The condensed nearest neighbor rule using the concept of mutual nearest neighborhood (Corresp.)

A two-stage iterative algorithm for selecting a subset of a training set of samples for use in a condensed nearest neighbor (CNN) decision rule is introduced. The proposed method uses the concept of mutual nearest neighborhood for selecting samples close to the decision line. The efficacy of the algorithm is brought out by means of an example.

Agglomerative clustering using the concept of mutual nearest neighbourhood

A method for determining the mutual nearest neighbours (MNN) and mutual neighbourhood value (mnv) of a sample point, using the conventional nearest neighbours, is suggested. A nonparametric, hierarchical, agglomerative clustering algorithm is developed using the above concepts. The algorithm is simple, deterministic, noniterative, requires low storage and is able to discern spherical and nonspherical clusters. The method is applicable to a wide class of data of arbitrary shape, large size and high dimensionality. The algorithm can discern mutually homogenous clusters. Strong or weak patterns can be discerned by properly choosing the neighbourhood width.

Disaggregative Clustering Using the Concept of Mutual Nearest Neighborhood

A nonparametric, hierarchical, disaggregative clustering algorithm is developed using a novel similarity measure, called the mutual neighborhood value (MNV), which takes into account the conventional nearest neighbor ranks of two samples with respect to each other. The algorithm is simple, noniterative, requires low storage, and needs no specification of the expected number of clusters. The algorithm appears very versatile as it is capable of discerning spherical and nonspherical clusters, linearly nonseparable clusters, clusters with unequal populations, and clusters with lowdensity bridges. Changing of the neighborhood size enables discernment of strong or weak patterns.

An Analysis of the Concept of Citizenship: Legal, Political and Social Dimensions

The thesis aims at analyzing concept of citizenship in political philosophy. The concept of citizenship is a complex one: it does not have a definitive explication, but it nevertheless is a very important category in contemporary world. Citizenship is a powerful ideal, and often the way a person is treated depends on whether he or she has the status of a citizen. Citizenship includes protection of a person’s rights both at home and abroad. It entails legal, political and social dimension: the legal status as a full member of society, the recognition of that status by fellow citizens and acting as a member of society. The thesis discusses these three dimensions. Its objective is to show how all of them, despite being insufficient in some aspects, reach something important about the concept. The main sources of the thesis are Civic Republicanism by Iseult Honohan (Routledge 2002), Republicanism by Philip Pettit (Clarendon Press 1997), and Taking Rights Seriously by Ronald Dworkin (1997). In addition, the historical part of the thesis relies mainly on the works of Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, Adam Smith, Quentin Skinner, James Pocock and James Tully. The writings of Will Kymlicka, John Rawls, Chantal Mouffe, and Shane Phelan are referred to in the presentation and critique of the liberal tradition of thought. Hannah Arendt and Seyla Benhabib’s analysis of Arendt’s philosophy both address the problematic relations between human rights and nation-states as the main guarantors of rights. The chapter on group rights relies on Peter Jones’ account of corporate and collective rights, after which I continue to Seumas Miller’s essay on the (liberal) account of group rights and their relation to the concept of citizenship. Republicanism and Political Theory (2002) edited by Cécile Laborde and John Maynor is also references. David Miller and Maurizio Viroli represent the more “rooted” version of republicanism. The thesis argues that the full concept of citizenship should be seen as containing legal, political and social dimensions. The concept can be viewed from all of these three angles. The first means that citizenship is connected with certain rights, like the right to vote or stand for election, the right to property and so on. In most societies, the law guarantees these rights to every citizen. Then there is also the social dimension, which can be said to be as important as the legal one: the recognition of equality and identities of others. Finally, there is the political dimension, meaning the importance of citizens’ participation in the society, which is discussed in connection with the contemporary account of republicanism. All these issues are discussed from the point of view of groups demanding for group-specific rights and equal recognition. The challenge with these three aspects of citizenship is, however, that they are difficult to discuss under one heading. Different theories or discourses of citizenship each approach the subject from different starting points, which make reconciling them sometimes hard. The fundamental questions theories try to answer may differ radically depending on the theory. Nevertheless, in order to get the whole image of what the citizenship discourses are about all the aspects deserve to be taken into account.

