With the economic recovery gaining momentum, travel experts predict that tourism in all regions will increase in 2010 by an estimated 3% to 4%. 1 This increase in travel is forecasted to exceed 5% in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, where the risk of acquiring meningococcal disease or becoming a carrier is higher. 2 When evaluating the need for vaccination in travelers, particularly for those traveling to developing world countries, it is important to consider not only the incidence rate but also the impact of the respective infection (Figure 1). 3 As an example, meningococcal disease is rarely reported in travelers, but the impact of this infection can be as devastating for travelers as for any other individual. With its rapid clinical course and narrow window for diagnosis, the potential for negative outcomes from meningococcal disease may be increased particularly in travelers to remote locations where access to adequate health care facilities and antibiotics is limited. There is an additional public health concern with meningococcal infection, as travelers who are carriers may spread the infection in the society back home. Impact and incidence of vaccineâpreventable diseases in travelers to developing countries. 3 PPD = purified protein derivative, a tuberculin test. Outbreaks of meningococcal disease frequently occurred among Hajj pilgrims, their contacts, and thereafter even in persons without known contacts prior to 2002, when authorities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia issued a quadrivalent meningococcal vaccination requirement to obtain a Hajj visa. 4,5 Otherwise meningococcal disease usually has been considered to be rare among travelers (Figure 2). 6 A single retrospective survey has attempted to quantify the risk of meningococcal disease among international travelers originating in industrialized countries. 7 Health authorities in 56 of 108 contacted countries (51.9%) completed questionnaires concerning reported cases of meningococcal disease, and tourism data were derived from statistics provided by the World Tourism Organization and national tourism authorities for the study period (1986â1989). On the basis of 13 cases imported to 56 countries, a monthly incidence rate of 0.4 per million was extrapolated, which corresponds to approximately 0.4 per 100,000 population per year. 7 When this rate is compared with the commonly quoted annual incidence rate of 0.5 to 10 cases per 100,000 population in industrialized countries, 8,9 it appears that ordinary travel does not result in an increased risk for meningococcal disease. Incidence rate per month of vaccineâpreventable diseases in developing countriesâ2010. 4 CFR = case fatality rate. As in the general population, infections in travelers can occur in healthy persons without any apparent risk factors and regardless of the type of traveling or the travel destination. In the past few years, a number of anecdotal reports of meningococcal disease among travelers have been published (Table 1). 10â15 An additional six cases, which so far are unpublished, have been detected in the GeoSentinel, a worldwide communication and data collection network for the surveillance of travelârelated morbidity. 16 Among them, two occurred after a visit to Disney World (Pat Schlagenhauf, personal communication). This demonstrates that, among travelers, meningococcal disease may occur in all parts of the world and in various types of travelersâtrekkers, leisure and business travelers, students, and pilgrimsâand in all age groups. As in the population affected at home, children and young travelers were most frequently affected. Some of the cases of meningococcal disease in travelers reported in recent years confirm what we know from data in other populations: environmental risk is increased by staying in dormitories, 11,15 educational or military institutions, 17,18 and refugee camps 19 and by attending sporting events 20,21 and discotheques. 22 Clusters of meningococcal disease caused by the same strain have occurred in children whose connection was riding the same school bus, 23 which indicates there could be potential for transmission aboard tour buses. Almost 30 years ago during an outbreak situation, six trekkers fell ill in Nepal. 24 The sum of these examples illustrates that the risk of meningococcal disease in travelers can vary based on destination, mode of transport, type of accommodation, and reason for travel/destination activities. While highârisk groups can be determined primarily on theoretical and general epidemiological considerations, there is no zero risk in any traveler. Anecdotal cases of meningococcal disease in travelers, 1996 to 2008 10â15 Anecdotal cases of meningococcal disease in travelers, 1996 to 2008 10â15 International travelers can also facilitate the global spread of meningococcal disease. Until 2002, this occurred almost annually after the Hajj. However, potentially risks may still occur, as illustrated by a 2009 case of an individual aged 43 years who contracted a fluoroquinoloneâresistant strain of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A. 12 The patient developed symptoms within 24 hours of returning to Italy after traveling to Delhi and Chennai in India, with a stopover of a few hours in Frankfurt, Germany. Although the patient had no known contact with anyone in India with previous or current meningococcal disease, testing revealed the strain was the same that had caused epidemics in the area in 2005 to 2006. Fortunately, no known secondary cases have been reported in Italy. 12 During epidemics of meningococcal disease in subâSaharan Africa, the soâcalled African meningitis belt that stretches from Senegal to Ethiopia, as many as 1,000 per 100,000 population may be affected. 25 Recently, the epidemicâsusceptible area has been expanded to GuineaâBissau, Guinea, the Ivory Coast, Togo, the Central African Republic, and Eritrea. 8 Countries around the Rift Valley and Great Lakes regions are also now considered to be at risk (Figure 3).26,27 Predicted probability of epidemic experience of meningococcal meningitis. 26 The risk of meningococcal disease in the population in this area is particularly elevated during the dry season between December and June because of dust winds and background upper respiratory tract infections. However, due to the dynamics of climate variability, risk exists somewhat all year. Population displacements, such as when nomads and farmers congregate in traditional market areas, and overcrowded living conditions can increase the risk of transmission and contribute to epidemics of disease. 28 According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in the 2009 epidemic season, 78,416 suspected cases of meningococcal disease, including 4,053 deaths, were reported in 14 African countries implementing enhanced surveillance techniques. 28 This represents the largest number of cases and deaths since the previous large meningococcal disease epidemic in this region in 1996 to 1997, during which >25,000 people died. 25 However, to our knowledge, there has not been a single case published about a traveler having been affected in the African meningitis belt. At the least, to some extent, this may be due to the fact that, following essentially congruent vaccination recommendations, a fair proportion of highârisk travelers may have been protected appropriately. This may also be, in part, because active surveillance is limited in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, 25 which may result in an underestimation of burden. Finally, an important proportion of travelers has a different behavior and far more social distancing as compared to the local population. During the annual Hajj pilgrimage, >2 million Muslims from across the globe travel to Mecca and Medina. 29 The congregation of such a large population of individuals from such a wide variety of regions, as well as the crowded conditions at the destination, creates a good environment for meningococcal disease transmission, and the international spread of meningococcal disease resulting in outbreaks and epidemics in several countries has been linked to pilgrims returning from the Hajj prior to the institution of current vaccination protocols. 30â33 In 1987, outbreaks in the United States and a large epidemic in Africa of meningococcal serogroup A disease were associated with returning pilgrims. 33,34 More recently, in 2001 to 2002, outbreaks of serogroup Wâ135 disease in Europe, the United States, the Middle East, and Asia, as well as a large epidemic in Burkina Faso in Africa, were linked to returning pilgrims. 30â32 One study assessing the risk for meningococcal disease spread as a result of the Hajjâevaluated N meningitidis carriage in US pilgrims traveling through John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, NY, in February 2001. 31 The prevalence of N meningitidis carriage was higher in those returning from the Hajj (2.6% of 844) than in departing pilgrims (0.9% of 425). Although none of the outbound study participants tested were carriers of serogroup Wâ135, nine of those tested inbound were positive for the serogroup (1.3%; p = 0.01). 31 After the 2001 Hajj, a 15% serogroup Wâ135 carriage rate also was observed in 171 pilgrims returning to Singapore, with evidence of spread to household contacts. 35 In comparison, data from 2001 indicate that the risk of the international spread of meningococcal disease is much lower for Umrah pilgrimage, which is shorter, occurs all year, and involves much smaller groups of travelers. 29 Fortunately, as a consequence of enforced implementation of the meningococcal vaccine requirements issued by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia health authorities, no exportation of meningococcal disease by Hajj pilgrims has been reported since 2004. There is, however, some concern about serogroup B meningococcal disease for the future. 36 Approximately every 6 weeks, the CDC investigates an incident of possible transmission of meningococcal disease on an aircraft. 37,38 Many other national institutions have similar queries, and passengers have been diagnosed with meningococcal disease after arrival, such as a journalist with serogroup Wâ135 in Singapore and an Israeli student in the United States. 9,29 On the other hand, to our knowledge, only two reports of inâflight transmission have been published. The first occurred on a 14.5âhour flight from Los Angeles to Sydney. Two individuals who had been sitting 12 rows apart were diagnosed with serogroup B meningococcal disease of the same allelic profile. Both patients were women aged >65 years, and both recovered after treatment with antibiotics. One patient reported walking around the plane with some frequency, whereas the other, seated in an aisle seat, only got up a few times to use the rest room. It remains unknown whether transmission occurred from one passenger to the other or whether a third carrier infected them both. 39 In the second report, one passenger and one crew member were infected on an 11âhour military charter flight from the Southwestern United States to Frankfurt. One of the individuals had serogroup B disease; the serogroup in the other individual was undetermined. 40 Vaccination against meningococcal disease is not required for individuals traveling into any country except for Hajj and Umrah pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. 5,41 This visa requirement for Saudi Arabia has been extended to all nationals of many countries in tropical Africa arriving by air. 42 Proof of immunization is needed for all Hajj and Umrah visa applicants of all ages; depending on the age group and origin, other vaccinations may also be required (yellow fever, poliomyelitis, and influenza). 5 Applicants must have been immunized more than 10 days and less than 3 years before entering Saudi Arabia. 5 Because of this requirement for periodic vaccination, waning immunity due to immunologic hyporesponsiveness after repeat administration of meningococcal polysaccharide vaccines can be a concern. 6 A study on residents of Mecca and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, aged 10 to 29 years found that repeated administration of the AC polysaccharide vaccine resulted in immunologic hyporesponsiveness to serogroup C. 6 Hyporesponsiveness is not a factor with conjugate quadrivalent meningococcal vaccines, 43 and they should therefore be preferred for use for instance in Hajj pilgrims. Several national health authorities as well as the WHO have issued guidance on vaccinating travelers against meningococcal disease based on environmental factors, such as travel destination, time of year, and type of contact with the local population (Table 2). Although not all the recommendations are consistentâespecially in terms of the strength of the recommendationâmany overlap to some degree, and all recommend vaccination for all travelers visiting destinations with current outbreaks or epidemic situations. Synopsis of meningococcal vaccine recommendations in travelers WHO = World Health Organization; CDC = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; CATMAT = Canadian Committee to Advise on Tropical Medicine and Travel; NaTHNac = National Travel Health Network and Centre; ECTM = Expert Committee for Travel Medicine. Synopsis of meningococcal vaccine recommendations in travelers WHO = World Health Organization; CDC = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; CATMAT = Canadian Committee to Advise on Tropical Medicine and Travel; NaTHNac = National Travel Health Network and Centre; ECTM = Expert Committee for Travel Medicine. In its 2010 edition of International Travel and Health, the WHO lists meningococcal disease vaccination as being of selective use in travelers, along with hepatitis A vaccine, for example. 44 For travelers to industrialized nations, where they may be exposed to sporadic cases of meningococcal disease, WHO cautions that risk is increased in locations where large groups of adolescents and young adults congregate, such as in schools and college dormitories, and recommends considering vaccination for college students. Vaccination should also be considered in âall travelers to countries in the subâSaharan meningitis belt.â The risk of infection may be greater in those traveling during the dry season or those staying in the area for longer periods and living with or being in close contact with the local population. 44 Vaccination is also to be considered in âall travelers ⌠to areas with current epidemics.â 44 The WHO, US, UK, and German/Swiss recommendations are very similar (Table 2). Essentially, vaccination is considered or recommended in similar atârisk groups as those mentioned in the WHO guidance, including travelers to the African meningitis belt and those with prolonged contact with indigenous populations. The UK recommendations also specify meningococcal vaccination for health care workers and travelers visiting friends and relatives due to the close contact these activities involve. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the German/Swiss guidelines explicitly recommend vaccination with a quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine. The preferred vaccine in the United States for individuals aged 2 to 55 years is a glycoconjugate vaccine, with the polysaccharide quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine currently still recommended for those aged >55 years. Children who received either vaccine at age 2 to 6 years who remain at risk should be revaccinated 3 years later with the indicated glycoconjugate quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine, and then every 5 years thereafter. Recommendations are similar for those aged 7 to 55 years who remain at increased risk, except that the period from the initial vaccination to the first revaccination is 5 instead of 3 years. 8 Travelers to or residents of countries where meningococcal disease is hyperendemic or epidemic are one of the groups considered to have prolonged increased risk for meningococcal disease (along with those with increased susceptibility to infection and those with anatomic or functional asplenia). 