External Dynamics Research Articles

Indonesia. The end of innocence? Indonesian Islam and the temptations of radicalism. By Andrée Feillard and Remy Madinier. Trans. by Wong Wee. Singapore: NUS Press and Institute de Recherche sur l'Asie du Sud Est Contemporaine (IRASEC), 2011. Pp. 336. Bibliography, Glossary, Index.

Indonesia. The end of innocence? Indonesian Islam and the temptations of radicalism. By Andrée Feillard and Remy Madinier. Trans. by Wong Wee. Singapore: NUS Press and Institute de Recherche sur l'Asie du Sud Est Contemporaine (IRASEC), 2011. Pp. 336. Bibliography, Glossary, Index. - Volume 43 Issue 2

Period doubling in magnetospheric convection cycle

A gedanken investigation is performed on magnetospheric complexity. In an attempt to separate complexities due to external (solar wind) and internal (magnetospheric) dynamics, we hold the solar wind condition constant and investigate how the open flux in the magnetosphere changes from one convection cycle to the next. The change of open flux is related to the time integral of the tail electric field. This field, in turn, is proportional to the product of the normal (x) and tangential (z) components of the tail magnetic field. As the magnetosphere evolves, the magnetic components typically vary in opposite directions. We show that this competition leads to a magnetic flux cycle described by the classical logistic equation xn+1 = r(1 − xn)xn, where x is a linear function of open flux, the much researched route to chaos through period‐doubling. The result could provide a possible explanation of the steady magnetospheric convection, sawtooth events, and other observed manifestations of nonlinearity.

Ethnic Groups at ‘Critical Junctures’: The Laz vs. Kurds

The Turkish Republic emerged onto the world stage as a secular and centralized nation state in the early 1920s from the remnants of the multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual Ottoman Empir...

Simulation of large-amplitude motion of floating wind turbines using conservation of momentum

A new method is presented to directly derive the nonlinear equations of motion (EOMs) of a floating wind turbine system using the theorem of conservation of angular momentum and Newton's second law. The methodology considers the system as two rigid bodies: the tower and the rotor-nacelle assembly (RNA). The large-amplitude rotation of the tower is described by the 1-2-3 sequence Euler angles, which offer accurate nonlinear coupling between motions in 6 degrees of freedom (DOFs). Two additional DOFs of the RNA relative to the tower, nacelle yaw and rotor spin, are prescribed by mechanical control and are also included in the EOMs of the entire system. Results from the EOMs are transformed among different coordinate systems at every time-step for use in the computation of hydrodynamics, aerodynamics and restoring forces, which preserves the nonlinearity between external excitation and structural dynamics. The new method is verified by critical comparison of simulation results with those of the popular wind turbine dynamics software FAST. The concept of highly compliant floating wind turbines is introduced. The large-amplitude motions and gyroscopic moments of one of these smaller, lighter structures is simulated in an example.

Electronically Excited Cold Ion Crystals

The laser excitation of an ion crystal to high-lying and long-lived electronic states is a genuine many-body process even if in fact only a single ion is excited. This is a direct manifestation of the strong coupling between internal and external dynamics and becomes most apparent in the vicinity of a structural phase transition. Here we show that utilizing highly excited states offers a new approach to the coherent manipulation of ion crystals. This opens up a new route towards the creation of nonclassical motional states in a Paul trap and permits the study of quantum phenomena that rely on a strong coupling between electronic and vibrational dynamics.

External Dynamics Influencing Tattooing Among College Students: A Qualitative Analysis

The study utilized qualitative research methodology to assess external dynamics and their influences on tattooing practices among college students. Twenty-four undergraduates supplied in-depth interviews regarding the external variables related to college students' decisions to tattoo. The present research follows (Tse, Firmin, Angelini, & Foster, 2006), which reported findings regarding college students' internal dynamics for tattoo choices. Present findings suggest that health concerns, parental and peer influences, and social stigmas are particularly cogent external influencers in college students' decisions to tattoo.

