Designing community care systems with AUML

This paper describes an approach to developing an appropriate agent environment appropriate for use in community care applications. Key to its success is that software designers collaborate with environment builders to provide the levels of cooperation and support required within an integrated agent–oriented community system. Agent-oriented Unified Modeling Language (AUML) is a practical approach to the analysis, design, implementation and management of such an agent-based system, whilst providing the power and expressiveness necessary to support the specification, design and organization of a health care service. The background of an agent-based community care application to support the elderly is described. Our approach to building agent–oriented software development solutions emphasizes the importance of AUML as a fundamental initial step in producing more general agent–based architectures. This approach aims to present an effective methodology for an agent software development process using a service oriented approach, by addressing the agent decomposition, abstraction, and organization characteristics, whilst reducing its complexity by exploiting AUML’s productivity potential. </p

The first passage probability and control

First-passage probability used as measure of performance in stochastic control problem - dynamic programmin

Community care system design and development with AUML

An approach to the development of an appropriate agent environment is described in which software researchers collaborate with environment builders to enhance the levels of cooperation and support provided within an integrated agent-oriented community system. Agent-oriented Unified Modelling Language (AUML) is a practical approach to the analysis, design, implementation and management of such a software agent system, whilst providing the power and expressiveness necessary to support the specification, design and organisation of a health care service. This paper describes the background of agent-based health care and the fundamental concepts of Agentoriented UML and outlines how this refreshing approach can be used in the analysis, design, development and organization of agent-based community health care systems. Our approach to building agent-oriented software development solutions emphasizes the importance of AUML as a fundamental initial step in producing agent-based architectures and applications. This approach aims to present an effective schedule and methodology for an agent software development process, by addressing the complex agent environments decomposition, abstraction, organization and software development process activities characteristics, whilst reducing the complexity of the complex agent systems' design and development by using and exploiting AUML's productivity potential

An agent-based architecture for managing the provision of community care: the INCA (Intelligent Community Alarm) experience

Community care is an area that requires extensive ooperation between independent agencies, each of which needs to meet its own objectives and targets. None are engaged solely in the delivery of community care, and need to integrate the service with their other responsibilities in a coherent and efficient manner. Agent technology provides the means by which effective cooperation can take place without compromising the essential security of both the client and the agencies involved as the appropriate set of responses can be generated through negotiation between the parties without the need for access to the main information repositories that would be necessary with conventional collaboration models. The autonomous nature of agents also means that a variety of agents can cooperate together with various local capabilities, so long as they conform to the relevant messaging requirements. This allows a variety of agents, with capabilities tailored to the carers to which they are attached to be developed so that cost-effective solutions can be provided

Direct neutron capture of 48Ca at kT = 52 keV

The neutron capture cross section of 48Ca was measured relative to the known gold cross section at kT = 52 keV using the fast cyclic activation technique. The experiment was performed at the Van-de-Graaff accelerator, Universitaet Tuebingen. The new experimental result is in good agreement with a calculation using the direct capture model. The 1/v behaviour of the capture cross section at thermonuclear energies is confirmed, and the adopted reaction rate which is based on several previous experimental investigations remains unchanged.Comment: 9 pages (uses Revtex), 2 postscript figures, accepted for publication as Brief Report in Phys. Rev.

Perfection of materials technology for producing improved Gunn-effect devices

Chemical vapor deposition system for improved Gunn effect devices using arsenic chloride 3 metho

Interrelationships of plant population, soil moisture and soil fertility in determining corn yields on Colo clay loam at Ames, Iowa

This investigation included a 6-year study of the effects of irrigation, stand and fertility treatments on com yields on a clay loam soil near Ames, Iowa. The data obtained from 1956 to 1961 indicated that variations in yields were caused by all three variables. Significant yield differences caused by irrigation treatments were greatest in 1956, 1959 and 1960. The highest mean irrigated yields averaged over stand and fertility treatments usually correlated best with the irrigation treatment where the soil moisture was maintained at or above 60 percent of the available moisture content (AMC). The greatest yield response to irrigation occurred in 1956, primarily because of the very dry conditions throughout the entire growing season. In 1956, each inch of water increased yield by 2.7 bushels per acre up to the 60-percent AMC level. Beyond this point, maintaining soil moisture at 90 percent or greater of field capacity reduced yield per increment of added water. There was not a significant response to irrigation in 1957, 1958 and 1961, primarily because of ample soil moisture storage and good rainfall distribution at critical periods during the growing season

Measurement of neutron capture on 48^{48}Ca at thermal and thermonuclear energies

At the Karlsruhe pulsed 3.75\,MV Van de Graaff accelerator the thermonuclear $^{48}$Ca(n,$\gamma$)$^{49}$Ca(8.72\,min) cross section was measured by the fast cyclic activation technique via the 3084.5\,keV $\gamma$-ray line of the $^{49}$Ca-decay. Samples of CaCO$_3$ enriched in $^{48}$Ca by 77.87\,\% were irradiated between two gold foils which served as capture standards. The capture cross-section was measured at the neutron energies 25, 151, 176, and 218\,keV, respectively. Additionally, the thermal capture cross-section was measured at the reactor BR1 in Mol, Belgium, via the prompt and decay $\gamma$-ray lines using the same target material. The $^{48}$Ca(n,$\gamma$)$^{49}$Ca cross-section in the thermonuclear and thermal energy range has been calculated using the direct-capture model combined with folding potentials. The potential strengths are adjusted to the scattering length and the binding energies of the final states in $^{49}$Ca. The small coherent elastic cross section of $^{48}$Ca+n is explained through the nuclear Ramsauer effect. Spectroscopic factors of $^{49}$Ca have been extracted from the thermal capture cross-section with better accuracy than from a recent (d,p) experiment. Within the uncertainties both results are in agreement. The non-resonant thermal and thermonuclear experimental data for this reaction can be reproduced using the direct-capture model. A possible interference with a resonant contribution is discussed. The neutron spectroscopic factors of $^{49}$Ca determined from shell-model calculations are compared with the values extracted from the experimental cross sections for $^{48}$Ca(d,p)$^{49}$Ca and $^{48}$Ca(n,$\gamma$)$^{49}$Ca.Comment: 15 pages (uses Revtex), 7 postscript figures (uses psfig), accepted for publication in PRC, uuencoded tex-files and postscript-files also available at ftp://is1.kph.tuwien.ac.at/pub/ohu/Ca.u

The changing patterns of group politics in Britain

Two interpretations of ways in which group politics in Britain have presented challenges to democracy are reviewed: neo-corporatism or pluralistic stagnation and the rise of single issue interest groups. The disappearance of the first paradigm created a political space for the second to emerge. A three-phase model of group activity is developed: a phase centred around production interests, followed by the development of broadly based 'other regarding' groups, succeeded by fragmented, inner directed groups focusing on particular interests. Explanations of the decay of corporatism are reviewed. Single issue group activity has increased as party membership has declined and is facilitated by changes in traditional media and the development of the internet. Such groups can overload the policy-making process and frustrate depoliticisation. Debates about the constitution and governance have largely ignored these issues and there is need for a debate