bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
La prévention de l'absentéisme du personnel soignant en gériatrie : du savoir académique à l'action managériale
Authors: Randon Sophie , Baret Christophe , Prioul Christine
Published: May 2012

Résumé Compte tenu de son coût, de son impact sur la qualité des soins et des problèmes de gestion des plannings qu’il engendre, la prévention de l’absentéisme est un enjeu majeur pour la GRH des établissements de santé. Pour l’instant, le manager hospitalier est plutôt démuni face à ce fléau. Les travaux académiques sont nombreux mais portent principalement sur les causes de l’absentéisme et n’émettent que des recommandations rarement éprouvées sur le terrain. Le manager doit se contenter d’une littérature professionnelle qui ne présente que quelques actions de prévention très contingentes et peu analysées. Pour aller dans le sens de l’élaboration d’une approche scientifique, à visée pragmatique, des pratiques de prévention de l’absentéisme, nous analysons les pratiques de 13 pôles gériatriques et nous détaillons leurs modalités de mise en œuvre.
Au confluent du droit et de la gestion : la légistique pour évaluer l'utilisation de la dimension entrepreneuriale de la loi sur l'Innovation
Authors: Philippart Pascal
Published: May 2012

Résumé Partant du constat que peu d’entreprises innovantes étaient créées par ou avec des chercheurs publics pour valoriser leurs travaux, le législateur français a voté en 1999 une loi, dite loi sur l’Innovation. Plus de dix ans après, ce dispositif à l’intention entrepreneuriale clairement affichée est-il une réussite ? Son évaluation, inscrite dans le cadre théorique de la légistique, articule les objectifs affichés, leur traduction normative et leur utilisation concrète. Les résultats auxquels nous parvenons sont clairs : la loi est un échec qu’il faut relativiser... Plusieurs explications sont proposées et discutées.
Place de la culture d'entreprise dans un processus d'innovation chez les PME de haute technologie : une étude de cas par comparaison inter sites
Authors: Rave-Habhab Saida
Published: May 2012

Résumé Les entreprises, à l’instar des autres collectivités humaines, ont une culture d’entreprise. Celle-ci est le fruit d’une dynamique complexe où, jouent des facteurs aussi divers que la nature de l’activité, l’histoire de l’organisation et la mémorisation de ses réussites et de ses échecs, la personnalité du dirigeant, etc. Or, l’innovation, par son importance stratégique comme par sa force suggestive et symbolique, constitue un « pivot » crucial de la culture d’entreprise, autour duquel se structurent et se positionnent les représentations collectives constituant la culture de l’entreprise. La reconnaissance de la culture d’entreprise constitue une avancée significative pour l’analyse des processus d’innovation. Elle introduit toutefois un certain nombre d’interrogations, la littérature en la matière restant encore largement exploratoire. Parmi ces questionnements, la nature de relation (interaction) entre l’innovation et la culture d’entreprise ainsi que l’étude des mécanismes de l’émergence d’une culture d’innovation apparaissent encore peu explorées. Nous nous sommes donc intéressés à ces deux volets afin de rendre compte de la complexité de la relation entre innovation et culture d’entreprise. Plus précisément, notre article se propose de répondre aux questions suivantes : « Comment les innovations technologiques et la culture d’entreprise évoluent-elles et s’influencent-elles dans un environnement technologique ? » ; « Quels sont les mécanismes de création d’une culture d’innovation dans leur dimension technologique et organisationnelle ? ». Pour répondre à ces questions, nous avons eu recours à une analyse qualitative reposant sur une étude de cas par inter sites, centrée sur les PME innovantes de haute technologie. Les principaux résultats de notre recherche ont souligné l’existence d’une relation d’influence mutuelle entre innovation et culture d’entreprise. De plus, l’étude des mécanismes de l’émergence de culture d’innovation donne une compréhension plus fine de cette relation. Elle permet enfin de spécifier le rapport entre innovation et culture et souligne l’existence d’une nouvelle forme de rapport à l’innovation et, plus largement aux choix technologiques. Cette forme souligne l’importance (la place) de la culture d’entreprise dans un processus d’innovation.
Knowledge transfer within clusters: the catalyst role of private collective support structures
Authors: Goglio-Primard Karine , Crespin-Mazet Florence
Published: May 2012

Résumé Dans un contexte de globalisation des marchés conduisant les firmes à se recentrer sur leur cœur de métier, les entreprises ont de plus en plus besoin de coopérer avec d’autres firmes pour innover et régénérer leurs ressources. Cette recherche fondée sur une étude de cas exploratoire, vise à comprendre la dynamique conduisant les firmes d’un même pôle de compétitivité à partager leurs connaissances et leur savoir-faire ainsi qu’à co-développer des solutions innovantes. Elle analyse en particulier les rôles de la gouvernance locale dans cette coopération et ce transfert de connaissances. Elle conclut sur le rôle des associations privées, structurées en communautés épistémiques, dans l’animation territoriale.
L'influence des réseaux inter-organisationnels sur les partenariats d'entreprises
Authors: Mandard Matthieu
Published: May 2012

