Abstract
The coefficient diagram method is primarily an algebraic control design method whose objective is to easily obtain a good controller with minimum user effort. As a matter of fact, if a system model, in the form of linear differential equations, is known, the user only need to define a time-constant and the controller order. The later can be established regarding the expected disturbance type via a lookup table first published by Koksal and Hamamci in 2004. However an inaccuracy in this table was detected and pointed-out in the present work. Moreover the above mentioned table was expanded in order to enclose any k order type disturbance

Abstract
Three-dimensional virtual environments are present in many diffierent applications, being used even in small handheld devices. To navigate in these environments using such devices, most of current solutions rely on multi-touch interactions. However, previous works have already stated that multi-touch gestures on smartphones are not always feasible. In this work we present ThumbCam, a novel single-touch technique for camera manipulation on 3D virtual environments. With our solution, the user is able to move and look around and circle points of interest, while interacting using only his thumb. We compare ThumbCam with other state-of-the-art techniques, showing that it can offer more operations with a single touch. A qualitative user evaluation revealed that users found our solution appealing.

Abstract
Recent changes in the operation and planning of power systems have been motivated by the introduction of Distributed Generation (DG) and Demand Response (DR) in the competitive electricity markets' environment, with deep concerns at the efficiency level. In this context, grid operators, market operators, utilities and consumers must adopt strategies and methods to take full advantage of demand response and distributed generation. This requires that all the involved players consider all the market opportunities, as the case of energy and reserve components of electricity markets. The present paper proposes a methodology which considers the joint dispatch of demand response and distributed generation in the context of a distribution network operated by a virtual power player. The resources' participation can be performed in both energy and reserve contexts. This methodology contemplates the probability of actually using the reserve and the distribution network constraints. Its application is illustrated in this paper using a 32-bus distribution network with 66 DG units and 218 consumers classified into 6 types of consumers.

Abstract
Slicing is a distributed systems primitive that allows to autonomously partition a large set of nodes based on node-local attributes. Slicing is decisive for automatically provisioning system resources for different services, based on their requirements or importance. One of the main limitations of existing slicing protocols is that only single dimension attributes are considered for partitioning. In practical settings, it is often necessary to consider best compromises for an ensemble of metrics. In this paper we propose an extension of the slicing primitive that allows multi-attribute distributed systems slicing. Our protocol employs a gossip-based approach that does not require centralized knowledge and allows self-organization. It leverages the notion of domination between nodes, forming a partial order between multi-dimensional points, in a similar way to SkyLine queries for databases. We evaluate and demonstrate the interest of our approach using large-scale simulations.

Abstract
The use of powerful mobile devices, like smartphones, tablets and laptops, is changing the way programmers develop software. While in the past the primary goal to optimize software was the run time optimization, nowadays there is a growing awareness of the need to reduce energy consumption. This paper presents a technique and a tool to detect anomalous energy consumption in Android applications, and to relate it directly with the source code of the application. We propose a dynamically calibrated model for energy consumption for the Android ecosystem that supports different devices. The model is used as an API to monitor the application execution: first, we instrument the application source code so that we can relate energy consumption to the application source code; second, we use a statistical approach, based on fault-localization techniques, to localize abnormal energy consumption in the source code.

Abstract
With the advent of restructuring, generation companies have to plan the operation of their stations in order to maximize their profits. This is very relevant for companies having a large share of hydro stations, and even more if these stations have pumping capacity. This paper describes a model to plan the operation of a set of hydro stations eventually installed in cascade and admitting that some of them are pumping stations. Once a first set of operation orders is obtained using a Genetic Algorithm, their generation/load values are included in the expected market selling/buying curves and the hourly prices are updated. These prices are then used to refine the operation orders originating an iterative process so that hydro stations are price makers. The paper includes results for a hydro system in order to illustrate the application of the developed approach. © 2014 IEEE.