A new model for solution of complex distributed constrained problems

In this paper we describe an original computational model for solving different types of Distributed Constraint Satisfaction Problems (DCSP). The proposed model is called Controller-Agents for Constraints Solving (CACS). This model is intended to be used which is an emerged field from the integration between two paradigms of different nature: Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) and the Constraint Satisfaction Problem paradigm (CSP) where all constraints are treated in central manner as a black-box. This model allows grouping constraints to form a subset that will be treated together as a local problem inside the controller. Using this model allows also handling non-binary constraints easily and directly so that no translating of constraints into binary ones is needed. This paper presents the implementation outlines of a prototype of DCSP solver, its usage methodology and overview of the CACS application for timetabling problems

The Extent of Availability of the Total Quality Standards in the Practicum Program in the College of Education at Ibb University

The study aimed to identify the extent of availability of the total quality standards in the practicum program in the College of Education at Ibb ‘niversity from the viewpoint of teacher students. It also aimed to examine the differences among teacher students attributed to the variables of gender, specialization and overall average. A questionnaire of 64 items was prepared and distributed on seven domains: the objectives and planning of the program, content of the program, the role of practicum administration, the role of monitoring, the role of cooperating teacher. the role of school manager, and evaluation of the program. The sample of the study consisted of 253 final year students. The mean scores, standard deviation, ”t" test and one way ANOVA were used. The results of the study revealed that the degree of availability of the total quality standards of the practicum program was medium. However, the findings indicated that there were significant differences between male and female participants in favor of females, in addition, there were no significant differences among teacher students attributed to the variables of specialization and overall averag

La fourniture de services : une approche novatrice pour l'ouverture des systèmes de formation et du marché de la FOAD

Dans cet article, nous proposons un concept novateur de « système fournisseur de services applicatifs » qui favorise l'ouverture et l'interopérabilité des systèmes de formation. Le but de cette ouverture est de faciliter l'interaction entre systèmes et, par la même occasion, d'ouvrir le marché de la FOAD par l'introduction d'un nouveau modèle économique. Les premiers services que nous développons dans cet article sont des services de gestion des contenus et des services de gestion des parcours d'apprentissage

Probabilistic neural network for vulnerability prediction on a practical power system

Vulnerability prediction of power systems is important so as to determine its ability to continue to provide service in case of any unforeseen catastrophic contingency. It is considered one of the vital concerns due to the continual blackouts in recent years which indicate that the power system today is too vulnerable to withstand a severer disturbance. The objective of this paper is to investigate and compare the performance of two vulnerability indices used for assessing the vulnerability of power systems when subjected to various contingencies. The Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN) based on power system loss and possible loss of load will be used to speed up the assessment technique. In this study, contingency analyses were carried out on a practical 87 bus test system and the vulnerability indices were calculated using the MATLAB program. Results presented show that PSL index is more accurate for analyzing the impact of contingencies on a practical power system from the view point of power system loss considering the loss of power during contingencies

Transformational Leadership and Psychological Empowerment in Malaysian Public Universities: A Review Paper

The purpose of this article paper is to review empirical research on the relationship between transformational leadership and psychological empowerment of academic staff in the Malaysian Public Universities. The study is aimed at reviewing the existing literature and specify the agenda for future research in this area. Specifically, the published English language articles that investigated the relationship between transformational leadership and psychological empowerment were retrieved from the computerized databases and a manual search. It is observed that, previous research studies have empirically and otherwise confirmed the existing relationship between transformational leadership and psychological empowerment. However, further investigation is needed on how transformational leadership influence psychological empowerment in the higher education context, especially in the Malaysian higher education context.  The paper concludes with suggestions that, the leadership of the Malaysian public universities need to focus on enhancing the level of psychological empowerment among academic staff so as to promote their workplace behaviors, which, in turn, will enhance the performance and effectiveness of Malaysian public universities. Keywords: Transformational Leadership, Psychological Empowerment, Malaysian Higher Educatio

Semantic Decision Support for Information Fusion Applications

La thèse s'inscrit dans le domaine de la représentation des connaissances et la modélisation de l'incertitude dans un contexte de fusion d'informations. L'idée majeure est d'utiliser les outils sémantiques que sont les ontologies, non seulement pour représenter les connaissances générales du domaine et les observations, mais aussi pour représenter les incertitudes que les sources introduisent dans leurs observations. Nous proposons de représenter ces incertitudes au travers d'une méta-ontologie (DS-ontology) fondée sur la théorie des fonctions de croyance. La contribution de ce travail porte sur la définition d'opérateurs d'inclusion et d'intersection sémantique et sur lesquels s'appuie la mise en œuvre de la théorie des fonctions de croyance, et sur le développement d'un outil appelé FusionLab permettant la fusion d'informations sémantiques à partir du développement théorique précédent. Une application de ces travaux a été réalisée dans le cadre d'un projet de surveillance maritime.This thesis is part of the knowledge representation domain and modeling of uncertainty in a context of information fusion. The main idea is to use semantic tools and more specifically ontologies, not only to represent the general domain knowledge and observations, but also to represent the uncertainty that sources may introduce in their own observations. We propose to represent these uncertainties and semantic imprecision trough a metaontology (called DS-Ontology) based on the theory of belief functions. The contribution of this work focuses first on the definition of semantic inclusion and intersection operators for ontologies and on which relies the implementation of the theory of belief functions, and secondly on the development of a tool called FusionLab for merging semantic information within ontologies from the previous theorical development. These works have been applied within a European maritime surveillance project.ROUEN-INSA Madrillet (765752301) / SudocSudocFranceF