A helicopter named Dolly: Behavioural cloning for autonomous helicopter control

This paper considers the pros and cons of using behavioural cloning for the development of low-level helicopter automation modules. Over the course of this project several Behavioural cloning approaches have been investigated. The results of the most effective Behavioural cloning approach are then compared to PID modules designed for the same aircraft. The comparison takes into consideration development time, reliability, and control performance. It has been found that Behavioural cloning techniques employing local approximators and a wide state-space coverage during training can produce stabilising control modules in less time than tuning PID controllers. However, performance and reliabity deficits have been found to exist with the Behavioural Cloning, attributable largely to the time variant nature of the dynamics due to the operating environment, and the pilot actions being poor for teaching. The final conclusion drawn here is that tuning PID modules remains superior to behavioural cloning for low-level helicopter automation.

A COMUNICAÇÃO COMO UM PROCESSO DE INTELIGÊNCIA EMPRESARIAL EM PLANEJAMENTO ESTRATÉGICO

Esta tese trata da comunicação como instrumento de inteligência empresarial numa instituição de ensino superior. Ela pretende demonstrar que a comunicação agrega vantagem competitiva às organizações que atuam no mercado educacional. O presente trabalho se fundamenta em referenciais teóricos das ciências da Comunicação e de Planejamento Estratégico, e seus procedimentos metodológicos incluem, além de revisão bibliográfica extensiva e análise de documentos, a técnica da observação participante, com o acompanhamento das atividades do grupo de trabalho intitulado Comunicação e Integração entre os anos 2003 e 2005, que integrava o Planejamento Estratégico da UMESP Universidade Metodista de São Paulo. Ao final do trabalho, buscou-se mapear as condições necessárias para que a comunicação se constitua efetivamente num processo de inteligência empresarial, incorporando-se à gestão estratégica das organizações. Admitimos que a Comunicação Empresarial ainda tem de vencer alguns desafios e que eles, necessariamente, não são fáceis de serem superados. É necessário considerar sempre que a Comunicação Empresarial não flui no vazio, não se realiza à margem das organizações, mas está umbilicalmente associada a um particular sistema de gestão, a uma específica cultura organizacional e que é expressão, portanto, de uma realidade concreta. Para que a Comunicação Empresarial seja assumida como estratégica, essa condição deverá ser favorecida pela gestão, pela cultura e mesmo pela alocação adequada de recursos (humanos, tecnológicos e financeiros), pois sem os quais ela não se realiza. Logo, se estes pressupostos não estiverem devidamente satisfeitos, será prematuro concluir pelo caráter estratégico da Comunicação Empresarial. Mais ainda: a comunicação não será estratégica em função unicamente do trabalho mais ou menos competente dos profissionais de comunicação. Há exigências outras que, infelizmente, fogem ao seu controle. Em resumo, nesse trabalho são analisadas três questões centrais. A primeira delas diz respeito ao conceito de estratégia. A segunda refere-se ao chamado ethos organizacional em que se insere a prática comunicacional. Finalmente, são examinadas as condições básicas para que a comunicação estratégica realmente prevaleça.

Retrieving designs from a sketch using an automated GT coding and classification system

While the retrieval of existing designs to prevent unnecessary duplication of parts is a recognised strategy in the control of design costs the available techniques to achieve this, even in product data management systems, are limited in performance or require large resources. A novel system has been developed based on a new version of an existing coding system (CAMAC) that allows automatic coding of engineering drawings and their subsequent retrieval using a drawing of the desired component as the input. The ability to find designs using a detail drawing rather than textual descriptions is a significant achievement in itself. Previous testing of the system has demonstrated this capability but if a means could be found to find parts from a simple sketch then its practical application would be much more effective. This paper describes the development and testing of such a search capability using a database of over 3000 engineering components.

An accurate and scalable analytical model for IEEE 802.15.4 slotted CSMA/CA networks

In this paper a Markov chain based analytical model is proposed to evaluate the slotted CSMA/CA algorithm specified in the MAC layer of IEEE 802.15.4 standard. The analytical model consists of two two-dimensional Markov chains, used to model the state transition of an 802.15.4 device, during the periods of a transmission and between two consecutive frame transmissions, respectively. By introducing the two Markov chains a small number of Markov states are required and the scalability of the analytical model is improved. The analytical model is used to investigate the impact of the CSMA/CA parameters, the number of contending devices, and the data frame size on the network performance in terms of throughput and energy efficiency. It is shown by simulations that the proposed analytical model can accurately predict the performance of slotted CSMA/CA algorithm for uplink, downlink and bi-direction traffic, with both acknowledgement and non-acknowledgement modes.

