Mobile communication in power distribution application

This paper investigates how to interface the wireless application protocol (WAP) architecture to the SCADA system running distributed network protocol (DNP) in a power process plant. DNP is a well-developed protocol to be applied in the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system but the system control centre and remote terminal units (RTUs) are presently connected through a local area network. The conditions in a process plant are harsh and the site is remote. Resources for data communication are difficult to obtain under these conditions, thus, a wireless channel communication through a mobile phone is practical and efficient in a process plant environment. The mobile communication industries and the public have a strong interest in the WAP technology application in mobile phone networks and the WAP application programming interface (API) in power industry applications is one area that requires extensive investigation.

Real-time simulation for power systems based on parallel computing - an empirical study

Abstract Computer simulation is a versatile and commonly used tool for the design and evaluation of systems with different degrees of complexity. Power distribution systems and electric railway network are areas for which computer simulations are being heavily applied. A dominant factor in evaluating the performance of a software simulator is its processing time, especially in the cases of real-time simulation. Parallel processing provides a viable mean to reduce the computing time and is therefore suitable for building real-time simulators. In this paper, we present different issues related to solving the power distribution system with parallel computing based on a multiple-CPU server and we will concentrate, in particular, on the speedup performance of such an approach.

Applying the open innovation system concept to infrastructure projects

Purpose: The goal of this conceptual paper is to provide tools to help maximise the value delivered by infrastructure projects, by developing methods to increase adoption of innovative products during construction. Methods: The role of knowledge flows in determining innovation adoption rates is conceptually examined. A promising new approach is developed. Open innovation system theory is extended, by reviewing the role of three frameworks: (1) knowledge intermediaries, (2) absorptive capacity and (3) governance arrangements. Originality: We develop a novel open innovation system model to guide further research in the area of adoption of innovation on infrastructure projects. The open innovation system model currently lacks definition of core concepts, especially with regard to the impact of different degrees and types of openness. The three frameworks address this issue and add substance to the open innovation system model, addressing widespread criticism that it is underdeveloped. The novelty of our model is in the combination of the three frameworks to explore the system. These frameworks promise new insights into system dynamics and facilitate the development of new methods to optimise the diffusion of innovation. Practical Implications: The framework will help to reveal gaps in knowledge flows that impede the uptake of innovations. In the past, identifying these gaps has been difficult given the lack of nuance in existing theory. The knowledge maps proposed will enable informed policy advice to effectively harness the power of knowledge networks, increase innovation diffusion and improve the performance of infrastructure projects. The models developed in this paper will be used in planned empirical research into innovation on large scale infrastructure projects in the Australian built environment.

Algebraic analysis of small Scale LEX-BES

This work examines the algebraic cryptanalysis of small scale variants of the LEX-BES. LEX-BES is a stream cipher based on the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) block cipher. LEX is a generic method proposed for constructing a stream cipher from a block cipher, initially introduced by Biryukov at eSTREAM, the ECRYPT Stream Cipher project in 2005. The Big Encryption System (BES) is a block cipher introduced at CRYPTO 2002 which facilitates the algebraic analysis of the AES block cipher. In this article, experiments were conducted to find solutions of equation systems describing small scale LEX-BES using Gröbner Basis computations. This follows a similar approach to the work by Cid, Murphy and Robshaw at FSE 2005 that investigated algebraic cryptanalysis on small scale variants of the BES. The difference between LEX-BES and BES is that due to the way the keystream is extracted, the number of unknowns in LEX-BES equations is fewer than the number in BES. As far as the authors know, this attempt is the first at creating solvable equation systems for stream ciphers based on the LEX method using Gröbner Basis computations.

Examination of the latent structure of the psychological sense of school membership scale

Despite its widespread use, there has been limited examination of the underlying factor structure of the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) scale. The current study examined the psychometric properties of the PSSM to refine its utility for researchers and practitioners using a sample of 504 Australian high school students. Results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the PSSM is a multidimensional instrument. Factor analysis procedures identified three factors representing related aspects of students’ perceptions of their school membership: caring relationships, acceptance, and rejection

Power electronics education electronic book (PEEEB)

In this website, you can virtually attend all lectures, tutorials, computer Labs and quizzes and also access to lecture notes.

