AT&T (United Kingdom)

Preface. Preface to Volume 2. Contents of Volume 2. List of Main Notation. Basic Concepts. Elements of Probability Theory. Stationary Random Processes. Spectral Analysis. Estimation in the Time Domain. Estimation in the Frequency Domain. Spectral Analysis in Practice. Analysis of Processes with Mixed Spectra.

Sentient computing systems, which can change their behaviour based on a model of the environment they construct using sensor data, may hold the key to managing tomorrow's device-rich mobile networks. At AT&T Laboratories Cambridge, we have built a system that uses sensors to update a model of the real world. We designed the model's terms (object positions, descriptions and state, and so forth) to be immediately familiar to users. Thus, the model describes the world much as users themselves would. We can use this model to write programs that react to changes in the environment according to the user's preferences. We call this sentient computing because the applications appear to share the user's perception of the environment. Treating the current state of the environment as common ground between computers and users provides new ways of interacting with information systems. A sentient computing system doesn't need to be intelligent or capable of forming new concepts about the world, it only needs to act as though its perceptions duplicate the user's. In earlier work, we described a prototype of this system and stated our intention to deploy it on a large scale. We have now installed an enhanced version throughout an office building. Over the past year, approximately 50 staff members have used the system daily with a set of trial applications.

In this article we present a survey of transport protocols for wireless sensor networks (WSNs). We first highlight several unique aspects of WSNs, and describe the basic design criteria and challenges of transport protocols, including energy-efficiency, quality of service, reliability, and congestion control. We then provide a summary and comparison of existing transport protocols for WSNs. Finally, we discuss several open research problems.

Prior research investigating online communities has revealed several different types of communities, including those that are formed to support members with shared professional interests. One characteristic of these online communities is the creation and stewardship of collective goods. One particularly interesting example of such a collective good is the archive that is created out of the online conversation among the group members. In this paper, an online community of news reporters is examined in order to understand the use and general awareness of the archived conversation as a valuable information resource. A content analysis of a sample of the archived messages was completed and revealed considerable awareness and use of the archive among the community members. In addition, there was evidence of developing social norms that included searching the conversation archive for information before posting a new question. As the value of the archived conversation increases for a community, so does the need for better ways to browse and search the contents. A new data display, called a conversation map, was developed and is presented as a means to better grasp the rhythms and patterns of the archived discourse. These conversation maps illustrate temporal patterns of the group as a whole, as well as the message patterns of individual participants.

With thin-client virtual network computing technology, the support for synchronous collaboration offered by traditional CSCW tools has been extended to asynchronous participation in a shared workspace. Using frame buffer rectangles to relay pixel values, the system considered acquires and stores the ongoing computer session and offers all participants a joint viewing of their shared workspace. The system also forwards input from the real-time conferees to the remote session and offers support for teleoperations from multiple distributed users. It also lets latecomers retrieve and play back parts of the session they have missed with VCR-like control (fast forward, rewind, play, and stop). Distributed users can access the remote session from heterogeneous platforms such as X Window or Windows NT, or with a Web browser such as Netscape.

Information-theoretically secure schemes for sharing and modifying a secret among a dynamic swarm of computing devices are presented. The schemes securely and distributively maintain a global state for the swarm, and support an unlimited number of changes to the state according to (global) inputs received. We present proactively secure schemes supporting players joining and leaving the swarm. The schemes also allow swarms to be merged, cloned and split. We use the above schemes as a basis to implement an oblivious universal Turing machine, capable of evaluating dynamically specified functions.

An all-optical processing loop circuit, pumped entirely by semiconductor diode lasers, has been constructed and operated. Functional features include optically programmable logic, thresholding, and synchronization; these are achieved using three bistable interference filter devices. The circuit is presently single-channel, however 15 x 15 capability of the devices has been demonstrated using Dammann holograms and array-to-array coupling of a pair of bistable plates; potential parallelism is in excess of lO. Circuit simulations and tolerancing are also described.