45 Although the CDC travelers' guidelines do not include a recommendation for college students studying abroad in endemic areas (eg, Europe), general guidelines from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommend all college freshman living in dormitories in the United States who were vaccinated with the quadrivalent polysaccharide vaccine more than 5 years ago be revaccinated with a glycoconjugate quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine. 45 According to the American College Health Association adolescents and young adults account for nearly 30% of all cases of meningitis in the United States. Some 100 to 125 cases of meningococcal disease occur on college campuses each year, and 5 to 15 students will die as a result. Evidence shows 70% to 80% of cases in the college age group are caused by serogroup C, Wâ135, or Y, which are potentially vaccine preventable. 46 One could extrapolate that this recommendation would hold whether the student was entering college in the United States or abroad. However, national recommendations differ according to the indicated age groups and of the vaccine. as vaccines are country recommendations should be Recently, the Canadian Committee to Advise on Tropical Medicine and Travel issued guidance on the and recommendations for meningococcal disease vaccination in travelers. In the guidelines recommend a to the to Vaccination should be considered for any individuals traveling to a region of meningococcal disease caused by one of the in the include not only the African meningitis belt countries guidelines that the dry season from country to country and the time to to but also those countries in subâSaharan Africa the traditional meningitis belt where recent epidemics have including the and The guidelines also recommend vaccination for the groups of travelers who may have prolonged close contact with the local population in these areas, but specify this may include and those public In to areas with active vaccination may also be for travelers to areas with disease including industrialized where sporadic cases of disease have been reported in the previous 6 In developed countries, travelers should the recommendations of the Although vaccination against serogroup with a vaccine is required for all Canadian CATMAT that this vaccination does not to individuals traveling to destinations where disease due to other is serogroup is due to this risk, and the preferred vaccine is a glycoconjugate quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine due to its polysaccharide vaccines including longer of of hyporesponsiveness with and possible of carriage For the of travelers, those not to Saudi Arabia or those not entering college where vaccination is required in the United the to is based essentially on an of the risk to the individual of developing disease of becoming a carrier of This must account for destination, and of potential and background health of the traveler (Figure Because meningococcal vaccines are associated with few events and these need to be vaccination for travelers. = = Kingdom of Saudi UK = United US = United = visiting friends and vaccination should be recommended for all travelers visiting destinations with outbreaks or epidemic that be, except those who have been vaccinated within the past 3 years. There are that can on active areas, such as developed by a As most groups recommend vaccination against meningococcal disease for at some travelers with destinations in the African meningitis belt. There is whether this recommendation should be limited to the dry season, by various as from to June or only December to 8 or in of the no to be in the WHO and 44 experts also consider parts of the Rift Valley in Africa, including parts of and to as many risks as the traditional meningitis but not the destinations in Recommendations may also differ based on risk of to meningococcal disease in the highârisk countries as in the A meningococcal vaccine that all is for travelers to the African meningitis belt due to the need to against that disease in the the general factors, we must also consider that personal living and and social behavior a or for (eg, in refugee may be at higher In the African meningitis any health should consider not only the of but also whether there will be close contact to the local population in the the and type of public in dormitories or similar may an increased risk of transmission, and meningococcal vaccination at to be Finally, factors need to be into There is that, for persons with and some with or should meningococcal vaccination regardless of This factor is and a is an for vaccination in such however, infection is not an for meningococcal vaccination, such patients these patients may only have received a vaccine against serogroup and may quadrivalent Some health care will also consider that children are at higher risk of that travelers may be and at higher risk of As with many other immunization in the general population, the of vaccinating travelers is to both the individual from meningococcal disease and society from its In of the large variety of against all vaccineâpreventable is and therefore meningococcal vaccines are to be preferred vaccines for travelers. meningococcal glycoconjugate vaccines should be preferred polysaccharide vaccines due to their in terms of in of immunologic longer of apparent of hyporesponsiveness with repeat and in carriage of N 43 vaccines are particularly considering that the of immunization in travelers is to the risk of disease in the individual as well as the of transmission to and the international spread of At there are two glycoconjugate meningococcal vaccines that against disease caused by C, Wâ135, and for use in individuals aged to 55 one also to Although these vaccines are and well remain in our against meningococcal disease. There currently is no vaccine that against of N meningitidis serogroup which is a of meningococcal disease outbreaks and epidemics in many regions in the the of the serogroup in recent years, in must be as there is no vaccine for Finally, there is no vaccine currently indicated for against meningococcal disease in 2 years of However, there is for the future. A glycoconjugate meningococcal vaccine is now in various countries that can be from the age of 2 against serogroup B are in national travel recommendations may travel with an to meningococcal vaccination as a to and spread of disease by International is has for and on for attending for from and
Commitment schemes, secret sharing schemes, interactive zero-knowledge proofs which underlie the offered interactive secrete sharing schemes are considered. Such schemes are one of the main computing primitives in the theory of secure computations. Base elements of the theory of secure computations and schemes of construction of synchronous verifiable secrete sharing as schemes of secure function evaluation are resulted.
Pervasive computing is an exciting and blooming research field, in which innovative techniques and applications are continuously emerging and aim to provide ambient and personalized services to users with high quality. Ad hoc networks are wireless, self-organizing systems formed by co-operating nodes within communication range of each other that form temporary networks. Their topology is dynamic, decentralized, ever changing and the nodes may move around arbitrarily. The last few years have witnessed a wealth of research ideas on ad hoc networking that are moving rapidly into implemented standards. Technology under development for ad hoc networks and pervasive computing is making important steps toward this end goal possible. However, the security concerns remain a serious impediment to widespread adoption. The underlying radio communication medium for wireless network provides serious exposure to attacks against wireless networks. Wireless ad hoc networks usually cannot depend on traditional infrastructure found in enterprise environments such as dependable power sources, high bandwidth, continuous connectivity, common network services, well-known membership, static configuration, system administration, and physical security. Finally, throw in malicious adversaries with Byzantine collusion threats and you have a very interesting and challenging problem. Without adequate security, enterprises will not be able to profit from the use of wireless ad hoc networks and pervasive computing environment, defense organizations might be unable to guarantee the safety of their personnel in battlefield scenarios, and wireless ad hoc networks and pervasive computing will remain on the drawing board even if the other problems associated with them are solved. This special issue is focused on various aspects of security in ad hoc networks and pervasive computing research and development to report both in-depth research and applications-oriented works. The special issue is intended to foster state-of-the-art research in the area of security in ad hoc networks and pervasive computing. The aim of this special issue is to present a collection of high quality research papers that report the latest research advances in security of ad hoc. In this special issue, we selected seven papers, which can demonstrate advanced works in this field. A detailed overview of the selected works is given below. The first paper, An RC4-Based Lightweight Protocol for Secure Data Transmission on Resource-Constrained Devices, presents a simple, lightweight, but robust security protocol based on the backward property of RC4 stream cipher. The proposed protocol provides data confidentiality, data authentication, data integrity, and data freshness with low overhead and simple operation, allows packets be received in an arbitrary order, achieves semantic security, and does not require frequent key renew. The second paper, PAPA-UIC: A Design Approach and a Framework for Secure Mobile Ad-hoc Networks, proposes a new design approach and a framework for securing a practical type of MANETs. The framework is named PAPA-UIC. The paper proposes a secure routing protocol and solutions to general problems of identity-based cryptography. The routing protocol has several improvements over existing ones. The third paper, RFIDGuard: A Lightweight Privacy and Authentication Protocol for Passive RFID Tags, introduces a protocol which requires little computation and achieves both privacy and authentication simultaneously. The lightweight and secure nature of the RFIDGuard protocol make it particularly suitable for supply chain management. The fourth paper, Using Hidden Markov Model to Detect Rogue Access Points, proposes a statistical based approach to detect rogue access points using a Hidden Markov Model, which is applied to passively measure packet-header data collected at a gateway router. The main idea is to process the sequence of packet traces in order to distinguish the normal packets from the abnormal ones. The approach is scalable and non-intrusive, requiring little deployment cost and effort, and is easy to manage and maintain. The fifth paper, Defending Sybil Attacks Based on Neighboring Relations in Wireless Sensor Networks, develops a mechanism to protect a WSN from Sybil attacks without using any authentication-based method. Furthermore, the detection approach requires no specialized hardware or support devices. The feature that a malicious node creates many fake identities is exploited to distinguish legitimate nodes from Sybil/malicious nodes. Since all of the fake identities forged by the same malicious node are associated with the same physical device, they will have the same legitimate neighbors. Therefore, by collecting the neighboring information of the suspected victim of the Sybil attacks, the legitimate nodes which are the neighbors of the malicious nodes can be determined. In contrast to existing protection schemes, this approach has no requirement for shared keys, secret information, or special hardware support. The sixth paper, An Autonomous Attestation Token to Secure Mobile Agents in Disaster Response, introduces the Autonomous Attestation Token (AAT), a hardware token for mobile computing devices that is capable of guaranteeing the trusted state of a limited set of devices without relying on a networked service. The paper proposes a Local Attestation protocol with user interaction that in conjunction with the AAT prevents unauthorized access to an emergency mobile agent platform. In addition, the paper sketches a possible solution which integrates trusted computing to leverage ad hoc networks and peer-to-peer systems to provide a robust communication platform. The seventh paper, Building Advanced Applications with the Belgian eID, introduces the Belgian Electronic Identity Card. The card enables Belgian citizens to digitally prove their identity and to sign electronic documents. This paper presents two reusable extensions to the Belgian eID technology that opens up new opportunities for application developers. First, a secure and ubiquitously accessible remote storage service is presented. Second, it is shown how the eID card can be used to issue new certificates. The feasibility and reusability of both extensions are validated through the development of several applications in different domains. In conclusion, this issue of Security in Ad hoc offers a groundbreaking view into the recent advances in secure ad hoc networks. This issue offers both academic and industry appeal the former as a basis toward future research directions, and the latter toward viable commercial applications. Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to the Editor-in-Chief, Professor HsiaoHwa Chen for his advice, patience, and encouragements since the beginning until the final stage. Special thanks go to Michelle in Wiley during the production. We thank all anonymous reviewers who spent much of their precious time reviewing all the papers. Their timely reviews and comments greatly helped us select the best papers in this special issue. We also thank all authors who have submitted their papers for consideration for this issue. We hope you will enjoy reading the great selection of papers in this issue.
The concept of holonics manufacturing systems (with divided intelligence) is the most intelligent, autonomous, elastic, units collaborating with each other. The idea takes as a starting point the fact that the today's environmental circumstances are exceptionally unsettled; there is need for companies with the ability to respond quickly to maintain competitiveness. Holonic manufacturing systems (HMS) have been recognized as a paradigm to accommodate changes and meet customersâ requirements flexibly based on the notion of the holon, flexible and decentralized manufacturing architecture. Koestler proposed the word âholonâ to describe a basic unit of organization in biological and social systems. A holon is an autonomous, co-operative and intelligent entity able to collaborate with other holons to process tasks. Autonomy and cooperation are two important characteristics of holons. In this study, we investigated a Holonic Manufacturing Systems for dry-working machine group.
A sensor network typically refers to a collection of sensor nodes equipped with sensing, communication and processing capabilities. It brings an opportunity to solve many difficult problems including real time monitoring, tracking, and controlling. While the applications of sensor networking become many and varied, security has always been one of the major concerns in real deployments. In this dissertation, we design physical primitives for secure communication in wireless sensor networks, and develop a wireless security framework to provide conventional security services. We investigate the feasibility of achieving perfect secrecy and information authenticity without shared secrets via two physical primitives: (i) cooperative jamming primitive, where we introduce a secure coding problem in which not only the sender but also the receiver participates in the coding. In essence, the receiverâs role is to selectively jam the senderâs transmission at the level of bits, bytes, or packets. We then design a class of secure codes, called âdialog codesâ, for diverse channel models and receiver models. (ii) spatial verification primitive, where we exploit the spatial signature induced by the radio communications of a node on its neighboring nodes, and design a spatial primitive that robustly and efficiently validates the authenticity of the source of messages. To address trust initialization, we propose a zero knowledge proof alternative that allows bootstrapping trust among individuals in a distributed way.