A Ship Collision Analysis Program Based on Upper Bound Solutions and Coupled with a Large Rotational Ship Movement Analysis Tool

This paper presents a user‐friendly rapid prediction tool of damage to struck and striking vessels in a ship collision event. To do this, the so‐called upper bound theorem is applied to calculate internal forces and energies of any substructure involved in the ships crushing process. At each increment of indentation, the total crushing force is transmitted to the external dynamics MCOL program, which calculates the global ship motion correction by solving the hydrodynamic force equilibrium equations. As a first step, the paper gives a brief description of the upper bound method originally developed for perpendicular collisions and recently enhanced for oblique ones. Then, the theory developed in MCOL program for large rotational ship movements is detailed. By comparing results obtained with and without MCOL, the importance of hydrodynamic effects is highlighted. Some simulation results are compared with results provided by classical nonlinear finite element calculations. Finally, by using the developed analytical tool, which mixes internal and external dynamics, different crushing scenarios including oblique collisions are investigated and the influence of some collision parameters like longitudinal and vertical impact location, impact angle, and struck ship velocity is studied.

La reconfiguration des structures de pouvoir en Algérie

Les changements politiques d’un pays sont souvent explorés à travers des théories qui donnentun rôle prépondérant aux facteurs internes. Cet article postule en revanche que la dimension internationale est une variable très importante qui doit être incluse dans l’analyse du jeu des acteurs politiques internes. Les institutions locales sont le produit formel d’arrangements contrôlés par les acteurs locaux, mais sans être toutefois dans un vide politique international. L’accélération de la mondialisation rend cet argument particulièrement valide. À travers la construction d’une structure ouverte d’analyse de la politique nationale qui inclut des relations dynamiques avec la dimension externe, cet article explore en détail le cas algérien durant les trois dernières décennies.

Kinetics of multicompartment micelle formation by self-assembly of ABC miktoarm star terpolymer in dilute solution

Multicompartment micelles, as novel nanoscopic structures, have great potentialities in the fields of multifunctional nanoreactors and carriers. In this work, multicompartment micelle formation in an initially homogeneous dilute solution of ABC miktoarm star terpolymer is investigated with polymeric external potential dynamics. Apart from the hamburger micelle, toroidal micelle, raspberry micelle, worm micelle and laterally structured vesicle, which have been reported before, three novel morphologies are observed, including laterally structured vesicle with a core, spotted vesicle with a core and segmented cage-like micelle, by varying the concentration of copolymers, the volume fractions of three blocks, the solvophobicity of the solvophobic A and C blocks, and the solvophilicity of the solvophilic B block. The structural stability of the prolate vesicle with alternating ring-shape AC strips is demonstrated using Helfrich's membrane model combining with the strong segregation theory of block copolymers. In the dynamics of vesicle formation, two formation pathways of multicompartment vesicles are found: when the volume fraction of B block is smaller, the formation pathway of vesicles includes nucleation, coalescence and growth; when the volume fraction of B block is larger, the formation process of vesicles only includes nucleation and growth. The formation mechanisms of toroidal and cage-like micelles are also studied in this work. Our simulation results enrich the knowledge of the morphologies of multicompartment micelles and reveal the formation mechanism of complex multicompartment micelles of miktoarm star terpolymer in solution.

Noch immer „Modell Deutschland“?

The regulation of the economic crisis within German capitalism since 2008 seems to follow thebasic structures of the so-called „Modell Deutschland”: in industrial relations a corporatistarrangement between capital, state and labour tried to absorb the consequences of the crisis,and the traditional export industry supported the new economic growth since summer 2009.The article analyses the internal and external dynamics of its transition between structuralchange of the world economy and conditions of political decision-making since its proclamationin 1976. In conclusion today the German „Exportmodell” is no longer based on classcompromises in German society on the one hand and on European balances between interestsof economic stabilization and modernization on the other hand, but a force that is able toundermine alternative paths of economic development in Europe.