Forms of capital, mixed embeddedness and Somali enterprise

What form is small business activity taking among new migrants in the UK? This question is addressed by examining the case of Somalis in the English city of Leicester.We apply a novel synthesis of the Nee and Sanders' (2001) `forms of capital' model with the `mixed embeddedness' approach (Rath, 2000) to enterprises established by newly arrived immigrant communities, combining agency and structure perspectives. Data are drawn from business-owners (and workers) themselves, rather than community representatives. Face-to-face in-depth interviews were held with 25 business owners and 25 employees/`helpers', supplemented by 3 focus group encounters with different segments of the Somali business population.The findings indicate that a reliance solely on social capital explanations is not sufficient. An adequate understanding of business dynamics requires an appreciation of how Somalis mobilize different forms of capital within a given political, social and economic context.

Extended Executive Information System (EEIS)

In the following paper a new class of executive information system is suggested. It is based on a selforganization in management and on a module modeling. The system is multifunctional and multidisciplinary. The structure elements of the system and the common features of the modules are discussed.

Моделирование Многомерных Данных в Системе METAS BI-Platform

Представлено формальное описание многомерной модели данных, реализованной в программном комплексе METAS BI-Platform. В статью включено описание объектов многомерной модели (измерений и множеств измерений и т.д.), их свойств и организации, а также операций, выполняемых над ними. Описаны методы агрегации многомерных данных, позволяющие эффективно агрегировать массивы числовых показателей. Программный комплекс METAS BI-Platform предназначен для многомерного анализа данных, получаемых из гетерогенных источников, и позволяет упростить разработку BI-приложений. Программный комплекс представляет собой многоуровневое приложение с архитектурой «Клиент-сервер». Каждый уровень комплекса соответствует степени абстракции данных. На самом низком уровне расположены драйверы доступа к специфическим физическим источникам данных. Следующий уровень – уровень виртуальной СУБД, позволяющей осуществлять унифицированный доступ к данным, что избавляет от необходимости учитывать специфику конкретных СУБД при разработке BI-приложений. Реализован программный интерфейс комплекса (API). В распоряжение разработчиков предоставляется набор готовых компонентов, которые могут быть использованы при создании BI-приложений. Это позволяет разрабатывать на основе комплекса BI-приложения, отвечающие современным требованиям, предъявляемым к подобным системам.

Encyclopaedia Slavica Sanctorum: Activity, Users, Statistics

Encyclopaedia slavica sanctorum (eslavsanct.net) is designed as a complex heterogenous multimedia product. It is part of the project Encyclopaedia Slavica Sanctorum: Saints and Holy Places in Bulgaria (in electronic and Guthenberg versions). Until 2013, its web-based platform for online management and presentation of structured digital content has been prepared and numerous materials have been input. The platform is developed using the server technologies PHP, MySQL and HTML, JavaScript, CSS on the client side. The search in the e-ESS can be made by different parameters (12, or combinations of parameters), such as saints’ or feasts’ names, type of sainthood, types of texts dedicated to the saints, dates of saints’ commemorations, and several others. Both guests and registered users can search in the e-ESS but the latter have access to much more information including the publications of original sources. The e-platform allows for making statistics of what have been searched and read. The software used for content and access analysis is BI tool QlikView. As an analysis services provider, it is connected to the e-ESS objects repository and tracking services by a preliminary created data warehouse. The data warehouse is updated automatically, achieving real time analytics solution. The paper discusses some of the statistics results of the use of the e-ESS: the activities of the editors, users, and guests, the types of searches, the most often viewed object, such as the date of January 1 and the article on St. Basil the Great which is one of the richest encyclopaedia articles and includes both matadata and original sources published, both from medieval Slavonic manuscripts and popular culture records.

