An Information Systems Project Management Course Using a Service-Learning Model

This paper describes the implementation of an Information Systems （IS） capstone project management course that is a requirement for graduating seniors in an undergraduate Computer Information Systems （CIS） program at a regional university. The description provides a model which includes the culmination of students＇ academic training in an IS curriculum which is part of a Bachelor of Business Administration （BBA） program in an accredited college of business. The course requires an application of technical and business skills, as well as systems development and project management skills--while students are working on an actual IS project for an external sponsoring organization. Rationale for implementing this type of course includes the benefits it provides to the students, the project sponsors, and the IS department providing the course. Feedback from the course is used as integral part of the C1S curriculum assessment process used for accreditation purposes.

基于主客观环流分型的强降水数值预报MODE检验方法及其在2019年暖季东北地区的应用

本文构建了基于主客观环流分型的强降水数值预报空间检验(MODE)方法框架,并利用该框架对欧洲中期天气预报中心全球模式(ECMWF)和中国气象局区域中尺度数值天气预报模式(CMA_MESO)的2019年暖季东北地区强降水预报进行检验。结果表明,2019年暖季东北地区54个强降水日的环流型可分为:西风槽型(15个)、副热带高压影响型(13个)、急流型(5个)、西部(12个)和东部冷涡型(9个)。其中,西风槽型和急流型以区域性强降水为主,模式对其强降水发生与否的预报能力强,TS评分较高;西部、东部冷涡型强降水的局地性强,模式对其强降水发生与否的预报能力差,TS评分低;副热带高压影响型也以区域性强降水为主,模式对其强降水发生与否的预报能力也比较强,但是对其强降水质心位置、强度、面积等属性预报偏差较大,TS评分也相对较低。另外,从两种模式预报性能对比看,CMA_MESO强降水强度和面积预报较实况普遍偏强,虽然其预报的TS评分一般高于ECMWF,但其对强降水预报的空报率也都比ECMWF大,对强降水的属性预报偏差一致性一般也低于ECMWF,其预报的可订正性整体上不及ECMWF。

一种基于粗糙熵的改进K-modes聚类算法

K-modes聚类算法被广泛应用于人工智能、数据挖掘等领域。传统的K-modes聚类算法有不错的聚类效果,但是存在迭代次数多、计算量大、容易受到冗余属性的干扰等问题,且仅采用简单的0-1匹配的方法来定义2个样本属性值之间的距离,没有充分考虑每个属性对聚类结果的影响。针对上述问题,该文将粗糙熵引入K-modes算法。首先利用粗糙集属性约简算法消除冗余属性,确定各属性的重要程度;然后利用粗糙熵确定每个属性的权重,从而定义新的类内距离。将该文所提算法与传统的K-modes聚类算法分别在4组公开数据集上进行对比试验。试验结果表明,该文所提算法聚类准确率比传统的K-modes聚类算法更高。

UAV-assisted data collection for wireless sensor networks with dynamic working modes

Wireless Sensor Network(WSN)is a cornerstone of Internet of Things(IoT)and has rich application scenarios.In this work,we consider a heterogeneous WSN whose sensor nodes have a diversity in their Residual Energy(RE).In this work,to protect the sensor nodes with low RE,we investigate dynamic working modes for sensor nodes which are determined by their RE and an introduced energy threshold.Besides,we employ an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV)to collect the stored data from the heterogeneous WSN.We aim to jointly optimize the cluster head selection,energy threshold and sensor nodes’working mode to minimize the weighted sum of energy con-sumption from the WSN and UAV,subject to the data collection rate constraint.To this end,we propose an efficient search method to search for an optimal energy threshold,and develop a penalty-based successive convex approximation algorithm to select the cluster heads.Then we present a low-complexity iterative approach to solve the joint optimization problem and discuss the implementation procedure.Numerical results justify that our proposed approach is able to reduce the energy consumption of the sensor nodes with low RE significantly and also saves energy for the whole WSN.

