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2008

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Lived Experiences Of Selected African-American Male Elementary Teachers In Georgia, Chequita Franchon Brady Dec 2008

Lived Experiences Of Selected African-American Male Elementary Teachers In Georgia, Chequita Franchon Brady

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The supply and demand of teachers is constantly changing in the United States because they are steadily flowing in, through, and out of the educational profession (Ingersoll, 2002). Many educators and administrators are concerned about the shortage and underrepresentation of minority teachers in the profession such as African- Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, and even males (Pytel, 2006). There is also an underrepresentation of African-American male elementary teachers. African- American male elementary teachers, a unique minority, are needed in the education profession to serve as role models earlier in the schooling process of young children, as well as to increase …

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Distribution System Operation And Planning In The Presence Of Distributed Generation Technology, Gavin W. Jones, Badrul H. Chowdhury Dec 2008

Distribution System Operation And Planning In The Presence Of Distributed Generation Technology, Gavin W. Jones, Badrul H. Chowdhury

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Distributed generation (DG) is becoming an increasingly attractive multi-faceted paradigm in the field of power distribution as economic and environmental factors drive new technologies to be more efficient and less polluting than their earlier counterparts. an attempt is made to examine and compare three types of DG: diesel generators, microturbines, and small wind turbines within the structure of a distribution system. the DG types are compared in both steady-state and transient operation to determine which type is suitable for a particular application. Steady-state operation is examined under heavy loading conditions and each DG type is compared on the basis of …

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Damping Inter-Area Oscillations In Power Systems By Statcoms, Mahyar Zarghami, Mariesa Crow Dec 2008

Damping Inter-Area Oscillations In Power Systems By Statcoms, Mahyar Zarghami, Mariesa Crow

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Shunt FACTS devices such as STATCOMs are best known for their impact on reactive power flow in power networks. This is usually done by local reactive compensation which also regulates voltage magnitude of the bus to which the shunt FACTS device is connected. on the other hand, these devices are less known for their effect on active power flow. This paper discusses a novel approach for damping inter-area oscillations in a large power network using multiple STATCOMs. in the paper, it will be shown that these oscillations can be controlled by changing STATCOMs' bus voltage angles, hence regulating active power …

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Development Of A New System Vulnerability Index - The Overload Risk Index, John Rossmaier, Badrul Chowdhury Dec 2008

Development Of A New System Vulnerability Index - The Overload Risk Index, John Rossmaier, Badrul Chowdhury

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper proposes a new index to better determine the vulnerability of a power system. the procedure for calculating this index combines stochastic and probabilistic methods to determine the likelihood of a line overloading in a power system. the methods used include a basic load flow analysis using network security factors and Monte Carlo simulation that incorporates the likelihood of component failure within the system. a case study has been performed to analyze the ability of such an index in accurately measuring one aspect of power system vulnerability. Three different variations of this indexing method are explored in an attempt …

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Secure Virtual Backbone-Based Power Management For Ad Hoc Networks, Hung Yuan Hsu, Ali R. Hurson Dec 2008

Secure Virtual Backbone-Based Power Management For Ad Hoc Networks, Hung Yuan Hsu, Ali R. Hurson

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Power saving is a critical issue in wireless ad hoc networks. Many of the existing energy efficient routing protocols utilize the power management feature provided by MAC layer (e.g., IEEE 802.11 PSM). the rationale behind these protocols is to power down (put in sleep) the redundant nodes that do not involve in the packets routing. to keep a low end-to-end latency and preserve the routing fidelity, a group of nodes are selected to constitute a virtual backbone throughout the network. the backbone nodes do not sleep all the time serving for the packets routing while the rest of nodes turn …

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On The Mutual Information And Power Allocation For Vector Gaussian Channels With Finite Discrete Inputs, Chengshan Xiao, Yahong Rosa Zheng Dec 2008

