Representing Patterns of autonomous agent dynamics in multi-robot systems

It is proposed that vocabularies for representing complex systems with interacting agents have a natural lattice hierarchical structure. We investigate this for the example of simulated robot soccer, using data taken from the RoboCup simulation competition. Lattice hierarchies provide symbolic representations for reasoning about systems at appropriate levels. We note the difference between relational constructs being human supplied versus systems that abstract their own constructs autonomously. The lattice hierarchical representation underlies both

Robotics and the meaning of life: a practical guide to things that think

The new Open University course T184 Robotics and the meaning of life: a practical guide to things that think is an introductory course on robotics. It is an undergraduate course taught at a distance over 10 weeks. The course is centred around a web site containing most of the course material, supported by two books: Ruth Aylett Robots: Bringing intelligent machines to life? which is a general survey of the field and Isaac Asimov I, Robot which is used to motivate questions about the relationship between man and machine. On-line conferences provide study support. There is also a strong practical element to the course. This was originally designed around the use of the Lego Mindstorms robotics kit. Besides mechanical components, the kit includes the Lego RCX brick – a programmable microcontroller with memory and interfaces to input and output devices such as touch and light sensors, motors and an IR channel to communicate with a PC. Students can build and program an autonomous wheeled robot to carry out a range of tasks of increasing difficulty. A new programming environment was developed at the Open University specifically to support the needs of adult learners with no prior experience of programming. This provided an opportunity to extend the capabilities of the Mindstorms kit. For example, the robot can now ‘talk’ by sending IR messages back to the PC where they are turned into spoken phrases. This richer environment is highly motivating. The new software can also take on a processing role to escape the limitations of memory and processing power onboard the robot. For example, students develop a two-agent system in which the mobile robot collects data, transmits it back to the PC where it is analysed using a neural network (built and trained by the student) and results are transmitted back to the running robot. Developing new software also provided an opportunity to produce a simulation of the robot and we can now offer students the choice of carrying out the practical activities with the Lego hardware or as a simulation. We will look at the attitudes and experiences of students who have chosen these different learning approaches

IRREVERSIBLE INVESTMENT DECISIONS IN PERENNIAL CROPS WITH YIELD AND PRICE UNCERTAINTY

Optimal entry and exit thresholds for Georgia commercial peach production are calculated when both price and yield follow a Brownian motion process. The thresholds are based on an irreversible sunk-cost investment model, where revenue from peach production is affected by the timing of when to enter production. Results indicate stability in Georgia peach production, with growers who are currently producing peaches remaining in production and potential peach growers delaying investment unless they have the ability of earning enhanced returns.Crop Production/Industries,

Green Facade Energetics

Rising energy costs and a warming climate create the need for innovative, low-carbon technologies that help cool buildings. We constructed four small buildings and instrumented them to measure the cooling effect of a green façade on their south and west walls. The green façade significantly reduced the temperature of the building's ambient air, exterior surface, and interior air, and the heat flux through the vegetated wall. Using a mathematical model, we determined that the whole-building cooling load reduction (1.4 to 28.4%) depended on building construction, green façade placement, and especially whether the windows were covered. An emergy analysis of a south-facing green façade revealed that the total emergy consumed could be balanced by the electricity saved from reduced air conditioning if the cooling load was reduced by at least 14%. With thoughtful design and placement of a green façade it can sustainably and effectively help cool buildings

Inside the Black Box of Doctoral Education: What Program Characteristics Influence Doctoral Students’ Attrition and Graduation Probabilities?

[Excerpt] In this paper, we go inside the “black box” of graduate education to investigate what characteristics of graduate programs in the humanities and related social sciences actually influence PhD students’ attrition and graduation probabilities. We make use of data from the Graduate Education Survey; a retrospective survey of all graduate students who entered PhD programs in the treatment and control departments during the 1982-1997 period that was conducted by Mathematica Policy Research Inc. for the Mellon Foundation. After briefly describing the survey in the next section, section III outlines our methodological approach. Section IV presents our empirical findings and brief concluding remarks appear in section V. While our focus is on evaluating the effects of the GEI, we believe the methodological approach that we use can be profitably employed in a wide range of program evaluation studies

Inside the Black Box of Doctoral Education: What Program Characteristics Influence Doctoral Students' Attrition and Graduation Probabilities?

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's Graduate Education Initiative (GEI) provided over $80 million to 51 treatment departments in the humanities and related social sciences during the 1990s to improve their PhD programs. Using survey data collected from students who entered the treatment and 50 control departments during a 15 year period that spanned the start of the GEI, we use factor analysis to group multiple aspects of PhD programs into a smaller number of characteristics and then estimate which aspects of PhD programs the GEI influenced and how these different aspects influenced attrition and graduation probabilities. From these analyses, we identify the routes via which the GEI influenced attrition and graduation rates and also indicate which aspects of PhD programs departments should concentrate on if they want to improve their programs' performance.

Changes in Business Core & Accounting Course Requirements: AACSB Influences

This study explores the business core requirements and accounting program requirements of universities accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB) and those without such accreditation during both 1996/97 and 2012/13 academic years. The sample of 50 universities consists of 25 with AACSB accreditation and 25 without AACSB accreditation during the 1996/97 academic year. Differences are examined in the courses and credit hours required in various courses between the two types of universities as well as changes in these programs between the two time periods. The changes that have occurred between 1996/97 and 2012/13 are compared to changes in AACSB standards to determine if the changes made by accredited universities were primarily to align with accreditation standard changes or if changes are occurring in addition to standard motivated changes. The comparison between the AACSB accredited and non-AACSB accredited universities can be used to determine if the non-AACSB accredited universities follow the same general curriculum. Also, the changes in curriculum to align with AACSB standards will be looked for in the non-AACSB accredited universities. If a similar change in curriculum is noted for both AACSB accredited and non-AACSB accredited universities, then it would seem that the AACSB influence may reach beyond accredited universities. Given that AACSB is considered to be the premier accreditation, if its programmatic expectations are being adopted by non-AACSB accredited universities, positive externalities would be occurring from the accreditation process that would benefit college of business students and the economy as a whole. The study is being extended to consider the 2016/2017 academic year as well to capture the latest changes in AACSB accreditation standards. This data is not yet complete