Panem et circenses : law, law and power in The Hunger Games

Like many cautionary tales, The Hunger Games takes as its major premise an observation about contemporary society, measuring its ballistic arc in order to present graphically its logical conclusions. The Hunger Games gazes back to the panem et circenses of Ancient Rome, staring equally cynically forward, following the trajectory of reality television to its unbearably barbaric end point – a sadistic voyeurism for an effete elite of consumers. At each end of the historical spectrum (and in the present), the prevailing social form is Arendt’s animal laborans. Consumer or consumed, Panem’s population is (with the exception of the inner circle) either deprived of the possibility of, or distracted from, political action. Within the confines of the Games themselves, Law is abandoned or de‐realised: Law – an elided Other in the pseudo‐Hobbesian nightmare that is the Arena. The Games are played out, as were gladiatorial combats and other diversions of the Roman Empire, against a background resonant of Juvenal’s concern for his contemporaries’ attachment to short term gratification at the expense the civic virtues of justice and caring which are (or would be) constitutive of a contemporary form of Arendt’s homo politicus. While the Games are, on their face, ‘reality’ they are (like the realities presented in contemporary reality television) a simulated reality, de‐realised in a Foucauldian set design constructed as a distraction for Capitol, and for the residents of the Districts, a constant reminder of their subservience to Capitol. Yet contemporary Western culture, for which manipulative reality TV is but a symptom of an underlying malaise, is inscribed at least as an incipient Panem, Its public/political space is diminished by the effective slavery of the poor, the pre‐occupation with and distractions of materiality and modern media, and the increasing concentration of power/wealth into a smaller proportion of the population.

A phase-locked-loop design for the smooth operation of a hybrid microgrid

A microgrid contains both distributed generators (DGs) and loads and can be viewed by a controllable load by utilities. The DGs can be either inertial synchronous generators or non-inertial converter interfaced. Moreover, some of them can come online or go offline in plug and play fashion. The combination of these various types of operation makes the microgrid control a challenging task, especially when the microgrid operates in an autonomous mode. In this paper, a new phase locked loop (PLL) algorithm is proposed for smooth synchronization of plug and play DGs. A frequency droop for power sharing is used and a pseudo inertia has been introduced to non-inertial DGs in order to match their response with inertial DGs. The proposed strategy is validated through PSCAD simulation studies.

Key-private proxy re-encryption under LWE

Proxy re-encryption (PRE) is a highly useful cryptographic primitive whereby Alice and Bob can endow a proxy with the capacity to change ciphertext recipients from Alice to Bob, without the proxy itself being able to decrypt, thereby providing delegation of decryption authority. Key-private PRE (KP-PRE) specifies an additional level of confidentiality, requiring pseudo-random proxy keys that leak no information on the identity of the delegators and delegatees. In this paper, we propose a CPA-secure PK-PRE scheme in the standard model (which we then transform into a CCA-secure scheme in the random oracle model). Both schemes enjoy highly desirable properties such as uni-directionality and multi-hop delegation. Unlike (the few) prior constructions of PRE and KP-PRE that typically rely on bilinear maps under ad hoc assumptions, security of our construction is based on the hardness of the standard Learning-With-Errors (LWE) problem, itself reducible from worst-case lattice hard problems that are conjectured immune to quantum cryptanalysis, or “post-quantum”. Of independent interest, we further examine the practical hardness of the LWE assumption, using Kannan’s exhaustive search algorithm coupling with pruning techniques. This leads to state-of-the-art parameters not only for our scheme, but also for a number of other primitives based on LWE published the literature.