Adaptive Trajectory Tracking Control for Nonholonomic Wheeled Mobile Robots:A Barrier Function Sliding Mode Approach

The trajectory tracking control performance of nonholonomic wheeled mobile robots(NWMRs)is subject to nonholonomic constraints,system uncertainties,and external disturbances.This paper proposes a barrier function-based adaptive sliding mode control(BFASMC)method to provide high-precision,fast-response performance and robustness for NWMRs.Compared with the conventional adaptive sliding mode control,the proposed control strategy can guarantee that the sliding mode variables converge to a predefined neighborhood of origin with a predefined reaching time independent of the prior knowledge of the uncertainties and disturbances bounds.Another advantage of the proposed algorithm is that the control gains can be adaptively adjusted to follow the disturbances amplitudes thanks to the barrier function.The benefit is that the overestimation of control gain can be eliminated,resulting in chattering reduction.Moreover,a modified barrier function-like control gain is employed to prevent the input saturation problem due to the physical limit of the actuator.The stability analysis and comparative experiments demonstrate that the proposed BFASMC can ensure the prespecified convergence performance of the NWMR system output variables and strong robustness against uncertainties/disturbances.

Real-Time 4-Mode MDM Transmission Using Commercial 400G OTN Transceivers and All-Fiber Mode Multiplexers

Weakly-coupled mode division multiplexing(MDM)technique is considered a promising candidate to enhance the capacity of an optical transmission system,in which mode multiplexers/demultiplexers(MMUX/MDEMUX)with low insertion loss and modal crosstalk are the key components.In this paper,a low-modal-crosstalk 4-mode MMUX/MDEMUX for the weakly-coupled triple-ring-core few-mode fiber(TRC-FMF)is designed and fabricated with side-polishing processing.The measurement results show that a pair of MMUX/MDEMUX and 25 km weakly-coupled TRC-FMF MDM link achieve low modal crosstalk of lower than−17.5 dB and insertion loss of lower than 11.56 dB for all the four modes.Based on the TRC-FMF and all-fiber MMUX/MDEMUX,an experiment for 25 km real-time 4-mode 3-λwavelength division multiplexing(WDM)-MDM transmission is conducted using commercial 400G optical transport network(OTN)transceivers.The experimental results prove weakly-coupled MDM techniques facilitate a smooth upgrade of the optical transmission system.

Control method based on DRFNN sliding mode for multifunctional flexible multistate switch

To address the low accuracy and stability when applying classical control theory in distribution networks with distributed generation,a control method involving flexible multistate switches(FMSs)is proposed in this study.This approach is based on an improved double-loop recursive fuzzy neural network(DRFNN)sliding mode,which is intended to stably achieve multiterminal power interaction and adaptive arc suppression for single-phase ground faults.First,an improved DRFNN sliding mode control(SMC)method is proposed to overcome the chattering and transient overshoot inherent in the classical SMC and reduce the reliance on a precise mathematical model of the control system.To improve the robustness of the system,an adaptive parameter-adjustment strategy for the DRFNN is designed,where its dynamic mapping capabilities are leveraged to improve the transient compensation control.Additionally,a quasi-continuous second-order sliding mode controller with a calculus-driven sliding mode surface is developed to improve the current monitoring accuracy and enhance the system stability.The stability of the proposed method and the convergence of the network parameters are verified using the Lyapunov theorem.A simulation model of the three-port FMS with its control system is constructed in MATLAB/Simulink.The simulation result confirms the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed control strategy based on a comparative analysis.

Trajectory tracking guidance of interceptor via prescribed performance integral sliding mode with neural network disturbance observer

This paper investigates interception missiles’trajectory tracking guidance problem under wind field and external disturbances in the boost phase.Indeed,the velocity control in such trajectory tracking guidance systems of missiles is challenging.As our contribution,the velocity control channel is designed to deal with the intractable velocity problem and improve tracking accuracy.The global prescribed performance function,which guarantees the tracking error within the set range and the global convergence of the tracking guidance system,is first proposed based on the traditional PPF.Then,a tracking guidance strategy is derived using the integral sliding mode control techniques to make the sliding manifold and tracking errors converge to zero and avoid singularities.Meanwhile,an improved switching control law is introduced into the designed tracking guidance algorithm to deal with the chattering problem.A back propagation neural network(BPNN)extended state observer(BPNNESO)is employed in the inner loop to identify disturbances.The obtained results indicate that the proposed tracking guidance approach achieves the trajectory tracking guidance objective without and with disturbances and outperforms the existing tracking guidance schemes with the lowest tracking errors,convergence times,and overshoots.