MOSAIC for Multiple-Reward Environments

Reinforcement learning (RL) can provide a basic framework for autonomous robots to learn to control and maximize future cumulative rewards in complex environments. To achieve high performance, RL controllers must consider the complex external dynamics for movements and task (reward function) and optimize control commands. For example, a robot playing tennis and squash needs to cope with the different dynamics of a tennis or squash racket and such dynamic environmental factors as the wind. In addition, this robot has to tailor its tactics simultaneously under the rules of either game. This double complexity of the external dynamics and reward function sometimes becomes more complex when both the multiple dynamics and multiple reward functions switch implicitly, as in the situation of a real (multi-agent) game of tennis where one player cannot observe the intention of her opponents or her partner. The robot must consider its opponent's and its partner's unobservable behavioral goals (reward function). In this article, we address how an RL agent should be designed to handle such double complexity of dynamics and reward. We have previously proposed modular selection and identification for control (MOSAIC) to cope with nonstationary dynamics where appropriate controllers are selected and learned among many candidates based on the error of its paired dynamics predictor: the forward model. Here we extend this framework for RL and propose MOSAIC-MR architecture. It resembles MOSAIC in spirit and selects and learns an appropriate RL controller based on the RL controller's TD error using the errors of the dynamics (the forward model) and the reward predictors. Furthermore, unlike other MOSAIC variants for RL, RL controllers are not a priori paired with the fixed predictors of dynamics and rewards. The simulation results demonstrate that MOSAIC-MR outperforms other counterparts because of this flexible association ability among RL controllers, forward models, and reward predictors.

The OECD civil servant: Caught between Scylla and Charybdis1

ABSTRACT Civil servants in international secretariats are exposed to numerous, cross-cutting and, at times, conflicting pressures and expectations. The secretariat of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is no different. This study reveals a fundamental ‘misfit’ between external demands and internal dynamics in the OECD Secretariat. On one hand, the OECD analysts are employed on the basis of merit. Compared to the employees in the central administrations in many OECD member states, the OECD personnel are very competitive in terms of experience and academic skills. Thus, the OECD Secretariat can be seen as a veritable powerhouse of idea generation, data collection and analysis. On the other hand, the OECD member states seem to be reluctant to let the OECD do what it does best: produce bright, challenging and provocative ideas. In many regards, the OECD personnel are, in practice, being reduced to undertaking basic secretariat functions such as organizing meetings, writing summaries and arbitrating between conflicting national interests. Despite having a vast role repertoire of roles at their disposal, this article reveals the paradox when OECD officials play out only two roles: the epistemic role, in which creative thinking and innovation are rewarded, and the bureaucratic role, in which rule following and regularity are rewarded. This paradox is characterized as a role dilemma that is compatible with the idea of the OECD as an international compound bureaucracy. The article concludes by suggesting three scenarios of how the observed dissonance between the internal and external dimensions of the OECD identity can be accommodated.

Temporal and Cross Correlations in Business News

We empirically investigate temporal and cross correlations in the frequency of news reports on companies, using a dataset of more than 100 million news articles reported in English by around 500 press agencies worldwide for the period 2003–2009. Our first finding is that the frequency of news reports on a company does not follow a Poisson process, but instead exhibits long memory with a positive autocorrelation for longer than one year. The second finding is that there exist significant correlations in the frequency of news across companies. Specifically, on a daily time scale or longer the frequency of news is governed by external dynamics, while on a time scale of minutes it is governed by internal dynamics. These two findings indicate that the frequency of news reports on companies has statistical properties similar to trading volume or price volatility in stock markets, suggesting that the flow of information through company news plays an important role in price dynamics in stock markets.

Spacecraft Adaptive Sliding Mode Attitude Tracking Control Using DGCMG

This investigation is concerned with the non-linear multi-in-multi-out tracking control of a spacecraft with Double-gimbaled control moment gyros as actuators. An attitude dynamic model of rigid spacecraft with DGCMG and a kinematics model in terms of Modified Rodriguez parameters are given for the controller development. Then the control objective and system uncertainties in tracking problem are analyzed considering the major elements which work on the control performance such as moment of inertia change, wheel speed drift and external torque. A adaptive sliding mode controller is designed and is proved stable later in which the sliding mode control are used to compensate external torque and un-modeled dynamics while the adaptive parameters are used to estimate inertia and wheel speed on line. And a steering law of parallel mounted DGCMG is illuminated. Finally Monte Carlo simulation is carried out to prove the effectiveness of the controller.

The eigenvalues and eigenstates of the effective Hamiltonian in the interaction of an atom with both classical gravity and quantum radiation

The eigenvalues and eigenstates of the effective Hamiltonian in the interaction of the atom with both classical gravity and quantum radiation within the framework of the Jaynes–Cummings model are obtained. By taking into account both the atomic motion and gravitational field a full quantum treatment of the internal and external dynamics of the atom is presented. By solving exactly the Schrödinger equation in the interaction picture, the evolving state of the system is found by which the the eigenvalues of the atom–field system are obtained. Also, the influence of gravity on atomic dipole squeezing is investigated.

