Propagation of Microwaves in the Troposphere with Potential Application to GPS based Navigation and Meteorology with emphasis on Indian region

Global Positioning System (GPS), with its high integrity, continuous availability and reliability, revolutionized the navigation system based on radio ranging. With four or more GPS satellites in view, a GPS receiver can find its location anywhere over the globe with accuracy of few meters. High accuracy - within centimeters, or even millimeters is achievable by correcting the GPS signal with external augmentation system. The use of satellite for critical application like navigation has become a reality through the development of these augmentation systems (like W AAS, SDCM, and EGNOS, etc.) with a primary objective of providing essential integrity information needed for navigation service in their respective regions. Apart from these, many countries have initiated developing space-based regional augmentation systems like GAGAN and IRNSS of India, MSAS and QZSS of Japan, COMPASS of China, etc. In future, these regional systems will operate simultaneously and emerge as a Global Navigation Satellite System or GNSS to support a broad range of activities in the global navigation sector.Among different types of error sources in the GPS precise positioning, the propagation delay due to the atmospheric refraction is a limiting factor on the achievable accuracy using this system. The WADGPS, aimed for accurate positioning over a large area though broadcasts different errors involved in GPS ranging including ionosphere and troposphere errors, due to the large temporal and spatial variations in different atmospheric parameters especially in lower atmosphere (troposphere), the use of these broadcasted tropospheric corrections are not sufficiently accurate. This necessitated the estimation of tropospheric error based on realistic values of tropospheric refractivity. Presently available methodologies for the estimation of tropospheric delay are mostly based on the atmospheric data and GPS measurements from the mid-latitude regions, where the atmospheric conditions are significantly different from that over the tropics. No such attempts were made over the tropics. In a practical approach when the measured atmospheric parameters are not available analytical models evolved using data from mid-latitudes for this purpose alone can be used. The major drawback of these existing models is that it neglects the seasonal variation of the atmospheric parameters at stations near the equator. At tropics the model underestimates the delay in quite a few occasions. In this context, the present study is afirst and major step towards the development of models for tropospheric delay over the Indian region which is a prime requisite for future space based navigation program (GAGAN and IRNSS). Apart from the models based on the measured surface parameters, a region specific model which does not require any measured atmospheric parameter as input, but depends on latitude and day of the year was developed for the tropical region with emphasis on Indian sector.Large variability of atmospheric water vapor content in short spatial and/or temporal scales makes its measurement rather involved and expensive. A local network of GPS receivers is an effective tool for water vapor remote sensing over the land. This recently developed technique proves to be an effective tool for measuring PW. The potential of using GPS to estimate water vapor in the atmosphere at all-weather condition and with high temporal resolution is attempted. This will be useful for retrieving columnar water vapor from ground based GPS data. A good network of GPS could be a major source of water vapor information for Numerical Weather Prediction models and could act as surrogate to the data gap in microwave remote sensing for water vapor over land.

EVALUATION OF THERMODYNAMIC PARAMETERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE BY A FORTRAN PROGRAM

Thermodynamic parameters of the atmosphere form part of the input to numerical forecasting models. Usually these parameters are evaluated from a thermodynamic diagram. Here, a technique is developed to evaluate these parameters quickly and accurately using a Fortran program. This technique is tested with four sets of randomly selected data and the results are in agreement with the results from the conventional method. This technique is superior to the conventional method in three respects: more accuracy, less computation time, and evaluation of additional parameters. The computation time for all the parameters on a PC AT 286 machine is II sec. This software, with appropriate modifications, can be used, for verifying various lines on a thermodynamic diagram

Message Integrity in the World Wide Web: Use of Nested Hash Function and a Fast Stream Cipher

The focus of this work is to provide authentication and confidentiality of messages in a swift and cost effective manner to suit the fast growing Internet applications. A nested hash function with lower computational and storage demands is designed with a view to providing authentication as also to encrypt the message as well as the hash code using a fast stream cipher MAJE4 with a variable key size of 128-bit or 256-bit for achieving confidentiality. Both nested Hash function and MAJE4 stream cipher algorithm use primitive computational operators commonly found in microprocessors; this makes the method simple and fast to implement both in hardware and software. Since the memory requirement is less, it can be used for handheld devices for security purposes.

Code clones in program test sequence identification

Code clones are portions of source code which are similar to the original program code. The presence of code clones is considered as a bad feature of software as the maintenance of software becomes difficult due to the presence of code clones. Methods for code clone detection have gained immense significance in the last few years as they play a significant role in engineering applications such as analysis of program code, program understanding, plagiarism detection, error detection, code compaction and many more similar tasks. Despite of all these facts, several features of code clones if properly utilized can make software development process easier. In this work, we have pointed out such a feature of code clones which highlight the relevance of code clones in test sequence identification. Here program slicing is used in code clone detection. In addition, a classification of code clones is presented and the benefit of using program slicing in code clone detection is also mentioned in this work.