Résumé Depuis la revitalisation de la sociologie économique opérée dans les années 1980, la perspective des réseaux inter-organisationnels a fréquemment été employée dans l’étude de la mise en œuvre des partenariats d’entreprises. Il s’agit ici de présenter une synthèse de ces travaux, en distinguant successivement l’influence des réseaux inter-organisationnels sur la formation, l’implémentation et l’évolution des partenariats d’entreprises.
La dynamique des réseaux de distribution : implications pour les intermédiaires
Authors: Gadde Lars-Erik
Published: May 2012

Résumé Les canaux de distribution ont connu de profondes mutations depuis une trentaine d’années dans les pays occidentaux, tant au plan technologique qu’économique et managérial. Pour certains observateurs, elles conduisent à une inéluctable marginalisation des intermédiaires, notamment les grossistes et les distributeurs industriels. En se plaçant dans une perspective historique, l’article souligne la pertinence de cette vision, mais il indique également que les évolutions contemporaines des canaux de distribution conduisent à repenser de manière plus dynamique les logiques d’intermédiation. La mobilisation du modèle interactionniste développé par l’IMP Group met ainsi en valeur des sources nouvelles de création de valeur dans lesquelles les grossistes et les distributeurs industriels pourraient être fortement impliqués.
Logistique urbaine : refonder les logiques d'intermédiation
Authors: Chanut Odile , Paché Gilles , Wagenhausen Falk
Published: May 2012

Résumé Les questions relatives à la logistique urbaine occupent désormais une place centrale dans la recherche en management. Longtemps confinée à des approches opérationnelles, notamment en termes d’organisation optimale des transports de marchandises dans des villes saturées, la logistique urbaine retient l’attention des chercheurs et des praticiens à partir de modèles stratégiques originaux, mettant l’accent sur l’importance d’une mutualisation des ressources entre entreprises concurrentes. La mutualisation apparaît essentielle à la fois sur un plan économique et sur un plan écologique, mais pose de redoutables problèmes de coordination pour le pilotage des flux. L’article aborde tout particulièrement la thématique de l’intermédiation en contexte de logistique urbaine en référence aux parties prenantes pouvant s’en charger, au premier rang desquelles figurent les prestataires de services logistiques et les grossistes.
Entretien avec le maire de Clichy-sous-Bois
Authors: Dilain Claude
Published: May 2012

Le maire de Clichy-sous-Bois (de 95 à 2011) parle de sa commune – et de la banlieue : « la misère y est entassé, et cela arrange tout le monde ! ». La rénovation du bâtiment ne suffira pas. Elle doit être aussi sociale.
Entre ghetto et citoyenneté
Authors: Roman Joël
Published: May 2012

Que peut vouloir dire la citoyenneté en banlieue dès lors que, face à une politique de la ville à la peine, l’Etat fait du binôme sécurité-immigration l’axe central de son action ?
Les Piigs, la dette et l'anorexie budgétaire
Authors: Giraud Gaël
Published: May 2012

En répondant par l’austérité à l’inquiétude des marchés sur leur dette, les Etats européens se condamnent à la récession, voire à tuer la zone euro. Un scénario qui n’a rien d’inéluctable.
Du bon usage de la prévention dans la santé
Authors: Lecorps Philippe
Published: May 2012

De méfiante, assujettissante à force de prétendre anticiper tous les risques de la vie, la prévention ne pourrait-elle devenir, simplement, prévenante ?
Les éducateurs au défi du contrôle social
Authors: Verney Pierre
Published: May 2012

La prévention auprès des jeunes est un défi permanent, surtout lorsqu’ils sont stigmatisés par le discours sécuritaire. Parole d’éducateur.
Vers un contre-pouvoir aux banques ?
Authors: Canfin Pascal
Published: May 2012

Le Parlement européen, nid de lobbyistes, doit se faire incubateur de la société civile pour avancer avec justesse sur la question de la régulation financière. A l’image des Américains, la société civile s’érigerait en contre-pouvoir. Ses aspirations seraient concrétisées dans des lois.
La communauté illusoire
Authors: Renouard Camille
Published: May 2012

Resumé Marc Augé, La communauté illusoire , Rivages, 2010, 52 p., 6 €
L'Église, le pouvoir et les religions dans la mondialisation
Authors: Perrot Étienne
Published: May 2012

Resumé Giancarlo Zizola, L’Église, le pouvoir et les religions dans la mondialisation , Desclée de Brouwer, 2010, 308 p., 32 €
La justice dans la peau. Géopolitique de l'action humanitaire
Authors: Carcelle Sébastien
Published: May 2012

Resumé Denis Viénot, La justice dans la peau. Géopolitique de l’action humanitaire , DDB, 2010, 386 p., 25 €
L'abondance frugale. Pour une nouvelle solidarité
Authors: Laurent Henri
Published: May 2012

Resumé Jean-Baptiste de Foucauld, L’abondance frugale. Pour une nouvelle solidarité , Odile Jacob, 2010, 215 p., 23 €
Donner et prendre : la coopération en entreprise
Authors: Trépanier Jason
Published: May 2012