As the use of Internet grows beyond all boundaries, the number of menaces rises to become subject of concern and increasing research. Against this, Network Intrusion Detection Systems (NIDS) monitor local networks to separate legitimate from dangerous behaviours. According to their capabilities and goals, NIDS are divided into misuse detection systems (which aim to detect well-known attacks) and anomaly detection systems (which aim to detect zero-day attacks). So far, no system to our knowledge combines advantages of both without any of their disadvantages. Moreover, the use of historical data for analysis or sequential adaptation is usually ignored, missing in this way the possibility of anticipating the behaviour of the target system. ESIDE-Depian, a Bayesian-networks-based misuse and anomaly detection system. In another work, we detailed the composition of the Bayesian network, its training methodology and showed general performance results. Here we have focused on evaluating the integration of misuse and anomaly detection. To this end, we have adopted Snort (a well-known misuse detector) as misuse detector trainer so the Bayesian Network of ĂŻÂŹÂve experts is able to react against both misuse and anomalies. The Bayesian experts are devoted to the analysis of different network protocol aspects and obtain the common knowledge model by means of separated Snort-driven automated learning process Since ESIDE-Depian has passed the experiments brilliantly, it is possible to conclude that ESIDE-Depian using of Bayesian Networking concepts allows to conĂŻÂŹÂrm an excellent basis for paradigm unifying Network Intrusion Detection, providing not only stable Misuse Detection but also effective Anomaly Detection capabilities, with one only ĂŻÂŹâexible knowledge representation model and a well-proofed inference and adaptation bunch of methods. On the other hand, the Bayesian approach also enables to implement powerful features over it, such as Dynamic-Bayesian-Network-based full representation of time, in order to accomplish totally-characterised connection tracking and low level chronological event correlation, or explanation tracking of the inferred cause-effect reasoning processes. Furthermore, contrary to other approaches such as Neural Networks, Bayesian networks allow administrative managing of inner information structures, so speciĂŻÂŹÂc relationships among packet detection parameters and ĂŻÂŹÂnal conclusion can be explained, in a white-box manner. Moreover, it is not only possible to recover reasoning information, but also to act on both Bayesian network
Formalist positions towards money are considered from a perspective of formal methods in computing. The Formaleuro (FEUR) as a dimension for monetary quantities is proposed as well as the Formalbitcoin (FBTC) which represents an item ready for circulation in a model of informational money. An attempt is made to understand the concept of money from scratch. In order to provide a definition of money the need is felt to make use of a tailored theory of definition. To that end a theory of imaginative definitions is presented and its implications for definitions of money are sketched. It is argued that a theory of money may be dependent on the role of its holder. A survey of some roles is given, with the so-called subordinate administrative role (SAR) in a central position. The concepts of virtual memory and virtual machine are taken as the point of departure for a definition of the notion of virtual money. It is argued that from the perspective of a component (division) of a large organization (ORG) its local financial system (LFS) provides a virtual money vm(LFS, ORG) which may well fail to meet the most common general and acknowledged moneyness criteria. Inverse moneyness preference is coined as phrase to assert the tendency of top-management of ORG to make its virtual money deviate from these criteria.
In 2000, the first Academic Emergency Medicine consensus conference was convened. The topic, âErrors in Emergency Medicine,â was interposed between two well-known Institute of Medicine (IOM) reports of direct relevance: To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System1 (1999) and Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century2 (2001). This foreshadowed the great degree of relevance and timeliness that would characterize future consensus conferences, each of which has as its primary goal the development of a research agenda that will guide the science of the topic at hand. This year, Academic Emergency Medicine convened its 11th consensus conference, âBeyond Regionalization: Integrated Networks of Emergency Care,â in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine in Phoenix, Arizona. The proceedings will appear in the December issue of this journal. In this fashion, another timely research agenda will be developed, refined, and disseminated. These consensus conferences have not occurred in a vacuum. They have, to a demonstrable degree, had their intended effect of stimulating research. This monthâs issue of the journal is the first to be devoted primarily to dissemination of research and concepts that have grown from prior consensus conferences. There is every reason to believe that a new and useful tradition has been established. The topics of the prior AEM consensus conferences have been: 2000: Errors in Emergency Medicine 2001: The Unraveling Safety Net 2002: Assuring Quality 2003: Disparities in Emergency Care 2004: Emergency Medicine Information Technology 2005: Ethical Conduct of Resuscitation Research 2006: The Science of Surge 2007: Knowledge Translation in Emergency Medicine: Establishing a Research Agenda and Guide Map for Evidence Uptake 2008: The Science of Simulation in Health Care: Defining and Developing Clinical Expertise 2009: Public Health in the Emergency Department: Surveillance, Screening, and Intervention 2010: Beyond Regionalization: Integrated Networks of Emergency Care A number of the consensus conferences have received significant financial support from Canadian, American federal, other public, and various private sources. Focusing on the conferences of 2007, 2008, and 2009 is illustrative. The 2007 conference received financial support from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and among the featured speakers who took time from their busy schedules to join us in Chicago was Carolyn Clancy, the director of the AHRQ since 2003. Support also came from the National Center for Research Resources, an organization promoting the Clinical and Translational Science Awards program within the United States National Institutes of Health, and the Knowledge Translation Workshops and Symposia Grant Program of the Canadian Institutes of Health.3 The 2008 conference received primary financial support from AHRQ, the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation, MedEdPORTAL (an electronic publication of the American Association of Medical Colleges), and the Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions. Over 30 other medical organizations and academic departments nationwide provided smaller degrees of support. In addition, unrestricted educational grants were received from major manufacturers of medical simulator hardware and software.4 The 2009 conference was primarily supported by a grant from AHRQ and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health, with secondary support from the National Institute of Mental Health; the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); âJoin Togetherâ of the Boston University School of Public Health; and the Departments of Emergency Medicine of Boston University, Brown University, Emory University, George Washington University, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland, the University of Michigan, and Yale University. This conference featured participation from Dr. Richard Denisco from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Dr. Ralph Hingson from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Dr. Amy Goldstein from the National Institute of Mental Health, Dr. James Heffelfinger from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Richard Saitz from Boston University, and Dr. Jack Stein, director of SAMHSAâs Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.5 Given the significant and continuing financial support of the agencies and foundations that have supported our consensus conferences, it seems prudent to provide them with proof that their efforts have been followed by meaningful responses to the numerous calls for research contained within the consensus conference summary statements and proceedings. In other words, this issue of our journal can be thought of as the first installment of a series of âitemized receiptsâ that will document how the financial support provided to enable the consensus conferences has been worthwhile. The first several consensus conferences did not enjoy such external financial support, but as the size and scope of the sessions grew, so did the need for funding. Our journal will continue to present these annual consensus conferences into the foreseeable future, and they will require the expenditure of significant resources of time and finances. To be able to document, from the pages of our own journal, that prior consensus conferences have had the desired effect of stimulating relevant research may increase the likelihood that the organizers of future conferences can continue to achieve similar external financial support. Looking forward, it is hoped that an even greater number of research efforts will be inspired by our consensus conferences and that much of that research will appear in our journal. It must be noted that not all of this monthâs articles were submitted by authors who had the express intent that they appear in this special consensus conference follow-up issue. The Associate Editors and Senior Associate Editors, as well as Kathleen Seal, our Technical Editor, have referred a number of manuscripts submitted to the journal, but not submitted specifically for appearance in this issue, to the attention of the consensus conference guest editors group. In other words, our work group had to âprime the pumpâ somewhat. It is hoped that this will not be necessary in the future and that a greater number of manuscripts will be submitted with the goal that they appear in the consensus conference follow-up proceedings. A suggestion going forward relates to the probability that the research agendas set forth at a given consensus conference may eventually become âdated.â Toward that end, it is possible that future consensus conference follow-up issues might only accept manuscripts inspired by consensus conferences of the past 3 to 5 years. This issue contains a total of 15 manuscripts, with the following representation: 2002: one manuscript 2003: two manuscripts 2004: two manuscripts 2005: zero manuscripts 2006: two manuscripts 2007: three manuscripts 2008: one manuscripts 2009: four manuscripts I would be remiss not to thank several people without whom this edition of the journal would not have been possible. The Guest Assistant Editors, who functioned most capably as decision editors, included Gail DâOnofrio, Nicole Deiorio, Lynne Richardson, and Terri Schmidt. I am indebted to them for their efforts. It would be misleading to state that this process evolved exactly as first envisioned, and I must also thank these Guest Assistant Editors for their patience with the evolving processes. David Cone gave me the opportunity to more truly understand the extreme degree of knowledge and organization he brings to his role as Editor-in-Chief. Finally, but most importantly, I thank Kathleen Seal for her most capable guidance and patience. I have learned to an even greater degree than before what a valuable resource she is to our journal.