Since 2006 the UK based applied theatre company C&T has been using its experience and expertise in mixing drama, learning and digital media to create a new online utility for shaping collaborative educational drama experiences. C&T describes this practice as ‘Networked Theatre’. This article describes both the motivations for C&T's development of the C&T Network and this website. It sets out the functionality it offers students, schools and those working in more informal settings and explores the pedagogic and creative motivations that have shaped the partnerships the C&T Network facilitates. These include the interests of schools, theatre practitioners, disabled people and communities in the developing world. At the centre of this analysis will be the notion of ‘glocalisation’ and its relevance to applied drama in an age of technologically driven globalisation. This article also looks at how C&T has adapted techniques and methods developed in the advertising and mainstream media to shape new pedagogic frameworks for the planning, delivery and evaluation of C&T's work across its network.

Journal Article Manufacturing process, resultant risk profiles and their control in the production of nickel—cadmium (alkaline) batteries Get access R. G. Adams R. G. Adams Senior Medical Advisor, ALCAD LtdUnion St., Redditch, UK Correspondence and reprint requests to: R. G. Adams, Common Lane Barn, Mappleborough Green, Studley, Warwickshire B80 7DR, UK Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Occupational Medicine, Volume 42, Issue 2, 1992, Pages 101–106, https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/42.2.101 Published: 01 April 1992

DFC is a component architecture for telecommunication services. Although the call protocol through which DFC components interact is intrinsically simple, using it to program useful components is quite complex. We diagnose the problems and propose a solution, which takes the form of a call abstraction embodied in a high-level, domain-specific programming language. The abstraction not only encourages correct programming, but also makes it possible to prove that components have important behavioral properties.

Abstract Choroid plexus enlargement is a promising biomarker of disease activity in multiple sclerosis. However, longitudinal changes in choroid plexus volume and microstructural integrity remain unclear. This study investigated temporal changes in choroid plexus measures and their correlations with clinical disability and brain volume changes over 18 months and the entire disease duration. We recruited consecutive relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients at treatment initiation who were then invited to come back for clinical, neuropsychological and brain MRI assessments at 6 and 18 months. Choroid plexus volume was measured using FreeSurfer and Gaussian Mixture Models on 3D-T1-weighted scans, and choroid plexus T1/T2 ratio was calculated from conventional 3D-T1- and T2-weighted images. Brain lesion, whole brain, grey matter, and white matter volumes were measured. Alternating conditional expectation algorithm was used to estimate trajectories of changes in choroid plexus measures over the entire disease course. Multiple linear regression and mixed effects models were used to investigate associations of choroid plexus measures with clinical and MRI measures. False discovery rate correction was applied. 422 RRMS patients were recruited [mean age: 40.8 years (SD 10.9), mean disease duration: 9.5 years (SD 17.4), median expanded disability status scale: 2.0 (IQR: 1.5–3.5); mean symbol digit modalities test score: 50.6 (SD 14.7), mean brief visuospatial memory test-revised score: 25 (SD7.6)]; 276 participants were studied at 6-months follow-up and 80 at 18-months. During the entire disease course, an initial increase in normalized choroid plexus volume was observed, followed by a plateau; T1/T2 ratio decreased initially, but then increased once the volume had stabilized. When examining changes in choroid plexus volumes over a median follow-up of 8.6 months, significant increases in both choroid plexus volumes [β = 0.45, standard error = 0.11, False discovery rate-corrected P < 0.001)] and T1/T2 ratios (β = 0.29, standard error = 0.14, False discovery rate-corrected P = 0.05) were observed. A higher baseline choroid plexus T1/T2 ratio was linked to a faster rate of decrease in normalized brain volume (β = −0.21, standard error = 0.08, False discovery rate-corrected P = 0.01) and deep grey matter volume (β = −0.25, standard error = 0.10, False discovery rate-corrected P = 0.03) over time. Higher baseline choroid plexus T1/T2 values were associated with worsening performance on brief visuospatial memory test-revised over time (β = −0.23, standard error = 0.10, False discovery rate-corrected P = 0.04). Changes in choroid plexus measures over time appear non-linear, with volumes increasing earlier in the disease course and T1/T2 ratios rising later. After a mean disease duration of 9.5 years, higher choroid plexus T1/T2 ratios, but not volume, predicted faster memory decline and whole brain and deep grey matter volume loss, underscoring the value of assessing choroid plexus microstructure, alongside volumes, in predicting clinical and MRI outcomes.