Resumé Norbert Alter, Donner et prendre : la coopération en entreprise , La Découverte, 2009, 231 p., 20 €
Qu'est-ce que l'argent ?
Authors: Perrot Étienne
Published: May 2012

Resumé Patrick Lang, Qu’est-ce que l’argent  ? , Vrin, 2009, 126 p., 8 €
Raison et religion, la dialectique de la sécularisation
Authors: Corset Paul
Published: May 2012

Resumé Jürgen Habermas et Joseph Ratzinger, Raison et religion, la dialectique de la sécularisation , Éd. Salvator, 2010, 96 p., 12 €
L'argent
Authors: Perrot Étienne
Published: May 2012

Resumé Michel Wieviorka (dir.), L’argent , Éd. Sciences humaines, 2010, 250 p., 22 €
Plaidoyer pour la mondialisation
Authors: Galenna Yann
Published: May 2012

Resumé Jagdish Bhagwati, Plaidoyer pour la mondialisation , préface de Pascal Lamy, Odile Jacob, 2010, 364 p., 29 €
Wave Propagation in Filamental Cellular Automata
Authors: Gibbons Alan , Amos Martyn
Published: May 2012

Motivated by questions in biology and distributed computing, the authors investigate the behaviour of particular cellular automata, modelled as one-dimensional arrays of identical finite automata. They investigate what kinds of self-stabilising cooperative behaviour may be induced in terms of waves of cellular state changes along a filament of cells. The authors report the minimum requirements, in terms of numbers of states and the range of communication between automata, for this behaviour to be observed in individual filaments. They also discover that populations of growing filaments may have useful features not possessed by individual filaments, and they report the results of numerical simulations.
A Grasp with Path-Relinking for the Workover Rig Scheduling Problem
Authors: Pacheco Alexandre Venturin Faccin , Ribeiro Glaydston Mattos , Mauri Geraldo Regis
Published: May 2012

Onshore oil wells depend on special services like cleaning, reinstatement and stimulation. These services, which are performed by a short number of workover rigs, are important to keep oil production as optimum as possible. Consequently, scheduling must be determined, where several factors interfere, such as production, service to be performed on each well, and time windows for each service. When a well needs service, its production is interrupted. In this regard, the workover rig scheduling problem consists of finding the best sequence of wells, which minimizes the production loss associated with the wells waiting for maintenance. In this paper, the authors present a Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure (GRASP) with Path-Relinking (PR) to solve this problem. Computational results are obtained from real problems of a Brazilian oil field.
A New Differential Evolution Based Metaheuristic for Discrete Optimization
Authors: Prado Ricardo Sérgio , Silva Rodrigo César Pedrosa , Guimarães Frederico Gadelha , Neto Oriane M.
Published: May 2012

The Differential Evolution (DE) algorithm is an important and powerful evolutionary optimizer in the context of continuous numerical optimization. Recently, some authors have proposed adaptations of its differential mutation mechanism to deal with combinatorial optimization, in particular permutation-based integer combinatorial problems. In this paper, the authors propose a novel and general DE-based metaheuristic that preserves its interesting search mechanism for discrete domains by defining the difference between two candidate solutions as a list of movements in the search space. In this way, the authors produce a more meaningful and general differential mutation for the context of combinatorial optimization problems. The movements in the list can then be applied to other candidate solutions in the population as required by the differential mutation operator. This paper presents results on instances of the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) and the N-Queen Problem (NQP) that suggest the adequacy of the proposed approach for adapting the differential mutation to discrete optimization.
Memetic and Evolutionary Design of Wireless Sensor Networks Based on Complex Network Characteristics
Authors: Ruela André Siqueira , Cabral Raquel da Silva , Aquino André Luiz Lins , Guimarães Frederico Gadelha
Published: May 2012

This work proposes the design of wireless sensor networks using evolutionary algorithms based on complex network measures. In this paper, the authors develop heuristic approaches based on genetic and memetic algorithms for finding a network configuration based on two complex network measures, the average shortest path length, and the cluster coefficient. The work begins with the mathematical model of the hub allocation problem, developed to determine the nodes that will be configured as hubs. This model was adopted within the basic and the hybrid genetic algorithm, and results reveal that the methodology allows the configuration of networks with more than a hundred nodes where some complex network measures are observed in the physical communication layer. The energy consumption and the delay could be reduced when a tree based routing is built over this physical layer.
An Improved Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm for the Object Recognition Problem in Complex Digital Images Using Template Matching
Authors: Chidambaram Chidambaram , Lopes Heitor Silvério
Published: May 2012

In this paper, the authors present an improved Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm (ABC) for the object recognition problem in complex digital images. The ABC is a new metaheuristics approach inspired by the collective foraging behavior of honey bee swarms. The objective is to find a pattern or reference image (template) of an object somewhere in a target landscape scene that may contain noise and changes in brightness and contrast. First, several search strategies were tested to find the most appropriate. Next, many experiments were done using complex digital grayscale and color images. Results are analyzed and compared with other algorithms through Pareto plots and graphs that show that the improved ABC was more efficient than the original ABC.
Robust Design of Power Distribution Systems Using an Enhanced Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm
Authors: Taroco Cristiane G. , Carrano Eduardo G. , Neto Oriane M.
Published: May 2012