Distribution harmonic state estimation based on a modified PSO considering parameters uncertainty

This paper presents a new algorithm based on a Modified Particle Swarm Optimization (MPSO) to estimate the harmonic state variables in a distribution networks. The proposed algorithm performs the estimation for both amplitude and phase of each injection harmonic currents by minimizing the error between the measured values from Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) and the values computed from the estimated parameters during the estimation process. The proposed algorithm can take into account the uncertainty of the harmonic pseudo measurement and the tolerance in the line impedances of the network as well as the uncertainty of the Distributed Generators (DGs) such as Wind Turbines (WTs). The main features of the proposed MPSO algorithm are usage of a primary and secondary PSO loop and applying the mutation function. The simulation results on 34-bus IEEE radial and a 70-bus realistic radial test networks are presented. The results demonstrate that the speed and the accuracy of the proposed Distribution Harmonic State Estimation (DHSE) algorithm are very excellent compared to the algorithms such as Weight Least Square (WLS), Genetic Algorithm (GA), original PSO, and Honey Bees Mating Optimization (HBMO).

Distribution harmonic state estimation based on a hybrid PSO and SA algorithm considering parameters uncertainty

This paper presents a new algorithm based on a Hybrid Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Simulated Annealing (SA) called PSO-SA to estimate harmonic state variables in distribution networks. The proposed algorithm performs estimation for both amplitude and phase of each harmonic currents injection by minimizing the error between the measured values from Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) and the values computed from the estimated parameters during the estimation process. The proposed algorithm can take into account the uncertainty of the harmonic pseudo measurement and the tolerance in the line impedances of the network as well as uncertainty of the Distributed Generators (DGs) such as Wind Turbines (WT). The main feature of proposed PSO-SA algorithm is to reach quickly around the global optimum by PSO with enabling a mutation function and then to find that optimum by SA searching algorithm. Simulation results on IEEE 34 bus radial and a realistic 70-bus radial test networks are presented to demonstrate the speed and accuracy of proposed Distribution Harmonic State Estimation (DHSE) algorithm is extremely effective and efficient in comparison with the conventional algorithms such as Weight Least Square (WLS), Genetic Algorithm (GA), original PSO and Honey Bees Mating Optimization (HBMO) algorithm.

Distribution state estimation based on particle swarm and doubly loop mutant optimization (DLM-PSO)

This paper presents a novel algorithm based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) to estimate the states of electric distribution networks. In order to improve the performance, accuracy, convergence speed, and eliminate the stagnation effect of original PSO, a secondary PSO loop and mutation algorithm as well as stretching function is proposed. For accounting uncertainties of loads in distribution networks, pseudo-measurements is modeled as loads with the realistic errors. Simulation results on 6-bus radial and 34-bus IEEE test distribution networks show that the distribution state estimation based on proposed DLM-PSO presents lower estimation error and standard deviation in comparison with algorithms such as WLS, GA, HBMO, and original PSO.

On the (in)security of IDEA in various hashing modes

In this article, we study the security of the IDEA block cipher when it is used in various simple-length or double-length hashing modes. Even though this cipher is still considered as secure, we show that one should avoid its use as internal primitive for block cipher based hashing. In particular, we are able to generate instantaneously free-start collisions for most modes, and even semi-free-start collisions, pseudo-preimages or hash collisions in practical complexity. This work shows a practical example of the gap that exists between secret-key and known or chosen-key security for block ciphers. Moreover, we also settle the 20-year-old standing open question concerning the security of the Abreast-DM and Tandem-DM double-length compression functions, originally invented to be instantiated with IDEA. Our attacks have been verified experimentally and work even for strengthened versions of IDEA with any number of rounds.

Recursive pathways to marginal likelihood estimation with prior-sensitivity analysis

We investigate the utility to computational Bayesian analyses of a particular family of recursive marginal likelihood estimators characterized by the (equivalent) algorithms known as "biased sampling" or "reverse logistic regression" in the statistics literature and "the density of states" in physics. Through a pair of numerical examples (including mixture modeling of the well-known galaxy dataset) we highlight the remarkable diversity of sampling schemes amenable to such recursive normalization, as well as the notable efficiency of the resulting pseudo-mixture distributions for gauging prior-sensitivity in the Bayesian model selection context. Our key theoretical contributions are to introduce a novel heuristic ("thermodynamic integration via importance sampling") for qualifying the role of the bridging sequence in this procedure, and to reveal various connections between these recursive estimators and the nested sampling technique.

