Aircraft automation tasks requiring switching control

A key feature in future aircraft operations will be automation of various aircraft processes, such as air traffic separation management and the management of forced landing events. Automated versions of these processes will often involve consideration of multiple modes of operations and hence require consideration of automated decision processes able to switch between various available modes of operations. This paper proposes a switching algorithm on the basis of max-min decision theory. This algorithm is particularly suitable in situations where each operational mode has access to different set of partial information. We apply our proposed algorithm to the air traffic separation management problem. A simulation study is presented that illustrates the performance of the proposed switching algorithm.

An improved genetic algorithm and graph theory based method for optimal sectionalizer switch placement in distribution networks with DG

In this paper a new graph-theory and improved genetic algorithm based practical method is employed to solve the optimal sectionalizer switch placement problem. The proposed method determines the best locations of sectionalizer switching devices in distribution networks considering the effects of presence of distributed generation (DG) in fitness functions and other optimization constraints, providing the maximum number of costumers to be supplied by distributed generation sources in islanded distribution systems after possible faults. The proposed method is simulated and tested on several distribution test systems in both cases of with DG and non DG situations. The results of the simulations validate the proposed method for switch placement of the distribution network in the presence of distributed generation.

Introduction to the special issue on next generation network architectures, protocols, theory, systems and applications

This special issue of Networking Science focuses on Next Generation Network (NGN) that enables the deployment of access independent services over converged fixed and mobile networks. NGN is a packet-based network and uses the Internet protocol (IP) to transport the various types of traffic (voice, video, data and signalling). NGN facilitates easy adoption of distributed computing applications by providing high speed connectivity in a converged networked environment. It also makes end user devices and applications highly intelligent and efficient by empowering them with programmability and remote configuration options. However, there are a number of important challenges in provisioning next generation network technologies in a converged communication environment. Some preliminary challenges include those that relate to QoS, switching and routing, management and control, and security which must be addressed on an urgent or emergency basis. The consideration of architectural issues in the design and pro- vision of secure services for NGN deserves special attention and hence is the main theme of this special issue.

Universal codes from switching strategies

We discuss algorithms for combining sequential prediction strategies, a task which can be viewed as a natural generalisation of the concept of universal coding. We describe a graphical language based on Hidden Markov Models for defining prediction strategies, and we provide both existing and new models as examples. The models include efficient, parameterless models for switching between the input strategies over time, including a model for the case where switches tend to occur in clusters, and finally a new model for the scenario where the prediction strategies have a known relationship, and where jumps are typically between strongly related ones. This last model is relevant for coding time series data where parameter drift is expected. As theoretical contributions we introduce an interpolation construction that is useful in the development and analysis of new algorithms, and we establish a new sophisticated lemma for analysing the individual sequence regret of parameterised models.

Feminist Disability Theory: Domestic Violence Against Women with a Disability

Women with a disability continue to experience social oppression and domestic violence as a consequence of gender and disability dimensions. Current explanations of domestic violence and disability inadequately explain several features that lead women who have a disability to experience violent situations. This article incorporates both disability and material feminist theory as an alternative explanation to the dominant approaches (psychological and sociological traditions) of conceptualising domestic violence. This paper is informed by a study which was concerned with examining the nature and perceptions of violence against women with a physical impairment. The emerging analytical framework integrating material feminist interpretations and disability theory provided a basis for exploring gender and disability dimensions. Insight was also provided by the women who identified as having a disability in the study and who explained domestic violence in terms of a gendered and disabling experience. The article argues that material feminist interpretations and disability theory, with their emphasis on gender relations, disablism and poverty, should be used as an alternative tool for exploring the nature and consequences of violence against women with a disability.

Why do so few hold stocks : theory and evidence

This study develops a life-cycle model where investors make investment decisions in a realistic environment. Model results show that personal illiquid projects (housing and children), fixed costs (once-off/per-period participation costs plus variable/fixed transaction costs) and endogenous risky human capital (with permanent, transitory and disastrous shocks) together are able to address both the non-participation puzzle and the age-effects puzzle. Empirical implications of the model are examined using Heckman’s two-step method with the latest five Surveys of Consumer Finance (SCF). Regression results show that liquidity, informational cost and human capital are indeed the major determinants of participation and asset allocation decisions at different stages of an investor’s life.

Linking Theory and Practice: Performing a Reality Check on a Model of IS Success

The issue of ‘rigour vs. relevance’ in IS research has generated an intense, heated debate for over a decade. It is possible to identify, however, only a limited number of contributions on how to increase the relevance of IS research without compromising its rigour. Based on a lifecycle view of IS research, we propose the notion of ‘reality checks’ in order to review IS research outcomes in the light of actual industry demands. We assume that five barriers impact the efficient transfer of IS research outcomes; they are lack of awareness, lack of understandability, lack of relevance, lack of timeliness, and lack of applicability. In seeking to understand the effect of these barriers on the transfer of mature IS research into practice, we used focus groups. We chose DeLone and McLean’s IS success model as our stimulus because it is one of the more widely researched areas of IS.