On The Mutual Information And Power Allocation For Vector Gaussian Channels With Finite Discrete Inputs, Chengshan Xiao, Yahong Rosa Zheng

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, the mutual information and power allocation are discussed for vector Gaussian channels with finite discrete inputs. It is shown that the classic water filling and mercury-water filling policies, which are allocating power to a bank of independent parallel channels, may lead to significant loss compared to the original system without power allocation for finite discrete inputs. a generalized linear precoder, which is a non-diagonal and non-unitary matrix, is proposed for cross- channel power allocation to maximize the mutual information for vector channels. Numerical examples show that the new precoding-Based power allocation provides significant gain for a broad …

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Fully Evolvable Optimal Neurofuzzy Controller Using Adaptive Critic Designs, Salman Mohagheghi, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Ronald G. Harley Dec 2008

Fully Evolvable Optimal Neurofuzzy Controller Using Adaptive Critic Designs, Salman Mohagheghi, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Ronald G. Harley

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A near-optimal neurofuzzy external controller is designed in this paper for a static compensator (STATCOM) in a multimachine power system. The controller provides an auxiliary reference signal for the STATCOM in such a way that it improves the damping of the rotor speed deviations of its neighboring generators. A zero-order Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy rule base constitutes the core of the controller. A heuristic dynamic programming (HDP) based approach is used to further train the controller and enable it to provide nonlinear near-optimal control at different operating conditions of the power system. Based on the connectionist systems theory, the parameters of the …

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Neural Network Output Feedback Control Of A Quadrotor Uav, Jagannathan Sarangapani, Travis Alan Dierks Dec 2008

Neural Network Output Feedback Control Of A Quadrotor Uav, Jagannathan Sarangapani, Travis Alan Dierks

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A neural network (NN) based output feedback controller for a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is proposed. The NNs are utilized in the observer and for generating virtual and actual control inputs, respectively, where the NNs learn the nonlinear dynamics of the UAV online including uncertain nonlinear terms like aerodynamic friction and blade flapping. It is shown using Lyapunov theory that the position, orientation, and velocity tracking errors, the virtual control and observer estimation errors, and the NN weight estimation errors for each NN are all semi-globally uniformly ultimately bounded (SGUUB) in the presence of bounded disturbances and NN functional …

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Xftsp: A Tool For Time Series Prediction By Means Of Fuzzy Inference Systems, Federico Montesino, Amaury Lendasse, Ángel Barriga Dec 2008

Xftsp: A Tool For Time Series Prediction By Means Of Fuzzy Inference Systems, Federico Montesino, Amaury Lendasse, Ángel Barriga

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A New Software Tool for Time Series Prediction by Means of Fuzzy Inference Systems is Reported. This Tool, Named XFTSP, implements a Novel Methodology for Time Series Prediction based on Methods for Automatic Fuzzy Systems Identification and Supervised Learning Combined with Statistical Methods for Nonparametric Residual Variance Estimation. XFTSP is Designed as a Tool Integrated in the Xfuzzy Development Environment for Fuzzy Systems. Experiments Carried Out on a Number of Time Series Benchmarks Show the Advantages of XFTSP in Terms of Both Accuracy and Computational Requirements as Compared Against Least-Squared Support Vector Machines, an Established Technique in the Field of …

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On Nonparametric Residual Variance Estimation, Elia Liitiäinen, Francesco Corona, Amaury Lendasse Dec 2008

On Nonparametric Residual Variance Estimation, Elia Liitiäinen, Francesco Corona, Amaury Lendasse

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In This Paper, the Problem of Residual Variance Estimation is Examined. the Problem is Analyzed in a General Setting Which Covers Non-Additive Heteroscedastic Noise under Non-Iid Sampling. to Address the Estimation Problem, We Suggest a Method based on Nearest Neighbor Graphs and We Discuss its Convergence Properties under the Assumption of a Hölder Continuous Regression Function. the Universality of the Estimator Makes It an Ideal Tool in Problems with Only Little Prior Knowledge Available. © 2008 Springer Science business Media, LLC.

