Belinda A. Chiera

WHAT IS A UNIT OF CAPACITY WORTH

Consider a finite-capacity telecommunications link to which connection requests arrive in a Poisson process. Each connection carried on the link earns a certain amount of revenue for the links manager. Now, assume that the manager is offered the opportunity to buy or sell a unit of the links allocated capacity. Assuming that the manager has a knowledge of the current number of connections on the link, we demonstrate a method of calculating the buying and selling prices.

Diagnosing Organizational Innovation: Measuring the Capacity for Innovation

Organizational innovation involves reconciling many contradictions or paradoxes. Dividing the process of innovation into phases ranging from Activation to Validation and examining each phase in terms of the six Ps of creativity offers a framework for making sense of these contradictions. The Innovation Phase Assessment Instrument (IPAI) was designed to assess organizations according to such an approach. The scale was administered to 454 student volunteers and an analysis of their responses indicated that the IPAI is highly reliable and has substantial construct validity. At a practical level, it can be used for assessing the strengths/weaknesses of organizations in a differentiated way and for making recommendations for improving their capacity for innovation. It is also a source of research questions for examining creativity and innovation in an organizational context.

Some properties of the capacity value function

In a previous paper [B. A. Chiera and P. G. Taylor, Probab. Engrg. Inform. Sci., 16 (2002), pp. 513--522], two of the authors developed a method for ascribing a value to an extra unit of capacity on a telecommunications link. Specifically, they expressed the value of an extra unit of capacity as a function of current capacity, current occupancy, and a planning horizon. The intention was to use this function as an ingredient in a bandwidth reallocation scheme for ensuring efficient operation of a telecommunications network.Unfortunately, direct evaluation of the function requires numerical inversion of a Laplace transform expressed in terms of Charlier polynomials, a task that is beyond the processing capabilities of typical switches in todays telecommunications networks. Because of this, it is desirable to have more easily computable methods of either calculating or approximating the capacity value function. We develop two approaches to this problem: the first is a recursive method of computing the Lapla...

Modest analytics: using the index method to identify students at risk of failure

Regression is the tool of choice for developing predictive models of student risk of failure. However, the forecasting literature has demonstrated the predictive equivalence of much simpler methods. We directly compare one simple tabulation technique, the index method, to a linear multiple regression approach for identifying students at risk. The broader purpose is to explore the plausibility of a flexible method that is conducive to adoption and diffusion. In this respect this paper fits within the ambit of the modest computing agenda, and suggests the possibility of a modest analytics. We built both regression and index method models on 2011 student data and applied these to 2012 student data. The index method was comparable in terms of predictive accuracy of student risk. We suggest that the context specificity of learning environments makes the index method a promising tool for educators who want a situated risk algorithm that is flexible and adaptable.

A subspace predictive controller for end-to-end TCP congestion control

In this paper we present a subspace-based model-free LQG linear congestion controller for TCP, intended as a viable alternative to its classically designed model-based counterpart. The model-free controller is derived from TCP Vegas and is constructed directly from experimental data, without requiring a plant model. We show the controller possesses the same equilibrium behaviour as Vegas, while offering substantially better transient behaviour. Simulation results support the use of the more easily implementable model-free controller

Visualizing Big Data: Everything Old Is New Again

Recent advances have led to increasingly more data being available, leading to the advent of Big Data. The volume of Big Data runs into petabytes of information, offering the promise of valuable insight. Visualization is key to unlocking these insights, however repeating analytical behaviors reserved for smaller data sets runs the risk of ignoring latent relationships in the data, which is at odds with the motivation for collecting Big Data. In this chapter, we focus on commonly used tools (SAS, R, Python) in aid of Big Data visualization, to drive the formulation of meaningful research questions. We present a case study of the public scanner database Dominick’s Finer Foods, containing approximately 98 million observations. Using graph semiotics, we focus on visualization for decision-making and explorative analyses. We then demonstrate how to use these visualizations to formulate elementary-, intermediate- and overall-level analytical questions from the database.

CleanBGP: verifying the consistency of BGP data

BGP data contains artifacts introduced by the measurement infrastructure which can substantially affect analysis. This is especially important in operational systems where ldquocrying wolfrdquo will result in an operator ignoring alarms. In this paper, we investigate the causes of measurement artifacts in BGP data - cross-checking and using properties of the data to infer the presence of an artifact and minimize its impact. We have developed a prototype tool, CleanBGP, which detects and corrects the effects of artifacts in BGP data, which we believe should be used prior to the analysis of such data. CleanBGP provides the user with an understanding of the artifacts present, a mechanism to remove their effects, and consequently the limitations of results can be fully quantified.

The Role of Social Support, Being Present, and Self-kindness in University Student Psychological Distress

Objective Self‐kindness, which is thought to be part of self‐compassion, has the potential to contribute to mental health, as well as serve as a focus for interventions. However, little attention has been given to the potential role of self‐kindness specifically, especially in the context of mindful presence and available social support, in buffering distress. Method Structural equation modelling was used to test a theoretically based model of how these factors relate to each other and psychological distress. Participants were 592 Australian university students. Results Results confirmed our hypotheses, showing that: (a) receiving social support is important to the capacity for self‐kindness both directly and indirectly through the ability to “be present,” and (b) the relationship between social support and psychological distress is partially mediated by the practices of self‐kindness and being present. The model of social support, being present, and self‐kindness accounted for half the variance in psychological distress. With the addition of stressors, a regression model explained a total of 62% of the variance. Conclusions These findings have implications for understanding the construct of self‐kindness and its role in the development of interventions to improve student success.

The ‘Feline Five’: An exploration of personality in pet cats (Felis catus)

The idea of animals possessing personalities was once dismissed by the scientific community, but has since gained traction with evidence for potential application to improve captive animal management and welfare. Although domestic cats are popular companion animals, research has tended to overlook the value of personality assessment for management and care of pet cats. The aim of this study was to investigate personality in a large sample of pet cats with a view to understanding practical implications for pet cats in the home. Personality of 2,802 pet cats, from South Australia and New Zealand, was rated by their owners utilising a survey measuring 52 personality traits. Five reliable personality factors were found using principal axis factor analysis: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Dominance, Impulsiveness and Agreeableness. Implications for the ‘Feline Five’ are discussed in relation to their potential application to improving the management and welfare of pet cats. Highly Impulsive cats for example, may be reacting to something stressful in their environment, whereas cats with low Agreeableness scores, showing irritability may indicate underlying pain or illness. Thus, the need for a systematic and holistic approach to personality that includes both the individual pet cat and its environment is recommended, and opens the door to future interdisciplinary intervention.

The role of social support, being present and self-kindness in university student well-being

ABSTRACT Poor well-being in university students is a serious concern. Using self-kindness – an attitude of understanding and benevolence in times of adversity or failure – may be key to enabling students to maintain well-being despite the pressures inherent to their student role. This study aimed to test a theoretically guided model of how self-kindness, along with the ability to be in the present moment and the experience of receiving social support, contribute to well-being in university students. Participants were 6195 university students who completed a web-based survey. Structural equation modelling analyses confirmed our hypotheses, showing that: (a) receiving social support is important to the capacity for self-kindness both directly and indirectly through the ability to ‘be present’; and (b) the relationship between social support and well-being is partially mediated by the practices of self-kindness and being present. Overall, the model explained 39% of the variance in student well-being. These findings have implications for our understanding of well-being in university students, as well as the importance of considering self-kindness, on its own, as a target for intervention.