Contracting bubbles in Hele-Shaw cells with a power-law fluid

The problem of bubble contraction in a Hele-Shaw cell is studied for the case in which the surrounding fluid is of power-law type. A small perturbation of the radially symmetric problem is first considered, focussing on the behaviour just before the bubble vanishes, it being found that for shear-thinning fluids the radially symmetric solution is stable, while for shear-thickening fluids the aspect ratio of the bubble boundary increases. The borderline (Newtonian) case considered previously is neutrally stable, the bubble boundary becoming elliptic in shape with the eccentricity of the ellipse depending on the initial data. Further light is shed on the bubble contraction problem by considering a long thin Hele-Shaw cell: for early times the leading-order behaviour is one-dimensional in this limit; however, as the bubble contracts its evolution is ultimately determined by the solution of a Wiener-Hopf problem, the transition between the long-thin limit and the extinction limit in which the bubble vanishes being described by what is in effect a similarity solution of the second kind. This same solution describes the generic (slit-like) extinction behaviour for shear-thickening fluids, the interface profiles that generalise the ellipses that characterise the Newtonian case being constructed by the Wiener-Hopf calculation.

Differential roles of the pRb and Arf/p53 pathways in murine naevus and melanoma genesis

We report on a systematic analysis of genotype-specific melanocyte (MC) UVR responses in transgenic mouse melanoma models along with tumour penetrance and comparative histopathology. pRb or p53 pathway mutations cooperated with NrasQ61K to transform MCs. We previously reported that MCs migrate from the follicular outer root sheath into the epidermis after neonatal UVR. Here, we found that Arf or p53 loss markedly diminished this response. Despite this, mice carrying these mutations developed melanoma with very early age of onset after neonatal UVR. Cdk4R24C did not affect the MC migration. Instead, independent of UVR exposure, interfollicular dermal MCs were more prevalent in Cdk4R24C mice. Subsequently, in adulthood, these mutants developed dermal MC proliferations reminiscent of superficial congenital naevi. Two types of melanoma were observed in this model. The location and growth pattern of the first was consistent with derivation from the naevi, while the second appeared to be of deep dermal origin. In animals carrying the Arf or p53 defects, no naevi were detected, with all tumours ostensibly skipping the benign precursor stage in progression.

Safety in occupational driving : development of a driver behaviour scale for the workplace context

International statistics indicate that occupational, or work-related driving, crashes are the most common cause of workplace injury, death, and absence from work. The majority of research examining unsafe driver behavior in the workplace has relied on general road safety questionnaires. However, past research has failed to consider the organizational context in the use of these questionnaires, and as such, there is ambiguity in the dimensions constituting occupational driving. Using a theoretical model developed by Hockey (1993, 1997), this article proposes and validates a new scale of occupational driver behavior. This scale incorporates four dimensions of driver behavior that are influenced by demanding workplace conditions; speeding, rule violation, inattention, and driving while tired. Following a content validation process, three samples of occupational drivers in Australia were used to assess the scale. Data from the first sample (n=145) were used to reduce the number of scale items and provide an assessment of the factorial validity of the scale. Data from the second sample (n=645) were then used to confirm the factor structure and psychometric properties of the scale including reliability and construct validity. Finally, data from the third sample (n=248) were used to establish criterion validity. The results indicated that the scale is a reliable and valid measure of occupational driver behavior.

Discrimination or Differential Involvement? A Review of the Research Exploring the Impact of Indigenous Status on Sentencing

Existing court data suggest that adult Indigenous offenders are more likely than non-Indigenous defendants to be sentenced to prison but once imprisoned generally receive shorter terms. Using findings from international and Australian multivariate statistical analyses, this paper reviews the three key hypotheses advanced as plausible explanations for these differences: 1) differential involvement, 2) negative discrimination, 3) positive discrimination. Overall, prior research shows strong support for the differential involvement thesis, some support for positive discrimination and little foundation for negative discrimination in the sentencing of Indigenous defendants. Where discrimination is found, we argue that this may be explained by the lack of a more complete set of control variables in researchers’ multivariate models.

