Magnifying Lens Abstraction for Stochastic Games with Discounted and Long-run Average Objectives

Turn-based stochastic games and its important subclass Markov decision processes (MDPs) provide models for systems with both probabilistic and nondeterministic behaviors. We consider turn-based stochastic games with two classical quantitative objectives: discounted-sum and long-run average objectives. The game models and the quantitative objectives are widely used in probabilistic verification, planning, optimal inventory control, network protocol and performance analysis. Games and MDPs that model realistic systems often have very large state spaces, and probabilistic abstraction techniques are necessary to handle the state-space explosion. The commonly used full-abstraction techniques do not yield space-savings for systems that have many states with similar value, but does not necessarily have similar transition structure. A semi-abstraction technique, namely Magnifying-lens abstractions (MLA), that clusters states based on value only, disregarding differences in their transition relation was proposed for qualitative objectives (reachability and safety objectives). In this paper we extend the MLA technique to solve stochastic games with discounted-sum and long-run average objectives. We present the MLA technique based abstraction-refinement algorithm for stochastic games and MDPs with discounted-sum objectives. For long-run average objectives, our solution works for all MDPs and a sub-class of stochastic games where every state has the same value

A Bibliometric Analysis of Research on Consumer Buying Behaviour in 2018 to 2022 using VOSviewer Mapping Analysis Computations Indexed by Google Scholar

Purpose: The aim of this study is to focus on bibliometric analysis and the concept of consumer buying behaviour to understand the evolutionary and developmental trends in the field of consumer buying behaviour.   Theoretical framework: Analyzing the consumer buying behaviour in the context of management is necessary and a great opportunity for future research. It is undeniable that consumer buying behaviour is a part of marketing that cannot be overlooked and this study explores the gap in management studies.   Design/methodology/approach:  This research method is a bibliographic analysis using data from the Google Scholar database from 2018 to 2022 to provide meaningful insights for further discussions. To collect data, Publish or Perish was used with the central database of Google Scholar. VOSviewer is also used as a tool to get a map of the relationship between authors and between searched keywords. Furthermore, Microsoft Excel is used to process the data and tree mapping from the data obtained.   Findings: According to the findings, a total of 275 articles were published in 2018, 264 articles in 2019, 232 articles in 2020, 191 articles in 2021, and 38 articles in 2022. In addition, the findings demonstrated a significant decline in interest in the discipline of consumer buying behaviour. The network analysis demonstrates five distinct sub-fields of inquiry regarding consumer buying behaviour. British Food Journal was the most prolific journal in terms of journal analysis for the topic of consumer buying behaviour. In terms of publication output, Wang was the most prolific author throughout the entire period analysed.   Research, Practical & Social implications: The information might be used by professionals, policymakers, and academics to get insight into consumers' purchasing habits. This research traces the development of academic curiosity on consumer buying behaviour and highlights research gaps in this field. By doing a bibliometric analysis, this research adds to the existing body of work on the topic of consumer buying behaviour. The results of this bibliometric study might also be used to inform decisions and policy initiatives about consumer buying behaviour.   Originality/value: The significance of this research is to systematise academic work on consumer buying behaviour and to provide academics and practitioners in the field with a complete review of the theoretical foundations of studies on consumer buying behaviour

Why isn’t India a major global player? : the political economy of trade liberalization

The policy reforms initiated in India in the mid-1980s and expanded in 1991 helped support an expansion in India’s trade. Trade reforms since the mid-1990s have been piecemeal. This paper argues that without significant further reform and adoption of a focused trade strategy, the competitiveness of India’s industry will suffer, including in areas such as information technology and related services in which India has established a strong global niche. Critical building blocks of such strategic reforms include further reductions in tariffs, opening services sectors to foreign competition, serious initiatives to reduce trade transaction costs that prioritize integration into international supply-chains, and a greater focus on regional integration

Stationary state of harmonic chains driven by boundary resetting

We study the nonequilibrium steady state (NESS) of an ordered harmonic chain of $N$ oscillators connected to two walls which undergo diffusive motion with stochastic resetting. The intermittent resettings of the walls effectively emulate two nonequilibrium reservoirs that exert temporally correlated forces on the boundary oscillators. These reservoirs are characterized by the diffusion constant and resetting rates of the walls. We find that, for any finite $N$, the velocity distribution remains non-Gaussian, as evidenced by a non-zero bulk kurtosis that decays $\sim N^{-1}$. We calculate the spatio-temporal correlation of the velocity of the oscillators $\langle v_l(t) v_{l'}(t') \rangle$ both analytically as well as using numerical simulation. The signature of the boundary resetting is present at the bulk in terms of the two-time velocity correlation of a single oscillator and the equal-time spatial velocity correlation. For the resetting driven chain, the two-time velocity correlation decay as $t^{-\frac{1}{2}}$ at the large time, and there exists a non-zero equal-time spatial velocity correlation $\langle v_l(t) v_{l'}(t') \rangle$ when $l \neq l'$. A non-zero average energy current will flow through the system when the boundary walls reset to their initial position at different rates. This average energy current can be computed exactly in the thermodynamic limit. Numerically we show that the distribution of the instantaneous energy current at the boundary is independent of the system size. However, the distribution of the instantaneous energy current in the bulk approaches a stationary distribution in the thermodynamic limit.Comment: 23 pages. Comments are welcom

SimCheck: An Expressive Type System for Simulink

MATLAB Simulink is a member of a class of visual languages that are used for modeling and simulating physical and cyber-physical systems. A Simulink model consists of blocks with input and output ports connected using links that carry signals. We extend the type system of Simulink with annotations and dimensions/units associated with ports and links. These types can capture invariants on signals as well as relations between signals. We define a type-checker that checks the wellformedness of Simulink blocks with respect to these type annotations. The type checker generates proof obligations that are solved by SRI's Yices solver for satisfiability modulo theories (SMT). This translation can be used to detect type errors, demonstrate counterexamples, generate test cases, or prove the absence of type errors. Our work is an initial step toward the symbolic analysis of MATLAB Simulink models

Phytoreclamation of Abandoned Acid Mine Drainage Site After Treatment with Fly Ash

Acid mine drainage and coal fly ash both are the sibling products from man’s increasing demand for power. Mining of coal from coal mines generates acid mine drainage (AMD), and burning of coal for thermal power generation produces fly ash (FA). Although both are hazardous to the ecosystem and human health, reunion of them into one would reduce their toxic effect on nature. Mining causes exposure of hidden rock materials containing an abundance of sulphide to the atmosphere. Oxidation of the metal sulphides (pyrite, as iron sulphide) within the surrounding rock and overburden generates acidity. Subsurface mining that pumps out water to prevent flooding releases acidic water to nearby areas, known as acid mine drainage. Tailings piles, mine waste rock dumps, and coal spoils contribute in AMD. Improper disposal of the fly ash contaminates the soil, water and air by leaching of the pollutants or air borne particulate matters. However filler properties and presence of macronutrients makes fly ash an excellent filler material for mine sites, and its soil-like properties help in plant growth if provided with organic carbon and nitrogen. This chapter proposes development of a green cover into AMD site after treatment of the AMD site with FA