Low-order dynamical models for non-linear fluid behaviour in quasi two-dimensional plasmas. Two complex systems in which a magnetic field imposes two-dimensional fluid motions are turbulent fusion plasmas and magnetospheric plasmas. A distinctive property of 2D flows is the inverse energy cascade, whereby energy streaming into large-scale vortices, coherent structures, or sheared flows gives a remarkable propensity for self-organizing behaviour. This can be exploited to govern or guide our respo ....Low-order dynamical models for non-linear fluid behaviour in quasi two-dimensional plasmas. Two complex systems in which a magnetic field imposes two-dimensional fluid motions are turbulent fusion plasmas and magnetospheric plasmas. A distinctive property of 2D flows is the inverse energy cascade, whereby energy streaming into large-scale vortices, coherent structures, or sheared flows gives a remarkable propensity for self-organizing behaviour. This can be exploited to govern or guide our response to such systems. We propose to investigate the dynamics of momentum and energy exchange in these plasmas, using reduced dynamical models and bifurcation and stability mathematics. Expected outcomes are improved prediction of magnetospheric substorms and confinement of fusion plasmas.
Read moreRead less
Dynamics of eigenvalue/eigenspace algorithms with applications to signal processing. Many problems in signal and systems lead naturally to an eigenvalue/eigenspace determination and tracking problem; for example (acoustic) echo-cancellation, crosstalk suppression in ADSL modems, direction of arrival determination with an array of sensors, linear system identification etc. Exploiting methods from global analysis and dynamical systems theory we will study the available algorithms for eigenspace de ....Dynamics of eigenvalue/eigenspace algorithms with applications to signal processing. Many problems in signal and systems lead naturally to an eigenvalue/eigenspace determination and tracking problem; for example (acoustic) echo-cancellation, crosstalk suppression in ADSL modems, direction of arrival determination with an array of sensors, linear system identification etc. Exploiting methods from global analysis and dynamical systems theory we will study the available algorithms for eigenspace determination to characterise their computational efficiency, accuracy and effectiveness in various data scenarios. The analysis will lead to improved designs for eigenvalue/eigenspace algorithms, as well as design tools to engineer algorithms to specific situations.Read moreRead less
User-Driven Composition of Web Services. Web service composition technology promises to revolutionise the way in which organisations interact over the Web. However existing environments for the composition of Web services are too complex to use and are usually intended for experienced application developers as they rely either on scripting languages, or on a process-modelling notations intended to be used by IT experts. However, the need for customised composition of Web services is likely to em ....User-Driven Composition of Web Services. Web service composition technology promises to revolutionise the way in which organisations interact over the Web. However existing environments for the composition of Web services are too complex to use and are usually intended for experienced application developers as they rely either on scripting languages, or on a process-modelling notations intended to be used by IT experts. However, the need for customised composition of Web services is likely to emanate from non IT-experts.
The project aims at designing, implementing, and evaluating an environment for the specification and execution of composite Web services by non-expert.Read moreRead less
Privacy-preserving Web Services Composition. Web services composition is emerging as a promising technology for the
effective automation of business-to-business collaborations. It allows
organizations to form alliances by connecting their applications and systems, in order to offer ``one-stops shops'' for their customers. However, several important issues (e.g., security and privacy) need to be properly addressed before Web services technology meets the requirements of critical applications s ....Privacy-preserving Web Services Composition. Web services composition is emerging as a promising technology for the
effective automation of business-to-business collaborations. It allows
organizations to form alliances by connecting their applications and systems, in order to offer ``one-stops shops'' for their customers. However, several important issues (e.g., security and privacy) need to be properly addressed before Web services technology meets the requirements of critical applications such as e-goverment. This project aims at providing privacy preserving Web services composition techniques. The anticipated outcome of this project is a service composition framework that provides seamless interoperability between different Web services without violiating citizens and organisations privacy.Read moreRead less
Crafting Authoritarian Politics. Although Russia is nominally a democracy, strong elements of authoritarianism remain dominant. This project examines how Russia has accommodated these authoritarian themes within a representative democracy and, more generally, seeks to shed new light on the process of democratization in postcommunist societies. Russia is the 8th largest country in the world by population and the 11th largest economy based on GDP; it also remains nuclear-armed. Understanding th ....Crafting Authoritarian Politics. Although Russia is nominally a democracy, strong elements of authoritarianism remain dominant. This project examines how Russia has accommodated these authoritarian themes within a representative democracy and, more generally, seeks to shed new light on the process of democratization in postcommunist societies. Russia is the 8th largest country in the world by population and the 11th largest economy based on GDP; it also remains nuclear-armed. Understanding the dynamics of democratization in Russia has implications for political stability across a large section of the world which is currently in transition from authoritarianism to democracy.Read moreRead less