Quine (1966) offered his classic characterization of the notion of paradox, a taxonomy for paradoxical arguments and some vocabulary for discussing them. In this article, I shall generalize Quineâs taxonomy and defend a simpler characterization. The simpler characterization will have the virtue or the flaw (as might be) of making paradox a matter of degree. For Quine, a paradox is an apparently successful argument having as its conclusion a statement or proposition that seems obviously false or absurd. That conclusion he calls âthe proposition ofâ the paradox in question. What is paradoxical is of course that, if the argument is indeed successful as it seems to be, its conclusion must be true. On this view, to resolve the paradox is (i) to show either that (and why) despite appearances the conclusion is true after all, or that the argument is fallacious, and (ii) if the former, to explain away the deceptive appearances. Quine divides paradoxes into three groups. A âveridicalâ paradox is one whose âpropositionâ or conclusion is in fact true despite its air of absurdity. We decide that a paradox is veridical when we look carefully at the argument and it convinces us, i.e. it manages to show us how it is that the conclusion is true after all and appearances to the contrary were misleading. Quineâs two main examples of this are the puzzle of Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance (who has reached the age of 21 after passing only five birthdays) and the Barber Paradox, which Quine considers simply a sound proof that there can be no such barber as is described.1 A âfalsidicalâ paradox is one whose âpropositionâ or conclusion is indeed obviously false or self-contradictory, but which contains a fallacy that is detectably responsible for delivering the absurd conclusion. We decide that a paradox is falsidical when we look carefully at the argument and spot the fallacy. Quineâs leading example here is De Morganâs trick argument for the proposition that 2 = 1.2 Oddly, Quine does not mention a third related category, the obverse of a veridical paradox: the argument in question could have an obviously false or self-contradictory conclusion, yet rest on no error of reasoning however subtle â so long as it has a premiss that looks for all the world true until we let the argument itself show us that, and how, the premiss is false after all. For example, the Barber is classified as veridical because its conclusion is the truth that there is no barber who shaves all and only those who do not shave themselves; but turn it on its head, so that its conclusion is rather the absurdity that there is a barber who both does and does not shave her-/himself. There is still no fallacy, but only the innocent-seeming premiss that there is a barber who shaves all and only those who do not shave themselves.3 We might call this sort of paradox, for want of better, âpremiss-flawed.â Finally (returning to Quine), an âantinomyâ is an intractable paradox, one that we cannot see how to resolve in either of the foregoing two ways: the argument does not succeed in convincing us that its conclusion is true-despite-appearances (often because the conclusion is overtly contradictory or otherwise incoherent, yet we can find no fallacious move in the argument; nor is there a premiss that is shown false-despite-appearances. Antinomies, Quine says, âbring on the crises in thoughtâ (5); they show the need of drastic revision in our customary ways of looking at things. My main problem with Quineâs taxonomy is its heavy dependence on the current state of oneâs knowledge and on oneâs ability to figure things out. Let me explain. All a valid deductive argument shows, just in virtue of its validity, is that a certain set of propositions is internally inconsistent. If all we know about an argument is that it is valid, we do not thereby have even the slightest reason to believe that the conclusion C is true, even though doubtless the person who constructed the argument was reasoning, from P1, P2, ⌠taken as premisses, to C. For unless we are independently moved to accept those premisses, their jointly implying C is of little interest; and even if we do already accept them, seeing that they imply C may make us reconsider one or more of them, rather than inclining us any the more strongly to endorse C as well.4 In this sense, an argument has no intrinsic direction; its direction has been imparted to it rhetorically by a speaker who has recruited it for a particular dialectical purpose. Intrinsically, the argument is just the inconsistent set {P1, P2, âŚ, âźC}. The relevance of that (I hope uncontroversial) point for Quine is that, faced with an apparently inconsistent set of plausible statements, anyone may choose which of the statementsâ denials to single out as âthe propositionâ or âconclusionâ of the corresponding paradoxical argument, either arbitrarily or on a ground of some sort. (Remember that a paradox in Quineâs sense has an already appalling conclusion, so there is not initially any epistemic reason, as opposed to expository reasons, why the conclusion appears as such rather than being negated and taken as a premiss.) And given a paradoxical argument, two theorists might well disagree on whether the paradox is veridical, because they may disagree as to which component propositions are more plausible than which; in particular, one theorist may find the argument veridical while the other finds the âconclusionââs denial more plausible than one of the âpremissesâ. In Quineâs examples of veridical and falsidical arguments, the comparison of plausibility is sufficiently obvious and uncontroversial that in fact no one would dispute his judgements about them. But we should bear in mind that that is because we all think roughly alike on issues of Leap Year and birthdays and barbers and arithmetic; a person who for whatever reason had different background beliefs and very different interests might resist Quineâs judgements. In short, to classify a paradox as veridical is to assume that oneâs own preferred way of resolving the paradox is the correct way. More generally, then, a Paradox (I mark my own proposed usage with the capital letter) is an inconsistent set of propositions, each of which is very plausible.5 And to resolve a Paradox is to decide on some principled grounds which of the propositions to abandon. One might then think of saying that when that decision is comparatively easy, we could call the Paradox either veridical or falsidical, depending on which of the component propositions have been designated as âpremissesâ and which has been denied by way of âconclusionâ, though when the choice of culprit is difficult or controversial, we call the Paradox an antinomy, as Quine does. But that translation of Quineâs terminology into mine would not be accurate, for in regard to my notion of Paradox, Quineâs âveridicalâ and âfalsidicalâ are not natural opposites. A Paradox would count as veridical in the proposed new sense just in case (a) one of its members turns out to be clearly less plausible than the others, and (b) the Paradox is already (for whatever reason) cast in the form of a deductive argument having the culpritâs denial as its conclusion. But there would be no such thing as a falsidical Paradox, for a falsidical argument in Quineâs sense is fallacious, and the apparent inconsistency corresponding to it is not real. In my terms, then, a falsidical paradox in Quineâs sense is only an apparent Paradox.6 But on my view the âveridicalâ/âfalsidicalâ distinction really loses its point. Rather, there are inconsistent sets containing identifiable culprits â call those âtractableâ Paradoxes â and there are the antinomies. It is better just to drop Quineâs terms. There is a further complication. I have defined âParadoxâ in terms of actual inconsistency, namely, as a set of propositions that is in fact inconsistent. But (a) a set can be inconsistent without anyoneâs knowing that it is or even being able to know that it is; and more importantly, (b) we may have reason to think that a set is inconsistent when actually it is not. Case (b), Quineâs falsidical again, is not uncommon; we have some plausible premisses and we use what seems to be a sound principle of reasoning to deduce our absurdity, but in fact the absurdity does not follow and the fault is in the principle of reasoning rather than in any of the premisses. (De Morgan divides through by a number that is covertly equal to 0; elsewhere (Lycan 1993, 2001) I have argued that when one is reasoning in English rather than in a truth-functional calculus, reliance on the rule Modus Ponens can lead from perfectly acceptable premisses to contradictory conclusions and so must be rejected.) Now, to circumvent this complication and keep the terminology neat, let us dispense with every even faintly dubious principle of reasoning. That is, let us require that for a Paradox to be worthy of its capital âPâ, it must be formulated truth-functionally, with every initially non-truth-functional principle of reasoning replaced by that principleâs corresponding material conditional inserted as a member of the inconsistent set that constitutes the Paradox in question; thus we shall make every possibly controversial inference principle explicit. And, owing to the semantical completeness of the propositional calculus, any Paradox is provably as well as model-theoretically inconsistent.7 It must be conceded that, in at least three ways, even the propositional calculus is âcontroversialâ. First, there is the question of relevant implication. Relevance logicians8 brand the truth-functional calculus as libertine, charging that some of the inferences it sanctions (notably Disjunctive Syllogism) introduce informational irrelevancies and are therefore not ones that English speakers would or should make. But however we feel about this as a complaint against the analysis of English or any other natural language in truth-functional terms, it does not apply to my idea of reconstructing paradoxes into Paradoxes; I am here using the propositional calculus and its libertine notion of validity only as a tool for strict truth-preservation in inferential moves between propositions that are already formulated in the truth-functional idiom. Disjunctive Syllogism may not be a valid principle in the logic of English (any more than are Antecedent-Strengthening and Modus Ponens), but it is valid trivially and by definition for the tilde and the vel. Second, paraconsistent systems have been offered as rivals to standard contradiction-shunning logic,9 and in particular dialetheists led by Graham Priest (1987, 1995) have maintained that there are actually true contradictions. Indeed, Priest cites some familiar paradoxes as examples; there is nothing to âresolve,â because the contradictions simply are true. But this view is no opponent of my characterization of a Paradox. It merely takes a refreshing attitude toward Paradoxes once they are identified. Third, Quine, Putnam and others have suggested that even elementary logic may be brought into question by exotic scientific developments such as in quantum mechanics. Once again we must distinguish between logical laws intended as representing the logic of English and the theorems of a formal system whose truth-theoretic semantics has been officially and stipulatively assigned. My notion of Paradox is tied to the latter, and has no implications regarding the former. But if(!) I understand quantum logicians correctly, they mean to impugn even standard propositional logic understood as formulated in terms of the traditional truth-defined connectives. Depending on oneâs view of analyticity,10 and once we have distinguished the matter of epistemic revisability from the metaphysical issue of truth by virtue of stipulated meaning, this may not make sense. But even if it does and we are thereby forced to admit a notion of falsidical Paradox after all, at least my format will make the point of contention as explicit as anything could. Two objections have been made to me; oddly (but fortunately) they oppose each other. The first11 is that most or at least many people think of paradoxes as arguments, hence, contrary to my conception, as being intrinsically directional, from premisses to conclusion. It may be that many people do so; and that way of thinking is well represented by Quineâs model. But I have pointed out that arguments themselves are not intrinsically directional, save by prior commitments of their proponents. To repeat, the speaker who has deployed the argument has chosen to present one or more propositions as its premisses and infer another proposition as its conclusion, but that is rhetoric; we can equally argue from the âconclusionâsâ negation to that of one of the âpremissesâ, and nothing about the argument itself tells us which should be preferred. The second objection is that paradigmatic paradoxes are single sentences or statements such as the Liar, hence not inconsistent sets of propositions (and, n.b., not arguments either).12 Whether or not the Liar is paradigmatic, it is a single sentence rather than an inconsistent set, and it does suggest mild readjustment of our formula. I said that a Paradox is an inconsistent set of propositions âeach of which is very plausible,â but on its face the Liar cannot be so described. It can be expressed as an inconsistent set, {â(L) is true,â â(L) is false,â â(L) is either true or false but not bothâ}, but none of those three propositions has great intuitive appeal. What is true is at best that each of the propositions has a strong argument in its defence.13 Those three arguments have premisses, such as âWhat (L) says is that (L) is falseâ and âIf S says that P then S is true iff P,â so a Paradox as I originally defined it would feature those undefended premisses, not the lemmas as above. So, either we can say that the Paradox is that more complicated set, which is not very natural (also, we would get different versions depending on exactly how the ultimate premisses were formulated), or we can liberalize the definition by replacing âeach of which is very plausibleâ by âeach of which either is very plausible in its own right or has a seemingly conclusive argument for itâ. If we stick by my notion of Paradox, we will regard the distinction between âtractableâ Paradoxes and antinomies as theory-infected and somewhat presumptuous, but above all a distinction of degree. There are actually two matters of degree involved: the disparity in plausibility between a putative culprit proposition and the other, more plausible propositions in the set, and the average degree of plausibility all around. The higher both of these degrees go, the more readily we will see a Paradox as intractable; we get a real antinomy when the first is near zero and the second is still high. If the second is low, we have only a mild Paradox, and I am loath to call it antinomic, but only an array of competing theories.14
Matteo Maffei, Giulio Malavolta, Manuel Reinert, Dominique SchrĂśder
The existing (election) voting systems, e.g., representative democracy, have many limitations and often fail to serve the best interest of the people in collective decision making. To address this issue, the concept of liquid democracy has been emerging as an alternative decision-making model to make better use of "the wisdom of crowds". Very recently, a few liquid democracy implementations, e.g. Google Votes and Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), are released; however, those systems only focus on the functionality aspect, as no privacy/anonymity is considered. In this work, we, for the first time, provide a rigorous study of liquid democracy under the Universal Composability (UC) frame- work. In the literature, liquid democracy was achieved via two separate stages -- delegation and voting. We propose an efficient liquid democracy e-voting scheme that uni es these two stages. At the core of our design is a new voting concept called statement voting, which can be viewed as a natural extension of the conventional voting approaches. We remark that our statement voting can be extended to enable more complex voting and generic ledger-based non-interactive multi-party computation. We believe that the statement voting concept opens a door for constructing a new class of e-voting schemes.
Environmental Health has just received its first Impact Factor by Thomson ISI. At a level of 2.48, this achievement is quite satisfactory and places Environmental Health in the top 25% of environmental science journals. When the journal was launched in 2002, it was still unclear whether the Open Access publishing model could be made into a viable commercial enterprise within the biomedical field. During the past eight years, Open Access journals have become widely available, although still covering only about 15% of journal titles. Major funding agencies and institutions, including prominent US universities, now require that researchers publish in Open Access journals. Because of the profound role of scientific journals for the sharing of results and communication between researchers, the advent of Open Access may be of as much significance as the transition from handwriting to printing via moveable type. As Environmental Health is an electronic Open Access journal, the numbers of downloads at the journal website can be retrieved. The top-20 list of articles most frequently accessed shows that all of them have been downloaded over 10,000 times. Back in 2002, the first article published was accessed only 49 times during the following month. A year later, the server had over 1,000 downloads per month, and now the total number of monthly downloads approaches 50,000. These statistics complement the Impact Factor and confirm the viability of Open Access in our field of research. The advent of digital media and its decentralized mode of distribution - the internet - have dramatically changed the control and financing of scientific information dissemination, while facilitating peer review, accelerating editorial handling, and supporting much needed transparency. Both the meaning and means of "having an impact" are therefore changing, as will the degree and way in which scientific journals remain "factors" in that impact.
This research examines the efforts of the Public Private Comparator (PPC) at the decentralized level in the Netherlands. The PPC is a financial-economic assessment tool that can be used before a tender to determine whether there is a surplus value for a specific project (real estate or infrastructure) in the form of a Public Private Partnership based on a DBFM(O)-contract compared to a traditional form of contract. At state level, this assessment tool has been successfully implemented for a few years now whereas at the decentralized level there is still little experience with this tool and there are mainly pitfalls. Recently the Ministry of Finance launched a pilot for local authorities to examine the need for knowledge and experience regarding DBFM(O)-contracts, after an advice of the Commission on Private Financing of Infrastructure, also known as the Ruding Committee. The main question that will be answered by means of this research is: Under which conditions, with regard to content and process, is it possible to use the PPC within the municipality? This study shows which conditions are needed at State level and how these can be translated to a municipal situation and organization. The result of these findings is converted in a report and a step-by-step plan with regard to content and process for the implementation of the PPC at municipal level. This research has been conducted within, and focuses specifically on the municipality of Rotterdam. Particularly for the theoretical part, the practical part (case studies) and most of the conclusions it is possible to see the results in a broader context, so that this research also applies to local authorities more generally.
