Wideband Waveform Design for Robust Target Detection

Future radar systems are expected to use waveforms of a high bandwidth, where the main advantage is an improved range resolution. In this paper, a technique to design robust wideband waveforms for a Multiple-Input-Single-Output system is developed. The context is optimal detection of a single object with partially unknown parameters. The waveforms are robust in the sense that, for a single transmission, detection capability is maintained over an interval of time-delay and time-scaling (Doppler) parameters. A solution framework is derived, approximated, and formulated as an optimization by means of basis expansion. In terms of probabilities of detection and false alarm, numerical evaluation shows the efficiency of the proposed method when compared with a Linear Frequency Modulated signal and a Gaussian pulse.Comment: This paper is submitted for peer review to IEEE letters on signal processin

The Process of Identity development in young Afghan 1.5 generation refugees in England: A Narrative Inquiry

The context of the past 40 years show that Afghanistan produces one of the largest numbers of refugees due to the ongoing conflicts. However, this group's experiences are often looked through a politicised, quantitative lens in research. Existing psychological literature on Afghan refugees highlights the psychological distress of various generations (Alemi et al., 2014; Mghir et al., 1995; Panter-Brick et al., 2009). However, there is an identified gap in psychological research on Afghan youth. Those who have arrived in England at specific developmental stages of their life have been identified as a unique generation. Through a narrative approach, this research focuses on enabling policy makers and academics to better understand the nuances associated with Afghan youth who had arrived between ages six and twelve, the 1.5’ers. The aim is to explore stories of how the youth recall their experiences of developing identity as refugees in England. Five participants, three females and two males, who identified as Afghan, were recruited. All participants had arrived in England between the ages of six and ten and participated aged between 20-32. This research uses narrative methods and semi-structured interviews. A four staged Dialogical Narrative Analysis was designed for this study to analyse the stories as they emerged. The emerging narratives presented the different processes that individuals experienced. Many participants spoke of loss and finding self, as many navigated complex social dilemmas. This process involves aspects of resilience against misconceptions that came from their social interactions and the growing activism towards homeland. In essence, the findings demonstrate the complexity and nuanced experiences and stories. The stories present the various actors and influences from society which impacted the participants as young children but equally as they formed their adult identities. The stories present the impact of microaggressions, experiences of inequality and feelings of having their identities dictated by others who are perceived to hold more power. The narratives highlight the need to be listened to and given opportunities to build their own identities. It emphasises the need for continued dialogues and interactions to reduce misunderstandings and assumptions about the experiences of identity. This study informs our existing understanding of how Afghan youth begin to narrate their identities, an area highly linked to general psychological wellbeing. The analysis of stories comes with the awareness of the cultural perspective, a unique contribution to the research world. We begin to explore the roles main characters play in refugee youth identity development such as the role of family and media. Social context has a highly important role in this and experiences, such as those from school establishments, continue to impact identity through to adulthood. This study can inform educational psychology, social and political policies and encourage better access to appropriate resources in the context of youth refugees. Subsequently, this can facilitate their individual identity development from a culturally appropriate perspective

Potentials of social media for tacit knowledge sharing amongst physicians : preliminary findings

Tacit knowledge sharing amongst physicians, such as the sharing of clinical experiences, skills, or know-how, or know-whom, is known to have a significant impact on the quality of medical diagnosis and decisions. This paper posits that social media can provide new opportunities for tacit knowledge sharing amongst physicians, and demonstrates this by presenting findings from a review of relevant literature and a survey conducted with physicians. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten physicians from around the world who were active users of social media. Initial thematic analysis revealed eight themes as potential contributions of social web tools to facilitate tacit knowledge flow amongst physicians. The emergent themes are defined, linked to the literature, and supported by instances of interview transcripts. Findings presented here are preliminary, and final results will be reported after accomplishing all phases of data collection and analysis

Demystifying Deep Learning: A Geometric Approach to Iterative Projections

Parametric approaches to Learning, such as deep learning (DL), are highly popular in nonlinear regression, in spite of their extremely difficult training with their increasing complexity (e.g. number of layers in DL). In this paper, we present an alternative semi-parametric framework which foregoes the ordinarily required feedback, by introducing the novel idea of geometric regularization. We show that certain deep learning techniques such as residual network (ResNet) architecture are closely related to our approach. Hence, our technique can be used to analyze these types of deep learning. Moreover, we present preliminary results which confirm that our approach can be easily trained to obtain complex structures.Comment: To be appeared in the ICASSP 2018 proceeding