The growing importance of electric distribution systems justifies new investments in their expansion and evolution. It is well known in the literature that optimization techniques can provide better allocation of the financial resources available for such a task, reducing total installation costs and power losses. In this work, the NSGA-II algorithm is used for obtaining a set of efficient solutions with regard to three objective functions, that is cost, reliability, and robustness. Initially, a most likely load scenario is considered for simulation. Next, the performances of the solutions achieved by the NSGA-II are evaluated under different load scenarios, which are generated by means of Monte Carlo Simulations. A Multi-objective Sensitivity Analysis is performed for selecting the most robust solutions. Finally, those solutions are submitted to a local search algorithm to estimate a Pareto set composed of just robust solutions only.
Conspecific Emotional Cooperation Biases Population Dynamics
Authors: Olsen Megan M. , Harrington Kyle I. , Siegelmann Hava T.
Published: May 2012

In this paper, the authors evaluate the benefit of emotions in population dynamics and evolution. The authors enhance cellular automata (CA) simulating the interactions of competing populations with emotionally inspired rules in communication, interpretation, and action. While CAs have been investigated in studies of population dynamics due to their ability to capture spatial interactions, emotion-like interactions have yet to be considered. Our cellular stochastic system describes interacting foxes that feed on rabbits that feed on carrots. Emotions enable foxes and rabbits to improve their decisions and share their experiences with neighboring conspecifics. To improve the system’s biological relevance, it includes inter-species disease transmission, and emotions encode data pertaining to both survival and epidemic reduction. Results indicate that emotions increase adaptability, help control disease, and improve survival for the species that utilizes them. Simulations support the hypothesis that the acquisition of emotion may be an evolutionary result of competitive species interactions.
Life Cycle Cost Considerations in Seismic Design Optimization of Structures
Authors: Gencturk Bora , Elnashai Amr S.
Published: May 2012

The life-cycle cost (LCC) of a structure in seismic regions, which includes the initial and the post-earthquake repair cost, is a critical parameter for structural engineers and other stakeholders. The LCC analysis has been gaining prominence in recent years since civil infrastructure sustainability has been identified as one of the grand challenges for engineering in the 21st century. The objective of this chapter is to first identify the components in LCC evaluation that directly affect the outcomes, and propose strategies to improve the reliability of the analysis. The shortcomings of existing studies on LCC optimization of structures are identified. These shortcomings include simplified analysis techniques to determine the structural capacity and earthquake demand, use of generalized definitions for structural limit states, and inadequacies in treating uncertainty. In the following, the problem formulation and a brief review of existing literature on LCC optimization of structures are provided. A LCC model is presented, and techniques are proposed to improve the above mentioned shortcomings. Finally, LCC analysis of an example reinforced concrete (RC) structure is employed to illustrate the methodology.
A Multi-Hazard Framework for Optimum Life-Cycle Cost Design of Reinforced Concrete Bridges
Authors: Alipour Azadeh , Shafei Behrouz , Shinozuka Masanobu
Published: May 2012

This chapter provides a comprehensive procedure for the time-dependant structural performance evaluation and life-cycle cost analysis of reinforced concrete highway bridges located in extreme chloride-laden environments. The penetration of chloride ions into the concrete is simulated through a finite difference approach, which takes into account all the parameters that can affect the corrosion process. From simulation results, the corrosion initiation time is predicted and the extent of structural degradation is calculated over the entire life of bridge. A group of detailed bridge models with various structural attributes are developed to evaluate the changes in the structural capacity and seismic response of corroded bridges. For the purpose of the probabilistic seismic risk assessment of bridges, the seismic fragility curves are generated and updated at regular time intervals. The time-dependent fragility parameters are employed to investigate the life-cycle cost of bridges by introducing a performance index which combines the effects of probable seismic events and chloride-induced corrosion. The proposed approach provides a multi-hazard framework, which leads to more realistic performance and cost estimates. It also indicates the inspection and maintenance intervals in a way that the inspection and maintenance costs are optimized, while the safety of bridge is ensured.
Damage Assessment of Inelastic Structures under Simulated Critical Earthquakes
Authors: Moustafa Abbas
Published: May 2012

Damage of structures can be significantly reduced through robust prediction of possible future earthquakes that can occur during the life-time of the structure and through accurate modeling of the nonlinear behavior of the structure under seismic loads. Modern seismic codes specify natural records and artificially generated ground accelerations as input to the nonlinear time-history analysis of the structure. The advantage of using natural records is the inclusion of all important characteristics of the ground motion (fault properties, path effects and local soil condition) in the design input. This option requires selecting and scaling a set of proper accelerograms from the available records. However, the site under consideration may have limited or scarce earthquake data. In such case, numerically simulated ground motions can be employed as input to the dynamic analysis of the structure. This chapter deals with the damage assessment of inelastic structures under numerically simulated critical earthquakes using nonlinear optimization, inelastic time-history analysis, and damage indices.
Optimal Seismic Performance-Based Design of Reinforced Concrete Buildings
Authors: Zou Xiao-Kang
Published: May 2012