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Using Clinical Decision Support To Maintain Medication And Problem Lists: A Pilot Study To Yield Higher Patient Safety, Chiang S. Jao, Daniel B. Hier, William L. Galanter Dec 2008

Using Clinical Decision Support To Maintain Medication And Problem Lists: A Pilot Study To Yield Higher Patient Safety, Chiang S. Jao, Daniel B. Hier, William L. Galanter

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

To Investigate Whether Clinical Decision Support that Automates the Matching of Ordered Drugs to Problems (Clinical Diagnoses) on the Problem List Can Enhance the Maintenance of Both Medication and Problem Lists in the Electronic Medical Record, We Designed a Clinical Decision Support System to Match Ordered Drugs on the Medication List and Ongoing Problems on the Problem List. We Evaluated the Capability and Performance of This Clinical Decision Support System in Medication-Problem Matching using Physician Expert Chart Audits to Match Ordered Drugs to Ongoing Clinical Problems. a Clinical Decision Support System Was Shown to Be Useful in Improving Medication-Problem Matches …

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Relationship Between High School Theatre Participation And The Development Of Workplace Competencies, Dean Charles Slusser Dec 2008

Relationship Between High School Theatre Participation And The Development Of Workplace Competencies, Dean Charles Slusser

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

In an age of educational accountability, high school theatre sponsors often have to defend the presence of, and funding for, their programs. The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of Georgia Thespian Sponsors concerning (1) the importance of certain workplace competencies, (2) the presence of opportunities for students to acquire or develop those competencies through participation in theatre, (3) the relationship between these two factors, and (4) the role of perceptions concerning administrative support in the presence of opportunities to acquire or develop workplace skills through theatre participation. The researcher developed and distributed an original instrument addressing …

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Relationship Between Teacher Personality Type And Burnout In Rural Middle School Teachers, Melinda Mullis Dennis Dec 2008

Relationship Between Teacher Personality Type And Burnout In Rural Middle School Teachers, Melinda Mullis Dennis

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Personality type impacts so much of who an individual is and how he/she relates to various life situations and events. Teacher burnout is a contributing factor to ones stress, satisfaction, and continuation in the career of education. Because of the existing teacher shortage in the United States, administrators and policy makers need to understand the factors that contribute to burnout. Stressors that contribute to burnout in teaching include emotional exhaustion, a lack of professional guidance and peer support, and conflict with parents, peers, administrators, and students. Research into burnout suggests that some personality types may be more resilient to these …

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Understanding Conditions Leading To High School Success As Identified By Urban Georgia At Risk Students, Catherine Michele Nigg Dec 2008

Understanding Conditions Leading To High School Success As Identified By Urban Georgia At Risk Students, Catherine Michele Nigg

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

A qualitative research design was used to gather data from in-depth interviews of 10 at risk students at an east-central Georgia high school. The students met at least two of the following at risk characteristics: low SES, failing at least one grade and/or in danger of failing four or more courses this year, and high rate of suspension or absenteeism and/or on probation. The instruments for this study consisted of structured interviews that contained questions to elicit the students' views on school with the aim of determining what they identify as critical to their success. The interviews were guided by …

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Teaching Science In The Bible Belt Of The South, Carole Crosby Gilbert Dec 2008

Teaching Science In The Bible Belt Of The South, Carole Crosby Gilbert

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This is an inquiry that utilizes personal ' passionate ' participatory research (He & Phillion, 2008) to delve into the conflicting experiences encountered by science educators as they teach in the predominantly Christian environment of the rural South. Science standards require teachers to instruct students about scientific concepts that directly contradict theological ideology. Veteran and new teachers alike skate the edges of the chasm that separate science and religion in the performance of their job which is complicated by the homogeneity of the population. Church involvement is an integral part of this community. Christian churches anchor their respective communities providing …

