Integrating insurance services, trust and risk mechanisms into multi-agent systems

In multi-agent systems, there is often the need for an agent to cooperate with others so as to ensure that a given task is achieved timely and cost effectively. Currently multi-agent systems maximize this through mechanisms such as coalition formation, trust and risk assessments, etc. In this paper, we incorporate the concept of insurance with trust and risk mechanisms in multi-agent systems. The novelty of this proposal is that it ensures continuous sharing of resources while encouraging expected utility to be maximized in a dynamic environment. Our experimental results confirm the feasibility of our approach.

Hegemony of printed books in Australian tertiary education a concept under challenge

This paper is about challenges to the hegemony of printed books in Australian tertiary education and the potential demise of that hegemony. Not because the book in its traditional form is considered by some to be outdated and not because ofcompeting products that might put the use of the traditional book under threat - our Australian 'book-industry' might well rise to such challenges given that competitiveness is a driving feature of business. This paper is about challenges to the hegemony of printed books in tertiary education because of forces entirely outside the 'book-industry's' control.

The function of traditional printed books within tertiary education is changing. Education is a user-pays product, and competitive pressures ensure students are given greater voice in the types of learning resources provided, with the evolution of electronic and communication technologies allowing student learning resources to be made available in a myriad of ways. Thus a traditional printed book may be an inflexible tool in a dynamic environment.

An immune network approach for web document clustering

The human immune system provides inspiration for solving a wide range of innovative problems. In this paper, we propse an immune network based approach for web document clustering. All the immune cells in the network competitively recognize the antigens (web documents) which are presented to the network one by one. The interaction between immune cells and an antigen leads to an augment of the network through the clonal selection and somatic mutation of the stimulated immune cells, while the interaction among immune cells results in a network compression. The structure of the immune network is well maintained by learning and self-regularity. We use a public web document data set to test the effectiveness of our method and compare it with other approaches. The experimental results demonstrate that the most striking advantage of immune-based data clustering is its adaptation in dynamic environment and the capability of finding new clusters automatically.

A gaze through the lens of decision theory toward knowledge translation science

Research findings become evidence when an individual decides that the information is relevant and useful to a particular circumstance. Prior to that point, they are unrelated facts. For research translation to occur, research evidence needs filtering, interpretation, and application by individuals to the specific situation. For this reason, decision science is complementary to knowledge translation science. Both aim to support the individual in deciding the most appropriate action in a dynamic environment where there are masses of uncensored and nonprioritized information readily available. Decision science employs research theories to study the cognitive processes underpinning the filtering and integration of current scientific information into changing contexts. Two meta-theories, coherence and correspondence theories, have been used to provide alternative views and prompt significant debate to advance the science. The aim of this article is to stimulate debate about the relationship between decision theory and knowledge translation. Discussed is the critical role of cognition in clinical decision making, with a focus on knowledge translation. A critical commentary of the knowledge utilization modeling papers is presented from a decision science perspective. The article concludes with a discussion on the implications for knowledge translation when viewed through the lens of decision science.

Solidification of cast magnesium alloys

A description of the key solidification steps in the formation of the as-cast microstructure of magnesium alloys is presented. The focus is on the two common magnesium alloy groups: Mg-Al alloys and Mg-Zn-rare earth alloys. The key elements described are: nucleation (including grain refinement), growth of the primary phase and the formation of the eutectic phases. In addition the effect of casting process (e.g. high-pressure diecasting and sand casting) on the outcomes from solidification are discussed. This includes consideration of the formation of banded defects during solidification in the dynamic environment of high pressure die casting.

The interdependency between knowledge management and quality

In this paper, the authors seek to examine the link between Knowledge Management (KM) and Quality. They propose that as KM reaches its maturity in terms of acceptance as an important part of doing business in the modern world, that Quality will again become the mantra of successful companies. A national survey of 1000 Quality certified organisations in Australia was distributed with a 25% response rate. The survey asked questions pertaining to their use of KM, their Quality culture as well as their Quality performance measures. As a result of preliminary analysis of the data, the authors suggest that in order to survive in such a dynamic environment, organisations will have to embrace KM as a fundamental component of delivering a Quality culture.