MODE降水检验评价指标改进及卷积半径应用

基于对象的诊断检验方法(MODE)受降水临界值、卷积半径、属性权重等参数的影响,合理选取卷积半径并准确表征预报场与观测场之间的空间相似度决定了MODE的应用效果。本文基于2020年夏季贵州54个降水个例,以多源融合降水(CMPA)作为实况,使用MODE和FSS评分(Fractions Skill Score)对中国气象局广东快速更新同化数值预报系统(CMA-GD)24 h日降水预报进行空间检验。结果表明:卷积半径过小易造成MODE提取降水对象过多,而卷积半径过大则导致局部降水信息丢失,无法从降水场中提取到降水对象。不同卷积半径下计算的最大相似度中值(M_(MI))存在突变。在M_(MI)基础上引入面积权重构造面积平均最大相似度(A_(MMI))。A_(MMI)不受提取降水对象个数的影响,较M_(MI)更具有稳定性,用于表征降水场之间的整体空间相似程度更为合理。根据对象总面积随卷积半径的变化将降水分为大范围降水和局部降水2类。大范围降水平均总面积随着卷积半径的增加而增加,A_(MMI)随卷积半径变化不大。随着卷积半径的增加,局部降水平均总面积减小,平均A_(MMI)有所减小。局部降水对卷积半径选取较为敏感,以观测场对象面积变化不超过10%的最大半径作为卷积半径有助于保留降水场大部分信息。

Transition from a filamentary mode to a diffuse one with varying distance from needle to stream of an argon plasma jet

Plasma jet has extensive application potentials in various fields, which normally operates in a diffuse mode when helium is used as the working gas. However, when less expensive argon is used, the plasma jet often operates in a filamentary mode. Compared to the filamentary mode, the diffuse mode is more desirable for applications. Hence, many efforts have been exerted to accomplish the diffuse mode of the argon plasma jet. In this paper, a novel single-needle argon plasma jet is developed to obtain the diffuse mode. It is found that the plasma jet operates in the filamentary mode when the distance from the needle tip to the central line of the argon stream(d) is short. It transits to the diffuse mode with increasing d. For the diffuse mode, there is always one discharge pulse per voltage cycle, which initiates at the rising edge of the positive voltage. For comparison, the number of discharge pulse increases with an increase in the peak voltage for the filamentary mode. Fast photography reveals that the plasma plume in the filamentary mode results from a guided positive streamer,which propagates in the argon stream. However, the plume in the diffuse mode originates from a branched streamer, which propagates in the interfacial layer between the argon stream and the surrounding air. By optical emission spectroscopy,plasma parameters are investigated for the two discharge modes, which show a similar trend with increasing d. The diffuse mode has lower electron temperature, electron density, vibrational temperature, and gas temperature compared to the filamentary mode.

Mode coupling with Fabry-Perot modes in photonic crystal slabs

Fabry–Perot(FP)modes are a class of fundamental resonances in photonic crystal(PhC)slabs.Owing to their low quality factors,FP modes are frequently considered as background fields with their resonance nature being neglected.Nevertheless,FP modes can play important roles in some phenomena,as exemplified by their coupling with guided resonance(GR)modes to achieve bound states in the continuum(BIC).Here,we further demonstrate the genuine resonance mode capability of FP modes PhC slabs.Firstly,we utilize temporal coupled-mode theory to obtain the transmittance of a PhC slab based on the FP modes.Secondly,we construct exceptional points(EPs)in both momentum and parameter spaces through the coupling of FP and GR modes.Furthermore,we identify a Fermi arc connecting two EPs and discuss the far-field polarization topology.This work elucidates that the widespread FPs in PhC slabs can serve as genuine resonant modes,facilitating the realization of desired functionalities through mode coupling.

Suppression of the m/n=2/1 tearing mode by electron cyclotron resonance heating on J-TEXT

Stabilization of tearing modes and neoclassical tearing modes is of great importance for tokamak operation.Electron cyclotron waves(ECWs)have been extensively used to stabilize the tearing modes with the virtue of highly localized power deposition.Complete suppression of the m/n=2/1 tearing mode(TM)by electron cyclotron resonance heating(ECRH)has been achieved successfully on the J-TEXT tokamak.The effects of ECW deposition location and power amplitude on the 2/1 TM suppression have been investigated.It is found that the suppression is more effective when the ECW power is deposited closer to the rational surface.As the ECW power increases to approximately 230 k W,the 2/1 TM can be completely suppressed.The island rotation frequency is increased when the island width is reduced.The experimental results show that the local heating inside the magnetic island and the resulting temperature perturbation increase at the O-point of the island play dominant roles in TM suppression.As the ECW power increases,the 2/1 island is suppressed to smaller island width,and the flow shear also plays a stabilizing effect on small magnetic islands.With the stabilizing contribution of heating and flow shear,the 2/1 TM can be completely suppressed.