On-site Labour Productivity of New Zealand Construction Industry: Key Constraints and Improvement Measures

Productivity is key to the survival and growth of any organisation, industry or nation. Some factors constrain the achievement of the set project objectives in the New Zealand building and construction industry and are responsible for the reported steady decline of productivity and performance. This study aims to identify the key constraints to on-site labour productivity and improvement measures. Using the descriptive survey method, views of some project managers, contractors and subcontractors in New Zealand were canvassed via pilot interviews and questionnaire surveys at the qualitative and quantity data gathering stages, respectively. Multi-attribute technique was used to analyse the quantitative data. Results showed that the key external constraints to on-site labour productivity comprise, in order of decreasing impact, statutory compliance, unforeseen events and wider external dynamics. The internal constraints, which contribute 67 percent of the onsite productivity issues, comprise reworks, level of skill and experience of the workforce, adequacy of method of construction, buildability issues, and inadequate supervision and coordination. . The factors underlying each broad category of external and internal constraints are reported. The relative levels of impact of the identified constraints are expected to guide the project team in addressing the constraints in a cost-effective manner.

Lessons of Peace in Aceh: Administrative Decentralization and Political Freedom as a Strategy of Pacification in Aceh

This working paper shows the evolution of the Aceh conflict until its peaceful resolution in 2005. The key factors in the success of this peace process have been the confluence of several factors related to the internal and external dynamics of the country, including the new political leadership, the decreasing role of the military power, the international support and the meeting of the objectives of both groups, and so on. The end of the conflict in Aceh shows that the administrative decentralization and the promotion of the political participation of the main actors involved have made possible the development of a solid alternative to the arms strategy of conflict resolution used for years in Indonesia.

External learning, market dynamics, and radical innovation: Evidence from China's high-tech firms

Based on a dichotomy of knowledge content, this study examines how two types of external learning (i.e. technical and administrative learning) affect radical innovation, and assesses how such effects are conditional on two types of market dynamics (i.e. technological turbulence and competitive intensity). A survey of 183 high-tech firms in China shows that both technical and administrative learning facilitate development of radical innovation. Further, technological turbulence reduces the effect of technical learning but enhances the effect of administrative learning on radical innovation, whereas competitive intensity enhances the effect of technical learning but reduces the effect of administrative learning on radical innovation.

Human Rights and Turkey's EU Accession Process: Internal and External Dynamics, 2005–10

This paper attempts to assess and explain the relative strength of internal and external factors in the improvement of Turkey's human rights regime. After 1999, the European Union, which required Turkey to conform to the ‘Copenhagen criteria’ of civil liberties as a precondition for the start of accession negotiations, has been by far the most important element, resulting in the passage of an impressive raft of constitutional and legal reforms between 2001 and 2004. After 2005, when accession talks officially began, the pace of reform slackened markedly, as the accession process became more problematic. Nonetheless, in 2010, another package of constitutional reforms was enacted, suggesting that the cause of reform has now acquired a powerful internal dynamic.

Force Field Adaptation Can Be Learned Using Vision in the Absence of Proprioceptive Error

It has been shown that people can learn to perform a variety of motor tasks in novel dynamic environments without visual feedback, highlighting the importance of proprioceptive feedback in motor learning. However, our results show that it is possible to learn a viscous curl force field without proprioceptive error to drive adaptation, by providing visual information about the position error. Subjects performed reaching movements in a constraining channel created by a robotic interface. The force that subjects applied against the haptic channel was used to predict the unconstrained hand trajectory under a viscous curl force field. This trajectory was provided as visual feedback to the subjects during movement (virtual dynamics). Subjects were able to use this visual information (discrepant with proprioception) and gradually learned to compensate for the virtual dynamics. Unconstrained catch trials, performed without the haptic channel after learning the virtual dynamics, exhibited similar trajectories to those of subjects who learned to move in the force field in the unconstrained environment. Our results demonstrate that the internal model of the external dynamics that was formed through learning without proprioceptive error was accurate enough to allow compensation for the force field in the unconstrained environment. They suggest a method to overcome limitations in learning resulting from mechanical constraints of robotic trainers by providing suitable visual feedback, potentially enabling efficient physical training and rehabilitation using simple robotic devices with few degrees-of-freedom.