Gertrude Luebbe-Wolff, born 1953, studied law at the Universities of Bielefeld and Freiburg (1969-1974) and took an LL.M. degree at Harvard Law School (1975). Having compeleted post-graduate practical legal training and received a docotoral degree (University of Freiburg, 1980), she worked at the University of Bielefeld and qualified for academic teaching and research (âHabilitationâ, 1987). From 1988-1992 she served as Director of municipal environmental administration in Bielefeld, where her family lives. As a professor of public law at Bielefeld University, faculty of law (since 1992), she headed the directorate of the university's Center for Interdisciplinary Research (1996-2002), chaired the Federal Government's Council of Environmental Advisors (2000-2002) and received the Leibniz Award (German Research Foundation, 2002). Prior to being elected Justice of the German Federal Constitutional Court in 2002, she was a Deputy Judge at the Constitutional Court of North Rhine-Westphalia. I have found it difficult to identify the writings that have been most important to my intellectual history. The reason may be reluctance to accept the idea that any single book has had the power to influence me at all. To my own surprise, almost all the books I have listed are books that I first read before I was twenty-five. Number ten is the only exception. Most of the fields in which I have worked and at least one of the fields in which I have read a lot, and which has influenced some of my writings (economic theory), are heavily underrepresented or even not represented at all. So be it. When in doubt, I have preferred to name books by German authors. I thought that would be more interesting to non-German readers. In Gustav Schwab's colorful renarration, the ancient Greek myths had been adapted to nineteenth-century pedagogical purposes, mainly by purging them of explicit sex and of some of the cruelties that might frighten children too much (like Chronosâ devouring his offspring). Yet, what remained was enough to intrigue a little girl instilled with Catholic ideals of virtue and growing increasingly critical of some of the humans who advocated them. So little virtue even in gods! The higher in rank the god, the worse: Zeus frantic, promiscuous, andâthat much could be read between the linesâa rapist. His wife, Hera, jealous enough to try killing one of his illegitimate sons by sending snakes into his crib. And so forth. I suspected that the Greeks had molded these gods after their own image and felt there was progress in praying to a more civilized god. Nevertheless, I found Mount Olympus and its inhabitants more thrilling to read about than the Christian heaven and Christian Trinity. What totally escaped my understanding when I first became acquainted with Hercules, Theseus, and Achilles was the fatal importance of the type of heroism they represented for the historical self-perception of Germans. None of the adults who, to my delight, liked my recounts of the adventures of these heroes (reports on earlier readings had been much less successful in capturing attention) ever commented on that side of the story. Decades later, I found out on my own. âHer thoughts are my thoughts, and our feelings are the same,â I wrote into my diary in early 1966, having started to read the diary Anne Frank wrote during the more than two years she, her family, and four other Jews spent hidden in an Amsterdam achterhuis before the Nazi occupants found them and eventually killed all of them except Anne's father. The presumptuousness and blatant inadequacy of these identifications did not occur to me then. I was aware that her situation and the way she coped with it were incomparable. But that did not prevent me from feeling closer to her than to anyone I had met in the books of my first twelve years. However, unwarranted this feeling of intimacy may have been, it had an effect that would have pleased Anne. More than anything I had experienced so far, it opened my eyes and my heart for the monstrosity of what my country had done, and for the enormity of the loss it had caused. Schiller is best known as a dramatist and lyric poet; however, he was also a historian. His History of the Thirty Yearsâ War (1790) is the first major historical work I read. The great war that devastated Germany from 1618 to 1648 is a pivotal event in German history. Many European powers were involved as protectors of their fellow believers and, of course, in pursuit of interests of their own, although, in essence, it was a war between Protestant and Catholic territories of the Holy Roman Empire. If Germans later became obsessed with the âstate,â it is because of what they had had, instead, for centuries: an Empire, albeit in decay, unable to subject the vested rights and interests of the princes of its more than three hundred territories to common public purposes, whether civil or military, and unable even to prevent its members from waging war against each other. As Hegel, to whom I will come later, put it in his Essay on the Constitution of the German Empire (1801): âWhen only too often, you see vast numbers of German soldiers in the field, trust that they are not up to defend Germany, but to lacerate its viscera.â From Schiller's history of the Thirty Yearsâ War, I learned about the worst and most traumatizing example of this calamity. From his accounts of what the presence or passage of huge armies meant for a region, even if they were friendly, and from his depiction of the extremely unfriendly siege and conquest of the city of Magdeburg by Catholic Bavaria's army under General Tilly, I learned about the extremes of hardship and cruelty that may accompany warfare. I also gained an idea of how standards of humane behavior are affected by material conditions, for instance, by whether there is a means to feed brigades other than by forced requisition and means of remunerating them other than by giving them license to rob and murder (âThey must get something for their peril and labor,â Tilly said, in Magdeburg, when supplicated to stop his soldiers from plundering, setting blazes, assaulting women and spiking babies, or throwing them into the fire.) There was also evidence, however, that present material conditions, however important, do not necessarily work as full determinants. Under material conditions quite similar to those under which Tilly's army operated, the Protestant Swedish king Gustav Adolphus, according to Schiller, managed to set limits to what his troops could do to the local population. Even he could not disallow his soldiers three hours of pillaging after taking over Frankfurt an der Oder, but the general disciplinary regime was severe punishment for all excesses, and, on the whole, the conduct of the Swedish army was exemplary, so Schiller, the Protestant, reports. Schiller's description of the atrocities of the Thirty Yearsâ War also confirmed my belief that the world I lived in was a much better place than the world of Tilly's and Gustav Adolphus's contemporaries, and that this was not momentary good luck but the consequence of a progress toward reason and humanity that while open to backlashes was unlikely to be completely reversible. The Holocaust presented a challenge to that conviction, but not, in my view, a refutation. It was only much later that I arrived at a clearer understanding of that intuition. Schiller himself, the fervent spokesman of Enlightenment, was not naĂŻve in his optimism nor in his idealism. He believed in the power of the ideals of freedom and tolerance, just as he acknowledged the power of religion; however, he also knew and described how such powers needed association with less sublime interests and ambitions in order to become effective historical forces (this association is what Hegel, later, called the âstratagem of reasonâ). Schiller's narration does not include the history and the details of the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the war in 1648. Nor does it contain an analysis of the historical importance of this long and terrible religious war on the way to full recognition of religious freedom as a human right, or of its importance for the development of international law (it is not accidental that Grotius's De jure belli ac pacis appeared in the course of that war, in 1625). Schiller wrote too early for that. His other historical book, the History of the Revolt of the Netherlands,1 may be more enjoyable (same delightful language, same grasp of the human fears and passions at work, not so many battles). If, nevertheless, the History of the Thirty Yearsâ War made the greater and more lasting impression on me, this is probably not only because it was my first experience with great historiography but also because it gave me an initial sense of the role of war in the history of mankind and of its particularly prominent role in the history of Germany. Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations were my introduction to analytical philosophy. I loved the work, although (or perhaps precisely because) I felt it was people other than myself who badly needed his instruction. It is probably due to my pleasure with Wittgenstein that I considered studying linguistics and, having rejected that plan and studied law instead, made legal semantics one of my first objects of research. Later, when ordinary-language philosophy inundated the philosophical book market and came to dominate philosophical faculties, much of what I read and heard regarding it bored me out of my mind. Understanding the meaning of âmeaningâ and the meaning of the other languages you use seemed a necessary but not everywhere a sufficient prerequisite of good philosophy. One day, I hope, my compatriots will admit Rudolf von Jhering to the place of most eminent German jurist, which has long been occupied by Friedrich Carl von Savigny. This would indicate that German legal culture is pragmatic, rational, and strong. Savigny, a great savant in Roman law, was the head of the Romantic school of law, and the most prominent opponent of codification at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Lawâlike language, fairy tales, and folksongsâso he held, had always grown slowly and quietly out of the specific spirit of a people and should continue to do so. The young Jhering, himself a Romanist, admired Savigny for his analytic power in discovering the fundamentals of Roman law under the layers of doctrinal sediment accumulated by generations of less-than-inspired jurisprudence. Still, in trying to carry on with the same endeavor and to explain jurisprudence as an artâor, rather, a science, like chemistryâthat consists in finding the conceptual elements and more abstract rules implicit in the existing legal material, he ended up advocating an awareness of how the formation of legal concepts and rules is a matter not just of logical analysis but of human interests and purposes (Purpose in Law, 1877â1883). Accordingly, the Romantic view of the evolution of law was to be rejected. Law and rights, Jhering explained in The Fight for the Right (1872), were not the result of organic, silent, plantlike growth but a product of conflict and combat. Not only their adaptation to changing needs and circumstances but even their mere effective maintenance must be fought for. Going to court when your right is being intruded upon, willfully, is a contribution to that fight and a duty of the citizen toward himself and toward the community, even if only a small material value is at stake. The ideal values at stake are the legal order and the good morals that depend on it. This is what you defend in defending your right when it is violated, and it is from the readiness to engage in such a fight for your right that you can recognize the status of a society's moral health. It is forty years since I first read Purpose in Law and The Fight for the Right and fell in love with Jhering's brilliant style, his humor, and the ravishing mix of his rational sobriety and sensitiveness to human feelings. As a student of law, in much of what I had to read and listen to, I missed Jhering's pragmatism, his rule-oriented reasoning, and his sense of how good mores are tied to good law. As a judge, I learned to appreciate that some of those who have been wronged abstain from filing a lawsuit. However, it is probably due to Jhering that I know the importance of what I am doing not only when examining the Treaty of Lisbon but also when dealing with so-called petty cases. This book is famousâor infamous, with parts of the audienceâfor the message concentrated in its subtitle (A Report on the Banality of Evil). Arendt's observation that Adolf Eichmann, the leading administrative organizer of the Holocaust, was a nondescript, utterly nondemonic subordinate and the subtitle phrase in which she had summed up this finding stirred intellectual and emotional turmoil in the â60s. I did not quite understand that. Would it be more comforting to think that, where there is exorbitant crime, there must be some sort of devilish power in the delinquent? To me, the idea that great, immeasurable crimes can be committed by people devoid of any Luciferian greatness or other stature did not seem disquieting. What struck me was not Arendt's analysis of Eichmann and his trial but the part of the book that describes the course of the deportations all over Europe. I do not know whether this account is historically correct in every reported detail. It certainly is not comprehensive in identifying the reasons why patterns of collaboration or, less frequently, noncollaboration evolved so differently in the various European countries. However, it gave me a more vivid sense than many other readings had given me previously of how the project depended on compliance and acquiescence;2 of the extent to which, therefore, the presence or absence of empathy mattered; of the extent to which empathy had been absent in Germany; and of the complexity of factors bearing on how each nation behaved in this historical instance. In an auditorium of one hundred German students, you will not find one, today, who has read Karl Marx. During the student movement that began in 1968, this was different. The blue volumes of the works of Marx and Engels, if not the complete edition, printed in the German Democratic Republic, were the central object of study, and it was from Marx's Critique of Political Economy, from the three volumes of his Capital, that the activists drew their assurance of victory. It delivered scientific proofâso those who knew told those who had not yet understoodâthat capitalism was just a transitory phenomenon, doomed because of the unalterable tendency of the rate of profit to I much of what I in the of the I did not have any for the But what if our part of if the of the of the was not a matter of but a matter of I was about the of and the of mankind the way you could the of the nevertheless, I did not see a full of the of such in Karl of So I studied Marx's Capital, other writings of to find out whether his to have of the historical of was As as I the on the that the value of a is by the of that is to it. the to the by the tendency of profit to with the of human needed in Marx's however, I found his of necessary to be a from which, when you to see what was in the that Marx had with up with their way such a could work as a to the of the course of history. This is how the first of me that I did not have to to is the of the important in my The two most important are my and my must be given for my with the whom I met at a in Lisbon in most people know only from Karl The and its where he is as and as a of I do not know of a greater in the history of philosophy. What of Right is all and in which he is from all his from its had long been on the of law and as in of with its into a of right, dealing with rights and and a of virtue being precisely by its of any or other with the of virtue those of law. It is this that to with his of law and mere as because they on and do not include Christian of while with all its because it any is as but that is The of that law and order and must not be and against each other but must be to a in which the of its and elements is not but and is this or This is in the and and of the of and it most when you at the elements of what called elements are and himself in other this to the the three elements of virtue which are the of in the Catholic and In his of the the family the ideal of you to the general mainly by for your own good and that of your the ideal of And the which the of taking part in it their and it as their own the ideal of an that the right to own of Catholic ideals of a moral which consists in that will human and interests in a way that is with will them work the common He moral and as ideals of In an and more it will under circumstances be sufficient to be just and that is the better of The of philosophy of right was to about legal as a consequence and prerequisite of moral about the necessary of and progress as he to the of from one country to about the of and about the of he against the that will from any at a by mere virtue or by be it religious or than by law. have to understand and his in books can be This one was part of a I a years for the of better understanding the against as an of that was historically prominent in Germany. most known works are about capitalism and the role of Jews in today, was one of the after the of War I a German to the world from to the of To the of and the German of a in the war as the critical between heroism and the German an to his his wife, and to to more there the only profit and The of German and German is of anything that even or, more European and This is From the German self-perception had in with and found in moral war as the most on because it was at war that the moral of German heroism became and many from the between and War was into a of and I with a better understanding of the between the elements of that and with a more sense of the and involved in the of and with more awareness of the to international and law.