In order to meet the emerging trend of the performance-based design approach and to improve the design efficiency, this chapter presents a numerical optimization technique for both minimum material cost and life-cycle cost design of building structures subject to multiple levels of linear elastic and nonlinear elastic seismic drift performance design constraints. This chapter firstly introduces an elastic seismic drift design of reinforced concrete (RC) building structures based on elastic response spectrum analysis method; and then presents the inelastic design optimization based on the nonlinear pushover analysis method. Finally, the optimal seismic performance-based design of RC buildings is posed as a multi-objective optimization problem in which the life-cycle cost of a building is to be minimised subject to multiple levels of seismic performance design criteria. The computer based optimization methodology developed provides a powerful numerical design tool for performance-based design of RC building structures.
Overall Conceptual Seismic Design and Local Seismic Capacity Design for Components of Bridges
Authors: Yuan Wan-Cheng , Zheng Yu-Guo , Cheung Pak-Chiu
Published: May 2012

From the perspective of “overall conceptual seismic design,” four design strategies are presented to decrease and balance the seismic force and displacement demands for some bridges working in a linear and elastic state: the adjustment of the layout and detail of piers and expansion joints for a typical long span continuous girder bridge, the adoption of a new-type spatial bridge tower for a long span cable-stayed bridge, the study on the isolation mechanism of an elastic cable seismic isolation device for another cable-stayed bridge, and the study on the seismic potential and performance for long span SCC (steel-concrete composite) bridges. From the perspective of “local seismic capacity design,” three earthquake resistant strategies are presented to achieve economical, applicable, and valid seismic design of local components of bridges working in a nonlinear state: the adoption and the study on a new cable sliding friction aseismic bearing, the study on the seismic capacities of single-column bridge piers wholly and locally reinforced with steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC), the study on the seismic capacities, and the hysteretic performance and energy dissipation capabilities of bridge pile group foundations strengthened with the steel protective pipes (SPPs). Research results show that these seismic design strategies are effective to improve the seismic performance of bridges.
Fuzzy Identification of Seismically Excited Smart Systems
Authors: Kim JinSeop , Kim Yeesock , El-Korchi Tahar
Published: May 2012

In this chapter, a nonlinear modeling framework to identify nonlinear behavior of smart structural systems under seismic excitations is proposed. To this end, multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) autoregressive exogenous (ARX) input models and Takagi-Sugeno (TS) fuzzy models are coalesced as the MIMO ARX-TS fuzzy model. The premised part of the proposed MIMO ARX-TS fuzzy model is optimized using the hierarchical clustering (HRC) algorithm, while its consequent parameters are optimized via the weighted linear least squares estimation. The performance of the proposed model is investigated using the dynamic response of a three-story shear planer frame structure equipped with a magnetorheological (MR) damper subject to earthquake disturbances. Furthermore, the impact of the HRC algorithm on the performance of the MIMO ARX-TS fuzzy model is compared with that of the subtractive and the fuzzy C-means clustering algorithms. The equivalence of the original and identified data is numerically shown to prove that the HRC MIMO ARX-TS fuzzy model introduced here is effective in estimating nonlinear behavior of a seismically excited building-MR damper system.
Fault Injection for On-Board ERTMS/ETCS Safety Assessment
Authors: Arriola Almir Villaro , Samper Jon Mendizabal , Lagunilla Juan Meléndez
Published: May 2012

On-Board ERTMS/ETCS equipment performs safety related functions where the tolerable hazard rate is kept below 10-9 f/h. Safety standards such as EN50129 or IEC61508 impose requirements on the architecture used to fulfill this safety figure and the associated Safety Integrity Level (SIL). From these standards, the mandatory use of redundancy and physical independence can be derived. Due to the introduction of these requirements, a new functionality is added at the system level (e.g. majority voting processes among redundant lines). Unfortunately, neither the safety nor the interoperability standards provide technical specification that defines how to test the performance of the complete system when internal malfunction has occurred in safety related components. This chapter proposes the use of fault injection techniques to facilitate safety assessment. By means of communication saboteurs, it is possible to excite and test the associated internal functionality in systems performing safety related functions. The chapter also contributes to the definition of the test setup and test procedure of the architecture-associated safety-related internal functionality of the SIL4 odometer and Balise Transmission Module (BTM) subsystems within the on-board European Railway Traffic Management System/ European Train Control System (ERTMS/ETCS).
Real-Time Hardware-in-the-Loop in Railway
Authors: Baccari Silvio , Cammeo Giulio , Dufour Christian , Iannelli Luigi , Mungiguerra Vincenzo , Porzio Mario , Reale Gabriella , Vasca Francesco
Published: May 2012