Facilitating query decomposition in query language modeling by association rule mining using multiple sliding windows

This paper presents a novel framework to further advance the recent trend of using query decomposition and high-order term relationships in query language modeling, which takes into account terms implicitly associated with different subsets of query terms. Existing approaches, most remarkably the language model based on the Information Flow method are however unable to capture multiple levels of associations and also suffer from a high computational overhead. In this paper, we propose to compute association rules from pseudo feedback documents that are segmented into variable length chunks via multiple sliding windows of different sizes. Extensive experiments have been conducted on various TREC collections and our approach significantly outperforms a baseline Query Likelihood language model, the Relevance Model and the Information Flow model.

Hydrolysis of triasulfuron, metsulfuron-methyl and chlorsulfuron in alkaline soil and aqueous solutions

The hydrolysis of triasulfuron, metsulfuron-methyl and chlorsulfuron in aqueous buffer solutions and in soil suspensions at pH values ranging from 5.2 to 11.2 was investigated. Hydrolysis of all three compounds in both aqueous buffer and soil suspensions was highly pH-sensitive. The rate of hydrolysis was much faster in the acidic pH range (5.2-6.2) than under neutral and moderately alkaline conditions (8.2-9.4), but it increased rapidly as the pH exceeded 10.2. All three compounds degraded faster at pH 5.2 than at pH 11.2. Hydrolysis rates of all three compounds could be described well with pseudo-first-order kinetics. There were no significant differences (P =0.05) in the rate constants (k, day-1) of the three compounds in soil suspensions from those in buffer solutions within the pH ranges studied. A functional relationship based on the propensity of nonionic and anionic species of the herbicides to hydrolyse was used to describe the dependence of the 'rate constant' on pH. The hydrolysis involving attack by neutral water was at least 100-fold faster when the sulfonylurea herbicides were undissociated (acidic conditions) than when they were present as the anion at near neutral pH. In aqueous buffer solution at pH > 11, a prominent degradation pathway involved O-demethylation of metsulfuron-methyl to yield a highly polar degradate, and hydrolytic opening of the triazine ring. It is concluded that these herbicides are not likely to degrade substantially through hydrolysis in most agricultural (C) 2000 Society of Chemical Industry.

Aspects of Keno modelling

In two earlier papers, an intricate Jackpot structure and analysis of pseudo-random numbers for Keno in the Australian state of Queensland circa 2000 were described. Aspects of the work were also reported at an international conference . Since that time, many aspects of the game in Australia have changed. The present paper presents more up-to-date details of Keno throughout the states of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. A much simpler jackpot structure is now in place and this is described. Two add-ons or side-bets to the game are detailed: the trivial Heads or Tails and the more interesting Keno Bonus, which leads to consideration of the subset sum problem. The most intricate structure is where Heads or Tails and Keno Bonus are combined, and here, the issue of independence arises. Closed expressions for expected return to player (ERTP) are presented in all cases.

Intercalation of dodecylamine into kaolinite and its layering structure investigated by molecular dynamics simulation

