Gaussian processes for POMDP-based dialogue manager optimization

A partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP) has been proposed as a dialog model that enables automatic optimization of the dialog policy and provides robustness to speech understanding errors. Various approximations allow such a model to be used for building real-world dialog systems. However, they require a large number of dialogs to train the dialog policy and hence they typically rely on the availability of a user simulator. They also require significant designer effort to hand-craft the policy representation. We investigate the use of Gaussian processes (GPs) in policy modeling to overcome these problems. We show that GP policy optimization can be implemented for a real world POMDP dialog manager, and in particular: 1) we examine different formulations of a GP policy to minimize variability in the learning process; 2) we find that the use of GP increases the learning rate by an order of magnitude thereby allowing learning by direct interaction with human users; and 3) we demonstrate that designer effort can be substantially reduced by basing the policy directly on the full belief space thereby avoiding ad hoc feature space modeling. Overall, the GP approach represents an important step forward towards fully automatic dialog policy optimization in real world systems. © 2013 IEEE.

基于模糊行为分析的移动自组网入侵检测

移动自组网络是一种不需要基础设施的网络．在这种网络中，移动节点是自组织的，并且需要互相提供网络路由服务．自组网络非常容易受到攻击，特别是内部攻击．提出了一个基于模糊行为分析的入侵检测方案，以检测网络内部的路由攻击．利用邻接节点监测，通过分析节点路由行为与路由规范的偏差，发现恶意行为．在数据分析的过程中引入了模糊路由行为分析的方法，大大降低了误报率．仿真实验表明，该方案能有效地检测出路由入侵行为，而将误报率控制在一个较低的水平．

一种基于信任度的自组安全互操作方法

提出了基于信任度的自组安全互操作方法,引入信任度描述自治域和用户正确参与协作的概率.自治域对用户的信任度由二者的直接交互经验以及其他域对用户的评价共同决定,满足信任策略要求的用户允许执行角色.用户的恶意历史行为将会降低其信任度,从而影响执行角色的范围.自治域对其他域的信任度由对用户的评价与直接经验的偏差根据加权主要算法反馈更新.自治域的恶意评价影响其推荐信息的可信程度.实验结果表明,该方法能够有效地抵御欺骗和恶意行为.

移动卫星网络资源发现技术研究

资源发现技术是根据给定的资源描述，在网络中自动找到相应资源的技 术，该技术能够智能地满足网络中应用和指挥任务执行时对资源信息的需求， 并且能够为资源的管理和监控提供一定支持。 现有的资源发现技术研究主要针对地面的网格、P2P网络和移动Ad hoc 网络等。卫星网络作为一种特殊的移动网络，其中节点的星载CPU 处理能力 和存储能力都无法与地面设备相提并论。同时，由于卫星网络具有拓扑结构 动态变化、空间无线信道时延长、误码率较高等特性，使得现有的地面网络 资源发现协议不能直接应用于卫星网络，因此设计高效的卫星网络资源发现 协议将有助于促进卫星网络的复杂应用和智能控制。 本文提出了一种针对移动卫星网络的分布式资源发现协议SatRDP， 针对 卫星网络中节点的移动性、星间链路时延和不同星座组网结构等情况，设计 了协议的体系结构以及相应的分布式资源信息存储和广告策略、需求路由和 回溯策略。经过分析，SatRDP 能够更好地适应移动卫星网络，提高资源发现 成功率，节省卫星节点的存储资源，在一定程度上降低协议开销。 最后，设计了仿真实验平台，对算法进行了初步的实验，并与传统的分 布式资源发现协议 FLOOD 进行比较。实验结果表明，SatRDP 协议更适合卫 星网络环境，有更高的发现成功率、发现效率和更小的需求包开销。最后总 结并指出了移动卫星网络资源发现技术进一步的研究方向。

大规模多数据库系统的互操作机制

Sharing data among disparate databases has so far mostly been achieved through some form of ad-hoc schema integration. This approach becomes less tractable as the number of participating database increases. In this paper,we first present the primary problems to be resolved in large multidatabase systems and discuss the autonomy and heteroheneity of large multidatabase systems and then describe a coalition agent mechanism to implement large multidatabase systems interoperation.

