bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Crystal Structure and Characterization of Pure and Ag‐Doped (La1−xYx)2Ba2CaCu5Oz (0≤x≤0.5) Superconductors
Authors: Nayak Pramoda Kumar , Ravi Seenipandian
Published: July 2007

Pure and 5 wt% of Ag‐doped (La1−xYx)2Ba2CaCu5Oz superconducting compounds for x=0–0.5 have been prepared. Analysis of X‐ray diffraction patterns shows that the samples are essentially in the single‐phase form and they could be refined using the P4/mmm space group in a tetragonal cell. The typical lattice parameters are found to be a=b=3.879 Å, c=11.646 Å for x=0 and a=b=3.856 Å, c=11.576 Å for x=0.5 samples. The detailed crystal structure parameters are presented. The average grain size values from scanning electron microscope images are found to be in the order of 1–3 μm. Temperature variations of ac susceptibility and electrical resistivity have been measured. Superconducting transitions with diamagnetic Tc ranging from 60 to 75 K have been observed, with the maximum Tc for the x=0.25 sample. Ag‐doped samples exhibit improved inter‐granular coupling and homogeneous oxygenation.
Editorial Introduction to Louis Althusser's 'Letter to the Central Committee of the PCF, 18 March 1966'
Authors: Lewis William
Published: July 2007

As an accompaniment to the translation into English of Louis Althusser's 'Letter to the Central Committee of the PCF, March 18th, 1966', this note provides the historical and theoretical context necessary to understand Althusser's 'anti-humanist' interventions into French Communist Party policy decisions during the mid-1960s. Because nowhere else in Althusser's published writings do we see as clearly the political stakes involved in his philosophical project, nor the way in which this project evolved from a 'theoreticist' pursuit into a more practical one, the note also argues that the letter is of importance to Althusser scholars, to historians of Marxist thought, and to those interested in the relevance of Althusser's work to contemporary Marxist philosophy.
Strategic planning and forecasting
Authors: Naylor Thomas H.
Published: July 2007

This paper examines the role of forecasting in strategic planning through the use of analytical portfolio models and corporate simulation models. It also outlines a conceptual framework on which it may be possible to develop a theory of strategic planning—namely, microeconomic theory. It, finally, describes a practical application of this theoretical framework, known as the strategy matrix. It concludes by noting the importance of forecasting as an input to the strategy matrix.
Causal implications: The linkage between time series and econometric modelling
Authors: Koreisha Sergio G.
Published: July 2007

Construction of causally and structurally adequate simultaneous equations models can be accomplished by determining causal relations between potential variables and balancing these statistically derived inferences with economic theory to relate behavioural or technological forces among the variables. An appropriate lag structure for each of the equations can be determined by a two step multiple transfer function approach involving reduced form equations. Testing the specification of already existing simultaneous equations models is done by constructing multiple transfer function models of the reduced form equations of the simultaneous equations models which permit incorporation of lead cross correlations.
The failure of success and the success of failure: The Youth Polytechnic Programme in Kenya
Authors: Dey Ian
Published: July 2007

Despite its successful expansion over the past two decades, Kenya's Youth Polytechnic Programme1 is widely regarded as having failed to achieve its original objectives. The programme was supposed to provide a non‐formal training to unemployed school‐leavers in skills directly related to local income‐generating opportunities. Critics, especially amongst the influential Aid Community, have complained of excessive formalization and an orientation in the polytechnics to certification and paid employment. A recent national tracer study seems to confirm the programme's marginal impact. This paper reassesses the development of the programme, using a framework derived from Sabatier's work on implementation. Taking account of the inadequate premises upon which the programme was launched, the deficiencies in legal structure, the resource overload, and the socio‐economic and cultural environment, the programme's ‘failures’ can be seen as a successful adaption to prevailing pressures and constraints. The real failure has been in the lack of learning from practice, which has prevented a realistic assessment of the programme's impact and potential. Wedded to the programme's initial ideals, the impact of policy prescriptions upon polytechnic practice has been limited, and in some respects even counter‐productive.
End user computing in development administration: The vital role of administrators
Authors: Sanwal Mukul
Published: July 2007

To make microcomputers serve development requires clear vision and leadership on the part of administrators. The assimilation of this technology for government tasks is no longer dependent on cost reductions or computer programmers. Rather, it requires administrators to make an explicit choice of software to integrate hardware, information and decisions. At the operational level this process is not a mere technology adoption exercise and is based on three factors—adapting standard packages that are within the reach of even the least developed countries; information specialists and end‐users jointly determining data structures; and integration of microcomputers into existing administrative functions. A decision support system for district administrators developed in India is discussed. The paper concludes with lessons for first time users so that development administrators, aid agencies and governments avoid costly mistakes.
Foreign assistance and development in a small‐island economy: The case of Fiji
Authors: Baker Randall
Published: July 2007