Coastal regulation zone rules in coastal panchayats (villages) of Kerala, India vis-a` -vis socio-economic impacts from the recently introduced peoples’ participatory program for local self-governance and sustainable development

Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification was issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forest of Government of India in February 1991 as a part of the Environmental Protection Act of 1986 to protect the coast from eroding and to preserve its natural resources. The initial notification did not distinguish the variability and diversity of various coastal states before enforcing it on the various states and Union Territories. Impact assessments were not carried out to assess its impact on socio-economic life of the coastal population. For the very same reason, it was unnoticed or rather ignored till 1994 when the Supreme Court of India made a land mark judgment on the fate of the coastal aquaculture which by then had established as an economically successful industry in many South Indian States. Coastal aquaculture in its modern form was a prohibited activity within CRZ. Lately, only various stakeholders of the coast realized the real impact of the CRZ rules on their property rights andbusiness. To overcome the initial drawbacks several amendments were made in the regulation to suit regional needs. In 1995, another great transformation took place in the State of Kerala as a part of the reorganization of the local self government institutions into a decentralized three tier system called ‘‘Panchayathi Raj System’’. In 1997, the state government also decided to transfer the power with the required budget outlay to the grass root level panchayats (villages) and municipalities to plan and implement the various projects in their localities with the full participation of the local people by constituting Grama Sabhas (Peoples’ Forum). It is called the ‘‘Peoples’ Planning Campaign’’(Peoples’ Participatory Programme—PPP for Local Level Self-Governance). The management of all the resources including the local natural resources was largely decentralized to the level of local communities and villages. Integrated, sustainable coastal zone management has become the concern of the local population. The paper assesses the socio-economic impact of the centrally enforced CRZ and the state sponsored PPP on the coastal community in Kerala and suggests measures to improve the system and living standards of the coastal people within the framework of CRZ.

Relativistic Dirac-Fock-Slater program to calculate potential-energy curves for diatomic molecules

A LCAO-MO (linear combination of atomic orbitals - molecular orbitals) relativistic Dirac-Fock-Slater program is presented, which allows one to calculate accurate total energies for diatomic molecules. Numerical atomic Dirac-Fock-Slater wave functions are used as basis functions. All integrations as well as the solution of the Poisson equation are done fully numerical, with a relative accuracy of 10{^-5} - 10{^-6}. The details of the method as well as first results are presented here.

The Brazilian Zero Hunger social program implications in achieving sustainable development

This article aims to analyse the progress taken by Brazil towards the accomplishment of a sustainable development, mainly highlighting the success of the Zero Hunger social programme in achieving the elimination of starvation. As one of the essential pillars to the sustainable development, the State’s social performance demands actions directed to the elimination of extreme poverty and hunger, establishing a basis for equitable growth. It is necessary to clarify the juridical and constitutional framework of Brazil, aiming to emphasise the Zero Hunger importance in achieving the Brazilian Republic’s goals and reaching an international pattern on sustainable development. Also, it will be stressed that the international order influences Brazilian domestic law and is one of the main aspects for the Zero Hunger program development.

Procedures as a Representation for Data in a Computer Program for Understanding Natural Language

This paper describes a system for the computer understanding of English. The system answers questions, executes commands, and accepts information in normal English dialog. It uses semantic information and context to understand discourse and to disambiguate sentences. It combines a complete syntactic analysis of each sentence with a "heuristic understander" which uses different kinds of information about a sentence, other parts of the discourse, and general information about the world in deciding what the sentence means. It is based on the belief that a computer cannot deal reasonably with language unless it can "understand" the subject it is discussing. The program is given a detailed model of the knowledge needed by a simple robot having only a hand and an eye. We can give it instructions to manipulate toy objects, interrogate it about the scene, and give it information it will use in deduction. In addition to knowing the properties of toy objects, the program has a simple model of its own mentality. It can remember and discuss its plans and actions as well as carry them out. It enters into a dialog with a person, responding to English sentences with actions and English replies, and asking for clarification when its heuristic programs cannot understand a sentence through use of context and physical knowledge.

Preliminary Observations on Program Instability

This white paper reports emerging findings at the end of Phase I of the Lean Aircraft Initiative in the Policy focus group area. Specifically, it provides details about research on program instability. Its objective is to discuss high-level findings detailing: 1) the relative contribution of different factors to a program’s overall instability; 2) the cost impact of program instability on acquisition programs; and 3) some strategies recommended by program managers for overcoming and/or mitigating the negative effects of program instability on their programs. Because this report comes as this research is underway, this is not meant to be a definitive document on the subject. Rather, is it anticipated that this research may potentially produce a number of reports on program instability-related topics. The government managers of military acquisition programs rated annual budget or production rate changes, changes in requirements, and technical difficulties as the three top contributors, respectively, to program instability. When asked to partition actual variance in their program’s planned cost and schedule to each of these factors, it was found that the combined effects of unplanned budget and requirement changes accounted for 5.2% annual cost growth and 20% total program schedule slip. At a rate of approximately 5% annual cost growth from these factors, it is easy to see that even conservative estimates of the cost benefits to be gained from acquisition reforms and process improvements can quickly be eclipsed by the added cost associated with program instability. Program management practices involving the integration of stakeholders from throughout the value chain into the decision making process were rated the most effective at avoiding program instability. The use of advanced information technologies was rated the most effective at mitigating the negative impact of program instability.