Resolving Ambiguity in Nonmonotonic Inheritance Hierarchies

This paper describes a theory of inheritance theories. We present an original theory of inheritance in nonmonotonic hierarchies. The structures on which this theory is based delineate a framework that subsumes most inheritance theories in the literature, providing a new foundation for inheritance. * Our path-based theory is sound and complete w.r.t. a direct model-theoretic semantics. * Both the credulous and the skeptical conclusions of this theory are polynomial-time computable. * We prove that true skeptical inheritance is not contained in the language of path-based inheritance. Because our techniques are modular w.r.t. the definition of specificity, they generalize to provide a unified framework for a broad class of inheritance theories. By describing multiple inheritance theories in the same "language" of credulous extensions, we make principled comparisons rather than the ad-hoc examination of specific examples makes up most of the comparative inheritance work.

Near-Optimal Distributed Failure Circumscription

Small failures should only disrupt a small part of a network. One way to do this is by marking the surrounding area as untrustworthy --- circumscribing the failure. This can be done with a distributed algorithm using hierarchical clustering and neighbor relations, and the resulting circumscription is near-optimal for convex failures.

Double Jeopardy Without Parameters: Re-characterization in International Criminal Law

Olusanya, O. (2004). Double Jeopardy Without Parameters: Re-characterization in International Criminal Law. Series Supranational Criminal Law: Capita Selecta, volume 2. Antwerp: Intersentia. RAE2008

W SPRAWIE DODATKOWYCH MANDATÓW DO PARLAMENTU EUROPEJSKIEGO

Zwiększanie składu Parlamentu Europejskiego jest zjawiskiem zrozumiałym i związanym z rozszerzaniem się Unii o kolejne państwa. Zazwyczaj zwiększenie składu PE następuje wraz z rozpoczęciem nowej kadencji. Niniejszy artykuł omawia jednakże przypadek zwiększenia składu PE podczas trwającej kadencji. Konieczność zwiększenia liczby mandatów przypadających części państw wywołana została wejściem w życie Traktatu Lizbońskiego, przewidującego zwiększenie liczby mandatów do PE z 736 do 754. W Traktacie nie umieszczono przepisu wskazującego, że przepisy dotyczące składu PE wejdą w życie od nowej kadencji, co zrodziło szereg problemów związanych przede wszystkim z wyborem trybu obsady dodatkowych mandatów. Rada Europejska zaproponowała 3 sposoby obsady dodatkowych mandatów: na podstawie wyników wyborów z czerwca 2009 r., w drodze wyborów przeprowadzonych ad hoc, przez parlamenty narodowe spośród swych członków. Wszystkie państwa członkowskie, w tym Polska, zdecydowały się na wybór pierwszego ze wskazanych sposobów. Zdaniem autora, przyjęty w Polsce sposób obsady dodatkowego mandatu dokonany na podstawie przeprowadzonych już wyborów jest wątpliwy z punktu widzenia zgodności z Konstytucją RP.

Perfis de risco na condução de veículo em estado de embriaguez

Projecto de Graduação apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Licenciada em Criminologia

An energy efficient power controller switching methodology for an ambient healthcare network

A methodology for improved power controller switching in mobile Body Area Networks operating within the ambient healthcare environment is proposed. The work extends Anti-windup and Bumpless transfer results to provide a solution to the ambulatory networking problem that ensures sufficient biometric data can always be regenerated at the base station. The solution thereby guarantees satisfactory quality of service for healthcare providers. Compensation is provided for the nonlinear hardware constraints that are a typical feature of the type of network under consideration and graceful performance degradation in the face of hardware output power saturation is demonstrated, thus conserving network energy in an optimal fashion.

A study of the extent to which Irish law, policy and practice allow for Ireland's application of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 to pre-natal children

The central research question of this thesis asks the extent to which Irish law, policy and practice allow for the application of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) to pre-natal children. First, it is demonstrated that pre-natal children can fall within the definition of ‘child’ under the Convention and so the possibility of applying the Convention to children before birth is opened. Many State Parties to the CRC have interpreted it as applicable to pre-natal children, while others have expressed that it only applies from birth. Ireland has not clarified whether or not it interprets it as being applicable from conception, birth, or some other point. The remainder of the thesis examines the extent to which Ireland interprets the CRC as applicable to the pre-natal child. First, the question of whether Ireland affords to the pre-natal child the right to life under Article 6(1) of the Convention is analysed. Given the importance of the indivisibility of rights under the Convention, the extent to which Ireland applies other CRC rights to pre-natal children is examined. The rights analysed are the right to protection from harm, the right to the provision of health care and the procedural right to representation. It is concluded that Ireland’s laws, policies and practices require urgent clarification on the issue of the extent to which rights such as protection, health care and representation apply to children before birth. In general, there are mixed and ad hoc approaches to these issues in Ireland and there exists a great deal of confusion amongst those working on the frontline with such children, such as health care professionals and social workers. The thesis calls for significant reform in this area in terms of law and policy, which will inform practice.

