Negotiating Socially Optimal Allocations of Resources

A multiagent system may be thought of as an artificial society of autonomous software agents and we can apply concepts borrowed from welfare economics and social choice theory to assess the social welfare of such an agent society. In this paper, we study an abstract negotiation framework where agents can agree on multilateral deals to exchange bundles of indivisible resources. We then analyse how these deals affect social welfare for different instances of the basic framework and different interpretations of the concept of social welfare itself. In particular, we show how certain classes of deals are both sufficient and necessary to guarantee that a socially optimal allocation of resources will be reached eventually

Studi Evaluasi Implementasi Pembelajaran Tematik pada Sekolah Dasar Gugus I Denpasar Timur di Denpasar

STUDI EVALUASI IMPLEMENTASI PEMBELAJARAN TEMATIK PADA SEKOLAH DASAR GUGUS I DENPASAR TIMUR DI DENPASAR Oleh NI WAYAN SADRI ABSTRAK Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memaparkan situasi dan kondisi dalam proses implementasi pembelajaran tematik di Sekolah Dasar Gugus I Denpasar Timur di Denpasar dan kendala-kendala yang dihadapi ditinjau dari: konteks, Input, proses, dan produk. Evaluasi program ini bersifat formatif oleh karenanya dianalisa faktor-faktor penghambat dan solusi yang dilakukan untuk pengembangan program sesuai hakekatnya. Penelitian ini termasuk jenis penelitian evaluatif yang mengadopsi model evaluasi CIPP. Variabel konteks, input dan proses, diukur dengan instrumen berupa kuesioner sebagai pengumpul data utama dan dilengkapi dengan metode wawancara, observasi dan dokumentasi sedangkan komponen produk diambil dengan menganalisa nilai yang diperoleh siswa. Sampel penelitian berjumlah 32 orang yang terdiri dari kepala sekolah, guru, dan 837 orang siswa. Data berupa skor pada variabel konteks, input, proses, dan produk dianalisis dengan menggunakan kriteria teoretik dan mengubah skor tersebut ke dalam T-skor untuk dikonfirmasikan dengan kuadran Glickman. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa implementasi pembelajaran tematik pada sekolah dasar gugus I Denpasar Timur di Denpasar tergolong tidak efektif. Hal ini dapat dilihat dari hasil analisis variabel konteks, input, proses dan produk dimana semuanya menunjukkan hasil negatif. Kendala-kendala yang dihadapi guru dalam mengimplementasikan pembelajaran tematik pada umumnya terdapat pada semua komponen konteks, input, proses dan produk. Hal yang efektif baru pada kebijakan pemerintah, kurikulum dan ketenagaan. Berdasarkan temuan tersebut dapat disimpulkan bahwa implementasi pembelajaran tematik pada sekolah dasar gugus I Denpasar Timur di Denpasar dilihat dari variabel konteks, input, proses dan produk tergolong dalam kategori tidak efektif. Untuk itu perlu diadakan perbaikan-perbaikan, baik dari konteks, input, proses maupun produk. Kata kunci: studi evaluasi, pembelajaran tematik, konteks, input, proses dan produk. Evaluation Study of Thematics Educational Implementation in East Denpasar\u27s Gugus I Elementary School ABSTRACT The aim of this research is to define the situation and condition in the implementary process of thematic study in the East Denpasar\u27s Gugus I Elementary School in Denpasar and the problems faced in terms of: context, input, process, and product. The evaluation of this program is formative, therefore disturbing factors and solutions done for appropriate program development were analyzed. This research was an evaluative research adopting CIPP evaluation model. Context, input, and process variables were measured with instruments such as questionnaire as the main data collector and provided with methods of interview, observation, and documentation while the product\u27s component was taken by analyzing the students\u27 scores. There were 32 samples which consisted of the school\u27s headmaster, teachers, and 837 students. The data of scores in context, input, process and product variables were analyzed with theoretical criteria that change the scores in T-score for confirmation with Glickman\u27s quadrant. The result of the analysis showed that the implementation of thematic study in East Denpasar\u27s Gugus I Elementary School in Denpasar is ineffective. It is proven with the negative results from all of the analyzed variables. The problems that encountered by teachers in implementing thematics study was generally found in all of the context, input, process and product components. The new effective thing is in governmental policy, curriculum and manpower. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the implementation of thematic study in East Denpasar\u27s Gugus I Elementary School in Denpasar seen from the context, input, process and product variables is ineffective. Therefore, changes should be made in terms of context, input, process and product