In many works on comparative public administration and development management the arguments put forward are often presented within the framework of comparing developed and less‐developed countries. However, within the latter category there are fairly substantial differences, usually categorized within the context of system of government, or degrees of per capita income. Rarely is the question of scale addressed head on. One dimension of this, for instance, is the nature and operation of public administration where the proliferation of traditional ministries, and the impartiality of the administration, become very problematic in terms of the extremely limited resources and the very personal nature of public life— especially in the microstates. In this paper the question of scale is addressed in the context of the relationship between one island state, Fiji, and its bilateral and multilateral partners. This is considered not just in terms of aid and loans, but in terms of such issues as the ‘critical mass’ of skilled professional people, and the problems of functioning in a system where the rules for such things as overheads seem to have been evolved in the context of the Third‐World giants. It is shown that the scale variable is a very powerful one in both the effectiveness and efficiency of governments working in tandem with major external sources of capital assistance.
The importance of community participation
Authors: Bamberger Michael
Published: July 2007

At a 1986 Economic Development Institute (EDI)‐sponsored workshop, the value of community participation in development projects was emphasized, including greater possibilities for project efficiency and effectiveness, cost‐recovery, social acceptability, and sustainability. Among the possible dangers brought out at the workshop were included: delays, additional costs, sabotage by powerful economic or social groups, hostility to or distrust of the government, intensification of community conflicts, and diversion of benefits to the well‐established rather than to women or the disadvantaged. Some of these potential problems can be reduced by careful research, flexible project design, appropriate technology and two‐way flows of communication. For projects to be effective, more research, training, information dissemination, and interorganizational coordination may be essential, in which EDI could play a role.

This article is extracted from Bamberger, M. (1988). The Role of Community Participation in Development Planning and Project Management, EDI Policy Seminar Report No. 13. World Bank EDI, Washington D.C. The essays referred to here by Samuel Paul, Norman Uphoff, and Caroline Moser are contained in: Bamberger, M. (ed.) (1987). Readings in Community Participation: Papers presented at an International Workshop Organized by the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank. The World Bank EDI, Washington D.C.
Urban local government finance in Benin: The case of Cotonou Urban District I
Authors: Laleye O. Mouftaou
Published: July 2007

The centralized system of government in the People's Republic of Benin was established when the country was a French colony. During the 1970s and 1980s, the government system was reorganized to conform to the principles of the ruling Marxist–Leninist regime. Deteriorating economic conditions have negatively affected the public sector in recent years. The capital city of Cotonou, however, has managed to perform better than other urban governments despite facing serious economic problems and many constraints imposed by a strict system of central control over local authorities. This paper examines the nature of and reasons for Cotonou's performance.
Environmental management and street‐level regulators: A cultural trap?
Authors: Khator Renu , Ng Kathleen , Chan Hon S.
Published: July 2007

It has been argued that environmental management is in an administrative trap. Numerous factors leading to this trapped situation have already been identified in the literature: institutional rigidity, lack of co‐ordination, formalization, non‐accountability and political interference. This study focusses on the organizational, cultural dimension of the administrative trap and argues that in order to reform administrative structures, the organizational culture must also be reformed. On the basis of several face‐to‐face interviews with street‐level environmental regulators in Hong Kong, the study claims that a role‐oriented, hierarchical culture exists. While such an organizational culture is in perfect agreement with existing administrative arrangements, it may, in the end, hamper the effectiveness of environmental management.
Public waste and private property. An enquiry into the economics of solid waste in Calcutta
Authors: Bose Anu , Blore Ian
Published: July 2007

Perceptions of solid waste management in India belong to a tradition of thought which dates back to the early nineteenth century. Solid waste is often thought of as a purely municipal problem. The paper examines how far informal systems of solid waste management are a response to a void in property rights. It analyses the variety of local operations in Calcutta, including the informal system. The assumptions that solid waste management is a public good that therefore needs to be municipalized and that in the absence of municipalization there would be greater costs are both questioned. It is hypothesized that there may be no measurable economies of scale in any part of the waste cycle. It may be more worthwhile to improve and expand the informal system of waste management than to collectivize further the traditional system of collection, transportation and disposal.
Comments on ‘Enhancing organizational effectiveness in developing countries: The training and visit system revisited’
Authors: Venkatesan V.
Published: July 2007