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Unto The Third & Fourth Generation Of African-Americans: Kaleb Norris's Stories Of Generational Poverty And Inequality In The South, Derrick Marcel Tennial Dec 2008

Unto The Third & Fourth Generation Of African-Americans: Kaleb Norris's Stories Of Generational Poverty And Inequality In The South, Derrick Marcel Tennial

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This is an inquiry that explores the cross-generational lived affects of educational, political, and public policies on my paternal family from 1899 to the present in Northern Mississippi and West Tennessee. It is an exploration of my family's history and my lived experience as the first person in the family to obtain an undergraduate degree, a graduate degree, and a doctorate, who has attempted to use education in a substantive way to break the cycle of generational poverty. Members of six generations of my family are the main characters in the stories collected. Using oral history, I document their experiences. …

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Case Study Of An Urban Elementary School's Transition From Failing To Distinguished School Status, Carla Brice Ross Dec 2008

Case Study Of An Urban Elementary School's Transition From Failing To Distinguished School Status, Carla Brice Ross

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative study seeks to understand how the multidimensional functioning of an urban high-poverty high-minority elementary school changed as it moved from failing school status to distinguished school status and to determine how school change promoted the organizational well-being of the school using a case study methodology. The multidimensional lenses used to view changes at Eagle included school purpose, culture, structure, leadership, organizational and professional learning, and teacher emotions. Using these lenses to view changes provides an explanation of not only how Eagle transitioned from failing school status to distinguished school status, but more importantly, how it has been able …

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Effects Of Online, Collaborative Discourse On Secondary Student Writing: A Case Study Of The History And Ecology Of An Electronic Exchange, Julie Henderson Rucker Dec 2008

Effects Of Online, Collaborative Discourse On Secondary Student Writing: A Case Study Of The History And Ecology Of An Electronic Exchange, Julie Henderson Rucker

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Technological environments where teens spend much of their time after school are environments that educators seldom use in classroom instruction. These Web 2.0 environments are participatory, collaborative environments where teens share music, files, pictures, and ideas and are influenced by the information shared by others within their Web 2.0 environments. This study looks at a particular online environment, the Bread Loaf Teacher Network, and how secondary student writing is affected by the collaborative nature of electronic exchanges conducted on this online network. This study analyzed the history and ecology of one electronic exchange (a technological, participatory discourse community within the …

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Keeping Our Charm: Residents, Growth, And Quality Of Life Issues In A Small But Growing Texas Coastal Community, Michael A. Schuett, John S. Jacob, Jiaying Lu, Logan Respess Dec 2008

Keeping Our Charm: Residents, Growth, And Quality Of Life Issues In A Small But Growing Texas Coastal Community, Michael A. Schuett, John S. Jacob, Jiaying Lu, Logan Respess

Journal of Extension

The study reported here assessed residents' perception of small, fast-growing coastal community on issues of quality of life, conservation, and growth. Data for the study were collected from an on-site survey in Aransas County, Texas from 2006 to 2007. Results show that the residents are concerned about preserving their natural resources, maintaining a small town atmosphere in their community, and ensuring citizens' involvement in future planning efforts, especially with tourism. The implications of the study are discussed for Extension professionals and residents, suggestions for future research are provided.

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Living Well: National Extension Association Of Family And Consumer Sciences National Media Campaign, Jean Clarkson-Frisbie, Debra Bartman, Carolyn Gregov, Elizabeth Gregory Dec 2008

Living Well: National Extension Association Of Family And Consumer Sciences National Media Campaign, Jean Clarkson-Frisbie, Debra Bartman, Carolyn Gregov, Elizabeth Gregory

Journal of Extension

In 2000, a benchmark survey gathered information from the 18-44 age general urban population about where that group seeks Extension information and the level of the group's awareness of the Cooperative Extension Service. The information was used to develop a Family and Consumer Sciences media public relations campaign that allowed all FCS Extension agents in the U.S. to make a programming impact using the same logo, slogan, and items. The campaign has been heavily used by Extension Family and Consumer Sciences educators to educate the public about Cooperative Extension. The results have application for all components of Cooperative Extension.

