The network queueing system

Described is the implementation of a networked, UNIX based queueing system developed on contract for NASA. The system discussed supports both batch and device requests, and provides the facilities of remote queueing, request routing, remote status, queue access controls, batch request resource quota limits, and remote output return

Measuring measuring: Toward a theory of proficiency with the Constructing Measures framework

This paper is relevant to measurement educators who are interested in the variability of understanding and use of the four building blocks in the Constructing Measures framework (Wilson, 2005). It proposes a uni-dimensional structure for understanding Wilson’s framework, and explores the evidence for and against this conceptualization. Constructed and fixed choice response items are utilized to collect responses from 72 participants who range in experience and expertise with constructing measures. The data was scored by two raters and was analyzed with the Rasch partial credit model using ConQuest (1998). Guided by the 1999 Testing Standards, analyses of validity and reliability evidence provide support for the construct theory and limited uses of the instrument pending item design modifications

Quantum Monte Carlo for minimum energy structures

We present an efficient method to find minimum energy structures using energy estimates from accurate quantum Monte Carlo calculations. This method involves a stochastic process formed from the stochastic energy estimates from Monte Carlo that can be averaged to find precise structural minima while using inexpensive calculations with moderate statistical uncertainty. We demonstrate the applicability of the algorithm by minimizing the energy of the H2O-OH- complex and showing that the structural minima from quantum Monte Carlo calculations affect the qualitative behavior of the potential energy surface substantially.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

CP-nets and Nash equilibria

We relate here two formalisms that are used for different purposes in reasoning about multi-agent systems. One of them are strategic games that are used to capture the idea that agents interact with each other while pursuing their own interest. The other are CP-nets that were introduced to express qualitative and conditional preferences of the users and which aim at facilitating the process of preference elicitation. To relate these two formalisms we introduce a natural, qualitative, extension of the notion of a strategic game. We show then that the optimal outcomes of a CP-net are exactly the Nash equilibria of an appropriately defined strategic game in the above sense. This allows us to use the techniques of game theory to search for optimal outcomes of CP-nets and vice-versa, to use techniques developed for CP-nets to search for Nash equilibria of the considered games.Comment: 6 pages. in: roc. of the Third International Conference on Computational Intelligence, Robotics and Autonomous Systems (CIRAS '05). To appea

EXAMINING THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF FEDERALLY SUBSIDIZED FARM SAVINGS ACCOUNTS FOR DAIRY FARMERS

Financial data from a panel of New York dairy farms was analyzed to examine the potential benefits of establishing federally subsidized farm savings accounts for dairy farmers. The paper examines whether farmers would have sufficient cash flow to fund the accounts, how the accounts would influence farm income variability, and how program design influences eligibility for the benefits received from the accounts.Financial Economics,

Heuristics in Multi-Winner Approval Voting

In many real world situations, collective decisions are made using voting. Moreover, scenarios such as committee or board elections require voting rules that return multiple winners. In multi-winner approval voting (AV), an agent may vote for as many candidates as they wish. Winners are chosen by tallying up the votes and choosing the top-$k$ candidates receiving the most votes. An agent may manipulate the vote to achieve a better outcome by voting in a way that does not reflect their true preferences. In complex and uncertain situations, agents may use heuristics to strategize, instead of incurring the additional effort required to compute the manipulation which most favors them. In this paper, we examine voting behavior in multi-winner approval voting scenarios with complete information. We show that people generally manipulate their vote to obtain a better outcome, but often do not identify the optimal manipulation. Instead, voters tend to prioritize the candidates with the highest utilities. Using simulations, we demonstrate the effectiveness of these heuristics in situations where agents only have access to partial information

Engineering planetary lasers for interstellar communication

Spacefaring skills evolved in the twenty-first century will enable missions of unprecedented complexity. One such elaborate project might be to develop tools for efficient interstellar data transfer. Informational links to other star systems would facilitate eventual human expansion beyond our solar system, as well as intercourse with potential extraterrestrial intelligence. This paper reports the major findings of a 600-page, 3-year, NASA-funded study examining in quantitative detail the requirements, some seemingly feasible methods, and implications of achieving reliable extrasolar communications

Bridges and barriers to ecosystem-based approaches : the case of Tennessee Valley Authority\u27s adoption of the watershed approach

Natural resource agencies are advocating a form of citizen participation in which citizens mobilize proactively in a long-term, collective effort to protect the local environment and prevent the emergence of environmental problems. Research is needed that rigorously examines the complex process through which natural resource agencies build bridges and break down barriers to adopt a participatory model that encourages grassroots, proactive citizen participation. This dissertation fills the gap in the policy literature by examining the efforts of the Tennessee Valley Authority to adopt the watershed approach and encourage the creation of a citizen-led watershed coalition. More specifically, this dissertation is driven by three interrelated research questions. First, what are the factors that explain why natural resource agencies are democratizing decision making processes by encouraging not only an increased level of citizen involvement, but also alternative forms of participation? Second, if given the opportunity to participate, what factors partially determine whether or not, and to what degree, citizens will mobilize and get involved in ecosystem-based management of natural resources? Third, what are the characteristics of citizens that tend to participate in natural resource management and how do these individuals compare to the population impacted by management decisions? This research draws on data collected through participation observation and two telephone surveys. We assess the impact of the reorganization of TVA\u27s nonpower programs on its efforts to implement the watershed approach, and the efforts of the TVA\u27s Clinch Powell Watershed Team to promote interagency collaboration and to mobilize citizen participation. We also determine the degree to which citizens who participate in the management of the Norris Reservoir Watershed (NRW) are representative of nonparticipants who reside in the NRW. Finally, analyses of what factors predict citizen participation is presented