Gazdasági kórkép alulnézetből I. rész (Syndrome of Hungarian Economy from Bottom-view – I. part)

A rendszerváltás utáni időszak gazdasági teljesítményei a beteljesült remények és a megvalósulatlan várakozások egymást követő hullámzásait takarják. A mögöttünk hagyott két évtized első felét a gazdasági szerkezetváltás, a piaci kapcsolatok módosulása, valamint új – többségében külföldi – befektetői csoportok megjelenése jellemezte, amelyek együttes hozadéka volt a gazdaság stabilizálódása, majd az új növekedési pályára állás. Az ezredfordulót követő évtized első felére azonban a külföldi befektetésekre alapozott gazdaságfejlesztési stratégia erejét vesztette, s a helyettesítésre szánt hazai kkv-szektor – a kiemelt támogatások és a kedvezmények ellenére – nem tudott a növekedés motorjává válni. Szerzőnk – a BCE tudományos kutatója és az APEH korábbi elnöke – a versenyszektor 2000–2008. évi pénzügyi beszámolói alapján a hazai vállalkozások demográfiai, teljesítményi és eredményességi jellemzőit vizsgálja, s két részből álló tanulmányában arra keresi a választ, hogy a várakozásoktól elmaradó működési eredményekben milyen szerepe lehet a gazdaságfejlesztési stratégia hiányának, a vállalkozási teljesítmények elégtelenségének, a tőkehiánynak, illetve a pénzügyi rendszer torzulásainak. Szerkesztőségünk a tanulmányt olyan vitaindítónak tekinti, ami széles érdeklődésre tarthat számot, s szívesen vállalkozunk arra, hogy közreadunk minden jobbító szándékú gondolatot. _______ The economic performance during the transition period was characterized by the alternations of fulfilled hopes and unrealized expectations. The economic restructuring and changes in market relations took place during the first decade, while new – mostly foreign – investment groups entered on the new market. As a result the economy was stabilized and was put to a new growth path. But after the millennium the foreign investment based economy development strategy was no more adequate. The new engine for the growth should have been the domestic small and medium enterprise sector (SME), but despite the subsidies this sector was not strengthened to take this role. The author – the researcher of BCE, and the ex-president of APEH – analyses the characteristics of the domestic business demography, performance and effectiveness, based on the 2000–2008 annual financial statements of the business sector. The two-part study seeks the reason for the disappointing operation results. What role take in this phenomena the absence of economic strategy, the deficiency of business performance, the lack of capital and the financial distortions of the system. Our editorial intend this study as a debate for the public, and we would publish the ideas which improves this relevant topic.

Gazdasági kórkép alulnézetből 2. rész (Syndrome of Hungarian Economy from Bottom-view - part 2.)

A magyar gazdaság új növekedési pályára állása a kilencvenes évek végére tehető, s ebben meghatározó szerepe volt a pótlólagos erőforrásként szolgáló külföldi működőtőke-befektetéseknek. A nemzetközi tőkeáramlás ezredfordulót követő módosulása (csökkenő volumen, változó irányultság) kedvezőtlenül érintette a hazai gazdaságot, aminek egyik következménye a beruházások csökkenése és a növekedési ütem lassulása, másik következménye viszont – a jövedelemkiáramlást semlegesítő hatás elmaradása miatt – a fizetési mérleg romlása. Ebben a helyzetben halaszthatatlanná vált az államháztartási egyensúlyromlás megállítása, illetve a gazdasági fejlődés új alapokra helyezése. A szerző elemzésében – a hazai versenyszektor eredményességi és vagyoni jellemzőinek értékelésével – azt szeretné jelezni, hogy az egyensúlytalansági állapot megszüntetése nem szorítkozhat az államháztartási rendszerre, vagyis az ország helyzetének stabilizálása, majd új növekedési pályára állás nem képzelhető el a gazdaság átfogó modernizációja nélkül. Vizsgálata a ténylegesen működő (343 ezer) hazai társas vállalkozás 2000–2008. évi pénzügyi beszámolóinak adataira épül. Álláspontja szerint a mintavétel nagysága ellensúlyozza az esetleges torzító hatásokat (lásd: helyenként előforduló kreatív beszámolók), így a vállalkozások mennyiségi gyarapodása, méret szerinti megoszlása, a gazdasági tevékenység jellege, a teljesítmények és eredmények alakulása, a vállalkozói vagyon módosulása megbízhatóan értékelhető, illetve a tapasztalatok alapján a korrekciós intézkedések igénye és azok tartalma is jól körvonalazható. Tanulmányát így ajánljuk a téma iránt érdeklődőknek, a versenyszektor szereplőinek, de leginkább a gazdaságpolitika formálóinak. _________ The economic performance during the transition period was characterized by the alternations of fulfilled hopes and unrealized expectations. The economic restructuring and changes in market relations took place during the first decade, while new – mostly foreign – investment groups entered on the new market. As a result the economy was stabilized and was put to a new growth path. But after the millennium the foreign investment based economy development strategy was no more adequate. The new engine for the growth should have been the domestic small and medium enterprise sector (SsME), but despite the subsidies this sector was not strengthened to take this role. The author – the researcher of BCE, and the ex-president of APpEH – analyses the characteristics of the domestic business demography, performance and effectiveness, based on the 2000–2008 annual financial statements of the business sector. In the author’s analysis – with assessment of the domestic business sector and financial performance characteristicst - he would like to point out that the imbalance can not be confined to the elimination of state government system, that is, the country’s situation to stabilize, and then post a new growth path is not conceivable without the modernization of the economy overall. In his view, the sample size outweighed the possible distortionary effects (see occurring in places of creative accounts), so the growth of business volume, size distribution, the nature of economic activity, the evolution of performance and results, a reliable assessment of changes in the business of property and the experience on the basis of the need for corrective action, and its contents are also well delineated. Sstudy it is recommended for those interested in the topic, the business sector actors, but most of the economic policy makers.