This article comments on the above‐titled article which appeared in Public Administration and Development (PAD), Vol. 12. It argues that Hulme's article: (i) does not, as it professes to, bring out the organizational impact of the training and visit (T&V) system of extension and, more seriously, does not suggest what improvements are needed to the system, and whether any such improvements have been tried anywhere and with what results; (ii) dismisses the rigorous statistical analysis of the impact of the system by Feder and Slade, and approvingly cites Antholt's methodologically unsustainable comparison between states in India, without giving convincing reasons for this choice; and (iii) ignores the important developments regarding T&V extension in the recent past, and relies on earlier papers on the subject. Some of the recent developments regarding the implementation of T&V in Africa are given in this article, including a summary of recent evaluations done in Kenya and Burkina Faso. The article concludes with an account of the managerial issues posed by T&V.
Privatizing the housing sector: The case of Slovakia
Authors: Faltan Lubomir , Dodder Richard A.
Published: July 2007

The events of the 1980s generated the end of an era in central Europe—an era characterized by central, planned economies and totalitarian political structures. As each new country struggled to create democratic political processes and market economies, many problems emerged; one of the most vexing was the privatization of housing. In Slovakia, individual family housing had never been nationalized, leaving most of the rural and village families owning their own homes. Apartment houses, as well as multiple dwellings and estates, however, had been nationalized. Consequently, the state created a Restitution Act early on (1990), so that people could reclaim properties unjustly taken from them. In addition, the state had built considerable housing units (usually high‐rise apartment blocks); many of these units were simply rented to individual families. But there had also been state construction companies that operated as co‐operatives, such that rent payments were credited toward the eventual ownership of the housing. Lastly, many large industries (state owned) had built housing units, which they rented to their employees. But there were not nearly enough housing units, and many people, especially young people, newlyweds, and elderly, were on waiting lists for housing. In all cases ‘rent’ was almost negligible as were utilities, and since there were no taxes or insurance, the total amount of a family budget spent for housing was, on average, quite meagre. This, then, was the situation confronting the new government in 1990. Beginning with data from 1988, this article examines the economic restructuring, apartment construction, changes in proprietary relations, and issues as yet unresolved regarding the privatization of housing in Slovakia.
Proton Compton Effect
Authors: Baranov P. S. , Fil'kov L. V. , Sokol G. A.
Published: July 2007

A method of calculating cross‐sections of Compton scattering on protons based on dispersion relations at a fixed square of the momentum transferred with a subtraction for invariant amplitudes is thoroughly discussed in this review. Dispersion sum rules for the interaction constants of πo, η and Xo mesons are analysed. A comparison is made by means of x2‐test. The results obtained from the comparison of the experimental data in the range of energies up to 300 MeV with the theoretical cross‐sections are presented. In the range of gamma‐ray energies from 180 to 220 MeV a strong difference between theoretical calculations and experimental data is observed. In the other ranges of energy the experimental data available are in agreement with the theoretical calculations, the contribution from the annihilation channel being considered and the sign of the contribution from the π°‐meson pole being chosen equal to the sing of the main amplitude.
Relay failure prevention by internal visual inspection
Authors: Mejerovich J. , Brenman M.
Published: July 2007

There is an evident lack of information about military‐type relays regarding their reliability, failure mechanisms and modes. In trying to fill this gap, even partially, this paper deals with different findings of internal visual inspection (IVI), failure analysis (FA) and a proposal for screening tests of relays as have been carried out in our laboratory. Likewise, it includes recommendations for quality assurance improvements. A special emphasis is placed on failure predictions by analysis of the IVI findings. This paper is based on a paper presented at the Seventh International Conference of the Israel Society for Quality Assurance (Tel‐Aviv, 8–10 November 1988).
The design of mechanical equipment for the limitation of in‐service failure
Authors: Martin P.
Published: July 2007

Mechanical equipment design demands a deep understanding of the inherent failure mechanisms likely to be encountered in service operation. Such understanding can result in the eradication or the limitation of the effects of in‐service failures. This aspect of engineering design is examined and a case study example, in which the design of stand‐by equipment involved the limitation of fretting corrosion, is used as an illustration of the general principles involved.
The use of taguchi methods in performance demonstrations
Authors: Bandurek G. R. , Hughes H. L. , Crouch D.
Published: July 2007

The use of Taguchi methods for parameter design and tolerance design is well established. This paper describes a new application to qualification trials or type approval tests. The essential difference from the accepted use is that the purpose is to demonstrate performance when a product is subjected to internal or external noise. With a tolerance trial the aim is to find which sources of noise can be cost‐effectively controlled. Two case‐study examples are presented which show the value of the technique. The first shows how the measurements are used to provide one of the published performance specifications for a digital electronic product. The second reveals how an interaction between three environmental parameters took an analogue electronic product out of specification. There is a discussion on the suitability of the technique for software testing and for reliability demonstrations. This includes comments on which arrays are most appropriate for which situation.
Improved alignment of fibre‐optics active devices via response surface methodology
Authors: Tan Eric , Goh T. N.
Published: July 2007

Response surface methodology (RSM) has long been recognized as an effective approach to empirical optimization of engineering processes. This paper reports a novel application of the methodology to enhance the efficiency and reliability of an active device alignment operation that is critical to fibreoptics manufacturing. With 22 factorial designs, the RSM approach has been found capable of locating the optimum co‐ordinates for maximum power coupling at speeds more than three times those of the usual search algorithms.
Failure analysis using ferroelectric liquid crystals
Authors: Picart B. , Arranz A. , Oustry G. , Tromeur B.
Published: July 2007

The complexity of present VLSI chips requires powerful tools to detect possible defects. For such a purpose, internal contactless testing methods such as electron beam or laser testing, have been developed to help the precise localization of the electrical defect.