The World Social Forum (WSF) is the world’s largest activist network to date. Its global, regional, national, and thematic events have gathered since 2001 millions of participants and thousands of civil society and social movement organisations. Its cosmopolitan vision is built on resistance to the planetary domination by neo-liberal globalisation. This paper unpacks WSF’s cosmopolitan project and reflects on its vision of emancipated individuals, convivial communities, and a just planetary society in harmony with the environment. In its open organisational space, WSF’s cosmopolitan project develops while in the process of political action rather than prior to that. At the same time, power dynamics, ideological cleavages, and pragmatic concerns about organisation and strategy challenge WSF’s ability to pursue its goals. However, it is these internal tensions that make WSF’s cosmopolitan project both more difficult to achieve and more realistic than claims of universal unity among all its participants.

Researchers performed a quantitative content analysis of a random sample of 389 newspaper and news agency headlines about a diplomatic rift in the Middle East published June 5-11, 2017 in 80 different English language newspapers from 34 nations. The theoretical underpinning was media framing theory, with a focus on emphasis framing, rooted in sociological research, which examines the content of communication. Independent variables were the nation and region of the world in which the headline was published and alignment, non-alignment or neutrality with the nation at the center of the rift, Qatar. Dependent variables were headline tone toward Qatar and headline topics/frames. Results showed that newspapers and news agencies tended to follow the lead of their respective national governments in headlines about the diplomatic rift among Qatar and four Arab nations (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain) that simultaneously severed diplomatic ties with Qatar. Headlines published in nations non-aligned with Qatar were the most negative (82.3%) and the least positive (13.3%). Headlines published in nations aligned with Qatar were the most positive (37.5%) and least negative (50.0%). Newspaper headlines published in nations that were neutral were 18.1% positive in tone. These differences were statistically significant at <0.001 level of probability. Overall, 71.2% of the headlines were negative in tone; 21.1% were positive, and 7.7% were neutral. The most frequent headline topics were the severing of diplomatic relations by four Arab nations with Qatar, a flight ban on Qatar Airways, US President Donald Trump criticizing Qatar and the crisis itself.

The potential for using a cash balance pension plan as a restructuring tool is one reason it is gaining favor throughout corporate America. Another reason is that it can give employees a better understanding and appreciation of their retirement benefits. Both reasons are important at a time when companies are changing rapidly and sometimes downsizing and when employees are less likely to stay in one place long enough to anticipate reaping the rewards of a defined bene-fit plan. Cash balance plans combine some of the best features of defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit (DB) plans. For employers, they provide more flexibility than traditional DB plans and help companies achieve their strategic objectives. For employees, they better meet the needs of a changing workforce by delivering portable, easily understood benefits. Since 1985, more than 200 companies have replaced their DB pension plans with a cash bal-ance design. One of the newest and most enthu-siastic proponents is AT&amp;T, which, with the help of consulting firm ASA, Inc., designed a cash bal-. ance plan to help meet its restructuring goals.

At AT&amp;T focus on the customer is paramount. Describes the “shared expectations” process to create ongoing, value‐adding relationships between customers and suppliers. Details four phases of the process: pre‐planning; the session; implementing actions, and continuous improvement. Also reports on a customer report card scheme, introduced to obtain better feedback from customers compared with independently conducted customer surveys.

