Electric Vehicles Charging Control based on Future Internet Generic Enablers

In this paper a rationale for the deployment of Future Internet based applications in the field of Electric Vehicles (EVs) smart charging is presented. The focus is on the Connected Device Interface (CDI) Generic Enabler (GE) and the Network Information and Controller (NetIC) GE, which are recognized to have a potential impact on the charging control problem and the configuration of communications networks within reconfigurable clusters of charging points. The CDI GE can be used for capturing the driver feedback in terms of Quality of Experience (QoE) in those situations where the charging power is abruptly limited as a consequence of short term grid needs, like the shedding action asked by the Transmission System Operator to the Distribution System Operator aimed at clearing networks contingencies due to the loss of a transmission line or large wind power fluctuations. The NetIC GE can be used when a master Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) hosts the Load Area Controller, responsible for managing simultaneous charging sessions within a given Load Area (LA); the reconfiguration of distribution grid topology results in shift of EVSEs among LAs, then reallocation of slave EVSEs is needed. Involved actors, equipment, communications and processes are identified through the standardized framework provided by the Smart Grid Architecture Model (SGAM).Comment: To appear in IEEE International Electric Vehicle Conference (IEEE IEVC 2014

Trust, Inequality, and Ethnic Heterogeneity

Using a large Australian social survey, combined with precise data on neighbourhood characteristics, I explore the factors that affect trust at a local level (‘localised trust’) and at a national level (‘generalised trust’). Trust is positively associated with the respondent’s education, and negatively associated with the amount of time spent commuting. At a neighbourhood level, trust is higher in affluent areas, and lower in ethnically and linguistically heterogeneous communities, with the effect being stronger for linguistic heterogeneity than ethnic heterogeneity. Linguistic heterogeneity reduces localised trust for both natives and immigrants, and reduces generalised trust only for immigrants. Instrumental variables specifications show similar results. By contrast with the United States, there is no apparent relationship between trust and inequality across neighbourhoods in Australia.Trust, social capital, income distribution, immigration, ethnicity

Is there such thing as middle class values ? Class differences, values and political orientations in Latin America

Middle class values have long been perceived as drivers of social cohesion and growth. This paper investigates the relation between class (measured by position in the income distribution), values, and political orientations using comparable values surveys for six Latin American countries. The analysis finds that both a continuous measure of income and categorical measures of income-based class are robustly associated with values. Both income and class tend to display a similar association to values and political orientations as education, although differences persist in some important dimensions. Overall, there is no strong evidence of any"middle class particularism": values appear to gradually shift with income, and middle class values are between the ones of poorer and richer classes. If any, the only peculiarity of middle class values is moderation. The analysis also finds changes in values across countries to be of much larger magnitude than the ones dictated by income, education, and individual characteristics, suggesting that individual values vary primarily within bounds dictated by each society.Inequality,Economic Theory&Research,Social Inclusion&Institutions,Labor Policies,Access&Equity in Basic Education

The Determinants of Trust

Both individual experiences and community characteristics influence how much people trust each other. Using data drawn from US localities we find that the strongest factors that reduce trust are: i) a recent history of traumatic experiences, even though the passage of time reduces this effect fairly rapidly; ii) belonging to a group that historically felt discriminated against, such as minorities (black in particular) and, to a lesser extent, women; iii) being economically unsuccessful in terms of income and education; iv) living in a racially mixed community and/or in one with a high degree of income disparity. Religious beliefs and ethnic origins do not significantly affect trust. The latter result may be an indication that the American melting pot at least up to a point works, in terms of homogenizing attitudes of different cultures, even though racial cleavages leading to low trust are still quite high.

