Statistical Learning in Automated Troubleshooting: Application to LTE Interference Mitigation

This paper presents a method for automated healing as part of off-line automated troubleshooting. The method combines statistical learning with constraint optimization. The automated healing aims at locally optimizing radio resource management (RRM) or system parameters of cells with poor performance in an iterative manner. The statistical learning processes the data using Logistic Regression (LR) to extract closed form (functional) relations between Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Radio Resource Management (RRM) parameters. These functional relations are then processed by an optimization engine which proposes new parameter values. The advantage of the proposed formulation is the small number of iterations required by the automated healing method to converge, making it suitable for off-line implementation. The proposed method is applied to heal an Inter-Cell Interference Coordination (ICIC) process in a 3G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network which is based on soft-frequency reuse scheme. Numerical simulations illustrate the benefits of the proposed approach.Comment: IEEE Transactions On Vehicular Technology 2010 IEEE transactions on vehicular technolog

Knowledge Partitioning in Outsourced Software Development: A Field Study

The outsourced software development process has traditionally relied on a requirements-driven black-box approach for transferring knowledge of customer needs to vendors. When this approach is feasible, the need for the customer and the vendor to deeply understand each others’ knowledge domain is limited. We describe this as symmetric division of knowledge. However, asymmetric overlaps in knowledge are necessary at the vendor-customer boundary in projects involving conceptual or process newness. In this study, we examine the conditions under which overlaps in knowledge at the vendor-customer boundary are necessary for enhancing the development process in outsourcing relationships. We develop and test a model using data collected in a large-scale field study of 209 software projects in 209 software development organizations belonging to three of the largest global software consortia. The study makes three contributions: (1) we empirically demonstrate that it is more important for a vendor to possess a higher level of business knowledge in conceptually new projects and for the customer to have a higher level of technical knowledge when the project involves process newness, (2) we assess the effectiveness of various integrating mechanisms, and (3) we show that there are potential downsides to blindly increasing vendor-customer overlaps in knowledge beyond those that have traditionally characterized software development

Geographic Distribution of Conversion Therapy in Canada

Sexual orientation or gender identity or expression change efforts (SOGIECE), also known as “conversion therapy” are widely discredited practices, yet they continue to occur in Canada. SOGIECE refers to any practice designed to change, deny, or discourage one’s feelings of sexual attraction to members of the same gender, LGBQ identity, non- conforming gender expression, or gender identity that differs from sex at birth. There is no credible scientific research that proves conversion therapy is effective or psychologically safe. In fact, previous research suggests conversion therapy negatively impacts and stigmatizes LGBTQ2S+ persons, leading to increased anxiety, depression, self-hatred, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide or suicidal thoughts, and many lifelong psychological and social issues. On October 1, 2020, the Government of Canada reintroduced Bill C-6 to ban conversion therapy practices. Although criminal law reform is an important step that will further protect and promote rights to equality, it may drive conversion therapy practices underground. Thus, data collection is needed to detect where practices of conversion therapy still persist. The objective of the research is to conduct a geospatial analysis by tracking the location of conversion therapy practices through an interactive map, pinpointing provinces, territories, and municipalities. Data were collected from a survey of Canadians who have direct experience with conversion therapy, know people who have gone to conversion therapy, or know of conversion therapy practitioners. Findings from the map will help inform policies and practices of where underground conversion therapy practices are still happening so that the Canadian Government can eliminate harmful SOGIECE practices

Self-organizing inter-cell interference coordination in 4G and beyond networks using genetic algorithms

The design objective of the 4G and beyond networks is not only to provide high data rate services but also ensure a good subscriber experience in terms of quality of service. However, the main challenge to this objective is the growing size and heterogeneity of these networks. This paper proposes a genetic-algorithm-based approach for the self-optimization of interference mitigation parameters for downlink inter-cell interference coordination parameter in Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks. The proposed algorithm is generic in nature and operates in an environment with the variations in traffic, user positions and propagation conditions. A comprehensive analysis of the obtained simulation results is presented, which shows that the proposed approach can significantly improve the network coverage in terms of call accept rate as well as capacity in terms of throughput

Interactive effect of irrigation regimes and sowing dates on morphophysiological response, fodder yield and quality and antinutrient HCN of multi-cut sorghum in the semi-arid region

