Posted on Friday 9 March, 2018

CfP: SASO 2018

Come and join us in Trento for SASO 2018.

12th IEEE International Conference on Self-Adaptive and Self-Organizing Systems (SASO 2018) 3-7 September 2018, Trento, Italy

Aims and Motivation

The aim of the Self-Adaptive and Self-Organizing Systems conference series (SASO) is to provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of research on the foundations of engineered systems that self-adapt and self-organize. The complexity of current and emerging networks, software, and services can be characterized by issues such as scale, heterogeneity, openness, and dynamics in the environment. This has led the software engineering, distributed systems, and management communities to look for inspiration in diverse fields (e.g., complex systems, control theory, artificial intelligence, chemistry, psychology, sociology, and biology) to find new ways of designing and managing such computing systems in a principled way. In this endeavor, self-organization and self-adaptation have emerged as two promising interrelated approaches. They form the basis of many other so-called self-* properties, such as self-configuration, self-healing, or self-optimization. SASO aims to be an interdisciplinary meeting, where contributions from participants with different backgrounds leads to the fostering of a cross-pollination of ideas, and where innovative theories, frameworks, methodologies, tools, and applications can emerge.

Scope

The twelfth edition of the SASO conference embraces this interdisciplinary nature, and welcomes novel contributions to both the foundational and application-focused dimensions of self-adaptive and self-organizing systems research. We are looking for contributions that present new fundamental understanding of self-adaptive and self-organizing systems and how they can be engineered and used. The topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

Self-* Systems theory: nature-inspired and socially-inspired paradigms and heuristics; inter-operation of self-* mechanisms; theoretical frameworks and models; control theory;
Self-* System properties: robustness; resilience; stability; anti-fragility; diversity; self-reference and reflection; emergent behavior; computational awareness and self-awareness;
Self-* Systems engineering: reusable mechanisms and algorithms; design patterns; architectures; methodologies; software and middleware development frameworks and methods; platforms and toolkits; multi-agent systems;
Theory and practice of self-organization: self-governance, change management, electronic institutions, distributed consensus, commons, knowledge management, and the general use of rules, policies, etc. in self-* systems;
Theory and practice of self-adaptation: mechanisms for adaptation, including evolution, logic, learning; adaptability, plasticity, flexibility;
Socio-technical self-* systems: human and social factors; visualization; crowdsourcing and collective awareness; humans-in-the-loop; ethics and humanities in self-* systems;
Data-driven approaches to self-* systems: data mining; machine learning; data science and other statistical techniques to analyze, understand, and manage the behavior of complex systems;
Self-adaptive and self-organizing hardware: self-* materials; self-construction; reconfigurable hardware;
Self-* Systems Education: experience reports; curricula; innovative course concepts; methodological aspects of self-* systems education;
Applications and experiences with self-* systems: smart grid, smart cities, smart homes, adaptive industrial plants, cyber-physical systems; autonomous vehicles and robotics; traffic management; self-adaptive cyber-security; Internet of Things; fog/edge computing; etc.

Important Dates

Abstract submission	April 16, 2018
Paper submission	April 23, 2018
Notification	June 4, 2018
Camera ready copy due	July 2, 2018
Conference	September 3-7, 2018

Submission Instructions

Submissions can have up to 10 pages formatted according to the standard IEEE Computer Society Press proceedings style guide (see templates here). Please submit your papers electronically in PDF format using the SASO 2018 conference management system: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=saso2018. The proceedings will be published by IEEE Computer Society Press, and made available as a part of the IEEE Digital Library. Note that a separate Call for Poster and Demo Submissions will also be issued. As per the standard IEEE policies, all submissions should be original, i.e., they should not have been previously published in any conference proceedings, book, or journal and should not currently be under review for another archival conference. We would like to also highlight IEEE’s policies regarding plagiarism and self-plagiarism (http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/ID_Plagiarism.html). Where relevant and appropriate, accepted papers will also be encouraged to participate in the Demo or Poster Sessions.

