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The daily operational scheduling of decentralized units is an important optimization task of power systems. This proceeding deals with planing of small-scaled co-generation power units for electrical power generation and district heating in a micro-grid. The given micro-grid operates in an islanding mode. The scheduling of the micro-generators can be mathematically formulated and solved by an optimization algorithm. The solution process consists of a Unit Commitment and Dispatch. The starting Unit Commitment is characterized by a mixed integer nonlinear problem defining the on/off-state of all units. Subsequently, the dispatch distributes the loads to the committed units considering additional thermal energy demand. The Dispatch is based on a mixed integer linear problem. Additionally, a method is presented, which reduces the outage reserve related to the operational conditions. The developed method can also be applied to a micro-grid system which is operated in grid connected mode, considering the possible requirements of a grid operator. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

One of the persistent and fundamental philosophical questions asked of emergent forms of information and communication technology (ICT)â??like the Internet, social networking, and web 2.0 applicationsâ??is whether the data that is contained and conveyed by these systems is truthful and trustworthy. This question, however, already makes a number of assumptions about the nature of truth, the manner of its communication, and the function of ICTs that may or may not be true. This essay examines the concept of truth that has been assumed by and operationalized in the field of communication studies. In doing so, it does not examine any particular truth or the truth that is conveyed by a specific mode or medium of communication. Instead it seeks to uncover and investigate the general concept of truth that already underlies and informs these various circumstances. Toward this end, the investigation is divided into three parts. The first part considers the often unquestioned theory of truth that has been deployed in and is constitutive of the discipline of communication studies. The second takes up and explicates a complication that necessarily affects this traditional understanding from the very beginning. And the third part examines the consequences of this development, demonstrating how it entails a restructuring of the concept of truth, the perceived role of technology, and the objective and conduct of communications research. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary discussions of and writings about computer games throw around the words "real" and "reality" with relative ease. We routinely distinguish the artificial experiences of game play from the real world that exists outside such computer-generated fantasies. We often differentiate the designer bodies of avatars from the real person who manipulates the digital strings. And when push comes to shove, when things in the virtual environment get confused or exceedingly complicated, we often make reference to and seek to return to the relatively safe and well-defined world of what is now called in a curious recursive gesture "real reality." This paper investigates the nature of the real as it is situated in and played with by computer games. The objective is not to engage in mere speculation about the nature of reality but to provide the field of game studies with a more realistic and sophisticated understanding of the real. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]