The uses of simulation today are as much about the derivation and verification of control logic as they are about sizing of manufacturing processes. This paper will examine the use of simulation in the design of control 10gic, fie

In this paper, we present a system overview of the Cambridge Wireless Broadband Trial which is being deployed in the Cambridge area in the UK. The trial network is intended to serve as a testbed for research into new paradigms for wireless communications, and will provide an infrastructure for research on home networks. After a brief discussion of the network provisioning methods required to make the network operational, we present some preliminary measurement results. We then identify potential performance issues and propose some possible solutions as future work.

A permutation σ describing the relative orders of the first n iterates of a point x under a self-map f of the interval I =[0,1] is called an order pattern . For fixed f and n , measuring the points x ∈ I (according to Lebesgue measure) that generate the order pattern σ gives a probability distribution μ n ( f ) on the set of length n permutations. We study the distributions that arise this way for various classes of functions f . Our main results treat the class of measure-preserving functions. We obtain an exact description of the set of realizable distributions in this case: for each n this set is a union of open faces of the polytope of flows on a certain digraph, and a simple combinatorial criterion determines which faces are included. We also show that for general f , apart from an obvious compatibility condition, there is no restriction on the sequence {μ n ( f )} n=1,2,. . . . In addition, we give a necessary condition for f to have finite exclusion type , that is, for there to be finitely many order patterns that generate all order patterns not realized by f . Using entropy we show that if f is piecewise continuous, piecewise monotone, and either ergodic or with points of arbitrarily high period, then f cannot have finite exclusion type. This generalizes results of S. Elizalde.

Background Patients with symptoms of suspected cancer usually present to general practice; however, they may present to other healthcare providers, such as community pharmacies. The clinical role of pharmacy staff has significantly increased in England in recent years. Aim To describe the range of interventions targeting early cancer detection in community pharmacies globally; to summarise the outcomes of these interventions; to report on barriers and facilitators to delivering the interventions and on service users’ and stakeholders’ experiences with such interventions. Design and setting Systematic review with narrative synthesis, of international literature, on community pharmacy-based early cancer detection. Method Online searches of Medline, CINAHL, Cochrane CENTRAL, PsycINFO, and Embase and UK-based relevant grey literature were performed. Interventions were defined as any intervention, initiative, or programme that focused on community pharmacy-based early cancer detection programmes. Results In total, 14 134 titles and abstracts were screened, and 330 full-text publications were reviewed by two independent reviewers. Of these, 52 publications were included in the review. They reported on interventions focusing on early diagnosis of colorectal ( n = 19), skin ( n = 8), lung ( n = 4), cervical ( n = 3), breast ( n = 2), head and neck ( n = 2), and mixed ( n = 14) cancers. The feasibility and acceptability of such interventions by community pharmacy staff and customers/patients have been demonstrated in the included studies. Studies involving opportunistic identification of customers with suspected cancer symptoms in pharmacies recruited only a few participants. Conclusion Robust, large-scale clinical trials are needed to demonstrate cost-effectiveness, delineate and inform the use of relevant clinical outcomes, and to explore arrangements for information sharing between community pharmacy and other healthcare settings.

The lecture on which this article is based described how it came about that J.C. Lyons and Co. Ltd., a firm well known as tea shop proprietors and caterers, came to be involved in the building of digital computers, first for their own use and then for sale. They based their work on the EDSAC at Cambridge University, and they took a firm decision to proceed with the building of an enhanced and re-engineered version in the summer of 1949 when the EDSAC had just done its first calculation. It was to be a number of years before digital computers became available generally as articles of commerce. The author describes the development of computer science and computer engineering during the late 1940s and Lyons approach to Cambridge regarding ESDAC. The role of John Pinkerton in this engineering challenge and the setting up of LEO Computers Ltd. and its eventual acquisition by English Electric is discussed.