Is There Such a Thing As Middle Class Values? Class Differences, Values, and Political Orientations in Latin America - Working Paper 286

Middle class values have long been perceived as drivers of social cohesion and growth. In this paper we investigate the relation between class (measured by the position in the income distribution), values, and political orientations using comparable values surveys for six Latin American countries. We find that both a continuous measure of income and categorical measures of income-based class are robustly associated with values. Both income and class tend to display a similar association to values and political orientations as education, although differences persist in some important dimensions. Overall, we do not find strong evidence of any “middle class particularism”: values appear to gradually shift with income, and middle class values lay between the ones of poorer and richer classes. If any, the only peculiarity of middle class values is moderation. We also find changes in values across countries to be of much larger magnitude than the ones dictated by income, education and individual characteristics, suggesting that individual values vary primarily within bounds dictated by each societyMiddle class, income, values, political orientations

The Global Reach of China’s Economy

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been establishing an edge over its competitors through its long-term strategic rise to power. The process of pursuing avenues for soft power and economic influence allows China to increase its presence in the global economy. The Belt and Road Initiative is an example of China’s economic development. This plan targets new trade routes and grows the economic reach of China through providing loans to underdeveloped regions. The process of investing in infrastructure around the world and providing financing leads to these countries becoming tied to China on an economic level. The competition between the West and China has implications for global trade and economics as China seeks to expand its global influence through asymmetrical means. This paper examines several of the PRC’s economic initiatives and the following impact projected to have on the United States and the international community

Spectrum Sensing and Security Challenges and Solutions: Contemporary Affirmation of the Recent Literature

Cognitive radio (CR) has been recently proposed as a promising technology to improve spectrum utilization by enabling secondary access to unused licensed bands. A prerequisite to this secondary access is having no interference to the primary system. This requirement makes spectrum sensing a key function in cognitive radio systems. Among common spectrum sensing techniques, energy detection is an engaging method due to its simplicity and efficiency. However, the major disadvantage of energy detection is the hidden node problem, in which the sensing node cannot distinguish between an idle and a deeply faded or shadowed band. Cooperative spectrum sensing (CSS) which uses a distributed detection model has been considered to overcome that problem. On other dimension of this cooperative spectrum sensing, this is vulnerable to sensing data falsification attacks due to the distributed nature of cooperative spectrum sensing. As the goal of a sensing data falsification attack is to cause an incorrect decision on the presence/absence of a PU signal, malicious or compromised SUs may intentionally distort the measured RSSs and share them with other SUs. Then, the effect of erroneous sensing results propagates to the entire CRN. This type of attacks can be easily launched since the openness of programmable software defined radio (SDR) devices makes it easy for (malicious or compromised) SUs to access low layer protocol stacks, such as PHY and MAC. However, detecting such attacks is challenging due to the lack of coordination between PUs and SUs, and unpredictability in wireless channel signal propagation, thus calling for efficient mechanisms to protect CRNs. Here in this paper we attempt to perform contemporary affirmation of the recent literature of benchmarking strategies that enable the trusted and secure cooperative spectrum sensing among Cognitive Radios

Relational mobility predicts social behaviors in 39 countries and is tied to historical farming and threat

International audienc

Neo-liberalism and neo-slavery

Low pay and other minimal benefits at work cause some people to be in a state of neo-slavery. They are nominally free individuals and are not the property of others, but their economic standing and power is so limited that they have to work for whatever they can get; and just put up with it. This state of neo-slavery is not accidental, it is the outcome of neo-liberalism, the economic orthodoxy that now dominates the globe. Deregulation of markets, the privatisation of publicly owned assets, the shift in the disproportionate share of income and wealth controlled by a ruling elite, together with burgeoning inequality are all advocated in the name of the free markets as a scientific reality. Neo-liberalism has such a powerful grip that it is rarely discussed by name. These are just the way things are. This paper argues that the supposed inevitability of the neo-liberal agenda is driven more by blind faith than scientific objectivity. As such it is a religion pretending to be a science. Indeed the rampant inequality resulting from the neo-liberal prayer book is counter-productive, because more egalitarian societies are more successful, and are happier places to live.Keywords: hospitality pay rates, inequality, neo-liberalism, neo-slaver