Control of 2-D Semi-Markov Jump Systems:A View from Mode Generation Mechanism

Dear Editor,Two-dimensional(2-D) systems have wide applications in image data processing,gas absorption and fluid dynamics analysis [1]-[3].When there exist abrupt changes in 2-D systems,they are usually modeled by 2-D Markov jump systems(MJSs) or 2-D semi-Markov jump systems(SMJSs).This letter investigates the control of 2-D SMJSs based on a novel mode generation mechanism,which could avoid mode ambiguousness phenomenon caused by the evolution of system mode in two different directions.The criterion that guarantees the almost surely exponential stability of the system is obtained.A thermal process is studied to demonstrate the availability of the proposed method.

Influences of Co-Flow and Counter-Flow Modes of Reactant Flow Arrangement on a PEMFC at Start-Up

To investigate the influences of co-flowand counter-flowmodes of reactant flowarrangement on a proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC)during start-up,unsteady physical and mathematical models fully coupling the flow,heat,and electrochemical reactions in a PEMFC are established.The continuity equation and momentum equation are solved by handling pressure-velocity coupling using the SIMPLE algorithm.The electrochemical reaction rates in the catalyst layers(CLs)of the cathode and anode are calculated using the Butler-Volmer equation.The multiphase mixture model describes the multiphase transport process of gas mixtures and liquid water in the fuel cell.After validation,the influences of co-flow and counter-flow modes on the PEMFC performance are investigated,including the evolution of the current density,flow field,temperature field,and reactant concentration field during start-up,as well as the steady distribution of the current density,reactant concentration,andmembrane water content when the start-up stabilizes.Co-flow and counter-flow modes influence the current density distribution and temperature distribution.On the one hand,the co-flow mode accelerates the start-up process of the PEMFC and leads to a more evenly distributed current density than the counter-flow mode.On the other hand,the temperature difference between the inlet and outlet sections of the cell is up to 10.1℃ under the co-flow mode,much larger than the 5.0℃ observed in the counter-flow mode.Accordingly,the counter-flowmode results in a more evenly distributed temperature and a lower maximum temperature than the co-flow case.Therefore,in the flow field design of a PEMFC,the reactant flow arrangements can be considered to weigh between better heat management and higher current density distribution of the cell.

Investigation on the roles of equilibrium toroidal rotation during edge-localized mode mitigated by resonant magnetic perturbations

The effects of equilibrium toroidal rotation during edge-localized mode(ELM)mitigated by resonant magnetic perturbation(RMP)are studied with the experimental equilibria of the EAST tokamak based on the four-field model in the BOUT++code.As the two main parameters to determine the toroidal rotation profiles,the rotation shear and magnitudes were separately scanned to investigate their roles in the impact of RMPs on peeling-ballooning(P-B)modes.On one hand,the results show that strong toroidal rotation shear is favorable for the enhancement of the self-generated E×B shearing rate<ω_(E×B)>with RMPs,leading to significant ELM mitigation with RMP in the stronger toroidal rotation shear region.On the other hand,toroidal rotation magnitudes may affect ELM mitigation by changing the penetration of the RMPs,more precisely the resonant components.RMPs can lead to a reduction in the pedestal energy loss by enhancing the multimode coupling in the turbulence transport phase.The shielding effects on RMPs increase with the toroidal rotation magnitude,leading to the enhancement of the multimode coupling with RMPs to be significantly weakened.Hence,the reduction in pedestal energy loss by RMPs decreased with the rotation magnitude.In brief,the results show that toroidal rotation plays a dual role in ELM mitigation with RMP by changing the shielding effects of plasma by rotation magnitude and affecting<ω_(E×B)>by rotation shear.In the high toroidal rotation region,toroidal rotation shear is usually strong and hence plays a dominant role in the influence of RMP on P-B modes,whereas in the low rotation region,toroidal rotation shear is weak and has negligible impact on P-B modes,and the rotation magnitude plays a dominant role in the influence of RMPs on the P-B modes by changing the field penetration.Therefore,the dual role of toroidal rotation leads to stronger ELM mitigation with RMP,which may be achieved both in the low toroidal rotation region and the relatively high rotation region that has strong rotational shear.