The aim of this paper is to describe the liquid crystals test method, used at the IBM COMPEC laboratory for failure analysis. The electro‐optical properties of these materials allow the visualization of electric signals on the chips surface.
Reliability and failure analysis of GaAs mesfets on GaAs and Si substrates
Authors: Kornilios N. , Tsagaraki K. , Stoemenos J. , Christou A.
Published: July 2007

Reliability of GaAs MESFET's on GaAs and Si was studied using high‐temperature storage tests. Tested MESFETs were back etched and analysed by SEM, EDX and TEM. The major failure modes have been identified as gate sinking and an increase of ohmic contact resistance through Au particle formation.
Degradation of ion implanted GaAs MESFETs
Authors: Goostray J. , Thomas H. , Morgan D. V. , Conlon R. , Dumas J. M. , Gauneau G. M.
Published: July 2007

Ion‐implanted Si‐doped GaAs MESFETs with 1μm and 5μm gate lengths have been subjected to DC life testing at temperatures of 220°C and 250°C for 4000 and 2250 h, respectively. Two failure mechanisms have been identified:

Diffusion of platinum from the gate contact into the n‐GaAs channel.

An increase of deep‐level trapping, specifically of EL2 (Ea=0.8 eV), in the channel region.
Analysis of reliability of powder metallurgy steels by means of weibull statistics
Authors: Straffelini Giovanni , Molinari Alberto
Published: July 2007

Porous sintered steels, because of porosity, present low tensile elongation and impact strength, suggesting reduced ductility and consequently poor reliability in structural applications. However, they present some typical features of ductile materials. To study the reliability of these materials, some Fe‐C‐P alloys were selected and tested by means of the Weibull analysis. The results are very encouraging, since they demonstrate that porous sintered steels may be compared to conventional structural steels. The values of the Weibull modulus are affected by the chemical composition, varying between 20 and 55. The aim of this paper is to correlate the microstructural characteristics and the fracture behaviour of the specimens, pointing out how the intrinsic properties of the microstructural constituents affect reliability.
Tempex: An expert system for temperature control in an injection moulding process
Authors: Pham D. T. , Oztemel E.
Published: July 2007

Current developments in expert system technology make it possible to devise systems for on‐line quality control. Knowledge can be acquired and coded into a program to enable the operator or foreman to take immediate action to maintain product quality level through on‐line monitoring. This paper presents TEMPEX, a knowledge‐based statistical process control system for controlling the temperature in an injection moulding machine. The system is able to determine the process limits, detect out of control situations, find possible assignable causes and suggest corrective actions. The system is based on Leonardo, an expert system shell with a hybrid knowledge representation facility enabling the use of rules, rulesets, frames and procedures. The system contains 207 rules, 19 rule‐sets, 315 frames and 28 procedures.
On the effectiveness of the unit sample size for standard control charts: ARL VS. Aurl
Authors: Snow Jeffrey M. , Usher John S. , Stuckman Bruce E.
Published: July 2007

In this paper we investigate the use of the average unit run length (AURL) as an important measure of the effectiveness of various quality control charting schemes. In particular we focus on its appropriateness for normally distributed processes that tend to produce units (or measurements) at slow rates. In our investigations with the standard Shewhart X̄ and R charts, as well as the CUSUM chart, AURL shows that a sample size of n=1 can yield the fastest means of detecting shifts.
The total costs of quality: What else should be contemplated?
Authors: Elsen Stephan H. , Followell Roy F.
Published: July 2007