Preliminary Observations on Program Instability

This white paper reports emerging findings at the end of Phase I of the Lean Aircraft Initiative in the Policy focus group area. Specifically, it provides details about research on program instability. Its objective is to discuss high-level findings detailing: 1) the relative contribution of different factors to a program’s overall instability; 2) the cost impact of program instability on acquisition programs; and 3) some strategies recommended by program managers for overcoming and/or mitigating the negative effects of program instability on their programs. Because this report comes as this research is underway, this is not meant to be a definitive document on the subject. Rather, is it anticipated that this research may potentially produce a number of reports on program instability-related topics. The government managers of military acquisition programs rated annual budget or production rate changes, changes in requirements, and technical difficulties as the three top contributors, respectively, to program instability. When asked to partition actual variance in their program’s planned cost and schedule to each of these factors, it was found that the combined effects of unplanned budget and requirement changes accounted for 5.2% annual cost growth and 20% total program schedule slip. At a rate of approximately 5% annual cost growth from these factors, it is easy to see that even conservative estimates of the cost benefits to be gained from acquisition reforms and process improvements can quickly be eclipsed by the added cost associated with program instability. Program management practices involving the integration of stakeholders from throughout the value chain into the decision making process were rated the most effective at avoiding program instability. The use of advanced information technologies was rated the most effective at mitigating the negative impact of program instability.

Incidencia de la política exterior de China y la Federación Rusa en el mantenimiento del desarrollo de armas nucleares y enriquecimiento de uranio iraníes, durante la primera administración del Presidente Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2002-2005)

El giro que el sistema internacional dio tras los atentados perpetrados el 11 de septiembre de 2001 fue de enorme importancia para la política exterior de Irán y su posicionamiento en el sistema internacional. En efecto, la lucha guerra contra el terrorismo que Estados Unidos inició y que finalmente desembocaría en las incursiones armadas a Afganistán e Irak -ambos países limítrofes de Irán, en 2001 y 2003 respectivamente, así como la inclusión de Irán por parte de la administración Bush en 2002 como parte del denominado Eje del mal, generaron en el imaginario iraní una idea de amenaza internacional y por lo mismo, la necesidad de hacerse fuerte con el fin de mantener su integridad territorial y gubernamental. Así pues, una compleja situación económica y social sumada a una fuerte coalición del partido conservador iraní -uno de los más fuertes del país, soportado por el Ayatolá Alí Jamenei, autoridad suprema de la nueva República, un nuevo líder de corte conservador, llegaría a la presidencia: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, un líder controversial y problemático que desde su primera campaña presidencial en 2002 defendería el derecho de la República a desarrollar armas nucleares para fines pacíficos. El verdadero inconveniente surge cuando occidente, en cabeza de los Estados Unidos –en compañía de algunas potencias europeas como lo son Alemania, Francia y Gran Bretaña, duda sobre esta última afirmación. Esta investigación pretende profundizar cada uno de los elementos anteriormente mencionados así como establecer la forma en la cual China y Rusia –países que ven de forma diferenciada el manejo de arsenal nuclear, logran configurarse y acreditar este desafío ante la comunidad internacional.

Academic integrity guidelines from Dialog Plus

The Academic Integrity Guidelines (AIG), initally designed at Penn State University, is a small nugget from the JISC Project Dialog Plus which tests students' understanding of good academic integrity. The nugget presents students with an overview of their own institution's integrity guidelines before moving onto completing a set of multiple choice questions. This particular nugget has proved so popular that it has been exported from PSU and embedded into courses at both Leeds and Southampton.

Effects of In-Kind transfers on female labor supply: evidence from the food supply program comedores comunitarios

En la literatura se argumenta que las transferencias en especie podrían tener efectos positivos sobre la oferta laboral. En este trabajo utilizamos el programa de nutrición de la ciudad de Bogotá, Comedores Comunitarios, para esclarecer dicho punto. El programa otorga un almuerzo diario a las personas pobres que son vecinas de los comedores. Utilizando la técnica de emparejamiento con la Encuesta de Calidad de Vida 2007, una encuesta de corte transversal, se encuentra tanto efectos significativos positivos como negativos en la oferta laboral femenina para diferentes grupos de mujeres (con diferencias en edad, composición del hogar y acceso a redes sociales). Estos resultados son relevantes para entender los incentivos al trabajo heterogéneos generados cuando se aplica esta clase de programas.

Academic integrity tutorial

This tutorial presents what the School of Electronics and Computer Science expects of its undergraduate students.