Multiple objective optimization of bluetooth scatternets

Bluetooth technology permits wireless interconnection for local area communication. While the specification defines how up to eight devices can connect using the same radio channel to form a piconet, piconets may overlap, permitting the formation of much larger networks called scatternets. To create connected scatternets, a wide range of decentralized protocols (algorithms) have been proposed. In this paper we address the centralized optimization of topological characteristics that affect scatternet performance. Knowledge of optimized scatternet topology is useful when comparing decentralized protocols and the scatternets they produce. This paper introduces the first multiple objective optimization framework for scatternets, which operates by optimizing node sequencings that represent scatternets. Using NSGA-II, the framework is described, tuned and applied to determine the trade-offs between competing optimization objectives. Finally, the results are used to benchmark the performance and characteristics of four existing protocols from the literature. This research is supported by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (GR/S23155/01).     

Domestic Violence and Intergenerational Rates of Child Sexual Abuse: A Case Record Analysis

Using case review at a shelter for battered women and their children, this exploratory study investigated the association between physical abuse, exposure to domestic violence and intergenerational occurrence of child sexual abuse. The charts of 570 children were reviewed in an attempt to explore the relationship between the children's experiences with sexual abuse and their nonoffending parent's own history of having been sexually abused. Results indicated that a significant percentage of nonoffending parents who reported a history of child sexual abuse also had children who were sexually abused. Additionally, we found that most (93%) of the children studied had been exposed to domestic violence, and while the base rate of sexual abuse was relatively low (11%), the rate of physical abuse of the children was substantial (41%). Logistic regression results indicated that children of sexually abused nonoffending parents may be at heightened risk for sexual abuse. Implications for treatment and intervention are discussed.     

On the design of optimal change-over experiments through multi-objective simulated annealing

The construction of optimal designs for change-over experiments requires consideration of the two component treatment designs: one for the direct treatments and the other for the residual (carry-over) treatments. A multi-objective approach is introduced using simulated annealing, which simultaneously optimises each of the component treatment designs to produce a set of dominant designs in one run of the algorithm. The algorithm is used to demonstrate that a wide variety of change-over designs can be generated quickly on a desk top computer. These are generally better than those previously recorded in the literature.     

The body as existential midpoint—the aging and dying body of nursing home residents

The human body has been the object of extensive attention in the social sciences, recently receiving increasing interest from social gerontology as well. However, the issue of old bodies and particularly the body in the fourth age of life remains relatively under-researched. The need to give emphasis to the subjective experiences of the oldest old during their final phase of life has been pointed out. This article is based on data obtained from ethnographic fieldwork carried out on a nursing home ward, and explores and analyses how the residents talk about and regard their own aging and dying bodies. The focus is on the link between the disintegrating body, aging and death in an institution-based care context. It was found that the body is the central entity through which the residents experience daily life, through pain, through the caring process, through diminished physical and cognitive functions, and as such constitutes the existential nucleus of their being. The article includes a discussion on how these experiences also elucidate the way in which the body is a mediator for issues seldom acknowledged such as existential needs.     

Play Therapy: A Paradigm for Work with Families*

The dream-like, open-ended process of play therapy has much in common with the family therapy style of the authors. This paper provides a partial list of similarities between play therapy and family therapy. It reviews methods for using play with families and considers the question of indications and contraindications for play therapy with families. Clinical examples are utilized to illustrate throughout the paper.     

RESHAPING FAMILY SYMBOLS: A SYMBOLIC-EXPERIENTIAL PERSPECTIVE

This paper represents our understanding of the role of symbols in symbolic-experimental therapy. We believe that the best way to convey our understanding of the symbolic process of family therapy is through sharing our fantasies, metaphors, and stories. We hope that this paper will generate ideas on how to reshape the symbolic world of families in therapy.     

A long life with a particular signature: life course and aging for people with disabilities

What does it mean to live a long life and grow old with disabilities? Or to be an aging parent and still be a caregiver to a disabled adult child? These are questions discussed in this article, the aim of which is to show how a life course perspective adds insight to the lived experience of disability and ageing of adults with disabilities. It is argued that the time concept is fundamental to the understanding of the lives of disabled people. Results are presented which challenge established knowledge regarding disability policies, autonomy, body, biographical disruption and prerequisites of active aging.