The increasing complexity of modern ground vehicles is making crucial the role of control for improving energetic efficiency, comfort and performance. At the same time, the control software must be frequently updated in order to let the vehicle respond safely and efficiently within more sophisticated environments and to optimize the operations when new vehicle components are integrated. In this framework real-time hardware-in-the-loop simulations represent a fundamental tool for supporting the verification and validation processes of the control software and hardware. In this chapter a railway case study will be presented. The mathematical models of the most relevant electromechanical components of the vehicle powertrain are presented: the pantograph connected to an ideal overhead line with continuous voltage; the electrical components of a pre-charge circuit, the line filter and the braking chopper; the three-phase voltage source inverter and the induction motor; and, finally, the mechanical transmission system, including its interactions with the rail. Then the issues related to the real-time simulation of the locomotive components models are discussed, concentrating on challenges related to the stiff nature of the dynamic equations and on their numerical integration by combining field programmable gate array (FPGA) and central processing unit (CPU) boards. The usefulness of the real-time hardware-in-the-loop simulations for the analysis of railway control software will be demonstrated by considering the powertrains of two real metropolitan trains under complex scenarios, i.e., stator winding disconnection of the induction motor, pantograph missing contact, wheel-rail slipping phenomenon.
Hardware-In-the-Loop Testing of On-Board Subsystems
Authors: Pugi Luca , Allotta Benedetto
Published: May 2012

In this chapter some case-studies, based on typical topics of industrial research for railways, are introduced in order to emphasize some aspects of the mechatronic design with a particular attention to the integration of actuation systems into rig design.
The Role of Formal Methods in Software Development for Railway Applications
Authors: Fantechi Alessandro
Published: May 2012

Formal methods for thirty years have promised to be the solution for the safety certification headaches of railway software designers. This chapter looks at the current industrial application of formal methods in the railway domain. After a recall of the dawning of formal methods in this domain, recent trends are presented that focus in particular on formal verification by means of model checking engines, with its potential and limitations. The paper ends with a perspective into the next future, in which formal methods will be expected to pervade in more respects the production of railway software and systems.
Designing Usable Interactive Systems within the Railway Domain
Authors: Jellentrup Nina , Meyer zu Hörste Michael
Published: May 2012

Train drivers as well as signallers interact with several computer based information and communication systems to ensure safe and effective train operations. So far the technical progress mostly determines the design of such interactive systems and requirements out of a human factors perspective are not integrated. Beside the development of technical functions it is essential to take the usability as a quality attribute of every interactive system into account. If the usability is not considered during system development, it could occur that there are several functions available within a system but the user does not know how to use them in an efficient way. This chapter describes a psychological approach to design or redesign usable interactive systems within the railway domain. Some examples will be discussed to demonstrate the approach and the results.
Advanced Techniques for Monitoring the Condition of Mission-Critical Railway Equipment
Authors: Roberts Clive , Silmon Joe
Published: May 2012

This chapter provides an overview of advanced techniques for monitoring the condition of mission-critical railway assets. The safe operation of railways depends on a large number of geographically distributed components, each of which has a low cost when compared to the highly complex arrangements of assets found in other industries, such as rolling mills and chemical plants. Failure of any one of these components usually results in a degradation of service in order to maintain safety, and is thus very costly to modern railway operators, who are required to compensate their customers when delays occur. In this chapter, techniques for industrial condition monitoring are reviewed, highlighting the main approaches and their applicability, advantages, and disadvantages. The chapter first makes some basic definitions of faults, failures, and machine conditions. The analysis of faults through methods such as Fault Tree Analysis and Failure Modes Effects Analysis are examined. The field of fault diagnosis is then reviewed, partitioning into the three main areas: numeric/analytical models, qualitative models, and data/history-based methods. Some of the key approaches within each of these areas will be explained at a high level, compared, and contrasted.
Security of Railway Infrastructures
Authors: Di Febbraro A. , Papa F. , Sacco N.
Published: May 2012

The chapter is organized as follows: In section 1, the basic definitions of the security risk analysis and the characteristics of the railway security problem are introduced, and a bibliography review is reported. Then, in section 2, the general architecture for designing a security risk analysis tool is presented, focusing on the relevant specifications, and on the input/output characteristics. Therefore, in section 3, with the aim of pointing out the characteristics of the presented architecture, an explicative case study is defined based on real world data coming from Italian railways. Finally, some conclusions and remarks are discussed in chapter 4.
ETCS Developing and Operation
Authors: Malangone Raffaele , Senesi Fabio
Published: May 2012

This testing process in ETCS laboratories has been useful not only before the putting the ETCS in service but also for the reconfiguration of the actual ETCS lines as it would be hard to do so many test scenario during a commercial service. These activities have been replicated several times, for example, to reach the actual ETCS version compliant to the UNISIG 2.3.0d.The success of the formal language analysis of Test-Specifications has also encouraged the RFI ETCS group to develop a state-charts model of the functional specification. This work is actually in progress but a first result, on the logical behavior of the system at the transition with a historical signalling system, has been done and validated.
Self-Evolvable Protocol Design Using Genetic Algorithms
Authors: Yao Wenbing , Guan Sheng-Uei , Jiang Zhiqiang , Kiourktsidis Ilias
Published: May 2012