Dodecylamine was successfully intercalated into the layer space of kaolinite by utilizing the methanol treated kaolinite–dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) intercalation complex as an intermediate. The basal spacing of kaolinite, measured by X-ray diffraction (XRD), increased from 0.72 nm to 4.29 nm after the intercalation of dodecylamine. Also, the significant variation observed in the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra of kaolinite when intercalated with dodecylamine verified the feasibility of intercalation of dodecylamine into kaolinite. Isothermal-isobaric (NPT) molecular dynamics simulation with the use of Dreiding force field was performed to probe into the layering behavior and structure of nanoconfined dodecylamine in the kaolinite gallery. The concentration profiles of the nitrogen atom, methyl group and methylene group of intercalated dodecylamine molecules in the direction perpendicular to the kaolinite basal surface indicated that the alkyl chains within the interlayer space of kaolinite exhibited an obvious layering structure. However, the unified bilayer, pseudo-trilayer, or paraffin-type arrangements of alkyl chains deduced based on their chain length combined with the measured basal spacing of organoclays were not found in this study. The alkyl chains aggregated to a mixture of ordered paraffin-type-like structure and disordered gauche conformation in the middle interlayer space of kaolinite, and some alkyl chains arranged in two bilayer structures, in which one was close to the silica tetrahedron surface, and the other was close to the alumina octahedron surface with their alkyl chains parallel to the kaolinite basal surface.

Cryptanalysis of FORK-256

In this paper we present a cryptanalysis of a new 256-bit hash function, FORK-256, proposed by Hong et al. at FSE 2006. This cryptanalysis is based on some unexpected differentials existing for the step transformation. We show their possible uses in different attack scenarios by giving a 1-bit (resp. 2-bit) near collision attack against the full compression function of FORK-256 running with complexity of 2^125 (resp. 2^120) and with negligible memory, and by exhibiting a 22-bit near pseudo-collision. We also show that we can find collisions for the full compression function with a small amount of memory with complexity not exceeding 2^126.6 hash evaluations. We further show how to reduce this complexity to 2^109.6 hash computations by using 273 memory words. Finally, we show that this attack can be extended with no additional cost to find collisions for the full hash function, i.e. with the predefined IV.

Weaknesses in the initialisation process of the Common Scrambling Algorithm Stream Cipher

The Common Scrambling Algorithm Stream Cipher (CSASC) is a shift register based stream cipher designed to encrypt digital video broadcast. CSA-SC produces a pseudo-random binary sequence that is used to mask the contents of the transmission. In this paper, we analyse the initialisation process of the CSA-SC keystream generator and demonstrate weaknesses which lead to state convergence, slid pairs and shifted keystreams. As a result, the cipher may be vulnerable to distinguishing attacks, time-memory-data trade-off attacks or slide attacks.

Exploitation of the menshutkin reaction for the controlled assembly of halogen bonded architectures incorporating 1,2-diiodotetrafluorobenzene and 1,3,5-Triiodotrifluorobenzene

1,4-Diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) forms well-defined co-crystals with 1,2-diiodotetrafluorobenzene (1,2-DITFB), [(1,2-DITFB)2DABCO], and 1,3,5-triiodotrifluorobenzene, [(1,3,5-TITFB)2DABCO]. Both systems exhibited lower-than-expected supramolecular connectivity, which inspired a search for polymorphs in alternative crystallization solvents. In dichloromethane solution, the Menshutkin reaction was found to occur, generating chloride anions and quaternary ammonium cations through the reaction between the solvent and DABCO. The controlled in situ production of chloride ions facilitated the crystallization of new halogen bonded networks, DABCO–CH2Cl[(1,2-DITFB)Cl] (zigzag X-bonded chains) and (DABCO–CH2Cl)3[(1,3,5-TITFB)2Cl3]·CHCl3 (2D pseudo-trigonal X-bonded nets displaying Borremean entanglement), propagating with charge-assisted C–I···Cl– halogen bonds. The method was found to be versatile, and substitution of DABCO with triethylamine (TEA) gave (TEA-CH2Cl)3[(1,2-DITFB)Cl3]·4(H2O) (mixed halogen bond hydrogen bond network with 2D supramolecular connectivity) and TEA-CH2Cl[(1,3,5-TITFB)Cl] (tightly packed planar trigonal nets). The co-crystals were typically produced in high yield and purity with relatively predictable supramolecular topology, particularly with respect to the connectivity of the iodobenzene molecules. The potential to use this synthetic methodology for crystal engineering of halogen bonded architectures is demonstrated and discussed.