System-of-Systems Complexity

The global availability of communication services makes it possible to interconnect independently developed systems, called constituent systems, to provide new synergistic services and more efficient economic processes. The characteristics of these new Systems-of-Systems are qualitatively different from the classic monolithic systems. In the first part of this presentation we elaborate on these differences, particularly with respect to the autonomy of the constituent systems, to dependability, continuous evolution, and emergence. In the second part we look at a SoS from the point of view of cognitive complexity. Cognitive complexity is seen as a relation between a model of an SoS and the observer. In order to understand the behavior of a large SoS we have to generate models of adequate simplicity, i.e, of a cognitive complexity that can be handled by the limited capabilities of the human mind. We will discuss the importance of properly specifying and placing the relied-upon message interfaces between the constituent systems that form an open SoS and discuss simplification strategies that help to reduce the cognitive complexity.Comment: In Proceedings AiSoS 2013, arXiv:1311.319

Multiple Access Channels with Combined Cooperation and Partial Cribbing

In this paper we study the multiple access channel (MAC) with combined cooperation and partial cribbing and characterize its capacity region. Cooperation means that the two encoders send a message to one another via a rate-limited link prior to transmission, while partial cribbing means that each of the two encoders obtains a deterministic function of the other encoder's output with or without delay. Prior work in this field dealt separately with cooperation and partial cribbing. However, by combining these two methods we can achieve significantly higher rates. Remarkably, the capacity region does not require an additional auxiliary random variable (RV) since the purpose of both cooperation and partial cribbing is to generate a common message between the encoders. In the proof we combine methods of block Markov coding, backward decoding, double rate-splitting, and joint typicality decoding. Furthermore, we present the Gaussian MAC with combined one-sided cooperation and quantized cribbing. For this model, we give an achievability scheme that shows how many cooperation or quantization bits are required in order to achieve a Gaussian MAC with full cooperation/cribbing capacity region. After establishing our main results, we consider two cases where only one auxiliary RV is needed. The first is a rate distortion dual setting for the MAC with a common message, a private message and combined cooperation and cribbing. The second is a state-dependent MAC with cooperation, where the state is known at a partially cribbing encoder and at the decoder. However, there are cases where more than one auxiliary RV is needed, e.g., when the cooperation and cribbing are not used for the same purposes. We present a MAC with an action-dependent state, where the action is based on the cooperation but not on the cribbing. Therefore, in this case more than one auxiliary RV is needed

URI@SPACECUCUMBER: An Intimate Look at Gender and Societal Issues in Japanese Tattooing

This narrative provides a powerful feminist aspect in terms of the struggles and successes of being an independent female tattoo artist in the thriving hub of Osu-­‐Kannon, Nagoya. This narrative also tackles the issue of the recent developments facing tattooing that seek to threaten artists such as Uri and seeks to drive them underground. I can find no website that offers such insight as this narrative provides or offers a thorough compilation of the culture of tattooing in Japan and the challenges foreign tourists might face -­‐ much less in English. With the Olympics coming to Tokyo in 2020, a spotlight will fall onto the heart of Japan as millions of tourists and athletes from around the world come together for the games. Few are aware of the limitations they may face based solely on their tattoos, their means of expression. According to a Harris Poll taken in October 2015, as of then, 3 out of 5 Americans have tattoos -­‐ and this number is only growing. This does not take into account the rest of the world.The audience for such a project is as wide and varied as tattoo art itself. Young or old, for the love of a pop star or for the sake of their own expression, athlete, tourist, Japanophile, there is no limit to the type of individual who may take interest in such a project

From ARTEMIS Requirements to a Cross-Domain Embedded System Architecture

International audienceThis paper gives an overview of the cross-domain component-based architecture GENESYS for embedded systems. The development of this architecture has been driven by key industrial challenges identified within the ARTEMIS Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) such as composability, robustness and integrated resource management. GENESYS is a platform architecture that provides a minimal set of core services and a plurality of optional services that are predominantly implemented as self-contained system components. Choosing a suitable set of these system components that implement optional services, augmented by application specific components, can generate domain-specific instantiations of the architecture (e.g., for automotive, avionic, industrial control, mobile, and consumer electronics applications). Such a cross-domain approach is needed to support the coming Internet of Things, to take full advantage of the economies of scale of the semiconductor industry and to improve productivity

ABC training : a new theory-based form of cognitive-bias modification to foster automatization of alternative choices in the treatment of addiction and related disorders

Recent years have seen a surge in the popularity of interventions that target common distortions in thinking (cognitive-bias modification, or CBM). Although there is evidence of their effectiveness as add-ons to regular treatment in alcohol addiction, the effects are typically small, and recent findings from lab studies have called into question the dominant theoretical underpinnings of CBM. We provide a novel theoretical approach in terms of automatic inferences that integrates previous findings and suggests ways to improve CBM into ABC training. In ABC training, patients are trained in the context of personally relevant antecedents (A) to make behavioral choices (B) that accord with patients' health goals in light of their consequences (C). We discuss preliminary evidence suggesting that ABC training might be a useful tool in the treatment of addictions and related disorders

Schafft freier Handel Frieden?

In dieser Seminararbeit soll versucht werden, eine mögliche Antwort auf die Frage nach der Verknüpfung von Freihandel und Frieden zu geben. Dabei werden im ersten Schritt theoretische Grundlagen, wie Kants Schrift "Zum ewigen Friedenâ€? und, darauf aufbauend, die liberale ökonomische Theorie vorgestellt. Im zweiten Schritt soll versucht werden, bei der Beantwortung der Frage auf die tatsächlichen Entwicklungen Rücksicht zu nehmen

Component-Based Design of Embedded Systems

International audienceIn many engineering disciplines, large systems are built from prefabricated components with known and validated properties. Components are connected via stable, understandable, and standardized interfaces. The system engineer has knowledge about the global properties of the components-as they relate to the system functions-and of the detailed specification of the component interfaces. Knowledge about the internal design and implementation of the components is neither needed, nor available in many cases. A prerequisite for such a constructive approach to system building is that the validated properties of the components are not affected by the system integration. This composability requirement is an important constraint for the selection of a platform for the component-based design of large distributed embedded systems