Implementação da infra-estrutura e protocolo de comunicação para tratamento e disponibilização de dados do projeto ePoste

The study consists in the structure elaboration and the ePoste project communicationprotocol, which is a system of monitoring by wireless communication with the aim tosensor and act with one or many public lighting points, and also the treatment of data todetect the activity in the sensors located on the posts. Previously the communication withsensors were made in locus and when data collect was necessary or the performance inthe devices, the operator had to move until the net place. Accordingly, the purpose has theconcern to increase the system dynamic, achieving the possible integrations with the systemsalready available to the lighting management. The same technology of communicationbetween the sensors are considerate, using the ZigBee protocol running on the meshnet, the communication with this net is made be internet through a gateway by GPRS,device with two basics functionalities, which bypass for data and the firmware update inthe sensor. This functionality test of data management is being tested; integrate way withlocal net of sensors and the internet data server operates. The protocol developed, besidesincorporating the ZigBee, that it is formation of framework in lower level, where definesbeginning, size and errors check, as well as the communication of sensor with the concentrator,which it is encapsulated in ZigBee; also the protocol of upper level, where thatit is the names, it was developed a platform of service to meet GET and POST requestsbeneath HTTP protocol, this service is implemented in the data server, which availablethe communication with the clients systems, in case, lighting management systems.

Diatom abundance in surface sediments of the Southern Ocean

Based on the quantitative analysis of diatom assemblages preserved in 274 surface sediment samples recovered in the Pacific, Atlantic and western Indian sectors of the Southern Ocean we have defined a new reference database for quantitative estimation of late-middle Pleistocene Antarctic sea ice fields using the transfer function technique. The Detrended Canonical Analysis (DCA) of the diatom data set points to a unimodal distribution of the diatom assemblages. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) indicates that winter sea ice (WSI) but also summer sea surface temperature (SSST) represent the most prominent environmental variables that control the spatial species distribution. To test the applicability of transfer functions for sea ice reconstruction in terms of concentration and occurrence probability we applied four different methods, the Imbrie and Kipp Method (IKM), the Modern Analog Technique (MAT), Weighted Averaging (WA), and Weighted Averaging Partial Least Squares (WAPLS), using logarithm-transformed diatom data and satellite-derived (1981-2010) sea ice data as a reference. The best performance for IKM results was obtained using a subset of 172 samples with 28 diatom taxa/taxa groups, quadratic regression and a three-factor model (IKM-D172/28/3q) resulting in root mean square errors of prediction (RMSEP) of 7.27% and 11.4% for WSI and summer sea ice (SSI) concentration, respectively. MAT estimates were calculated with different numbers of analogs (4, 6) using a 274-sample/28-taxa reference data set (MAT-D274/28/4an, -6an) resulting in RMSEP's ranging from 5.52% (4an) to 5.91% (6an) for WSI as well as 8.93% (4an) to 9.05% (6an) for SSI. WA and WAPLS performed less well with the D274 data set, compared to MAT, achieving WSI concentration RMSEP's of 9.91% with WA and 11.29% with WAPLS, recommending the use of IKM and MAT. The application of IKM and MAT to surface sediment data revealed strong relations to the satellite-derived winter and summer sea ice field. Sea ice reconstructions performed on an Atlantic- and a Pacific Southern Ocean sediment core, both documenting sea ice variability over the past 150,000 years (MIS 1 - MIS 6), resulted in similar glacial/interglacial trends of IKM and MAT-based sea-ice estimates. On the average, however, IKM estimates display smaller WSI and slightly higher SSI concentration and probability at lower variability in comparison with MAT. This pattern is a result of different estimation techniques with integration of WSI and SSI signals in one single factor assemblage by applying IKM and selecting specific single samples, thus keeping close to the original diatom database and included variability, by MAT. In contrast to the estimation of WSI, reconstructions of past SSI variability remains weaker. Combined with diatom-based estimates, the abundance and flux pattern of biogenic opal represents an additional indication for the WSI and SSI extent.

