Automatic detection of electric power troubles (AI application)

The design goals for the Automatic Detection of Electric Power Troubles (ADEPT) were to enhance Fault Diagnosis Techniques in a very efficient way. ADEPT system was designed in two modes of operation: (1) Real time fault isolation, and (2) a local simulator which simulates the models theoretically

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The revised WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA): Key design features and significance for global trade and development

The WTO's plurilateral Agreement on Government Procurement ("the GPA" or "the Agreement") is an important ongoing success story for the Organization. In March 2012, the GPA Parties completed a comprehensive revision of the Agreement, encompassing both its text and coverage (market access commitments). The revised GPA, the negotiating processes that led to its adoption and coming into force, and the continuing gradual broadening of its membership are of therefore interest for the evolution of the international trading system. The GPA's successful renegotiation, the continuing growth of its membership and its vitality as an instrument of public policy were not achieved through happenstance. The paper discusses a number of specific design features of the GPA that clearly facilitated the successful conclusion of the renegotiation and that, as such, may in the future be relevant to other areas of global trade liberalization. In addition to the Agreement's plurilateral nature, of particular interest are the approach taken with respect to application of the most-favored-nation (MFN) principle in the Agreement; the GPA's continuing strong emphasis on principles of reciprocity in market access concessions; and its approach to special and differential treatment for developing countries, in all of which it differs from approaches that are widely used in other WTO Agreements. Apart from the above, the GPA revision is important for the merging of trade and good governance concerns that it exemplifies. As discussed in the paper, the themes of governance and the sound management of public resources that are treated in the revised Agreement were not afterthoughts to the renegotiation; rather, they permeated the revised text and received focused attention from the Parties in their own right. As well, the GPA has direct implications for investment policy and for domestic economic reforms, and is an important tool of e-commerce. And, the revision has made possible very significant synergies between the GPA and other international instruments and activities in reducing barriers to participation and strengthening governance in public procurement markets. For all these reasons, the revised Agreement is likely to have a wider impact than meets the eye, and well merits the support and attention that it has received from the participating WTO Member governments

Competition policy and poverty reduction: A holistic approach

This paper examines the role of competition law and policy as tools for poverty reduction and development. The authors put forward five related principles, building upon the important work on related issues that has been done by the OECD, the International Competition Network (ICN), UNCTAD and civil society organizations such as CUTS in recent years, in addition to the earlier work done on these topics in the WTO Working Group on the Interaction between Trade and Competition Policy when that body was active from 1997 through 2003. Together, these principles comprise the holistic approach to competition law and policy which is referenced in the title of the paper: * First, the focus of policy makers in using competition policy as tool for poverty reduction should be on approaches that are relatively easy to implement but have a trackrecord of being effective and economically sound. * Second, for competition policy reforms and legislation to be successful, public acceptance and support is critical and must be an essential focus of related initiatives. * Third, to serve as an effective tool of poverty reduction, competition policy needs to address the needs of the citizens of poorer societies in their capacities as producers (and, therefore, as users of extensive input goods and services, including public infrastructure), in addition to their capacities as final consumers/households. * Fourth, it is posited that competition policy is more than just what competition agencies do and includes the full spectrum of measures that governments employ to enhance competition and improve the performance of markets. * Fifth, in order to address the challenges posed by the changing landscape of competition policy worldwide, new forms of international co-operation may need to be considered. The paper then develops the application of these principles with respect to five specific areas in which competition policy can contribute to poverty reduction, namely: (i) the reform of public and business infrastructure sectors, particularly in the context of developing and transition economies; (ii) the complementary roles of competition law enforcement and market liberalization in public procurement markets; (iii) various related dimensions of competition policy as they relate to public health objectives; (iv) the addressing of possible monopsonistic practices in international supply chains that may affect the ability of developing country producers to reap gains from participation in international markets; and (v) measures to address the enduring problem of international cartels which, despite an impressive record of prosecutions by developed jurisdiction competition agencies over the past decade, continue to impose substantial costs on developing economies. The paper concludes with some observations regarding the future of international cooperation in the competition policy sphere

Automatic Detection of Electric Power Troubles (ADEPT)

Automatic Detection of Electric Power Troubles (A DEPT) is an expert system that integrates knowledge from three different suppliers to offer an advanced fault-detection system. It is designed for two modes of operation: real time fault isolation and simulated modeling. Real time fault isolation of components is accomplished on a power system breadboard through the Fault Isolation Expert System (FIES II) interface with a rule system developed in-house. Faults are quickly detected and displayed and the rules and chain of reasoning optionally provided on a laser printer. This system consists of a simulated space station power module using direct-current power supplies for solar arrays on three power buses. For tests of the system's ablilty to locate faults inserted via switches, loads are configured by an INTEL microcomputer and the Symbolics artificial intelligence development system. As these loads are resistive in nature, Ohm's Law is used as the basis for rules by which faults are located. The three-bus system can correct faults automatically where there is a surplus of power available on any of the three buses. Techniques developed and used can be applied readily to other control systems requiring rapid intelligent decisions. Simulated modeling, used for theoretical studies, is implemented using a modified version of Kennedy Space Center's KATE (Knowledge-Based Automatic Test Equipment), FIES II windowing, and an ADEPT knowledge base

Automatic Detection of Electric Power Troubles (ADEPT)