Self-modifying protocols (SMP) are protocols that can be modified at run time by the computers using them. Such protocols can be modified at run time so that they can adapt to the changing communicating environment and user requirements on the fly. Evolvable protocols are SMP designed using Genetic Algorithms (GA). The purpose of this paper is to apply Genetic Algorithms (GA) to design an evolvable protocol in order to equip communication peers with more autonomy and intelligence. The next-generation Internet will benefit from the concept of evolvable protocols. In this paper, we design a Self Evolvable Transaction Protocol (SETP) with a GA executor embedded. We then use the Network Simulator (NS2) to evaluate this evolvable protocol module to demonstrate the feasibility of our new design approach.
Facial Feature Tracking via Evolutionary Multiobjective Optimization
Authors: Larson Eric C. , Yen Gary G.
Published: May 2012

Facial feature tracking for model–based coding has evolved over the past decades. Of particular interest is its application in very low bit rate coding in which optimization is used to analyze head and shoulder sequences. We present the results of a computational experiment in which we apply a combination of non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm and a deterministic search to find optimal facial animation parameters at many bandwidths simultaneously. As objective functions are concerned, peak signal-to-noise ratio is maximized while the total number of facial animation parameters is minimized. Particularly, the algorithm is tested for efficiency and reliability. The results show that the overall methodology works effectively, but that a better error assessment function is needed for future study.
Comparative Study of Evolutionary Computing Methods for Parameter Estimation of Power Quality Signals
Authors: Pandi V. Ravikumar , Panigrahi B. K.
Published: May 2012

Recently utilities and end users become more concerned about power quality issues because the load equipments are more sensitive to various power quality disturbances, such as harmonics and voltage fluctuation. Harmonic distortion and voltage flicker are the major causes in growing concern about electric power quality. Power quality disturbance monitoring plays an important role in the deregulated power market scenario due to competitiveness among the utilities. This paper presents an evolutionary algorithm approach based on Adaptive Particle Swarm Optimization (APSO) to determine the amplitude, phase and frequency of a power quality signal. In this APSO algorithm the time varying inertia weight is modified as rank based, and re-initialization is used to increase the diversity. In this paper, to the authors highlight the efficacy of different evolutionary optimization techniques like classical PSO, Constriction based PSO, Clonal Algorithm (CLONALOG), Adaptive Bacterial Foraging (ABF) and the proposed Adaptive Particle Swarm Optimization (APSO) to extract different parameters like amplitude, phase and frequency of harmonic distorted power quality signal and voltage flicker.
A Scheduling Model with Multi-Objective Optimization for Computational Grids using NSGA-II
Authors: Raza Zahid , Vidyarthi Deo P.
Published: May 2012

Scheduling a job on the grid is an NP Hard problem, and hence a number of models on optimizing one or other characteristic parameters have been proposed in the literature. It is expected from a computational grid to complete the job quickly in most reliable grid environment owing to the number of participants in the grid and the scarcity of the resources available. Genetic algorithm is an effective tool in solving problems that requires sub-optimal solutions and finds uses in multi-objective optimization problems. This paper addresses a multi-objective optimization problem by introducing a scheduling model for a modular job on a computational grid with a dual objective, minimizing the turnaround time and maximizing the reliability of the job execution using NSGA – II, a GA variant. The cost of execution on a node is measured on the basis of the node characteristics, the job attributes and the network properties. Simulation study and a comparison of the results with other similar models reveal the effectiveness of the model.
Using Evolution Strategies to Perform Stellar Population Synthesis for Galaxy Spectra from SDSS
Authors: Gomez Juan Carlos , Fuentes Olac
Published: May 2012

In this work, the authors employ Evolution Strategies (ES) to automatically extract a set of physical parameters, corresponding to stellar population synthesis, from a sample of galaxy spectra taken from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). This parameter extraction is presented as an optimization problem and being solved using ES. The idea is to reconstruct each galaxy spectrum by means of a linear combination of three different theoretical models for stellar population synthesis. This combination produces a model spectrum that is compared with the original spectrum using a simple difference function. The goal is to find a model that minimizes this difference, using ES as the algorithm to explore the parameter space. This paper presents experimental results using a set of 100 spectra from SDSS Data Release 2 that show that ES are very well suited to extract stellar population parameters from galaxy spectra. Additionally, in order to better understand the performance of ES in this problem, a comparison with two well known stochastic search algorithms, Genetic Algorithms (GA) and Simulated Annealing (SA), is presented.
A Novel Puzzle Based Compaction (PBC) Strategy for Enhancing the Utilization of Reconfigurable Resources
Authors: Saleh Ahmed I.
Published: May 2012