Review Criteria

Papers should present novel ideas in the cross-disciplinary research context described in this call, motivated by problems from current practice or applied research. Both theoretical and empirical contributions should be highlighted, substantiated by formal analysis, simulation, experimental evaluations, or comparative studies, etc. Appropriate references must be made to related work. Due to the cross-disciplinary nature of the SASO conference, we encourage papers to be intelligible and relevant to researchers who are not members of the same specialized sub-field. Authors are also encouraged to submit papers describing applications. Application papers should provide an indication of the real-world relevance of the problem that is solved, including a description of the domain, and an evaluation of performance, usability, or comparison to alternative approaches. Experience papers are also welcome, especially if they highlight insights into any aspect of design, implementation or management of self-* systems that would be of benefit to practitioners and the SASO community. All submissions will be rigorously peer reviewed and evaluated based on the quality of their technical contribution, originality, soundness, significance, presentation, understanding of the state of the art, and overall quality.

Contact Information

Conference General Chairs

Antonio Bucchiarone, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, IT Alberto Montresor, University of Trento, IT

Programme Chairs

Jake Beal, Raytheon BBN Technologies, USA Nelly Bencomo, Aston University, UK Jean Botev, University of Luxembourg, LU

Posted on Saturday 3 March, 2018

Venice: A Literary Guide for Travellers (The I.B.Tauris Literary Guides for Travellers)

Marie-Jose Gransard (2016)

A book full of anecdotes and charm, describing how a huge cast of characters have interacted with La Serenissima over the centuries. On the way, Gransard highlights the unique characteristics of Venice: its loose morals and easygoing charm, but also its mystery and romance, its associations with love and lust and death. Best read in conjunction with a visit, I think (as I read it), when one an follow in some character’s footsteps to visit places perhaps not highlighted in the modern guidebooks.

4/5. Finished Saturday 3 March, 2018.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)

Posted on Friday 2 March, 2018

Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House

Michael Wolff (2018)

What can one say about a journey to the centre of the most disruptive and controversial White House of modern times? That is happened at all is amazing: that this book gives such a clear and (I would say) generally reasonably balanced view makes it a major contribution to political literature.

Wolff describes an administration at war with itself, a medieval court in which factions form and dissipate while seeking the attention of the monarch – and truly there’s no other way to describe Donald Trump, who sits at the centre of the book while remaining curiously absent as an individual. Trump comes across as a bundle of contradictions: an outsider who took on the system and won, but someone pathologically requiring attention and submission from all around him while simultaneously hating those who engage in this behaviour; someone unable to control his attention of impulses at the most basic level; someone who personalises everything, seeing every interaction as a zero-sum game in another’s gain must be his loss; and who is managing the presidency through, and for the benefit of, his own family.

It’s clear that Wolff thinks Trump is uniquely unsuited to the role of president, and is surrounded by staff who’s main task is to offer protection in both directions: protecting Trump from the world, but equally protecting the world from Trump. It’s also clear, I think, that Wolff’s Trump is suffering from dementia.

The book is marred by its writing style. There are rambling and often too-detailed sub-clauses – usually within hyphens – that often make sentences appalling difficult to read. And there are some jarring word uses (“hortatory”? really?) that add nothing and give the impression of someone trying too hard in places. Still, it’s a compelling read, both as history and warning.

4/5. Finished Friday 2 March, 2018.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)

Posted on Tuesday 27 February, 2018

The Book of Iona: An Anthology

Robert Crawford (2016)

An anthology that rally gives a taste of the island. Robert Crawford (my colleague at St Andrews) is . talented poet in his own right, and he provides marvellously accessible translations of many of the poems associated with St Columba. These, coupled with several short stories set wholly or in part on Iona – and even an essay by another of my colleagues, Al Dearle, about the difficulties of providing internet access in wild parts – make this a book to dip into for inspiration and relief from “normal” life.

4/5. Finished Tuesday 27 February, 2018.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)

Posted on Saturday 24 February, 2018

The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone

Olivia Laing (2016)

A study of loneliness through the medium of several different artists, and the author’s discovery and reaction to them. Some of these artists are well-known, in name if not in the detail of their lives: Andy Warhol, Edward Hopper, Billie Holliday, and even to a lesser extent Valeri Solanas (who shot Warhol). Others were unknown to me: David Wojnarowicz and (especially) Henry Darger.

I’m not convinced that the studies of these artists – fascinating though they are – casts much light either on the author’s travails or on loneliness more broadly. The first part of the book is stronger in this respect, with a quite penetrating analysis of the difference between loneliness and solitude, and the virtues (for some) of being alone. It’s something every introvert can identify with. I was left with the feeling of a chapter missing, the need to draw all the strings of art and reflection together.

4/5. Finished Saturday 24 February, 2018.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)