Cooperative Management of Virtual Teams and Enterprises. Thanks to the proliferation of the Internet and web technologies, it is now possible to exploit the power of these technologies to facilitate the cooperation of teams of workers across distances. Such virtual teams and virtual enterprises are expected to overcome many problems associated in the modern service industry spanning continents. Countries (such as Australia) that are located far from the main markets (e,g, Europe and North Americ ....Cooperative Management of Virtual Teams and Enterprises. Thanks to the proliferation of the Internet and web technologies, it is now possible to exploit the power of these technologies to facilitate the cooperation of teams of workers across distances. Such virtual teams and virtual enterprises are expected to overcome many problems associated in the modern service industry spanning continents. Countries (such as Australia) that are located far from the main markets (e,g, Europe and North America) stand to gain substantially from successful deployment of such virtual organisations. Researchers from UNSW and LORIA France have been working together on the development of cooperative management models for virtual enterprises. This application seeks funding for the travel of researchers across these countries to facilitate this research.Read moreRead less
Singular and Analytic Perturbations, Slow and Fast Time Scales in Control Theory and Viability Theory and their Applications. We propose an innovative approach to several important classes of mathematical problems, whose data depend analytically on small perturbation parameters. Time scale problems, and, in particular, the interaction of two types of evolution, slow and fast, arise in many scientific domains (biotechnology, physics, engineering, etc).We expect to develop new techniques for analy ....Singular and Analytic Perturbations, Slow and Fast Time Scales in Control Theory and Viability Theory and their Applications. We propose an innovative approach to several important classes of mathematical problems, whose data depend analytically on small perturbation parameters. Time scale problems, and, in particular, the interaction of two types of evolution, slow and fast, arise in many scientific domains (biotechnology, physics, engineering, etc).We expect to develop new techniques for analysis and asymptotic optimisation of singularly perturbed control systems and Markov decision processes. In particular, we plan to establish links between general nonlinear optimal control problems with time average criteria and linear programming problems in the space of limit occupational measures generated by the underlying control system.Read moreRead less
Anti-ageing role for relaxin in blood vessels. Arteries stiffen with age. This is due to increased arterial smooth muscle tone and alterations in the extracellular matrix. In a sense, the artery undergoes ?fibrosis? with aging. In light of the anti-fibrotic attributes of the peptide hormone relaxin observed in other tissues, this collaborative project will investigate the potential role for relaxin in opposing arterial ?fibrosis? associated with aging. We will test the hypothesis that a reductio ....Anti-ageing role for relaxin in blood vessels. Arteries stiffen with age. This is due to increased arterial smooth muscle tone and alterations in the extracellular matrix. In a sense, the artery undergoes ?fibrosis? with aging. In light of the anti-fibrotic attributes of the peptide hormone relaxin observed in other tissues, this collaborative project will investigate the potential role for relaxin in opposing arterial ?fibrosis? associated with aging. We will test the hypothesis that a reduction in arterial relaxin expression in older animals is a major cause of arterial stiffening. Further studies will investigate the mechanisms by which relaxin administration can alleviate this phenomenon.Read moreRead less
Automated Interaction Technologies for Mobile Hand-held Devices. This project is concerned with developing intelligent technologies that support human interaction through handheld devices, connected to wireless digital networks. Intelligent software assistants running on these devices will interact with one another in order to coordinate the activities of multiple users. Such automated coordination may facilitate scheduling of meetings, collaboration among different members of a team, and negoti ....Automated Interaction Technologies for Mobile Hand-held Devices. This project is concerned with developing intelligent technologies that support human interaction through handheld devices, connected to wireless digital networks. Intelligent software assistants running on these devices will interact with one another in order to coordinate the activities of multiple users. Such automated coordination may facilitate scheduling of meetings, collaboration among different members of a team, and negotiating conflicts that may arise between the activities of different connected users. This will enable context-dependent task support and coordination of workers involved in industrial applications involving mobility and dynamism.Read moreRead less
Development of Knowledge Discovery for High Dimensional Biomedical Data. The recent progress in experimental techniques of molecular genetics has made available a wealth of genome data and raised the interest for analysis of DNA sequences. As the human and mouse genome projects are in a phase of systematic sequencing, computational tools based on concepts used in science fields have recently played a prominent role. Significant contributions to this project will increasingly depend upon original ....Development of Knowledge Discovery for High Dimensional Biomedical Data. The recent progress in experimental techniques of molecular genetics has made available a wealth of genome data and raised the interest for analysis of DNA sequences. As the human and mouse genome projects are in a phase of systematic sequencing, computational tools based on concepts used in science fields have recently played a prominent role. Significant contributions to this project will increasingly depend upon original application and development of algorithms for the analysis of genomic data, and of the computational systems that support them. These challenges have fostered major progress in computer science, leading to collaborative research of global significance.Read moreRead less