A fast changing environment during the 1980s and early 1990s combined with tougher competition from Japan and increasing customer expectations of quality kept the minimum acceptable quality standards rising, and has significantly enhanced competition world‐wide. Although quality is now perceived as one of the single most important competitive issues in the 1990s, 1 only a minority of firms report their cost of quality. 2‐4 These costs usually range from 5 to 25 % of sales turnover. 5 This paper reviews some of the literature and suggests additional major components which should be considered in addition to those in the limited P‐A‐F model. The idea of never‐ending improvement leads to proactive elements in the new proposed model. 6 These include benchmarking, process cost model, world class manufacturing, market share analysis, goodwill analysis, statistical process control and Taguchi methods. The proactive elements are less exactly measurable but significantly larger in their ultimate impact on the long term survival and success of a business. The largely reactive elements of the P‐A‐F model tend to account for past costs but ignore longer term opportunities. After only minor initial testing, 6 a new suggested model requires more extensive evaluation in order to judge its usefulness and practicability to focus on long‐run success accounting measurement.
Optical ammeter for integrated circuit characterization and failure analysis
Authors: Claeys W. , Dilhaire S. , Lewis D. , Quintard V. , Phan T. , Aucouturier J. L.
Published: July 2007

The current which flows through the metal semiconductor interface of an ohmic contact produces a Peltier effect. This thermal effect has been optically detected and used for the development of an optical ammeter, the determination of doping type of semiconductors and the homogeneity scanning upon integrated circuits.
Training needs analysis—a human factors analysis tool
Authors: Griffiths C. W. , Lees Alan
Published: July 2007

Human factors (HF) engineers have contributed to the reduction of human error, by improving user performance through the design of the user interface. However, there still remains a requirement for user training. This is especially true for complex, high risk processes employing new technology. Reduced manning and downskilling are putting increased pressures on users who, in many activities, still remain the last level of safety protection. In responding to this need, HF engineers now employ a range of tools and methods during the design process, which assist in identifying the training media and training design. Training needs analysis (TNA) offers a structured methodology to facilitate the information gathering process and identify any shortfall between current user performance and that demanded by new technology and designs.

By the use of these methods and tools the potential for human error can be reduced, for the following reasons: (a) improved user performance (b) better designed and more efficient training systems.

Existing TNA methods have been better suited to the study of existing equipment. This paper describes the training requirements process, and proposes a usable methodology for contractors conducting a TNA in the design of new systems/equipment. It is of particular use where information on the operation or maintenance may be limited.
Guessing shape of a complete line drawing of a polyhedron using an heuristic tree search
Authors: Ishikawa Seiji
Published: July 2007

This paper describes a technique for guessing a complete line drawing of a polyhedron from an incomplete line drawing by an heuristic tree search. The heuristic tree search employs two indices which represent structural unity of shape: the ratio of the number of parallel sides to the number of all sides on a line drawing of a polyhedron; and the difference between the minimum and the maximum inner angle on a loop (a closed link of sides). A line drawing obtained from preprocessing of a picture usually contains several polyhedra. It is segmented to each line drawing which corresponds to a single polyhedron, and it is generally an incomplete line drawing. The line drawing is expressed by a set of loops, and labelling on each side of the loops refers to the position and gradient of the side. An incomplete junction is searched on the line drawing by referring to the labels. Then a complete line drawing is guessed by adding sides to the incomplete junctions so that the values of the indices increase. One might expect that the present method gives aid to the recognition of an object given by an incomplete line drawing. An experimental result is given and some problems are discussed.
High‐resolution algorithm for fan beam‐CT system
Authors: Horiba Isao , Yanaka Shigenobu , Iwata Akira , Suzumura Nobuo
Published: July 2007

The X‐ray CT has a high resolution with respect to the absorption coefficient, while its spatial resolution is inferior to other X‐ray imaging techniques. Consequently, the improvement of its spatial resolution is strongly desired. This paper theoretically analyzes the frequency component of the projection data, obtained by the third‐generation CT system using a wide‐angle fan beam. It is shown that the projection data contain the effective frequency component above the Nyquist frequency determined by the spacing between detectors. Then a new algorithm is proposed which utilizes that effective frequency component. The usefulness of the algorithm is examined by an experiment using a phantom and the human body. It is shown as a result that the new algorithm can realize spatial resolution corresponding to approximately twice the Nyquist frequency determined by the detector spacing. Using this algorithm, the spatial resolution of the CT image can be improved without decreasing the detector spacing.
Architectural evaluation of a universal host computer munap
Authors: Yamazaki Katsuhiro , Kanai Hiroyuki , Baba Takanobu , Okuda Kenzo
Published: July 2007

This paper describes the architectural evaluation of a universal host computer MUNAP in terms of: (1) nonnumerical capability; (ii) multiprocessor parallelism; and (iii) flexibility of the two‐level microprogramming scheme, based on the experimental results.

The findings of the dynamic evaluation are summarized as follows.

(i) The divide and concatenate unit is especially useful for decoding machine instructions and manipulating tags in high‐level language machines so that the number of execution steps is decreased 30–40 percent. The bit operation unit is useful for numerical processing which frequently utilizes priority encoding. This provides a reduction in execution steps of 15 percent. In the shuffle exchange network, 16, 32, and 48‐bit circular shifts and broadcasts are used effectively for data transfers between processor units and serial operations.

