6,619 research outputs found
On Understanding Catastrophe — The Case of Highly Severe Influenza-Like Illness
Computational epidemiology is a form of spatiotemporal
reasoning in which social link structures
are employed, and spatially explicit models
are specified and executed. We point to issues thus
far addressed neither by engineers, nor scientists, in
the light of a use case focusing on catastrophic scenarios
that assume the emergence of a highly unlikely
but lethal and contagious strain of influenza.
Our conclusion is that important perspectives are
missing when dealing with policy issues resulting
from scenario execution and analyses in computational
epidemiology
Implementing an Agent Trade Server
An experimental server for stock trading autonomous agents is presented and
made available, together with an agent shell for swift development. The server,
written in Java, was implemented as proof-of-concept for an agent trade server
for a real financial exchange.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, intended for B/W printin
The Blogosphere at a Glance — Content-Based Structures Made Simple
A network representation based on a basic wordoverlap
similarity measure between blogs is introduced.
The simplicity of the representation renders
it computationally tractable, transparent and insensitive
to representation-dependent artifacts. Using
Swedish blog data, we demonstrate that the representation,
in spite of its simplicity, manages to capture
important structural properties of the content
in the blogosphere. First, blogs that treat similar
subjects are organized in distinct network clusters.
Second, the network is hierarchically organized as
clusters in turn form higher-order clusters: a compound
structure reminiscent of a blog taxonomy
Algebras for Agent Norm-Regulation
An abstract architecture for idealized multi-agent systems whose behaviour is
regulated by normative systems is developed and discussed. Agent choices are
determined partially by the preference ordering of possible states and
partially by normative considerations: The agent chooses that act which leads
to the best outcome of all permissible actions. If an action is non-permissible
depends on if the result of performing that action leads to a state satisfying
a condition which is forbidden, according to the norms regulating the
multi-agent system. This idea is formalized by defining set-theoretic
predicates characterizing multi-agent systems. The definition of the predicate
uses decision theory, the Kanger-Lindahl theory of normative positions, and an
algebraic representation of normative systems.Comment: 25 page
Stability estimates with a priori bound for the inverse local Radon transform
We consider the inverse problem for the -dimensional weighted local Radon
transform , where is supported in and
is
defined near . For weight functions satisfying a certain
differential equation we give weak estimates of in terms of for
functions that satisfies an a priori bound.Comment: 34 page
Wireless ICS Training Platform
Indiana University - Purdue University IndianapolisEssential public services, such as Electric, Water and Gas Utilities, are becoming increasingly reliant on network connected devices to control their processes. Wireless control systems are becoming more common in distributed systems, since they offer many advantages over hard wired alternatives. While cyber physical systems such as PLCs offer many advantages, they are also vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Military force readiness for defense of critical infrastructure against cyber-attacks requires state of the industry industrial control systems for cyber security training. A remote terminal unit using broad spectrum radio was integrated into an existing Water Treatment Plant SCADA system and provided to the US Army for training.Electrical Engineering Technolog
Modeling Epidemic Spread in Synthetic Populations - Virtual Plagues in Massively Multiplayer Online Games
A virtual plague is a process in which a behavior-affecting property spreads
among characters in a Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG). The MMOG
individuals constitute a synthetic population, and the game can be seen as a
form of interactive executable model for studying disease spread, albeit of a
very special kind. To a game developer maintaining an MMOG, recognizing,
monitoring, and ultimately controlling a virtual plague is important,
regardless of how it was initiated. The prospect of using tools, methods and
theory from the field of epidemiology to do this seems natural and appealing.
We will address the feasibility of such a prospect, first by considering some
basic measures used in epidemiology, then by pointing out the differences
between real world epidemics and virtual plagues. We also suggest directions
for MMOG developer control through epidemiological modeling. Our aim is
understanding the properties of virtual plagues, rather than trying to
eliminate them or mitigate their effects, as would be in the case of real
infectious disease.Comment: Accepted for presentation at Digital Games Research Association
(DiGRA) conference in Tokyo in September 2007. All comments to the authors
(mail addresses are in the paper) are welcom
Parrondo Strategies for Artificial Traders
On markets with receding prices, artificial noise traders may consider
alternatives to buy-and-hold. By simulating variations of the Parrondo
strategy, using real data from the Swedish stock market, we produce first
indications of a buy-low-sell-random Parrondo variation outperforming
buy-and-hold. Subject to our assumptions, buy-low-sell-random also outperforms
the traditional value and trend investor strategies. We measure the success of
the Parrondo variations not only through their performance compared to other
kinds of strategies, but also relative to varying levels of perfect
information, received through messages within a multi-agent system of
artificial traders.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
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