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Partnering With Local Employers To Meet Housing Needs, Karen Tinsley, Brenda Cude, Thomas Rodgers, Anne Sweaney Dec 2008

Partnering With Local Employers To Meet Housing Needs, Karen Tinsley, Brenda Cude, Thomas Rodgers, Anne Sweaney

Journal of Extension

Low- and moderate-wage earners in Georgia have difficulty finding quality, affordable housing. This article describes one way to help the workforce improve their housing situation. Working with an employer to survey a representative sample of their new employees, University of Georgia Housing and Demographics Research Center researchers collected primary data regarding housing needs and preferences. The survey methodology and logistics are described in detail, and a descriptive summary of the data is included. Survey findings reveal valuable information about housing capacity and desire, and can be used to plan effective, educational programs designed to help workers obtain housing.

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Safety "Pays" For Hispanic Employees, Company Owners, And Extension Professionals Active In Urban Agriculture Industries, Ellen M. Bauske, Alfredo D. Martinez-Espinoza, Karen Maqueda, Willie Chance Dec 2008

Safety "Pays" For Hispanic Employees, Company Owners, And Extension Professionals Active In Urban Agriculture Industries, Ellen M. Bauske, Alfredo D. Martinez-Espinoza, Karen Maqueda, Willie Chance

Journal of Extension

The landscape industry and other urban agriculture industries are dangerous, and many of the workers in these industries are Hispanic. The financial, emotional, and social costs of workplace injuries are substantial. Extension personnel, business owners, and all workers benefit when safety trainings are held in Spanish. The impact, benefits, and ease of conducting safety trainings in Spanish for Hispanic workers in urban agriculture industries are discussed.

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Explaining Inferences In Bayesian Networks, Ghim-Eng Yap, Ah-Hwee Tan, Hwee Hwa Pang Dec 2008

Explaining Inferences In Bayesian Networks, Ghim-Eng Yap, Ah-Hwee Tan, Hwee Hwa Pang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

While Bayesian network (BN) can achieve accurate predictions even with erroneous or incomplete evidence, explaining the inferences remains a challenge. Existing approaches fall short because they do not exploit variable interactions and cannot account for compensations during inferences. This paper proposes the Explaining BN Inferences (EBI) procedure for explaining how variables interact to reach conclusions. EBI explains the value of a target node in terms of the influential nodes in the target's Markov blanket under specific contexts, where the Markov nodes include the target's parents, children, and the children's other parents. Working back from the target node, EBI shows the …

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Dit News, 1st.-31st. Of December, 2008, Dit:Students Union Dec 2008

Dit News, 1st.-31st. Of December, 2008, Dit:Students Union

DIT Student Union

No abstract provided.

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Optimizing Micro-Grid Operations In The Presence Of Wind Generation, Nikhil K. Ardeshna, Badrul H. Chowdhury Dec 2008

Optimizing Micro-Grid Operations In The Presence Of Wind Generation, Nikhil K. Ardeshna, Badrul H. Chowdhury

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Conceptually, a micro-grid can operate in parallel with the main grid system to support the grid voltage or as an isolated system to support customers isolated from the grid. in islanding operations, the micro-grid can continue to supply power to the customers thereby increasing the reliability of the power system. in a micro-grid with a significant percentage of wind power, a reactive power source would be needed to keep the wind power generating in islanded mode. the problem of load following is investigated in this situation. in addition, the use of Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM) and battery energy storage system …

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A Systematic Framework For Structured Object-Oriented Security Requirements Analysis In Embedded Systems, Sojan Markose, Xiaoqing Frank Liu, Bruce M. Mcmillin Dec 2008