(ii) The average numbers of active processor units are 3.6 ‐ 3.8 for such numerical computations as Fast Fourier Transform, and 2.1 to 2.5 for emulations of a wide variety of high‐level languages.

(iii) In the two‐level microprogramming scheme, the allocation ratio of the nanoprogram memory increases due to word size optimization of nanoprogram memory so that 80 ‐ 90 percent of it is used for large‐scale microprograms.
Realization method of totally shelf—Checking error checking and correcting circuits for main memory systems
Authors: Shinmori Shuichi , Hoda Masaaki , Koga Yoshiaki
Published: July 2007

This paper proposes a realization method for totally self‐checking ECC (Error Correcting and Checking) circuits using SEC‐DED (Single‐Error‐Correcting and Double‐Errors‐Detecting) codes. The methods of constructing self‐checking ECC circuits are divided into two categories: the method of constructing them as a whole; and the method of adding a redundant circuit for each functional circuit. Up to now, the former conventional method has had such problems as the number of gates being too large and the fault‐detectability being insufficient. These problems can be solved by adding one checker circuit for the ECC circuits in this paper. First, we design the new odd‐weight‐column H‐matrix which has the ability of SEC‐DED codes. Then the syndrome generator, the syndrome decoder, and one parity tree checker circuit are constructed based on this H‐matrix. Furthermore, this proposed method can distinguish a stuck‐at fault in ECC circuits from errors in the main memory. The increasing rate of gates to realize totally self‐checking ECC circuits is about 37 to 56% for the information‐bit length k = 16‐64 bits. This is smaller by about 5% than the best method of adding redundant circuit for each functional circuit.
D‐SSQ: A queueing network simulator with parallel execution control
Authors: Sato Kei , Nakanishi Hikaru , Sanada Hidehiko , Tezuka Yoshikazu
Published: July 2007

This paper discusses a node‐distributed parallel‐processing event‐driven queueing network simulator, called D‐SSQ. It employs the advanced execution control, aiming at the effective utilization of the parallelism inherent in the queueing network. The advanced control works as follows. Each processor first works ignoring the restrictions from other processors. If a contradiction is detected by manifesting the effects of other processors through the interprocessor communication, the contradiction is dissolved by partially cancelling the results of the previous processing. The processing performance of D‐SSQ was examined by an experimental system and by the simulation using a large‐scale computer. It is observed that the processing capability increases linearly with the number of processors, but does not increase as rapidly as was expected because of the large overhead in the distribution and the ineffective processing by the excessive advance control. Consequently, a restricted advance control has been considered, aiming at the elimination of the excessive advanced operation. It is indicated that the processing performance can be improved and there exists an optimum value for the extent of advanced operation.
An adaptive routing method for computer networks by electric‐circuit modeling
Authors: Oba Nobuyuki , Nakamura Tadao , Shigei Yoshiharu
Published: July 2007

The computer network and multiprocessor system have been developed and studied. They are based on a network composed of nodes containing processors, aiming at the improvement of performance by distributed processing as well as the improvement of reliability by resource distribution. To realize high system performance, adequate routing and flow controls are required in the communication of information among nodes. This paper proposes a new routing control scheme to be used in the packet communication in the computer network or multiprocessor system. The scheme is called potential routing, which models the computer network by an electric circuit, and the packet routing from the source node to the destination node is performed to the potential difference between the adjacent nodes. The node potential is determined first by Kirchhoff's law and is modified dynamically according to the traffic situation during the routing procedure, providing an adequate criterion for the routing. The proposed scheme has a feature in that ping‐pong and loop phenomena, which cause traffic congestion, are not produced in principle. It was verified by simulation that the transmission delay is reduced when the traffic is high or unbalanced.
An identification method of closed regions between line drawings using motion analysis
Authors: Nagao Tomoharu , Agui Takeshi , Nakajima Masayuki
Published: July 2007

In the construction of the animation drawing of people and animals using a computer, a drastic reduction of human effort will be realized by automating the painting process. This paper describes an automatic painting method in which the closed region in two consecutive line drawings containing more than one closed region can be identified by motion analysis. For each point on the contour of the closed region in the line drawing, the deformation vector representing the deformation of the closed region and the motion vector representing the motion of the closed region, are defined. The sum of the products of the lengths of the formation vector and the motion vector over the whole closed region, is regarded as the magnitude of the motion of that closed region. A large number of different motions can be conceived of for the closed region from frame to frame, and the principle is set that the most probable motion among the possible motions is the one which minimizes the sum of the motions of the closed regions. Based on this principle, the closed region is identified by determining the motion of the closed region between the two line drawings. This paper describes the algorithm of the proposed method and the result of application to the actual animation.
A real‐time image processing algorithm for visual inspection of semiconductor wafer patterns
Authors: Sakou Hiroshi , Yoda Haruo , Ejiri Masakazu
Published: July 2007