Gilles Barthe, Daniel Hedin, Santiago Zanella-BÊguelin, Benjamin GrÊgoire ¡ 5 authors
Zero-knowledge proofs have a vast applicability in the domain of cryptography, stemming from the fact that they can be used to force potentially malicious parties to abide by the rules of a protocol, without forcing them to reveal their secrets. ÎŁ-protocols are a class of zero-knowledge proofs that can be implemented efficiently and that suffice for a great variety of practical applications. This paper presents a first machine-checked formalization of a comprehensive theory of ÎŁ-protocols. The development includes basic definitions, relations between different security properties that appear in the literature, and general composability theorems. We show its usefulness by formalizingâand proving the securityâof concrete instances of several well-known protocols. The formalization builds on CertiCrypt, a framework that provides support to reason about cryptographic systems in the Coq proof assistant, and that has been previously used to formalize security proofs of encryption and signature schemes.
Without a real change, the Romanian education system and especially the preuniversity system will not be able to overcome its instability and provisional character. The reforms that started in 2000 must continue. The success of the decentralization of the pre-university system, as a basic component of the reform, greatly depends on the manner in which the financing of preuniversity education must be carried out in accordance with the number of pupils, and the funds must be assigned to place the pupil in a flexible and facile environment.
Ein E- Voting System muss einerseits sicher sein andererseits muss es gewährleisten dass jede Wahl berßcksichtigt und anonym ausgewertet wird. \nDieses Projekt befasst sich mit der Aufgabe, ein solch sicheres, stabiles und transparentes Wahlsystem anzubieten. Das Ziel der Arbeit ist es, einen Web Client zu entwickeln, der mit Hilfe einer Big- Integer Library und JavaScript Funktionen das fßr E- Voting geeignete Damgürd- Jurik Kryptosystem zu implementiert. Weiter galt es, die Verfßgbarkeit von echten Zufallszahlen in JavaScript abzuklären. Die generierten Datensätze sind in der JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) an den Server weiterzuleiten. In einem optionalen Teil der Arbeit sollte die Wohlgeformtheit der verschlßsselten Stimmzettel mittels eines Zero-Knowledge Proofs Protokoll nachgewiesen werden kÜnnen. \nDer verwendete asymmetrische Damgürd- Jurik Verschlßsselungsalgorithmus, hat die homomorphe Eigenschaft, dass die Multiplikation chiffrierter Werte gleich der verschlßsselten Summe der entsprechenden Klartexte entspricht. Da nur das aufkumulierte Schlussresultat der Abstimmung entschlßsselt wird, ist dadurch die Anonymität der einzelnen Stimmen gewährleistet. Um die Gßltigkeit eines verschlßsselten Wahlzettels zu ßberprßfen, wird ein Zero-Knowledge Proofs Protokoll verwendet. Da JavaScript nur mit Zahlen bis 53 Bit rechnen kann, ist fßr die Berechnungen eine JavaScript Big- Integer Library notwendig. Es wurden verschiedene Bibliotheken getestet und im Detail ausgewertet. Ebenfalls wurde die MÜglichkeit echte Zufallszahlen plattformunabhängig zu generieren abgeklärt. \nDie Wahl der Big-Integer Library ist auf jsbn.js der Stanford University gefallen und fßr die Generierung von Zufallszahlen auf jscrypto.js, welche durch die Auswertung von Mausbewegungen Entropie gewinnt. Der implementierte JavaScript Client verschlßsselt erfolgreich Stimmzettel mittels Damgürd- Jurik Verschlßsselungsalgorithmus und leitet das Chiffrat mit zusätzlichen, fßr den Zero-Knowledge Proofs Protokoll notwendigen Parametern im JSON Format an den Server weiter, der die empfangenen Daten auf ihre Wohlgeformtheit prßft. Die Messungen haben ergeben, dass der Google Chrome Browser am optimalsten mit den angewendeten Libraries läuft. Bei der Verwendung eines 1024 Bit RSA Modulus benÜtigt der Google Chrome Browser 1.7 Sekunden fßr die Damgürd- Jurik Verschlßsselung und zusätzlich 8.8 Sekunden fßr die Generierung der Zero-Knowledge Proofs Protokoll notwendigen Parametern.
This study aimed to clarify some general aspects of the Jordanian Arab management depending on the influence of Hofstedeâs cultural dimensions in management and organization over individual orientations in the Jordanian banks. A questionnaire, which was specially prepared for this purpose, was distributed on (6) commercial banks. A group of statistical methods, like data reliability analysis, percentages, frequencies, descriptive, cross tabulation, testing data validity (explore analysis) and binominal test, were used.
Among the most important results which were reached are:
1) Workers in the Jordanian commercial banks do feel a high degree of power distance.
2) Workers in the Jordanian commercial banks do feel a high degree of uncertainty avoidance.
3) Workers in the Jordanian commercial banks do incline collectivity in conduct.
4) Workers in the Jordanian commercial banks do incline toward masculinity in conduct.
5) There exist no long-term orientations among workers in the Jordanian commercial banks.
The study recommended the inclusion of management sciences through educational institutions and the adoption of applications and methods, which tend to be autonomous, decentralized, collective and authority deligent. Also, it recommended the activation of the department of research & development (R & D) in the banks and the adoption of strategies based on forecasting and planning.
Local authority financing is currently at the heart of the political debate. All the states are faced with the challenge of reconciling the need to control and reduce public spending with greater financial autonomy in local government; they are accordingly seeking ways of achieving an equitable distribution of financial resources among the different levels of government in a context of budgetary cutbacks at every level of public administration. If strengthening democracy means strengthening local selfgovernment, this in turn means establishing systems of financing for local authorities which are at once efficient, fair and consistent with the state's economic imperatives. In other words, the principle of subsidiary, decentralization and local finances are all interdependent.In Romania this process started in 1990 and it is on the move even today. This paper is trying to find, by using economic instruments, what is the degree in which we succeed to create a real local financial selfgovernment.
The redistribution of powers concerning cultural policy corresponds to a specific historical trajectory as well as to political and commercial dynamics. Thirty years since the 1978 Constitution, Spain is a quasi-federal state. Their cultural life and policies have expanded and have been decentralized. The redistribution process is a result of the search of effectiveness confronted with the question of the legitimization of power. Legitimacy is a permanent theme of debate as well as a discursive and strategic instrument between institutional actors, and it sheds light on the apparent inconsistencies of the multi-level governance of cultural policies. To study the different aspects of these relationships, the article principally focuses on three areas. The first is an institutional analysis, which allows us to determine the place of each institutional actor within the network of cultural policies as well as the horizontal and vertical interactions. The second is an analysis of the public financing of culture, which permits us to measure the quantitative impact of cultural policies within the centreâperiphery dynamic. The third is an analysis of public policies, which allows a comparative approach to the dynamics of the autonomous community regime. The dialectic between differentiation and standardization, a mark of cultural policies modernity in the context of centreâperiphery relationships, is a result of the pressure from the main players on the different Spanish cultural and territorial markets. Examples of âgood practicesâ mimicry as well as of ânewâ pattern models, like the new Arts Council of Catalonia, are used to expose the non-existence of a formal Spanish model of cultural policy, but shows the process of innovation-reply product strategies, and the dialectic between political autonomy and homogenization processes.