Towards the concept of hydrodynamic cavitation control

A careful study of the existing literature available in the field of cavitation reveals the potential of ultrasonics as a tool for controlling and, if possible, eliminating certain types of hydrodynamic cavitation through the manipulation of nuclei size present in a flow. A glass venturi is taken to be an ideal device to study the cavitation phenomenon at its throat and its potential control. A piezoelectric transducer, driven at the crystal resonant frequency, is used to generate an acoustic pressure field and is termed an �ultrasonic nuclei manipulator (UNM)�. Electrolysis bubbles serve as artificial nuclei to produce travelling bubble cavitation at the venturi throat in the absence of a UNM but this cavitation is completely eliminated when a UNM is operative. This is made possible because the nuclei, which pass through the acoustic field first, cavitate, collapse violently and perhaps fragment and go into dissolution before reaching the venturi throat. Thus, the potential nuclei for travelling bubble cavitation at the venturi throat seem to be systematically destroyed through acoustic cavitation near the UNM. From the solution to the bubble dynamics equation, it has been shown that the potential energy of a bubble at its maximum radius due to an acoustic field is negligible compared to that for the hydrodynamic field. Hence, even though the control of hydrodynamic macro cavitation achieved in this way is at the expense of acoustic micro cavitation, it can still be considered to be a significant gain. These are some of the first results in this direction.

Evaluation of Suitable Locations for Generation Expansion in Restructured Power Systems: A Novel Concept of T-index Thukaram

In developing countries, a high rate of growth in the demand for electric energy is felt, and so the addition of new generating units becomes inevitable. In deregulated power systems, private generating stations are encouraged to add new generations. Some of the factors considered while placing a new generating unit are: availability of esources, ease of transmitting power, distance from the load centre, etc. Finding the most appropriate locations for generation expansion can be done by running repeated power flows and carrying system studies like analyzing the voltage profile, voltage stability, loss analysis, etc. In this paper a new methodology is proposed which will mainly consider the existing network topology. A concept of T-index is introduced in this paper, which considers the electrical distances between generator and load nodes. This index is used for ranking the most significant new generation expansion locations and also indicates the amount of permissible generations that can be installed at these new locations. This concept facilitates for the medium and long term planning of power generation expansions within the available transmission corridors. Studies carried out on an EHV equivalent 10-bus system and IEEE 30 bus systems are presented for illustration purposes.

Environmental judgment in early childhood and its relationship with the understanding of the concept of living beings

The evidence collected concerning the biocentric judgment that young children express when evaluating human actions on the environment leads some scholars to suggest that an essential understanding of the notion of living beings should appear earlier than previously believed. This research project aims to study that assumption. To this end, young children’s choice when they are put in situation of having to compare and choose the most negative option between environmentally harmful actions and the breaking of social conventions are examined. Afterwards, the results are categorized in relation to those obtained from the study of children’s grasp of the distinction between living beings and inanimate entities. The data is analysed according to the individuals’ age and overall, it suggests a lack of relationship between environmental judgment and the understanding of the concept of living beings. The final results are discussed in keeping with recent research in the field of moral development that underscores the role that unconscious emotional processing plays in the individual’s normative judgment.

Proof of Concept of Impact Detection in Composites Using Fiber Bragg Grating Arrays

Impact detection in aeronautical structures allows predicting their future reliability and performance. An impact can produce microscopic fissures that could evolve into fractures or even the total collapse of the structure, so it is important to know the location and severity of each impact. For this purpose, optical fibers with Bragg gratings are used to analyze each impact and the vibrations generated by them. In this paper it is proven that optical fibers with Bragg gratings can be used to detect impacts, and also that a high-frequency interrogator is necessary to collect valuable information about the impacts. The use of two interrogators constitutes the main novelty of this paper.