Do teachers of management "Practice what they preach"?

This paper reports on the teaching of management units and examines the teaching practices inline with the management and in particular the leadership and motivation techniques and theories that are taught in these units. The theory challenges the notion that many management academics “Practice what they Preach”. In a dynamic environment that cries out for Transformation Leadership, Transactional management is often the norm. The findings highlight that academics especially management executive academics do “Practice what they Preach” and this counters the argument by some Theory ‘X’ academics that students have an inherent dislike of work and will avoid it if they can. Leading to the only way to get most students to work and study is they must be coerced, controlled, directed, threatened with punishing with bad marks or failure. (McGregor 1960 p34)

Knowledge management : the fundamental component for delivery

This paper seeks to examine the link between Knowledge Management (KM) and Quality Management (QM) with a particular focus on the role of a Quality Culture. The authors propose that as Knowledge Management reaches its maturity in terms of acceptance as an important part of doing business in the modern world, that quality will again become the mantra of successful companies. This time, however, quality will not only be defined in terms of the properties of the product and/or services that the organisation provides, but in a more holistic manner that is subject to rapid change and shifting customer preferences. This increasingly dynamic knowledge-driven environment will require companies to pay close adherence to quality in order to satisfy demand and stay ahead of the competition. A national survey of 1000 quality certified organisations in Australia was distributed with a 23% response rate. The survey asked questions pertaining to the organisations' use of Knowledge Management, their quality culture, as well as their quality performance measures. As a result of an analysis of the data, the authors suggest that, in order to survive in such a dynamic environment, organisations will have to embrace Knowledge Management as a fundamental component of delivery of a quality culture.

An adjustable force field for multiple robot mission and path planning

Mission and path planning for multiple robots in dynamic environments is required when multiple mobile robots or unmanned vehicles are used for geographically distributed tasks. Assigning tasks and paths for robots for cooperatively accomplishing a mission of reaching to number of target points are addressed in this paper. The methodology that is proposed is based on using an adjustable force field which is suitable for dynamic environment. From the force field analysis, the decisions to assign tasks for each robot are then made. The force field is also used to plan a collision free path for each robot. Adjustable weights for the force field model are proposed to satisfy the constraints of the motion. In this research, the constraints are the cooperation of the robots, the precedence between the targets and between robots, and the discrimination between different obstacles. Two simulations for mission and path planning in 2D and 3D dynamic spaces with multiple robots are presented based on the proposed adjustable force filed. The result of the mission and path planning for three robots cooperatively doing eight target points are shown.

Guest editorial : In Journal of networks, v7 n.6

This special issue mainly focuses on the timely topic of “Data and Security in Web Service”. More specially, from the perspective of service construction, the future Web service should address issues such as how to construct an intelligent service which can effectively perceive the individual behavior, identify and satisfy individual requirements. On the other hand, from the perspective of service utilization, in the dynamic environment, Web services should address issues such as how to utilizing security-related techniques. In this JNW special issue, we select and edit 6 most relevant papers with higher reviewer scores from 16 submissions, which give effective discussion about Web service management methodologies from different perspective.

An efficient meta-heuristic algorithm for grid computing

A grid computing system consists of a group of programs and resources that are spread across machines in the grid. A grid system has a dynamic environment and decentralized distributed resources, so it is important to provide efficient scheduling for applications. Task scheduling is an NP-hard problem and deterministic algorithms are inadequate and heuristic algorithms such as particle swarm optimization (PSO) are needed to solve the problem. PSO is a simple parallel algorithm that can be applied in different ways to resolve optimization problems. PSO searches the problem space globally and needs to be combined with other methods to search locally as well. In this paper, we propose a hybrid-scheduling algorithm to solve the independent task- scheduling problem in grid computing. We have combined PSO with the gravitational emulation local search (GELS) algorithm to form a new method, PSO–GELS. Our experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of PSO–GELS compared to other algorithms.