La prĂłxima cuarta generaciĂłn (4G) de redes de comunicaciones mĂłviles celulares considera una interfaz radio basada en OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access). Esta tecnologĂa ofrece robustez a la propagaciĂłn multicamino y diversidad en frecuencia gracias a la divisiĂłn del ancho de banda de operaciĂłn en un conjunto de pequeĂąos subcanales en frecuencia para asĂ alcanzar un uso eficiente del espectro. Sin embargo, un importante desafĂo en una interfaz radio OFDMA es la manera en la que los subcanales en frecuencia se asignan a las distintas celdas. En primer lugar, la carga de trĂĄfico podrĂa variar a lo largo del tiempo y del espacio, de modo que los clĂĄsicos patrones fijos de asignaciĂłn de espectro (es decir, los esquemas de planificaciĂłn de frecuencias) pueden conducir a una carencia de recursos en ciertas celdas o a una falta de aprovechamiento de los mismos en otras. En segundo lugar, los futuros marcos reguladores del espectro cambiarĂĄn la mentalidad sobre su uso, planteando la coexistencia de usuarios primarios y secundarios del espectro en una misma ĂĄrea geogrĂĄfica. Por lo tanto, una adecuada gestiĂłn del espectro primario podrĂa facilitar la apariciĂłn de oportunidades del uso del espectro para usuarios secundarios a la vez que el operador podrĂa obtener una nueva entrada de ingresos por ese uso. Finalmente, los futuros escenarios celulares tenderĂĄn a ser descentralizados, especialmente con la apariciĂłn de nuevos despliegues basados en femtoceldas (puntos de acceso de limitada cobertura desplegados por el propio usuario en la banda espectral en la que el operador tiene licencia), donde se requerirĂĄ un alto grado de independencia a la hora de decidir los canales que usa cada femtocelda, ya que, obviamente, las tareas centralizadas planificaciĂłn de frecuencias tienen poco sentido prĂĄctico en estos escenarios.<br/><br/>Esta tesis contribuye a la investigaciĂłn sobre la asignaciĂłn de espectro en redes mĂłviles celulares 4G basadas en OFDMA proponiendo una soluciĂłn para manejar dinĂĄmicamente la asignaciĂłn de espectro por celda. Con este fin, se proponen estrategias dinĂĄmicas asignaciĂłn de espectro (en inglĂŠs Dynamic Spectrum Assigment: DSA) y un marco prĂĄctico para ejecutarlas. Para reducir costes operacionales y la intervenciĂłn humana en el proceso, el marco DSA propuesto se ha diseĂąado basĂĄndose en conceptos de autoorganizaciĂłn de modo que la red puede de forma autĂłnoma (i) observar el funcionamiento de la asignaciĂłn actual de espectro, (ii) analizar si una nueva asignaciĂłn de espectro es necesaria, y (iii) decidir una nueva asignaciĂłn de espectro que se adapte mejor a las condiciones de la red. AdemĂĄs, se propone una arquitectura funcional centralizada y descentralizada que permite que el marco DSA pueda aplicarse a varios escenarios, desde escenarios macrocelulares donde tĂpicamente se emplea un control centralizado, a futuros escenarios con femtoceldas donde los nodos son prĂĄcticamente independientes y requieren de decisiones autĂłnomas a nivel de celda para la asignaciĂłn de espectro. La tarea de decisiĂłn del marco DSA reside en las estrategias DSA propuestas, donde una de ellas se basa en el aprendizaje mĂĄquina para explotar el conocimiento adquirido previamente en el pasado. AdemĂĄs, esta estrategia tiende a seleccionar una asignaciĂłn de espectro Ăłptima en el sentido de que maximiza una seĂąal de recompensa definida apropiadamente en tĂŠrminos de mĂŠtricas del funcionamiento de la red (e.g., eficiencia espectral, SINR, entre otras). Ciertamente, la autoorganizaciĂłn y el aprendizaje mĂĄquina en el contexto de la asignaciĂłn de espectro en interfaces radio basadas en OFDMA se han explotado poco y constituyen asĂ una novedad importante derivada del trabajo de esta tesis.<br/><br/>Los resultados revelan importantes mejoras sobre estrategias del estado del arte en tĂŠrminos de eficiencia espectral (en bits/s/Hz), satisfacciĂłn de la calidad de servicio de los usuarios, fairness entre el throughput obtenido por los usuarios, y la capacidad para generar oportunidades para el uso secundario del espectro en grandes ĂĄreas geogrĂĄficas. TambiĂŠn, el marco DSA propuesto basado en autoorganizaciĂłn muestra atractivas capacidades desde la perspectiva del despliegue inicial, donde los nodos son capaces de autoconfigurarse despuĂŠs de su encendido introduciendo un impacto mĂnimo en sistema ya desplegado. AsĂ el marco propuesto constituye una contribuciĂłn prĂĄctica para solucionar el despliegue de millares de femtoceldas en un escenario macrocelular. Next fourth generation (4G) of cellular mobile networks envisage a radio interface based on OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access). OFDMA offers frequency diversity and robustness against multipath channel propagation thanks to the division of a wide bandwidth into small OFDMA frequency resources, so that an efficient spectrum usage is attained. However, one important challenge in a 4G OFDMA-based radio interface of a cellular network is the way in which OFDMA frequency resources are assigned to cells. First, intercell interference must be mitigated to achieve the highest spectral efficiency. Second, traffic loads could vary along time and space, so typical fixed spectrum assignment patterns (i.e., frequency planning) could lead to lack of spectrum resources in some cells or underutilization of them in others. Third, future regulatory spectrum frameworks will change the mindset about the usage of the spectrum by planning the co-existence of primary (licensees) and secondary users of the spectrum in the same geographical area. Hence, an adequate primary management of the spectrum could ease the appearance of spectrum usage opportunities for secondary users at the same time that the primary operator could obtain a new revenue income for that usage. Finally, future cellular scenarios will tend to be decentralized, especially with the appearance of new femtocell deployments (short-range user-deployed access points in the operator's licensed spectrum band), where a high degree of independency when deciding the usage of OFDMA frequency resources will be needed, since, obviously, centralized frequency planning tasks has little practical sense in those scenarios.<br/><br/>This thesis contributes to the research on the spectrum assignment in 4G OFDMA-based mobile cellular networks by proposing a solution to dynamically manage the cell-by-cell spectrum assignment. To this end, adequate Dynamic Spectrum Assignment (DSA) strategies and a practical framework to execute them are proposed. In order to reduce operational costs and to reduce human intervention, the DSA framework has been designed based on self-organization so that the network is able to autonomously (i) observe the performance of current spectrum assignment, (ii) analyze if a new spectrum assignment is needed, and (iii) decide a new spectrum assignment to better adapt to networks conditions. Furthermore, a centralized and decentralized functional architecture is proposed so that the framework can be applied to a vast number of scenarios, ranging from typical macrocell scenarios where centralized control is employed, to future femtocell scenarios where nodes are almost independent and require autonomous spectrum assignment decisions at the cell level. The decision task of the framework resides on proposed DSA strategies, where one of them is based on machine learning to exploit knowledge previously acquired in the past. Moreover, this machine learning strategy tends to select a spectrum assignment that is optimal in the sense that maximizes a given reward signal appropriately defined in terms of network performance metrics (e.g., spectral efficiency, SINR, among others). Certainly, self-organization and machine learning on the context of spectrum assignment in OFDMA based radio interfaces have been little exploited and thus constitutes a major novelty of the work of this thesis.<br/><br/>Performance results reveal important improvements over state-of-the-art strategies in terms of spectral efficiency (i.e. in bits/s/Hz), users' QoS satisfaction, fairness between the throughput obtained by users, and capacity for generating opportunities for secondary spectrum usage in large geographical areas. Also, the proposed DSA framework, based on self-organization, demonstrates appealing capabilities from the perspective of initial deployment, where nodes are able to self-configure after switch-on introducing a minimal impact on the already deployed system, being then a practical contribution to solve the deployment of thousands of femtocells in macrocell environments.
In the fateful year before peace came at Appomattoxâas slaves pursued their exodus from bondage and the Civil War dragged onâa counterpoint arose between two antislavery decrees under debate in the United States Congress. That counterpoint illuminates conceptions of universal human rights forged at an epic moment in the downfall of New World slavery. One decree became the Thirteenth Amendment; all but forgotten is the other, a congressional act to âencourage Enlistmentsâ in the Union Army. The amendment provided for abolishing slavery everywhere in the United States and its territories. The enlistment measure freed soldiers' wives and children owned by masters in the loyal border states exempt from the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. As destroying slavery became inseparable from vanquishing the South, bondsmen refused to go to war unless, in exchange, they won their families' freedom as well as their own. âIt is a burning shame to this country,â affirmed congressional abolitionists, âto hold the wives and the children in slavery of men who are periling their lives before the rebel legions.â A month before the war's end, on the very day of Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural, March 4, 1865, the measure took effect. As the Thirteenth Amendment awaited ratification and as the president spoke of malice toward none, upwards of 50,000 slave wives and children went free.1 In a world in flux, where constitutional change flowed from the tides of war, the abolition of slavery fused with freedom endowed by marriage, thereby tethering a new birth of human rights to enduring domestic bonds. That counterpoint casts new light on the making of abolitionâa problem of enduring historical and constitutional significance. It reveals not simply how Congress asserted its sovereignty to nullify chattel relations and secure human rights, but also what counted as slavery and freedom as the advance of the Union Army overthrew old ways of life. Simply put, it manifests what abolition was meant to overturn and to create. For both the Thirteenth Amendment and the enlistment measure were acts of abolition. Both split asunder the relation of master and slave, destroying constitutionally protected property in human beings without compensating owners. Both turned chattel into free persons. Arising together amid the crisis of the Civil War, they belonged to a tradition of declaring rights and invalidating unjust forms of sovereignty that had emerged throughout the Atlantic world in the Age of Revolution, a tradition that wedded emancipation to marriage bonds among ex-slavesâfrom Haiti to Jamaica to the American South to Brazil.2 Their juxtaposition, however, has never been systematically studied; indeed, the enlistment measure barely appears in landmark scholarship on abolition or constitutional transformation.3 Overshadowed by the antislavery amendment, the wartime of freedom has the for a from the of to the of 1865, Congress the decrees month as never before that the Atlantic the rights of The abolition amendment was a and of the enlistment measure was an act of abolitionâa on slave marriage bonds. it an of congressional the domestic of the slave loyal masters of the wives and children of bondsmen turned Union the for the emancipation on slave not in a to the of the the measure what slavery the of chattel to and a In the amendment and the measure the of abolishing slavery as a domestic by property in human for in the of the slavery and marriage to together as relations of domestic the master of a to the and of both and in and the in the of the the of all the of chattel bondage to In Thirteenth Amendment not what abolition but what freedom as to as slavery. the counterpoint between the abolition decrees is the of an amendment in in It to light a the of in for abolition but their from Thirteenth Amendment the of the antislavery by the of human rights by chattel slavery. under the abolition amendment, slavery has to a of and the of slavery in abolition never in Thirteenth Amendment It is as and the of Congress had never universal emancipation by of In the of the Thirteenth Amendment illuminates a of the American human rights of rights in the of Congress to in of the and as slavery by the a of landmark and of and the Thirteenth Amendment has never been a of rights the of to the in under the Congress in the slave but never to the of slavery or the domestic slave has to hold is at Amendment of and it is the that the Congress has in from and to of and rights, as the not to or are not as human rights but from exchange, by congressional constitutional from that the of the emerged not with slave emancipation but from it the of antislavery to where the Thirteenth Amendment as a of universal human The of that rights to abolition and to the counterpoint between the Thirteenth Amendment and the enlistment In that counterpoint a of the of slavery and freedom at the moment of abolition and the of and sovereignty to that on both the of the of slavery abolition and a rights tradition with the of the of the two abolition decrees reveals that the of the Thirteenth Amendment in the slave where the master both and to new into the Thirteenth its and its to its The is to as to advance antislavery and of human rights at the or the second is a what the but what meant by on the as they the to slavery and affirmed freedom as to The is what the of slavery had to with the Thirteenth and what the Thirteenth Amendment had to with antislavery of human the of the of the of the chattel relations by the a all the the freedom that a owned by a loyal master to in a of As the abolition amendment and enlistment measure in president It is to to go to on the are and what to for this or as as and The Congress as the debate abolition of human beings with freedom and the to slavery as a constitutional amendment or by a act as the of chattel slavery and the of Congress to that the enlistment measure abolition by For both decrees Lincoln's that slave property to masters loyal to the Union by the Civil debate on the amendment, as in the of Congress the of slave wives and it is to this of slavery and a at the of A year as Union a âIt is for the and that of with and abolishing the slavery by the and and the two abolition decrees and in the in amendment to the the enlistment measure from on and the a year they were both of In Congress the the enlistment measure into the war dragged on and the states with the The counterpoint between was to all in Congress. it is a measure to âIt is a very and It simply for the and the of the with its It of constitutional with all that the slave property of loyal the of the the freed soldiers' owned by rebel the Emancipation rebel and the of the as a for for the The was to the amendment and the measure in two to end, As the is to slavery it for a constitutional amendment but how it to that both of to it to its by the of the of the men the measure as to but not that it is for the of to the United the are that the amendment not by the and are to all and in to to this in advance of the Thirteenth Amendment or as a the at slave wives and children owned by masters loyal to the property by the the bonds of marriage between the enlistment measure slavery. the amendment was universal in its by all in Congress that the amendment and meant to free slave wives and it was all the that the on the amendment, on came to on its for but all The the of the Thirteenth but to light the of constitutional abolition and the rights at of two for the amendment before the were the by the and from the of slavery as a for the been the United or to their Congress to this by were the by who on of the of are before the that hold as a and the Congress to all and to this into everywhere in the United was the amendment had in was for the of the enlistment in the on the of the to the 1865, and of A in the constitutional of slavery was that the amendment spoke amendment spoke persons. The amendment the everywhere and slavery in the amendment a of universal human rights, all as the not it provided a for for a moment to to the rights of and in the of Both of the abolition amendment universal the the of the by that of freedom to as of human rights is in of a as was of and Congress that as as a new and into it to in the is at won by emancipation of the has been to the As by amendment the before the that was a the was to all as by free or by before the by a of to the of it was was the the as the American not from the not with historical of who had in the amendment, that to but not to all to or and go to the old by For the of chattel slavery. the Thirteenth Amendment not universal the freedom of all not For a in the of arose the that the abolition amendment been the of a that of all as free and before the also of in the Civil and the in the of the the rights arose to to the was or the relation between men and is to the or before the in a the of all men before the a to a a as free as a A to and as free as before the the was meant to the amendment, not in the who is slavery not to in its a of the who