A two-year field experiment (2016/2017) with three moisture regimes (60 CPE (cumulative pan evaporation), 120 CPE, and no irrigation) and six sowing dates in three replications was conducted to investigate the effect of different moisture regimes and sowing dates on multi-cut hybrid fodder sorghum in the semi-arid region. Early sowing and irrigation at 60 CPE had resulted in improved morpho-physiological responses with better fodder quality in terms of higher crude protein, invitro dry matter digestibility, and lower crude fiber in both seasons. Early sowing resulted in an increase of green fodder yield (GFY) from 638.7 to 805.4 q/ha in 2016 and from 643.7 to 780.9 q/ha in 2017. Irrigation at 60 CPE showed 46% and 41% increase in GFY over no irrigation. In all three cuts, HCN content was significantly higher in the crop with no irrigation and also in late sown crop (at 2nd and 3rd cuts).HCN decreased drastically by 41% (2016) and 36% (2017) in the crop irrigated at 60 CPE (at 1st cut). Findings suggest that late sowing of the sorghum affects the fodder yield and quality due to effect on growth parameters and therefore, the adverse effects of decreased precipitation as the result of a change in weather conditions can bediminished particularly by sowing early and irrigating at 60 CPE

Communal Violence in India and Legislative framework to Control Riots: A Chronological Study

Communal violence in India is reality since time immemorial. India being the secular country is home to the different religions and cultures. Mutual tolerance and inter-dependence upon each other irrespective of the religion used to be the essence of the Indian society. With the advent of British rule in India the policy of divide and rule was launched in the nation. People started fighting on the name of the caste and religion. Violence based on religion and caste has become a distinctive feature of Indian democratic setup today. The incident can only be regarded as communal riot if there is element of violence in it. Prior to the independence we had witnessed number of communal riots in the country and even after independence also. The present research work is an attempt to analyze the incidences of communal violence in India in a chronological order and to trace the real reasons behind such violence. Researcher has also made an attempt to look into legislative provisions available to compact such violence in Indi

Control in App Platforms: The Integration-Differentiation Paradox

Despite violations of several common assumptions regarding the use of control, platform ecosystems rely heavily on such mechanisms. This calls into question whether controls serve purposes other than just the alignment of their participants’ interests, as the extant literature suggests. We develop a model that explains how and why control mechanisms influence performance of applications in a mobile computing platform ecosystem. Our model uncovers an apparent paradox in that controls influence performance because they promote knowledge integration but simultaneously inhibit differentiation. Knowledge is embedded within controls, which allows developers to leverage it in developing high-quality applications. However, leveraging the same knowledge stock inhibits the extent to which developers can differentiate their work from others. Taking into consideration endogenous instruments of control, we will test our model using data collected from Research-in-Motion’s Blackberry AppWorld. Our results will extend the current understanding of the purpose and use of controls in platform

Mechanical lifting energy consumption in work activities designed by means of the "revised NIOSH lifting equation"\u80\u9d

The aims of the present work were: to calculate lifting energy consumption (LEC) in work activities designed to have a growing lifting index (LI) by means of revised NIOSH lifting equation; to evaluate the relationship between LEC and forces at the L5-S1 joint. The kinematic and kinetic data of 20 workers were recorded during the execution of lifting tasks in three conditions. We computed kinetic, potential and mechanical energy and the corresponding LEC by considering three different centers of mass of: 1) the load (CoML); 2) the multi-segment upper body model and load together (CoMUpp+L); 3) the whole body and load together (CoMTot). We also estimated compression and shear forces. Results shows that LEC calculated for CoMUpp+L and CoMTot grew significantly with the LI and that all the lifting condition pairs are discriminated. The correlation analysis highlighted a relationship between LEC and forces that determine injuries at the L5-S1 joint

SIGNALING IN CONTENT SHARING PLATFORMS

Internet-based peer-to-peer (P2P) content sharing platforms have emerged as a widespread mechanism for sharing electronic content using the Internet. A persistent problem with such platforms is the ex ante assessment of content integrity and quality. In this ongoing study, we address this understudied issue. Using a multi-method research design, we identify using a grounded theory building approach three broad classes of signaling mechanisms associated with the content, contributor, and network that users integratively use to assess the risk-benefit tradeoffs in downloading a given unit of content (e.g., a file). We propose that these signals influence users’ holistic perception of risk-benefit differential, and in turn influence the likelihood of downloading content files. We describe the status of this research-in-progress study. Our primary expected contribution is a middle-range theory of signaling that predicts how signaling mechanisms influence user behavior in such platforms