Acceleration data reveal the energy management strategy of a marine ectotherm during reproduction

1. Maintaining a high and stable body temperature is often critical for female ectotherms during reproduction. Yet this strategy may be energetically costly, and therefore challenging, during this period of already high-energy demand. 2. Here, the 6-week deployment of tri-axial accelerometers (n = 6) on a marine ectotherm, the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), reproducing at the northern limit of the species’ breeding range (i.e. in a thermally dynamic environment) revealed the behavioural mechanisms underlying its energy management strategy during the breeding season. 3. The estimated activity levels of female loggerheads using overall dynamic body acceleration (ODBA) were high during the breeding season, suggesting that marine turtles may not be able to remain inactive for long periods in the same manner as terrestrial ectotherms, because of the thermally dynamic nature of their environment. 4. However, activity levels were not constant throughout the season, being impacted by both ambient water temperature and female reproductive status. In cold water at the beginning of the nesting season, high levels of activity suggested that females behaviourally thermoregulated by seeking out warm water patches along the shoreline. Interactions with male turtles (courtship and/or avoidance) may also explain this high level of activity. As sea temperatures warmed up and the amount of energy devoted to reproduction probably increased, the turtles spent more time resting during long sequential flat-bottomed dives, and reduced any unnecessary locomotory activity. 5. Turtles may therefore adjust their activity patterns in response to seasonal variations in abiotic (i.e. ambient temperature) and biotic (i.e. reproductive status) factors. This may help minimize activity-linked metabolic rate and maximize reproductive output over a season while breeding in thermally dynamic environments. 6. A mechanistic model gave support to these empirical results. The model revealed that actively maintaining high and stable body temperature is of clear benefit to female turtles at temperate breeding sites. While energetically costly, such active thermoregulatory behaviour may speed up egg maturation, allowing turtles to initiate nesting earlier in the season, and hence maximize reproductive output.

Australian pre-service secondary teacher education courses : challenges and Dilemmas

Security and privacy concerns for Australian SMEs cloud adoption: empirical study of metropolitan vs regional SMEs

New national infrastructure initiatives such as the National Broadband Network (NBN) allow small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Australia to have greater access to cost effective Cloud computing. However, the ability of Cloud computing to store data remotely and share services in a dynamic environment brings with it security and privacy concerns. Evaluating these concerns is critical to address the Cloud computing underutilisation issue and leverage the benefits of costly NBN investment. This paper examines the influence of privacy and security factors on Cloud adoption by Australian SMEs in metropolitan and regional area. Data were collected from 150 Australian SMEs (specifically, 79 metropolitan SMEs and 71 regional SMEs) and structural equation modelling was used for the analysis. The findings reveal that privacy and security factors do not significantly influence the decision-making of Australian SMEs in the adoption of Cloud computing. Moreover, the results indicate that Cloud computing adoption is not influenced by the geographical location (i.e., metropolitan or regional location) of the SMEs. The findings extend the current understanding of Cloud computing adoption by Australian SMEs. The results will be useful to SMEs, Cloud service providers and policy makers devising Cloud security and privacy policies.

Energy efficient sleep schedule with service coverage guarantee in wireless sensor networks

Service oriented architecture has been proposed to support collaborations among distributed wireless sensor network (WSN) applications in an open dynamic environment. However, WSNs are resource constraint, and have limited computation abilities, limited communication bandwidth and especially limited energy. Fortunately, sensor nodes in WSNs are usually deployed redundantly, which brings the opportunity to adopt a sleep schedule for balanced energy consumption to extend the network lifetime. Due to miniaturization and energy efficiency, one sensor node can integrate several sense units and support a variety of services. Traditional sleep schedule considers only the constraints from the sensor nodes, can be categorized to a one-layer (i.e., node layer) issue. The service oriented WSNs should resolve the energy optimization issue considering the two-layer constraints, i.e., the sensor nodes layer and service layer. Then, the one-layer energy optimization scheme in previous work is not applicable for service oriented WSNs. Hence, in this paper we propose a sleep schedule with a service coverage guarantee in WSNs. Firstly, by considering the redundancy degree on both the service level and the node level, we can get an accurate redundancy degree of one sensor node. Then, we can adopt fuzzy logic to integrate the redundancy degree, reliability and energy to get a sleep factor. Based on the sleep factor, we furthermore propose the sleep mechanism. The case study and simulation evaluations illustrate the capability of our proposed approach.