Empirical comparison of machine learning algorithms for image texture classification with application to vegetation management in power line corridors

This paper reports on the empirical comparison of seven machine learning algorithms in texture classification with application to vegetation management in power line corridors. Aiming at classifying tree species in power line corridors, object-based method is employed. Individual tree crowns are segmented as the basic classification units and three classic texture features are extracted as the input to the classification algorithms. Several widely used performance metrics are used to evaluate the classification algorithms. The experimental results demonstrate that the classification performance depends on the performance matrix, the characteristics of datasets and the feature used.

Advances in vegetation management for power line corridor monitoring using aerial remote sensing techniques

This paper presents a comprehensive discussion of vegetation management approaches in power line corridors based on aerial remote sensing techniques. We address three issues 1) strategies for risk management in power line corridors, 2) selection of suitable platforms and sensor suite for data collection and 3) the progress in automated data processing techniques for vegetation management. We present initial results from a series of experiments and, challenges and lessons learnt from our project.

The Guardian reportage of the UK MP expenses scandal: a case study of computational journalism

The Guardian reportage of the United Kingdom Member of Parliament (MP) expenses scandal of 2009 used crowdsourcing and computational journalism techniques. Computational journalism can be broadly defined as the application of computer science techniques to the activities of journalism. Its foundation lies in computer assisted reporting techniques and its importance is increasing due to the: (a) increasing availability of large scale government datasets for scrutiny; (b) declining cost, increasing power and ease of use of data mining and filtering software; and Web 2.0; and (c) explosion of online public engagement and opinion.. This paper provides a case study of the Guardian MP expenses scandal reportage and reveals some key challenges and opportunities for digital journalism. It finds journalists may increasingly take an active role in understanding, interpreting, verifying and reporting clues or conclusions that arise from the interrogations of datasets (computational journalism). Secondly a distinction should be made between information reportage and computational journalism in the digital realm, just as a distinction might be made between citizen reporting and citizen journalism. Thirdly, an opportunity exists for online news providers to take a ‘curatorial’ role, selecting and making easily available the best data sources for readers to use (information reportage). These activities have always been fundamental to journalism, however the way in which they are undertaken may change. Findings from this paper may suggest opportunities and challenges for the implementation of computational journalism techniques in practice by digital Australian media providers, and further areas of research.

Reclaiming China's former soft power

The discussion begins with a discussion of soft power and creativity in contemporary China. The article then examines three development trajectories: territory, technology and taste. The third section examines the effects of taste in more detail through examples of China's creativity in art, philosophy and technology primarily in three key periods, the Western Zhou, Han, and Song The principal argument is that while China’s cultural authority was established on deep Confucian roots, its international influence, and its creativity, is indebted to periods of openness to ideas.

Re-imagining China's future : soft power, cultural presence and the East Asian media market

As various contributors to this volume suggest, the term soft power is multifaceted. In 2002 Joseph Nye, the political scientist who coined the term more than a decade previously, noted that the soft power of a country rests on three resources: a country’s culture, its political values, and its foreign policies (Nye 2002). However, several factors can be drawn together to explain China’s adoption of this concept. First, China’s economic influence has precipitated a groundswell of nationalism, which reached its apex at the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This global media event provided an international platform to demonstrate China’s new found self-confidence. Second, cultural diplomacy and foreign aid, particularly through Third World channels is seen by the Chinese Communist Party leadership as an appropriate way to extend Chinese influence globally (Kurlantzick 2007). Third, education in Chinese culture through globally dispersed Confucius Institutes is charged with improving international understanding of Chinese culture and values, and in the process renovating negative images of China. Fourth, the influence of Japanese and Korean popular culture on China’s youth cultures in recent years has caused acute discomfit to cultural nationalists. Many contend it is time to stem the tide. Fifth, the past few years have witnessed a series of lively debates about the importance of industries such as design, advertising, animation and fashion, resulting in the construction of hundreds of creative clusters, animation centres, film backlots, cultural precincts, design centres and artist lofts.