Tree Path Majority Data Structures

We present the first solution to tau-majorities on tree paths. Given a tree of n nodes, each with a label from [1..sigma], and a fixed threshold 0 1, we can also build a structure that uses O(n lg^{[kappa]} n) space, where lg^{[kappa]} n denotes the function that applies logarithm kappa times to n, and answers queries in time O((1/tau)lg lg_w sigma). The construction time of both structures is O(n lg n). We also describe two succinct-space solutions with the same query time of the linear-space structure. One uses 2nH + 4n + o(n)(H+1) bits, where H <=lg sigma is the entropy of the label distribution, and can be built in O(n lg n) time. The other uses nH + O(n) + o(nH) bits and is built in O(n lg n) time w.h.p

Breaking the Constitutional Deadlock: Lessons from Deliberative Experiments in Constitutional Change

This work provides comparative insights into how deliberation on proposed constitutional amendments might be more effectively pursued. It reports on a new nationwide survey of public attitudes to constitutional reform, examining the potential in Australia of innovative Canadian models of reform led by Citizens' Assemblies. Assembly members are selected at random and are demographically representative of the wider public. They deliberate over reforms for several months while receiving instruction from experts in relevant fields. Members thus become 'public-experts': citizens who stand in for the wider public but are versed in constitutional fundamentals. The author finds striking empirical evidence that, if applied in the Australian context, public trust would be substantially greater for Citizens' Assemblies compared with traditional processes of change. The article sets these results in context, reading the Assemblies against theories of deliberative democracy and public trust. One reason for greater public trust in the Assemblies' may be an ability to accommodate key values that are otherwise in conflict: majoritarian democratic legitimacy, on the one hand, and fair and well-informed (or 'deliberatively rational') decision-making, on the other. Previously, almost no other poll had asked exactly how much Australians trust in constitutional change. However, by resolving trust into a set of discrete public values, the polling and analysis in this work provide evidence that constitutional reform might only succeed when it expresses, at once, the values of both majoritarian and deliberative democracy

Path Queries on Functions

Let f : [1..n] -> [1..n] be a function, and l : [1..n] -> [1..s] indicate a label assigned to each element of the domain. We design several compact data structures that answer various queries on the labels of paths in f. For example, we can find the minimum label in f^k (i) for a given i and any k >= 0 in a given range [k1..k2], using n lg n + O(n) bits, or the minimum label in f^(-k) (i) for a given i and k > 0, using 2n lg n + O(n) bits, both in time O(lg n/ lg lg n). By using n lg s + o(n lg s) further bits, we can also count, within the same time, the number of elements within a range of labels, and report each such element in O(1 + lg s / lg lg n) additional time. Several other possible queries are considered, such as top-t queries and t-majorities

Model-based and Model-free Approaches for Power System Security Assessment

Continuous security assessment of a power system is necessary to insure a reliable, stable, and continuous supply of electrical power to customers. To this end, this dissertation identifies and explores some of the various challenges encountered in the field of power system security assessment. Accordingly, several model-based and/or model-free approaches were developed to overcome these challenges. First, a voltage stability index, named TAVSI, is proposed. This index has three important features: TAVSI applies to general load models including ZIP, exponential, and induction motor loads; TAVSI can be used for both measurement-based and model-based voltage stability assessment; and finally, TAVSI is calculated based on normalized sensitivities which enables identification of weak buses and the definition of a global instability threshold. TAVSI was tested on both the IEEE 14-bus and the 181-bus WECC systems. Results show that TAVSI gives a reliable assessment of system stability. Second, a data-driven and model-based hybrid reinforcement learning approach is proposed for training a control agent to re-dispatch generators’ output power in order to relieve stressed branches. For large power systems, the agent’s action space is highly dimensioned which challenges the successful training of data-driven agents. Therefore, we propose a hybrid approach where model-based actions are utilized to help the agent learn an optimal control policy. The proposed approach was tested and compared to the generic data-driven DDPG-based approach on the IEEE 118-bus system and a larger 2749-bus real-world system. Results show that the hybrid approach performs well for large power systems and that it is superior to the DDPG-based approach. Finally, a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) based approach is proposed as a faster alternative to the classical AC power flow-based contingency screening. The proposed approach is investigated on both the IEEE 118-bus system and the Texas 2000-bus synthetic system. For such large systems, the implementation of the proposed approach came with several challenges, such as computational burden, learning from imbalanced datasets, and performance evaluation of trained models. Accordingly, this work contributes a set of novel techniques and best practices that enables both efficient and successful implementation of CNN-based multi-contingency classifiers for large power systems

Invisible Targets of Hatred: Socioeconomically Excluded Women from Religious Minority Backgrounds

Freedom of religion or belief (FoRB)This paper endeavours to make visible the targeting of poor women from religious minorities in contexts where society and/or the state both engage in religious ‘otherisation’. The paper seeks to contribute to addressing the blind spot in both feminist and freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) scholarship on the experiences of the intersection of religious marginality, economic exclusion, and gender inequality. The main arguments of this paper are presented in five key propositions which describe and analyse the ways in which the interface between targeting and vulnerability influence the position of women who belong to religious minorities. The final part of the paper elucidates the interconnections among the multiple threads informing these propositions and what accounts for their prevalence.Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO

A US/India Model for China’s Ethnic Policies: Is the Cure Worse than the Disease?

Some scholars in China argue that minority rights inscribed in law, such as ethnic regional autonomy and preferential policies, must be reformed along liberal lines: minorities should be “depoliticized” -- treated as cultural groups whose members have only individual, not collective, rights. They propose a “second generation of ethnic policies” for China that they argue would resemble policies in the United States and India. This article shows, however, that the United States and India do not have the features of ethnic equity and peace that they are supposed to exemplify, as their minorities have subordinate, deteriorating social positions and are generally disaffected. The choice for China’s minorities need not be a binary of individual rights only or no change in the present system. An expansion, rather than contraction, of minority rights may instead create greater ethnic equality and stability in China

A US/India Model for China’s Ethnic Policies: Is the Cure Worse than the Disease?

Some scholars in China argue that minority rights inscribed in law, such as ethnic regional autonomy and preferential policies, must be reformed along liberal lines: minorities should be “depoliticized” -- treated as cultural groups whose members have only individual, not collective, rights. They propose a “second generation of ethnic policies” for China that they argue would resemble policies in the United States and India. This article shows, however, that the United States and India do not have the features of ethnic equity and peace that they are supposed to exemplify, as their minorities have subordinate, deteriorating social positions and are generally disaffected. The choice for China’s minorities need not be a binary of individual rights only or no change in the present system. An expansion, rather than contraction, of minority rights may instead create greater ethnic equality and stability in China