ADEPT is an expert system that integrates knowledge from three different suppliers to offer an advanced fault-detection system, and is designed for two modes of operation: real-time fault isolation and simulated modeling. Real time fault isolation of components is accomplished on a power system breadboard through the Fault Isolation Expert System (FIES II) interface with a rule system developed in-house. Faults are quickly detected and displayed and the rules and chain of reasoning optionally provided on a Laser printer. This system consists of a simulated Space Station power module using direct-current power supplies for Solar arrays on three power busses. For tests of the system's ability to locate faults inserted via switches, loads are configured by an INTEL microcomputer and the Symbolics artificial intelligence development system. As these loads are resistive in nature, Ohm's Law is used as the basis for rules by which faults are located. The three-bus system can correct faults automatically where there is a surplus of power available on any of the three busses. Techniques developed and used can be applied readily to other control systems requiring rapid intelligent decisions. Simulated modelling, used for theoretical studies, is implemented using a modified version of Kennedy Space Center's KATE (Knowledge-Based Automatic Test Equipment), FIES II windowing, and an ADEPT knowledge base. A load scheduler and a fault recovery system are currently under development to support both modes of operation

The relationship between services trade and government procurement commitments: Insights from relevant WTO agreements and recent RTAs

To date, government procurement has been effectively carved out of the main multilateral rules of the WTO system. This paper examines the systemic and other ramifications of this exclusion, from both an economic and a legal point of view. In addition to relevant elements of the WTO Agreements, particularly the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), it derives insights from a large number of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) that embody substantive provisions on both government procurement and services trade. An important finding is that, from an economic perspective, general market access commitments with respect to services trade and commitments regarding government procurement of services are complementary and mutually reinforcing. In contrast, from a legal point of view and at the multilateral level, disciplines in the two areas have been "divided up" into two Agreements with different (but complementary) spheres of application: the key provisions regarding the scope of application of the GATS and the GPA make clear that each serves purposes that the other does not. Analysis of corresponding provisions of RTAs broadly supports and extends this finding. In light of the foregoing, a question arises as to possible ways of deepening disciplines in this area. Part 5 sets out, for reflection, several related options: (i) the built-in mandate in the GATS for negotiations on services procurement (Article XIII:2); (ii) "multilateralization" of the GPA; (iii) the reactivation of work in the (currently inactive) WTO Working Group on Transparency in Government Procurement; and (iv) the taking up of relevant issues in the context of bilateral or regional negotiations. Overall, we find that each of these possibilities has potential merits, though none is without related challenges

Text messaging to help women with overweight or obesity lose weight after childbirth:the intervention adaptation and SMS feasibility RCT

Background There is a need to develop weight management interventions that fit seamlessly into the busy lives of women during the postpartum period. Objective The objective was to develop and pilot-test an evidence- and theory-based intervention, delivered by short message service, which supported weight loss and weight loss maintenance in the postpartum period. Design Stage 1 involved the development of a library of short message service messages to support weight loss and weight loss maintenance, with personal and public involvement, focusing on diet and physical activity with embedded behaviour change techniques, and the programming of a short message service platform to allow fully automated intervention delivery. Stage 2 comprised a 12-month, single-centre, two-arm, pilot, randomised controlled trial with an active control. Setting This study was set in Northern Ireland; women were recruited via community-based approaches. Participants A total of 100 women with overweight or obesity who had given birth in the previous 24 months were recruited. Interventions The intervention group received an automated short message service intervention about weight loss and weight loss maintenance for 12 months. The active control group received automated short message service messages about child health and development for 12 months. Main outcome measures The main outcomes measured were the feasibility of recruitment and retention, acceptability of the intervention and trial procedures, and evidence of positive indicative effects on weight. Weight, waist circumference and blood pressure were measured by the researchers; participants completed a questionnaire booklet and wore a sealed pedometer for 7 days at baseline, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Outcome assessments were collected during home visits and women received a voucher on completion of each of the assessments. Qualitative interviews were conducted with women at 3 and 12 months, to gather feedback on the intervention and active control and the study procedures. Quantitative and qualitative data were used to inform the process evaluation and to assess fidelity, acceptability, dose, reach, recruitment, retention, contamination and context. Results The recruitment target of 100 participants was achieved (intervention, n = 51; control, n = 49); the mean age was 32.5 years (standard deviation 4.3 years); 28 (28%) participants had a household income o

Assessing the value of future accessions to the WTO Agreement on Gouvenement Procurement (GPA): Some new data sources, provisional estimates, and an evaluative framework for individual WTO members considering accession

The WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) is a plurilateral Agreement, meaning that it comprises only a subset of the full Membership of the WTO. Currently, a number of WTO Members that are not Parties to the Agreement either are actively seeking accession to it, have commitments to accede to the GPA in their respective WTO accession protocols or are, on their own initiative, looking at the potential pros and cons of accession. In this context, there is a need for factual information concerning the potential consequences of GPA accession, and a framework to assess related benefits and costs. Of interest is both the systemic value of such accessions - i.e. the value they will add to the extent of market access commitments under the Agreement - and their potential benefits and costs for individual acceding Parties. This Working Paper introduces new sources of information relevant to these topics (principally, the statistical reports that have been circulated recently by GPA Parties) and shows their relevance to and usefulness in assessing the above-noted matters. The Paper presents estimates of the size of potential market access gains from pending and possible future GPA accessions, based on simple extrapolations from the data sources identified. Next, the Paper shows how the same data sources can assist in throwing light on the potential benefits and costs of GPA accession for individual WTO Members/countries contemplating accession. The latter use of the data is developed in the context of a more general discussion of the benefits and costs of GPA accession for individual WTO Members, also drawing on existing literature, qualitative aspects and insights from the field (i.e. our own work in advising and conducting seminars for such countries and other WTO Members)