that very day had amendment to a in the by that the marriage from the of relations as in and and been for a abolition. a freedom went as the the amendment, not the and the of a universal of human a before it was to the of the in that had to marriage with bondage in from of constitutional abolition by human rights that the on the of slavery was but It was the enlistment measure that to the of the freedom by the debate on the Thirteenth both to the Union Army and to at the slave Congress on the and masters in the loyal states in slave and children and their the from slave property as it never the as for Congress to the For that an antislavery of property in human beings and as the for the new of in congressional abolition turned on of war, marriage, and the the for Union Congress the of the enlistment it constitutional abolition as a war to the of human bondage to the property rights by the the measure both the Emancipation and the it rebel or loyal masters for the of their it property rights in as well as in human and to the measure to the to its It was a debate at as as that the Thirteenth and it went on indeed, the for the had been in it a of from to of but were to at it the in of or of in Union and freedom to as well as and in a that spoke in universal of into making war for the United States and simply that and children were as of or marriage was or was not or by the Congress the for their the of slave marriage, the of and the of of the counterpoint between the measure and the in March The of the congressional and the constitutional at as the debate into the was not human rights the and the the of Congress to war a slaves in loyal on slave marriage bonds at the turned Union and not how and to in and and to bondage that the and it that by the constitutional to of the slave master and to human a and rights by the and of Congress It has been and that the is the Congress has the to the and the is in that spoke of war, and congressional spoke of and constitutional both on and was Congress the to loyal masters of slave to what of the on Congress the to a that Congress has the to the that it has to the That was the to also a tradition to of a at war for In for the of arose the of as the Civil War was for the not for the the tradition had never the to slave and In making constitutional with the of of Union and with an to on of congressional abolition. of both and of from of the rights of with spoke war and The in its that secure the of the and in its and spoke of and to its to an but also in and the of to the emancipation to as as to the and the this from the of the and to an in freedom on slave marriage, the of Congress on both and It was an that the of the with for the Thirteenth was in the for a at this moment is master of the of slavery everywhere in the United without constitutional It it all of to this of congressional the between slave and the between master and slave, the of the abolition an was with of the for Amendment property rights were the antislavery of and property and its for without to the wartime of the constitutional that amendment has been the enlistment measure as slavery as as and as as all the that in the Congress to the to rights of were bondsmen to for the border states had of to the were slave wives and children of as they not into the war for the the measure as well as the of in the a is the of the is to slave of their it is to the it is to it is to the and to slave It was and In the to loyal masters as with a of property rights and with a to the of chattel slavery. to the of and in for slave wives and a of emancipation by the of the had been by abolition in the of and slave the measure to at as well as slave property by all an in in or making or by or by of for the the of the to this they are and for to their spoke of abolitionists, also spoke of toward slaves protected by masters the of As slavery affirmed its a of abolition with a of that freedom was to a of and the Union for slave wives and children free by Congress. the relation between the and children and their not without As spoke of to a and of both the that a and the that the is Congress to the and the the is the to a in the of in the the antislavery of the enlistment measure in abolition before the day of the Thirteenth but the was that the measure as As act to the of its as in a and the rights constitutional and As in this the of loyal masters to slave wives and children to the of the of war, and the bonds of slave marriage as for Congress to abolition. In the of the enlistment amid the of the South and the Congress turned to the and the of slavery and It was not that simply as a to the of the Thirteenth Amendment in of human rights free it was the very of the of the debate abolition. by as well as by the of Union Army Congress to for the Thirteenth Amendment or with the enlistment measure or the the of abolition the slave but also of and a of slave antislavery Congress came to the of slavery. under the enlistment freedom in bonds of marriage that the bonds of as as under the as were a of as a slave as a freed was to rights simply by of the antislavery on the enlistment as the men in Congress. it the of the of the it as and as and that the was slavery by antislavery The as that had the on the both antislavery and was the of the slave to both a loyal master and a the In was the of a turned as slaves had marriage rights by was the Union for in light of the counterpoint between the abolition free a measure with constitutional of for the not and but also men of and men the the debate became a on the of slavery. the of the war and the the of rights, and the of property in to from slave wives and the on their was a slave That was the to and to For the measure on the that the bonds of slave marriage were as to the bonds of chattel slavery. is the of a the antislavery of as the in as was March to the that men a the and the and the As of this and it very to who has a or how wives to the of the slave was for it not the between and but also the of of as well as the of the slave as into the of that was marriage relation in between chattel had rights of on in for slave to as has a the for the of the is to in or where has a and to the of the the enlistment measure simply took slave marriage for border however, who to in a was a in the of slaves were and but chattel to are to a in has a in and that the to with to is not marriage was a of Congress âto as marriage that is not marriage, the of a of slave all freedom by the and to it by the the are at very in a that but an is to the to abolitionists, the the of the not how slave marriage bonds free a from the bonds of slavery. As the of the measure was its of freedom not the of a slave is the of a the war freed the of and but not as a that the relation of and is not with and this relation is of as a measure of who the of the that the measure for the to with new of slave marriage, or a year of the measure that slaves or or enlistment day counted as of marriage, with children to freedom the marriage had the of the Thirteenth is this to the in is a who was not a of a The was freedom by slave marriage bonds that the of both and The was that and it was and or the of a slave this who the Thirteenth affirmed that slave marriage and as and a to the of the slave who the slave to and the to to human not property to not to their marriage the of the slave as was the of how the slave was and under the were not in the a slave without how loyal a the who had the abolition amendment but congressional abolition had to by the the slave of a loyal and for the of the slave and the with a new in March that loyal masters to by and came to debate the with Congress on the of a slave as the of of this chattel in the or or a or a the and they it to the war's the in slave not it very to for the master that by the In a slave at this in the of also a slave very on the slave as on a antislavery were in the loyal slave and for a of freedom the Union the the slave for of simply it for the Union to into the to slaves the is a antislavery men of as of in or at is to are a in the of the was that to the slave however, Congress that the of a slave was For it the of property in human for abolitionists, who it to the both property in and the in they antislavery to not this to the of of to the are in the of the United States in the that to for property for it is that the that slaves are property and by the Congress of the United that the a by a was from the enlistment an act that a slave counted as property under the for a Congress from a loyal master and to a what was the in and The was that had That the not for the Thirteenth all the of the enlistment the of slave marriage by the of with abolition the Congress the counterpoint between the measure and the It was a between antislavery and that had emerged with in the and in wartime with the of Congress free the slave or for an abolition in as was to its March to the in Congress to their the the enlistment measure a to the act the of this by and by and that the the to to the of the and the of the that on the of the and the in the new the amendment had been in both of were and the was to act at all on the enlistment that amendment slavery is throughout the United a this measure the the or for of a slave from the to the and of That free the slave the amendment slavery Congress for a was not simply by but also by the who that the enlistment measure was but in the amendment in they to the and as to who A year with the amendment in the had that this constitutional amendment and this not the to not to free slave in the were to the of to free human where to the hold by of a to freedom to for the counterpoint between the measure and the amendment old between abolition and to the It to to a of the antislavery to the Civil War as an a between and human As Congress abolition or for the amendment that a and the antislavery in the of both and The the of a constitutional amendment the of the to the of the who for their for in the of the not that the men who the the of the by the as it is change it in a constitutional had the on the Thirteenth the of the was for congressional abolition. It was the of the slave that this by the The of abolition by on at the loyal In the of a slave and and refused that not to for the Thirteenth of the of Congress. as never in the a to of before all to a had in in the of was all to a was all to was and the who had been a Union that had of and as the the slave freedom to of their loyal masters were the wives and children of making of their and and it as for their into Army. this by with a year that Congress was the slave was all of to from and on the came that was of the for slave were on a in the border were in in with and all of that the soldiers' wives and are and by wives were or to were from slave wives to at As by was by a master to of was and and and of to and as the loyal the to to their by slave wives and but to for For a the of slaves and and in the congressional debate abolition. was the from of the country,â a a to in how is not to and children to a that were to the enlistment measure that their was by the of the The crisis was by the of a and slave who was a from a and this was and It a from to the the but the emancipation of for the of to the an provided at from the the of the slave for congressional from the border states to the Congress on the of slavery. to free the slave that slaves between loyal masters and and were freedom on marriage with the of antislavery in their that the the a on the as well as to for the Thirteenth Amendment that a what of men to act and and slave wives and the amendment, an from the to a slave to and however, they the of by to and wives and children or a the For a antislavery throughout the Atlantic world had been with of in Congress. and slave all the of the of and marriage all the the the of a the of to and as of of the Atlantic slave to the of antislavery as crisis into In the the and that as a free in the that debate on had of slavery is that it the marriage the of the debate on the Thirteenth it was for to in by of that the of the is the of and who in the of The of the not simply slave emancipation but also of freedom as an The of the universal of human as the of chattel relations of and to is it is to the of the American at its in the of the to the of from the of its from the or of the slave the of freedom as for its the American the for and and this that but on a The and the a That is was an by the slave bondsmen to their had all slaves wives from and before In the of are in and the of a who simply to a slave it to the relation of master and in the of the that it a of slavery. to the old with in with all of and and the from an of the American for and of The enlistment measure to the of also its For the American not the of Congress to slavery its slave states in to the that the and the sovereignty of to on the of the slavery that under the has to with of the slave into the loyal border the enlistment measure that antislavery the Thirteenth the measure a of in the measure the of For in freedom on marriage it congressional to antislavery that the very bonds property in and a free of an The by abolition was has a to the antislavery the slave is not the but the to with the from property into a abolition also of slave marriage bonds and the of the slave As the an antislavery that a slave to slave who but never to the of as the the rights, chattel slavery became the for A free was chattel a that is the slave turned the slave from loyal master to a Union antislavery as well as the of marriage as a to freedom but of slavery. The of the was the sovereignty that the slave the of of as The the among free or the sovereignty as the of In it was the that to in the loyal slave in the bonds of slavery marriage the the slave freedom but the to an freedom to a of the relation between the Union and the had the of slavery in the and affirmed marriage the enlistment measure slave marriage the very of American abolition. spoke of to the slave but to and of to the for the to as a but to the as a for for the a of go to a and to to the of that the moment is turned and children to Simply the of from the of the the that the debate the Thirteenth at slavery marriage, by of their as property relations of the thereby slaves and wives into For the marriage bonds as the very of abolition. the enlistment spoke of the rights of but without rights to slave of antislavery men that of slave wives beings and was the of Congress to and the of Union to the toward their wives and children that men as as and where is the who in the Army of the United States and and children to the the and of a and of In the the antislavery belonged to who the enlistment measure in the it belonged to the who the abolition of in slave for the as by not the slave freedom was simply of under the to the and of to that a of and is to men who are all for and for the of this For a Congress the slave what was and to how and to for the Thirteenth the of to never For all the of and the of not to a of rights of the to a of but as a not master of in 1865, as the enlistment measure Congress. the Thirteenth Amendment had been by the states in the and slavery had been by
A recent trend in decentralization in \n several large and diverse countries is the creation of local \n jurisdictions below the regional level -- municipalities, \n towns, and villages -- whose spending is almost exclusively \n financed by grants from both regional and national \n governments. This paper argues that such grants-financed \n decentralization enables politicians to target benefits to \n pivotal voters and organized interest groups in exchange for \n political support. Decentralization, in this model, is \n subject to political capture, facilitating vote-buying, \n patronage, or pork-barrel projects, at the expense of \n effective provision of broad public goods. There is \n anecdotal evidence on local politics in several large \n countries that is consistent with this theory. The paper \n explores its implications for international development \n programs in support of decentralization.
Shoba Raja, Sarah Wood, Victoria de Menil, Saju C Mannarath
BACKGROUND: Limited evidence about mental health finances in low and middle-income countries is a key challenge to mental health care policy initiatives. This study aimed to map mental health finances in Ghana, Uganda, India (Kerala state), Sri Lanka and Lao PDR focusing on how much money is available for mental health, how it is spent, and how this impacts mental health services. METHODS: A researcher in each region reviewed public mental health-related budgets and interviewed key informants on government mental health financing. A total of 43 key informant interviews were conducted. Quantitative data was analyzed in an excel matrix using descriptive statistics. Key informant interviews were coded a priori against research questions. RESULTS: National ring-fenced budgets for mental health as a percentage of national health spending for 2007-08 is 1.7% in Sri Lanka, 3.7% in Ghana, 2.0% in Kerala (India) and 6.6% in Uganda. Budgets were not available in Lao PDR. The majority of ring-fenced budgets (76% to 100%) is spent on psychiatric hospitals. Mental health spending could not be tracked beyond the psychiatric hospital level due to limited information at the health centre and community levels. CONCLUSIONS: Mental health budget information should be tracked and made publically accessible. Governments can adapt WHO AIMS indicators for reviewing national mental health finances. Funding allocations work more effectively through decentralization. Mental health financing should reflect new ideas emerging from community based practice in LMICs.