A Systematic Framework For Structured Object-Oriented Security Requirements Analysis In Embedded Systems, Sojan Markose, Xiaoqing Frank Liu, Bruce M. Mcmillin

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

The primary goal of this paper is to develop a structured objectoriented security requirements analysis methodology for the elicitation and analysis of security requirements in embedded systems. There are several approaches to elicit, analyze and specify security requirements in embedded systems ranging from formal mathematical models for proof of certain security properties to informal methods that are easily understood. Applicability of formal security models is limited because they are complex and it is time consuming to develop. On the other hand, informal security requirements analysis methods are not integrated with conceptual models in requirements analysis, and although both external and …

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Implementation And Analysis Of Practical Algorithm For Data Security, Willi Ballenthin, F. Kacani, Julia Albath, Sanjay Kumar Madria Dec 2008

Implementation And Analysis Of Practical Algorithm For Data Security, Willi Ballenthin, F. Kacani, Julia Albath, Sanjay Kumar Madria

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, we present a complete implementation of the Practical Algorithm for Data Security (PADS) proposed by Albath et al., an end-to-end security scheme employing symmetric key encryption. The implementation takes full advantage of the modular design of the TinyOS environment. The simplicity of the algorithm allows for efficient implementation in hardware, a requirement for resource constrained devices. The protocol adds only four bytes of data per packet, on par with industry standards. Simulation and empirical results of the scheme are also provided. The analysis shows that the Practical Algorithm for Data Security is superior to standard security schemes.

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A Model Based Fault Detection And Prognostic Scheme For Uncertain Nonlinear Discrete-Time Systems, Balaje T. Thumati, Jagannathan Sarangapani Dec 2008

A Model Based Fault Detection And Prognostic Scheme For Uncertain Nonlinear Discrete-Time Systems, Balaje T. Thumati, Jagannathan Sarangapani

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A new fault detection and prognostics (FDP) framework is introduced for uncertain nonlinear discrete time system by using a discrete-time nonlinear estimator which consists of an online approximator. A fault is detected by monitoring the deviation of the system output with that of the estimator output. Prior to the occurrence of the fault, this online approximator learns the system uncertainty. In the event of a fault, the online approximator learns both the system uncertainty and the fault dynamics. A stable parameter update law in discrete-time is developed to tune the parameters of the online approximator. This update law is also …

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Robust Regularized Kernel Regression, Jianke Zhu, Steven C. H. Hoi, Michael R. Lyu Dec 2008

Robust Regularized Kernel Regression, Jianke Zhu, Steven C. H. Hoi, Michael R. Lyu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Robust regression techniques are critical to fitting data with noise in real-world applications. Most previous work of robust kernel regression is usually formulated into a dual form, which is then solved by some quadratic program solver consequently. In this correspondence, we propose a new formulation for robust regularized kernel regression under the theoretical framework of regularization networks and then tackle the optimization problem directly in the primal. We show that the primal and dual approaches are equivalent to achieving similar regression performance, but the primal formulation is more efficient and easier to be implemented than the dual one. Different from …

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Distributing Complementary Resources Across Multiple Periods With Stochastic Demand, Shih-Fen Cheng, John Tajan, Hoong Chuin Lau Dec 2008

Distributing Complementary Resources Across Multiple Periods With Stochastic Demand, Shih-Fen Cheng, John Tajan, Hoong Chuin Lau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper, we evaluate whether the robustness of a market mechanism that allocates complementary resources could be improved through the aggregation of time periods in which resources are consumed. In particular, we study a multi-round combinatorial auction that is built on a general equilibrium framework. We adopt the general equilibrium framework and the particular combinatorial auction design from the literature, and we investigate the benefits and the limitation of time-period aggregation when demand-side uncertainties are introduced. By using simulation experiments, we show that under stochastic conditions the performance variation of the process decreases as the time frame length (time …

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