The following general requirements are made in the visual inspection of the semiconductor wafer: (1) the candidates for the defect should automatically be detected from a complex multivalued pattern; and (2) only serious defects to the reliability of the element are extracted from those candidates. Such sophisticated decisions must be made with a high reliability and a high speed. This paper proposes a method for detecting serious defects as a means to cope with those requirements. The method is composed of the following two steps.
A Word Recognition System with Speaker Adaptation Based on Nonsupervised Learning
Authors: Mizoguchi Riichiro , Kakusho Osamu , Kitano Masaaki , Nishiyama Shizuo , Fujino Norio
Published: July 2007

Learning is one of the most important problems in the speech recognition of unspecified speakers. The authors have already proposed a set of phoneme templates and non‐supervised learning. By that method, a satisfactory result was obtained for the recognition of five Japanese vowels and ten numerals. The learning is essentially a selection of templates, and there was no positive adaptation in the sense that the template matched to each speaker is constructed. To improve further the performance of the learning it is necessary to construct the template which pertinently represents the features of the speaker. The already‐reported scheme is pointed out as unsatisfactory in the adaptation from such a viewpoint. The authors then investigated a new nonsupervised learning algorithm where the traditional learning algorithm is improved to enhance the adaptability, and the phoneme templates are constructed automatically by the nonsupervised learning with a batch processing by storing speech data. This paper discusses the two nonsupervised learning algorithms and the word recognition system containing those algorithms.
Several serializable classes in database concurrency control
Authors: Kiniwa Jin , Nishio Shojiro , Hasegawa Toshiharu
Published: July 2007

This paper considers several serializable classes in database concurrencey control, namely: Δ‐, τ‐, and σ‐serializable classes. It is shown that:

the DITS in a labeled directed graph (proposed by Ibaraki et al. for testing membership of σ‐serializable class) can be extended to both ϵ‐ and Δ‐serializable classes;

several proofs are given that the ϵ‐serializable class is a significant definition of concurrency control, especially in a cautious scheduler model;

the computational complexity of testing membership of ϵ‐ and Δ‐serializable classes is analyzed; and

the inclusion relationship of the preceding three serializable classes under restricted numbers of versions for several types of transaction models is investigated.
An analysis of human postural sway using differential information processing
Authors: Watanabe Yosaku , Yokoyama Kiyoko , Takata Kazuyuki
Published: July 2007

The upright standing posture of human beings is unstable because of the inverted pendulum characteristics of the body. The posture control function is explained in the physiology by the stretch reflexes. The functional properties of the posture control are reflected to the area of body away during standing. Such integrated information as area of body sway and length of locus of body sway is applied to the diagnosis of sensory disabilities affecting posture control and the physical education study, etc. However, there have been few reports on the differential information of body sway. The aim of this study is to propose an extraction method of differential information from the time series of the center of foot pressure (CFP) at standing using an autoregressive model. The differential information proposed here is the velocity, the acceleration, and the wave number of the time series of CFP. It describes the relation between the differential information and integrated information of body sway. The differential information is effective in evaluating the postural reflex during an upright standing task.
A method of analytic phase correction in magnetic resonance imaging and its application to blood‐flow imaging
Authors: Sano Koichi , Yokoyama Tetsuo , Sato Shinichi , Koizumi Hideaki
Published: July 2007

The blood‐flow measurements using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals are categorized roughly into three groups depending upon the nature of underlying information: intensity, frequency or phase. Among them, the method utilizing phase information is attracting particular attention. Since the phase is sensitive to the instrument imperfections, it has been customary to carry out image calculation with corrective image data measured separately. In this case, not only does multiple imaging require time, but image displacement due to the patient's movement comes into question. In this study, the quantitative relationship between the instrument imperfections and the phase shift of image was clarified, a corrective method was established, and the effect of a gradient magnetic field contained in the pulse sequence on a moving material was analyzed. Consequently, it has become possible to determine the velocity of blood flow perpendicular to the cross section with single scan. Finally, the experimental results of velocity measurement using the blood‐flow phantom was compared with the results of simulation.
A process of understanding sentences and use of knowledge
Authors: Itoh Yukihiro , Ohara Hiroyoshi , Shibata Shougo , Tachibana Hirofumi , Shimada You , Takagi Akira
Published: July 2007

The study of how sentences written in natural language are understood includes very important problems in examining human intelligence. At present, however, these problems have not been solved in detail. This paper defines the understanding of sentences as an extraction and organization of information requested for the next intelligent act from sentences.

The act of question answering based on the input sentences is used and the basic process of sentence understanding, knowledge representation for sentence understanding, and the method of application for each of these, are examined.