Service-Learning Practices and Reflections in the Perspective of Nel Noddings’Theory of Caring Education:The“Care for the Elderly”Service-Learning Program as an Example

Nel Noddings’ethics of care is an important lineage of Western moral education thought,which contains deep humanistic values.Service-learning advocates the equal importance of service and learning,and emphasizes more on the discovery of educational connotations in practice.Based on the social background of aging,this paper takes the“Care for the Elderly”service-learning program as an example,attempts to take the care ethics as the entry point,adopts interviews,questionnaires,and other research methods,and opens-up the service-learning practice path under the threshold of Nel Noddings’care education theory.

Analyses of nonequilibrium transport in atmospheric-pressure direct-current argon discharge under different modes

The key plasma parameters under different discharge modes, such as heavy-particle and electron temperatures, electron number density, and nonequilibrium volume of plasmas, play important roles in various applications of gas discharge plasmas. In this study, a self-consistent two-dimensional nonequilibrium fluid model coupled with an external circuit model is established to reveal the mechanisms related to the discharge modes, including the normal glow, abnormal glow,arc, and glow-to-arc transition modes, with an atmospheric-pressure direct-current(DC) argon discharge as a model plasma system. The modeling results show that, under different discharge modes, the most significant difference between the preceding four discharge modes lies in the current and energy transfer processes on the cathode side. On one hand, the current to the cathode surface is mainly delivered by the ions coming from the plasma column under the glow discharge mode due to the low temperature of the solid cathode, whereas the thermionic and secondary electrons emitted from the hot cathode surface play a very important role under the arc mode with a higher cathode surface temperature and higher ion flux toward the cathode. On the other hand, the energy transfer channel on the cathode side changes from mainly heating the solid cathode under the glow mode to simultaneously heating both the solid cathode and plasma column under the arc mode with an increase in the discharge current. Consequently, the power density in the cathode sheath(P_c) was used as a key parameter for judging different discharge modes, and the range of(0.28–1.2) × 10^(12) W m^(-3) was determined as a critical window of P_c corresponding to the glow-to-arc-mode transition for the atmospheric-pressure DC argon discharge, which was also verified by comparison with the experimental results in this study and the data in the previous literature.

Dissipative soliton resonance within different dispersion regimes in a single mode-locked laser

Dissipative soliton resonance(DSR) was previously studied in separated mode-locked fiber lasers within different dispersion regimes including anomalous, near-zero and normal dispersion. Here we propose a method to study DSR in a single mode-locked laser in these different dispersion regimes. This is achieved by virtue of a waveshaper which can control the laser dispersion readily using software, avoiding the usual tedious cutback method. We find that dispersion has a negligible effect on DSR since the pulse duration keeps constant while dispersion is varied. Moreover, we examine the dynamics of DSR on the parameters of the SA including modulation depth and saturation power, and find that the pulse duration can be changed in a large range when the saturation power is decreased. Our numerical simulations could be important to guide relative experimental studies.

On the generation of high-quality Nyquist pulses in mode-locked fiber lasers

Nyquist pulses have wide applications in many areas,from electronics to optics.Mode-locked lasers are ideal platforms to generate such pulses.However,how to generate high-quality Nyquist pulses in mode-locked lasers remains elusive.We address this problem by managing different physical effects in mode-locked fiber lasers through extensive numerical simulations.We find that net dispersion,linear loss,gain and filter shaping can affect the quality of Nyquist pulses significantly.We also demonstrate that Nyquist pulses experience similariton shaping due to the nonlinear attractor effect in the gain medium.Our work may contribute to the design of Nyquist pulse sources and enrich the understanding of pulse shaping dynamics in mode-locked lasers.

Effects of diamagnetic drift on nonlinear interaction between multi-helicity neoclassical tearing modes

A numerical study of the diamagnetic drift effect on the nonlinear interaction between multi-helicity neoclassical tearing modes(NTMs) is carried out using a set of four-field equations including two-fluid effects.The results show that,in contrast to the single-fluid case,5/3 NTM cannot be completely suppressed by 3/2 NTM with diamagnetic drift flow.Both modes exhibit oscillation and coexist in the saturated phase.To better understand the effect of the diamagnetic drift flow on multiple-helicity NTMs,the influence of typical relevant parameters is investigated.It is found that the average saturated magnetic island width increases with increasing bootstrap current fraction f_(b) but decreases with the ion skin depth δ.In addition,as the ratio of parallel to perpendicular transport coefficients χ_(‖)/χ_(⊥) increases,the average saturated magnetic island widths of the 3/2 and 5/3 NTMs increase.The underlying mechanisms behind these observations are discussed in detail.