Training in and assessment of the procedural skills required to perform peripheral nerve blockade

The training and ongoing education of medical practitioners has undergone major changes in an incremental fashion over the past 15 years. These changes have been driven by patient safety, educational, economic and legislative/regulatory factors. In the near future, training in procedural skills will undergo a paradigm shift to proficiency based progression with associated requirements for competence-based programmes, valid, reliable assessment tools and simulation technology. Before training begins, the learning outcomes require clear definition; any form of assessment applied should include measurement of these outcomes. Currently training in a procedural skill often takes place on an ad hoc basis. The number of attempts necessary to attain a defined degree of proficiency varies from procedure to procedure. Convincing evidence exists that simulation training helps trainees to acquire skills more efficiently rather than relying on opportunities in their clinical practice. Simulation provides a safe, stress free environment for trainees for skill acquisition, generalization and transfer via deliberate practice. The work described in this thesis contributes to a greater understanding of how medical procedures can be performed more safely and effectively through education. The effect of feedback, provided to novices in a standardized setting on a bench model, based on knowledge of performance was associated with an increase in the speed of skill acquisition and a decrease in error rate during initial learning. The timing of feedback was also associated with effective learning of skill. A marked attrition of skills (independent of the type of feedback provided) was demonstrable 24 hrs after they have first been learned. Using the principles of feedback as described above, when studying the effect of an intense training program on novices of varied years of experience in anaesthesia (i.e. the present training programmes / courses of an intense training day for one or more procedures). There was a marked attrition of skill at 24 hours with a significant correlation with increasing years of experience; there also appeared to be an inverse relationship between years of experience in anaesthesia and performance. The greater the number of years of practice experience, the longer it required a learner to acquire a new skill. The findings of the studies described in this thesis may have important implications for the trainers, trainees and training bodies in the design and implementation of training courses and the formats of delivery of changing curricula. Both curricula and training modalities will need to take account of characteristics of individual learners and the dynamic nature of procedural healthcare.

The student bullying of teachers in Irish second level schools: exploring the influence of historical low state intervention in education on the development of contemporary policy responses in Ireland

The student bullying of teachers (SBT) is a distinct and complex form of bullying with a multiplicity of diverse, changeable and intersecting causes which is experienced by and affects teachers in a variety of ways. SBT is both a national and an international phenomenon which is under-recognised in academic, societal and political spheres, resulting in limited conceptual understanding and awareness of the issue. This study explores teachers’ experiences of SBT behaviours in Irish second level schools as well as teachers’ perceptions regarding training, policies and supports in Ireland to address the issue. Specifically, the study seeks to explore the influence of historical low State intervention in education on contemporary policies and supports to deal with SBT in Ireland. A mixed methods approach involving a survey of 531 second level school teachers and 17 semi-structured interviews with teachers, Year Heads and representatives from teacher trade unions and school management bodies was employed to collect and analyse data. Findings indicate that SBT behaviours are prevalent in many forms in Irish second level schools. The hidden nature of the phenomenon has simultaneously contributed to and is reinforced by limited understanding of the issue as well as teachers’ reluctance to disclose their experiences. Findings reveal that teachers perceive the contemporary policies, training and support structures in Ireland to be inadequate in equipping them to effectively deal with SBT. State intervention in addressing SBT behaviours to date, has been limited, therefore many teachers are forced to respond to the issue based on their own initiatives and assumptions rather than from an informed critically reflective approach, supported by national guidelines and sufficient State investment. This has resulted in a piecemeal, un-coordinated and ad-hoc approach to SBT in Irish schools both in terms of teachers’ management of SBT behaviours and with respect to the supports extended to staff. The potential negative consequences of SBT behaviours on teachers’ wellbeing and professional performance and thus, on the education system itself, underlines the need for a strategic, evidence-based, resourced and integrated approach which includes, as a pivotal component, consultation with teachers, whose contribution to the process is crucial.