On the basis of this examination, an experimentally developed system is reported.

In this system, sentences are input one by one. First, a sentence is transferred into the semantic representation in the form of a tree structure. This structure represents the dependency relationships between words. This semantic representation is read in sequential order by the basic processes of verb and noun phrases through matching the semantic representation with the definitive knowledge of the word and the general knowledge of the word in the form of a proposition.

Finally, the proper meaning of polysemic words is identified and the meanings of omitted words and phrases are inferred. Also, some of the background information necessary to sentence understanding is identified.

The results of these inferences are used to construct a frame. They are then connected to the other input sentences and organized to obtain the context information.

After the input sentences have been analyzed, an interrogative sentence is input into the system, the system searches for an answer by referring to the context information, generates the semantic representation of the answer, and outputs its response in Japanese.
An attribute grammar with common attributes and its evaluator in prolog
Authors: Feng An , Sugiyama Yuji , Fujii Mamoru , Torii Koji
Published: July 2007

Attribute grammars (AGs) have been championed in the literature as a potential basis for language‐analysis systems. However, there is a well‐known copy rule problem, that is, 50–70 percent of semantic rules within an AG are copy rules. In this paper, we introduce common attributes into AGs. Common attributes provide a solution to the copy rule problem, reducing copy rules to only about 10 percent. The semantics of common attributes are defined by translating them into synthesized attributes and inherited attributes. The value of these derived attributes are copied from left to right if not defined explicitly. Based on the extended attribute grammar, we have developed a specification language, named PANDA. A prototype system has been constructed to generate Prolog programs from PANDA programs automatically. Our current system is limited to process PANDA programs which belong to L‐attribute grammar (L‐AGs), a subclass of AGs. For a givn grammar G, a necessary and sufficient condition is used to determine whether or not G is an L‐AG. Some optimization strategies are applied to generate faster‐running Prolog programs.
Perspective angle transform—shape from angle
Authors: Shakunaga Takeshi , Kaneko Hiroshi
Published: July 2007

This paper derives the perspective angle transform as a relation between the angle in the three‐dimensional space and its perspective projection. The properties of the transform are discussed, together with its application to the scene interpretation. As the initial step, the first perspective moving coordinate is defined anew, and based on that coordinate, the primary form of the perspective angle transform is derived as a relation composed of three variables. Then the relation is arranged in the coordinate, which is determined only by the apparent angle, and the general form of the perspective angle transform is derived. It is shown that the transform is equivalent to determining the fourth‐order curve on the image. Finally, a problem is considered in which the gradient information should be recovered for three segments separated in the three‐dimensional space. An algebraic solution is shown. The solution is determined using the concept of virtual intersection and the perspective angle transform, based on the perspective moving coordinate

Most of this work is based on the prediction at CVPR '86, provided that the perspective projection is discussedmore strictly.

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Separation and storage method for the elements of map image and the experimental system
Authors: Kameyama Wataru , Oka Hideyuki , Tominaga Hideyoshi
Published: July 2007

This paper aims at a system which receives the image information of a commercially available map, separates the information according to their categories, and stores the information so that re‐editing is possible. Algorithms are proposed by which the map information given as the input image is separated with the least intervention of human operation, and only the incomplete points are indicated by the human observation. An evaluation of the algorithms is presented. In the past, various algorithms have been proposed for the image separation. In this work, an experimental system was constructed to demonstrate the feasibility of constructing the actual system. By the proposed algorithm, most of the characters, roads, coastlines, railways and boundary lines were separated from the black‐and‐white map. The information compression for storage and indexing for retrieval are also performed. The data storage method is discussed. Finally, the map output of the system is described, and several examples of output maps are presented.
PROFIER: A prolog‐based support system for developing picture recognition program
Authors: Endo Tsutomu
Published: July 2007

This paper introduces a Prolog‐based support system for use in developing a picture recognition program. Earlier, an image recognition program was introduced using such items as cigarette packages, tableware, etc. However, because of the disadvantages of that program, a new one was necessitated.

Prolog and Lisp, languages designed for use in artificial intelligence, are more suitable for use in high‐level processing, e.g., image recognition and understanding. However, Prolog shows greater potential for use in writing routines in the recognition process. But Prolog is not very effective in handling numerical calculations involving large amounts of two‐dimensional images. As a result, Prolog systems are examined herein that have been developed using additional features that allow for implementation of other languages and databases.

Here, the PROFIER (PROlog system with Fortran as Image analyzER) system is described. In this system, the knowledge and control structures are written in Prolog, and for raw data processing and image feature extraction, processes that are difficult to handle with Prolog, the system is expanded for programming in FORTRAN. The configuration and characteristics of PROFIER are described, and the performance is evaluated.