Partially reconfigurable field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) can accommodate several independent tasks simultaneously. FPGA, as all reconfigurable chips, relies on the “host-then-compact-when-needed” strategy. Accordingly, it should have the ability to both place incoming tasks at run time and compact the chip whenever needed. Compaction is a proposed solution to alleviate external fragmentations problem, trying to move running tasks closer to each other in order to free a sufficient area for new tasks. However, compaction conditions the suspension of the running tasks, which introduces a high penalty. In order to increase the chip area utilization as well as not affecting the response times of tasks, efficient compaction techniques become increasingly important. Unfortunately, traditional compaction techniques suffer from a variety of faults. This paper introduces a novel Puzzle Based Compaction (PBC) technique that is a shape aware technique, which takes the tasks shapes into consideration. In this regard, it succeeded not only to eliminate the internal fragmentations but also to minimize the external fragmentations. This paper develops a novel formula, which is the first not to estimate, but to exactly calculate the amount of external fragmentations generated by accommodating a set of tasks inside the reconfigurable chip.
Estimate of PRNU Noise Based on Different Noise Models for Source Camera Identification
Authors: Amerini Irene , Caldelli Roberto , Cappellini Vito , Picchioni Francesco , Piva Alessandro
Published: May 2012

Identification of the source that has generated a digital content is considered one of the main open issues in multimedia forensics community. The extraction of photo-response non-uniformity (PRNU) noise has been so far indicated as a mean to identify sensor fingerprint. Such a fingerprint can be estimated from multiple images taken by the same camera by means of a de-noising filtering operation. In this paper, the authors propose a novel method for estimating the PRNU noise in source camera identification. In particular, a MMSE digital filter in the un-decimated wavelet domain, based on a signal-dependent noise model, is introduced and compared with others commonly adopted for this purpose. A theoretical framework and experimental results are provided and discussed.
Source Camera Identification Based on Sensor Readout Noise
Authors: Chennamma H. R. , Rangarajan Lalitha
Published: May 2012

A digitally developed image is a viewable image (TIFF/JPG) produced by a camera’s sensor data (raw image) using computer software tools. Such images might use different colour space, demosaicing algorithms or by different post processing parameter settings which are not the one coded in the source camera. In this regard, the most reliable method of source camera identification is linking the given image with the sensor of camera. In this paper, the authors propose a novel approach for camera identification based on sensor’s readout noise. Readout noise is an important intrinsic characteristic of a digital imaging sensor (CCD or CMOS) and it cannot be removed. This paper quantitatively measures readout noise of the sensor from an image using the mean-standard deviation plot, while in order to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach, the authors tested against the images captured at two different exposure levels. Results show datasets containing 1200 images acquired from six different cameras of three different brands. The success of proposed method is corroborated through experiments.
Spatio-Temporal Just Noticeable Distortion Model Guided Video Watermarking
Authors: Niu Yaqing , Krishnan Sridhar , Zhang Qin
Published: May 2012

Perceptual Watermarking should take full advantage of the results from human visual system (HVS) studies. Just noticeable distortion (JND), which refers to the maximum distortion that the HVS does not perceive, gives a way to model the HVS accurately. An effective Spatio-Temporal JND model guided video watermarking scheme in DCT domain is proposed in this paper. The watermarking scheme is based on the design of an additional accurate JND visual model which incorporates spatial Contrast Sensitivity Function (CSF), temporal modulation factor, retinal velocity, luminance adaptation and contrast masking. The proposed watermarking scheme, where the JND model is fully used to determine scene-adaptive upper bounds on watermark insertion, allows providing the maximum strength transparent watermark. Experimental results confirm the improved performance of the Spatio-Temporal JND model. The authors’ Spatio-Temporal JND model is capable of yielding higher injected-watermark energy without introducing noticeable distortion to the original video sequences and outperforms the relevant existing visual models. Simulation results show that the proposed Spatio-Temporal JND model guided video watermarking scheme is more robust than other algorithms based on the relevant existing perceptual models while retaining the watermark transparency.
Watermark-Only Security Attack on DM-QIM Watermarking
Authors: Matam B. R. , Lowe David
Published: May 2012

This paper addresses the security of a specific class of common watermarking methods based on Dither modulation-quantisation index modulation (DM-QIM) and focusing on watermark-only attacks (WOA). The vulnerabilities of and probable attacks on lattice structure based watermark embedding methods have been presented in the literature. DM-QIM is one of the best known lattice structure based watermarking techniques. In this paper, the authors discuss a watermark-only attack scenario (the attacker has access to a single watermarked content only). In the literature it is an assumption that DM-QIM methods are secure to WOA. However, the authors show that the DM-QIM based embedding method is vulnerable against a guided key guessing attack by exploiting subtle statistical regularities in the feature space embeddings for time series and images. Using a distribution-free algorithm, this paper presents an analysis of the attack and numerical results for multiple examples of image and time series data.
Cryptopometry as a Methodology for Investigating Encrypted Material
Authors: McGrath Niall , Gladyshev Pavel , Carthy Joe
Published: May 2012

When encrypted material is discovered during a digital investigation and the investigator cannot decrypt the material then he or she is faced with the problem of how to determine the evidential value of the material. This research is proposing a methodology titled Cryptopometry. Cryptopometry extracts probative value from the encrypted file of a hybrid cryptosystem. Cryptopometry also incorporates a technique for locating the original plaintext file. Since child pornography (KP) images and terrorist related information (TI) are transmitted in encrypted formats, the digital investigator must ask the question Cui Bono?—who benefits or who is the recipient? By following Cryptopometry, the scope of the digital investigation can be extended to reveal the intended recipient. The derivation of the term Cryptopometry is also described and explained.