Analytiikkajärjestelmän käyttöönottoprojekti, kustannukset ja kustannusten hallinta

Perinteisten kilpailuetujen katoaminen ja kilpailun kiristyminen haastavat yrityksiä etsimään keinoja kilpailukyvyn säilyttämiseksi. Tietotekniikan nopea kehitys ja liiketoiminnassa syntyvän datan määrän kasvu luovat yrityksille mahdollisuuden hyödyntää analytiikkaa päätöksenteon tukena ja liiketoiminnan tehostamisessa. Työ on kirjallisuuskatsaus ja sen tavoitteena on selvittää analytiikkajärjestelmän käyttöönottoprojektin vaiheet, käyttöönottoon liittyvät kustannukset ja miten kustannuksia voidaan hallita. Lisäksi esitetään tiivis katsaus analytiikan kehitykseen ja nykytilaan sekä tarkastellaan hankintamalleja, hankkeiden taloudellista arviointia ja käyttöönottoprojektin kriittisiä menestystekijöitä. Käyttöönottoprojekti on monivaiheinen ja se alkaa liiketoiminnan analysoinnista sekä järjestelmän suunnittelusta ulottuen aina sen toteutukseen ja jälkiarviointiin. Käyttöönottoon liittyy useita kustannuseriä, joita voidaan luokitella niiden ominaisuuksien perusteella. Projektin kustannusten hallinnan prosesseja ovat kustannusten hallinnan suunnittelu, kustannusten arviointi, budjetin määrittäminen ja kustannusten valvonta, jotka limittyvät käyttöönoton vaiheiden kanssa.

Propuesta de un método para el diseño y modelado de una bodega de datos

El desarrollo de los Sistemas de Información Gerencial basados en tecnologías de Data Warehouse y Herramientas Olap, es relativamente reciente y, por lo tanto, no existe una propuesta metodológica universalmente válida y aceptada como tal, porla comunidad académica. El presente artículo expone una propuesta metodológica para la realización del diseño de una bodega de datos, que utiliza como eje articulador la identificación de las necesidades de información por parte de la gerencia, para el soporte de los procesos de control y de toma de decisiones.El método propuesto está compuesto de ocho pasos agrupados en tres fases. La primera fase comprende la identificación de las necesidades de información gerencial, desde la perspectivadel negocio. La segunda fase comprende todas las actividades relacionadas con la elaboración de un modelo lógico-conceptual de la estructura de la bodega de datos. La tercera fase incluye los pasos para realizar el diseño físico de la estructura de la bodega de datos.

Desempenho térmico de coberturas: Um estudo comparativo entre as telhas de material reciclado, de fibra e betume, fibrocimento e cerâmica

This study aims to compare the thermal performance of tiles made from recycled material (waste packaging cardboard with aluminized film) with the tiles of fiber and bitumen, fiber cement and red ceramic with the aim of verifying the suitability of tile to be used in hot and humid climate of low latitude. The samples were selected according to the availability from Natal - RN market, as they are sold to the consumers. The methodology was based on studies that used experimental apparatus composed of thermal chambers heated by banks of incandescent bulbs, to analyze the thermal performance of materials. The tiles in the study were submitted to analysis of thermal performance, thermophysical properties and absorptance, using chambers of thermal performance, measuring the thermophysical properties and portable spectrometer, respectively. Comparative analysis of thermal performance between two samples of the recycled material with dimple sizes and different amounts of aluminum were made, in order to verify, if these characteristics had some interference on the thermal performance of them; the results showed no significant performance differences between the samples. The data obtained in chambers of thermal performance and confirmed by statistical analysis, showed, that the tile of recycled material have similar thermal performance to the tile of fiber cement. In addition to these tests was carried out the automatic monitoring of a building covered with tiles of recycled material, to verify its thermal performance in a real situation. The results showed that recycled shingles must be used with technical criteria similar to those used for fiber cement tiles, with regard to the heat gain into the building. Within these criteria should be taken into account local characteristics, especially in regions with hot and humid climate, and its use must be associated, according to the literature, to elements of thermal insulation and use of passive techniques such as vented attics, ceilings and right foot higher