle House: Often referred to as the oldest house on Mackinac Island
Robert Stuart House
Spend an hour going through Robert Stuart House for some interesting artifacts
Mackinac Wheels
Explore the city's miles of bike trails by renting from Mackinac Wheels
Mackinaw Crossings
Hang out, shop, eat, do the spa thing, or just people watch at Mackinaw Crossings
Mackinac Island Carriage Tours
Experience the History and Charm of Mackinac on a narrated carriage tour of the island with Mackinac Island Carriage Tours
Animal Tracks
Play some putt putt and do Zip-lining at Animal Tracks
Mackinac Trail Winery
Get into the tasting room at Mackinac Trail Winery
WaWatam Park
Picnic on the beach at WaWatam Park
Spy Quest Laser Maze
Take on the Spy Quest Laser Maze by yourself or with a partner
Mackinaw Parasailing
Spend a fabulous day of fun in the sun & sea with Mackinaw Parasailing
Emmet County Beach
Take in the beautiful sunset view on Lake Michigan with a short walk at Emmet County Beach
Chasin' Tail Charters
Fish the big Lake Michigan for Salmon & Trout with Chasin' Tail Charters
Arrowhead Carriages
See the real beauty and spectacular views of Mackinac Island by riding with Arrowhead Carriages
Ugly Anne Boat Cruises
Sip & sail on a sunset cruise with open bar at Ugly Anne Boat Cruises
Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry
"High Tail It" to Mackinac Island with Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry
Jack's Livery Stable
Experience the joys of horseback riding with Jack's Livery Stable
Mackinac Revealed
See what makes Mackinac so special with Mackinac Revealed
The Jewel at the Grand Hotel
Play golf while enjoying scenic beauty, lush landscaping and meticulously manicured tees, fairways and greens at The Jewel at the Grand Hotel
Mackinac Cycle
Take a free self-guided bicycle tour through the city with Mackinac Cycle
Eagle Point Cave
Grab a map and head out on your bike to find Eagle Point Cave in Mackinac Island
This resort island city offers plenty of awesome activities for all ages. However, there may be more to Mackinac Island than we listed off — make sure to let us know if we missed something!
Make sure to see what else is going on in Michigan!


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