Ethical Issues in Insurance Marketing.The Case of Western India

This is a paper based on empirical investigation conducted in Western India between 2002 and 2012 especially at a time when the Indian economy is in a stage of transition from state capitalism to free market capitalism, albeit both of a retarded variety. It takes the 7 Ps of services marketing and cross verifies responses against seven dimensions of ethical conduct. The study is based on questionnaires followed by interviews. The target respondents were life insurance employees of banc assurance involved in marketing life insurance policies to customers in the urban sector. The study brought to the fore the fact that commissions were more important that telling the truth while selling policies. In the process ethical considerations conveniently went out of the window. To protect the interest of the unsuspecting clients a plea is made to have governance machinery in place that will make the insurance marketing personnel accountable for what and how they sell their wares. This need is especially felt in a country where the social security net is virtually non existent and the erstwhile joint family system is on a fast decline. In such circumstances a lack of ethical norms on the part of the insurer is an unacceptable sociological proposition and borders on gross unethical behaviour. The task of people management experts to address this issue is of the paramount importance and urgency if the Indian life insurance industry is to sustain its social image in a highly competitive market where foreign players are steadily entering the domestic scene

Negotiating socially optimal allocations of resources

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Association between sleep duration and diabetes mellitus: Isfahan Healthy Heart Program

Background: Recent studies revealed an association between sleep disturbance and metabolic disorders, such as obesity and metabolic syndrome. An aim of this study was to assess the relation between sleep duration and diabetes mellitus in a representative sample of the Iranian population.Materials and Methods: Participants were 12514 individuals, (6123 men  and 6391 women) studied in the baseline survey of a community based program entitled Isfahan healthy heart program (IHHP). Sleep time was obtained by validated questionnaire. Diabetes mellitus was defined as fasting glucose over 126 mg/dl or 2 hour post prandial glucose at glucose tolerance test over 200 mg/dl, or if the patient was on diabetic medication. The relation between the sleep time and diabetes was examined using categorical logistic regression with adjustment for sex, body mass index and waist circumference.Results: Compared with those, sleeping 7.8 hours per night, the  individuals with sleeping time of 5 hours or less and aged <60 years had an increased odd ratio for diabetes and an impaired glucose tolerance. (OR = 1.37 and 95% CI = 1.13,1.67).Conclusion: Sleep duration of 5 hours or less in individuals under age 60 years is associated with an increased prevalence of diabetes mellitus and an impaired glucose tolerance test. This finding should be confirmed in longitudinal studies.Key words: Diabetes mellitus, glucose tolerance, slee

Factorization in Formal Languages

We consider several novel aspects of unique factorization in formal languages. We reprove the familiar fact that the set uf(L) of words having unique factorization into elements of L is regular if L is regular, and from this deduce an quadratic upper and lower bound on the length of the shortest word not in uf(L). We observe that uf(L) need not be context-free if L is context-free. Next, we consider variations on unique factorization. We define a notion of "semi-unique" factorization, where every factorization has the same number of terms, and show that, if L is regular or even finite, the set of words having such a factorization need not be context-free. Finally, we consider additional variations, such as unique factorization "up to permutation" and "up to subset"

Use of Non-distractive Testing AU-E Technology to Evaluate Hearth Conditions at CherMK–SEVERSTAL

Intensive operation of blast furnace allows increase in production of hot metal and profitability of Iron & Steel Works. However, blast furnace life could be sacrificed if no measures are taken to protect refractory lining and to build stable accretion. CherMK and Hatch developed a systematic approach to monitor conditions of BF hearth lining using Acousto Ultrasonic-Echo (AU-E) non-destructive testing developed by Hatch. Multiple testing of blast furnaces revealed problematic areas with accelerated refractory deterioration and minimal thickness, formation of elephant foot, extent of accretion and speed of refractory wear, cracks and other anomalies. Improvement in coke quality, periodical staves washing, the addition of titania, grouting, etc., were recommended and implemented to prolong furnace life while maintaining the intensity of furnace operation. Keywords: blast furnace inspection and monitoring, non-destructive testing (NDT), refractory deterioration, blast furnace campaig

Bethe Ansatz Equations for General Orbifolds of N=4 SYM

We consider the Bethe Ansatz Equations for orbifolds of N =4 SYM w.r.t. an arbitrary discrete group. Techniques used for the Abelian orbifolds can be extended to the generic non-Abelian case with minor modifications. We show how to make a transition between the different notations in the quiver gauge theory.Comment: LaTeX, 66 pages, 9 eps figures, minor corrections, references adde

Quantitative growth of I.R Iran’s TVE graduates and skilled human resources with the aim of revising and reinforcing the curriculum

