A normative approach to multi-agent systems for intelligent buildings

Building Management Systems (BMS) are widely adopted in modern buildings around the world in order to provide high-quality building services, and reduce the running cost of the building. However, most BMS are functionality-oriented and do not consider user personalization. The aim of this research is to capture and represent building management rules using organizational semiotics methods. We implement Semantic Analysis, which determines semantic units in building management and their relationship patterns of behaviour, and Norm Analysis, which extracts and specifies the norms that establish how and when these management actions occur. Finally, we propose a multi-agent framework for norm based building management. This framework contributes to the design domain of intelligent building management system by defining a set of behaviour patterns, and the norms that govern the real-time behaviour in a building.

Development of a semantic graph-based scene description

Software representations of scenes, i.e. the modelling of objects in space, are used in many application domains. Current modelling and scene description standards focus on visualisation dimensions, and are intrinsically limited by their dependence upon their semantic interpretation and contextual application by humans. In this paper we propose the need for an open, extensible and semantically rich modelling language, which facilitates a machine-readable semantic structure. We critically review existing standards and techniques, and highlight a need for a semantically focussed scene description language. Based on this defined need we propose a preliminary solution, based on hypergraph theory, and reflect on application domains.

Toward a scholarly edition of Beckett's critical writings

This essay outlines the case for a new, scholarly edition of Beckett's critical writings, one that would be complete and with critical annotation. For the most part these texts (critical writings, tributes, in memoria and epigraphs) have been published in a range of places. As well as in the magazines, newspapers, books and special-issue publications in which pieces originally appeared, a number were collected in Disjecta (Calder 1983 & Grove 1984). This volume, however, is not exhaustive; it misses out a number of important texts (not least Proust) and contains some textual inaccuracies. Furthermore, Beckett's critical writings are currently not available from the UK publishers Faber and the Grove Press Centenary Edition of Beckett's works, the fourth volume of which contains a section entitled ‘Criticism’, presents only three works of criticism by Beckett (Proust, ‘Dante … Bruno . Vico . . Joyce’ and ‘Three Dialogues’). In this essay, we give a brief (and far from exhaustive) overview of the publication history of Beckett's non-fiction prose texts, before outlining some of the editorial challenges they pose. Although Beckett tended to be dismissive of these works, they form an integral part of his canon.