Background and Objectives:Education has been considered as the most basic factor of sustainable development in our country. Increasing acceptance of education at all levels increases the need to pay attention to superior quality, effective management and adaptation of education to the needs of society and the characteristics of the twenty-first century. Development of technical and vocational education needs special attention due to the limitations of universities and ways to achieve higher education and the need for youth employment, and especially the unemployment of university graduates. In addition, at this time, special attention should be paid to technical and vocational training as the main weapon of global competition. In addition to the secondary and associate level, technical and vocational training programs in Iran have been officially upgraded to the level of bachelor degree. Social demand for these trainings, especially at the associate level, has led to areas of development and special attention to these trainings. Given the importance of endogenous development and reliance on domestic forces in various aspects of economic, social and cultural development as a result of sustainable development, training skilled and efficient forces that can accelerate the movement of economic wheels and the country from dependence on skilled forces and foreign expert, technical and vocational training is of particular importance. But technical and vocational training can claim to fulfil this mission when its products are in harmony with the needs of the labour market, both quantitatively and qualitatively. In other words, the technical and professional graduate has been trained in the fields that the labour market needs and is equipped with techniques and skills that can meet the needs of companies and employers. If education development programs are carefully and quantitatively and qualitatively evaluated, they would clarify valuable issues whose results due to the long-term impact of education on society, can help education planners and decision makers and foster help to use the results of this review and evaluation in order to develop better and more complete programs for the development of education. Consequently, the present study compares the supply of technical and vocational graduates with the demand for manpower in this sector and includes examining the external efficiency and employment of graduates and comparing the supply and demand of trained personnel in the technical and vocational associate sector, disciplines and specialized groups. Methods: In this research, a descriptive survey method has been used. The graduate research questionnaire in collaboration with Colombo College was selected as the basis for this evaluation. The statistical population consisted of colleges and technical and vocational schools under the Ministry of Education at the time. In sampling, 24 fields and 69 centres (using multi-stage cluster sampling) were sampled. Findings: According to the research results, there is a moderate significant relationship between the job and gender of graduates. Also, 76% of employees have found jobs related to their education and only 22% of employees are self-employed; Cramer’s correlation coefficient has reported very high and effective. The relationship between gender and employment problems has also been reported to be significant. The results also show that in order to achieve the employment of technical and vocational graduates, another 63% of job opportunities are needed for 163 thousand people. Conclusion: The results show that in order to increase the real effectiveness of technical and vocational education in the country, the curriculum should include changes tailored to the needs and requirements. Some suggested changes according to the results of this research are: More practical units should be included in technical and vocational courses and disciplines. In theoretical discussions in the technical and professional field, more attention should be paid to issues related to entrepreneurship; and the activities and disciplines that are most attractive in the job market should be expanded. The results of the study show that the retraining ability of graduates is at a low level, so more attention should be paid to the basic courses in the curriculum. Planning for disciplines and centres should be based on land management. Centres should be considered as the centre of integration that have the highest rate of graduate attraction. According to the research results, there is a moderate significant relationship between the job and gender of graduates, that is, although there is a significant relationship between these two components, but it is necessary to make efforts to increase this relationship

A global near-real-time soil moisture index monitor for food security using integrated SMOS and SMAP

Soil Moisture (SM) is a direct measure of agricultural drought. While there are several global SM indices, none of them directly use SM observations in a near-real-time capacity and as an operational tool. This paper presents a near-real-time global SM index monitor based on integrated SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) and SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) remote sensing data. We make use of the short period (2015–2018) of SMAP datasets in combination with two approaches—Cumulative Distribution Function Mapping (CDFM) and Bayesian conditional process—and integrate them with SMOS data in a way that SMOS data is consistent with SMAP. The integrated SMOS and SMAP (SMOS/SMAP) has an increased global revisit frequency and a period of record from 2010 to the present. A four-parameter Beta distribution was fitted to the SMOS/SMAP dataset for each calendar month of each grid cell at ~36 km resolution for the period from 2010 to 2018. We used an asymptotic method that guarantees the values of the bounding parameters of the Beta distribution will envelop both the smallest and largest observed values. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) test showed that more grids globally will pass if the integrated dataset is from the Bayesian conditional approach. A daily global SM index map is generated and posted online based on translating each grid's integrated SM value for that day to a corresponding probability percentile relevant to the particular calendar month from 2010 to 2018. For validation, we use the Canadian Prairies Ecozone (CPE). We compare the integrated SM with the SMAP core validation and RISMA sites from ISMN, compare our indices with other models (VIC, ESA's CCI SM v04.4 integrated satellite data, and SPI-1), and make a two-by-two comparison of candidate indices using heat maps and summary CDF statistics. Furthermore, we visually compare our global SM-based index maps with those produced by other organizations. Our Global SM Index Monitor (GSMIM) performed, in many tests, similarly to the CCI's product SM index but with the advantage of being a near-real-time tool, which has applications for identifying evolving drought for food security conditions, insurance, policymaking, and crop planning especially for the remote parts of the globe