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Periodic Ising Correlations
No full textWe consider the finite two-dimensional Ising model on a lattice with periodic boundaryconditions. Kaufman determined the spectrum of the transfer matrix on the finite,periodic lattice, and her derivation was a simplification of Onsager's famous result onsolving the two-dimensional Ising model. We derive and rework Kaufman's resultsby applying representation theory, which give us a more direct approach to computethe spectrum of the transfer matrix. We determine formulas for the spin correlationfunction that depend on the matrix elements of the induced rotation associated withthe spin operator. The representation of the spin matrix elements is obtained byconsidering the spin operator as an intertwining map. We wrap the lattice aroundthe cylinder taking the semi-infinite volume limit. We control the scaling limit of themulti-spin Ising correlations on the cylinder as the temperature approaches the criticaltemperature from below in terms of a Bugrij-Lisovyy conjecture for the spin matrixelements on the finite, periodic lattice. Finally, we compute the matrix representationof the spin operator for temperatures below the critical temperature in the infinite-volume limit in the pure state defined by plus boundary conditions
How effective is the EU Entry Price System for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables?
No full textThe EU protects EU growers of 15 kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables against international competition not only by the means of ad valorem tariffs of up to 20%, but also by the EU entry-price system (EPS), which is designed to restrict imports below the product-specific, politically designated entry price level. This study investigates the influence of the EPS on import prices of fruits and vegetables per product and country of origin. We utilise a unique data set comprising about 60,000 observations of daily synthetic import prices. We develop two indicators for the effectiveness of the EPS, which serve as variables in a cluster analysis identifying four classes differing in the relevance of the EPS. Results suggest that the relevance of the EPS is heterogeneous among products as well as countries of origin for most fruits and vegetables. Thus, an adequate assessment of the importance of the EPS requires not only a product-specific but also a country-specific analysis. Overall, our results indicate that the effectiveness of the EPS is highest for the import of artichokes, courgettes, cucumbers, lemons, plums and tomatoes. The influence of the EPS on apples, clementines and pears is significantly lower, and of least relevance for EU imports of apricots, mandarins, oranges, peaches and nectarines and table grapes. The EPS has the greatest effect on countries which neighbour the EU, whereas it is of minor importance for exports from far-away countries with the exception of China and South Africa.threshold cointegration, spatial price transmission, vector error correction model, Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis,
Quality Standards for Food Products - A Particular Burden for Small Producers in Developing Countries?
No full textThis paper develops an analytical framework which structures the problem of whether, how and to what extent small producers in developing countries are disadvantaged by the increasing prevalence of food quality standards. Based on a literature review, the empirical evidence is structured and research gaps are identified. The paper finds that small and medium producers rarely comply without support from downstream actors. In case of well-educated and relatively wealthy farmers, forward integration is also found. No empirical support exists for the intuitively appealing hypothesis of a lower cost of compliance per unit of output for large producers. Zusammenfassung In diesem Papier wird ein Analyserahmen entwickelt, um die Möglichkeit und das Ausmaß der Benachteiligung von Kleinlandwirten in Entwicklungsländern durch die zunehmende Verbreitung von Qualitätsstandards für Produkte der Agrar- und Ernährungsindustrie zu strukturieren. In einer Literaturübersicht werden die Ergebnisse empirischer Studien ausgewertet und Forschungslücken identifiziert. Es wird gezeigt, dass Kleinlandwirte aufwändige Prozessstandards selten ohne die Unterstützung von Unternehmen auf nachgelagerten Stufen der Wertschöpfungskette implementieren. Die einleuchtende und weit verbreitete Hypothese, dass die Cost of Compliance per Produkteinheit für große Produzenten niedriger als für kleine Produzenten seien, wurde bisher empirisch nicht bestätigt.Quality Standards, International Trade, EUREPGAP, Certification, Small Farmers, Developing Countries, Cost of Compliance, Agribusiness, International Relations/Trade,
Current preferences of Southern Mediterranean Countries and their erosion after variations of the entry price system
No full textIt has been calculated the value of the preference margin granted to Euro-Mediterranean partners in the cases of reduced entry prices in force, and then it has been simulated the impact of EU trade liberalisation for F&V on such values after two different alternatives of EP system variations resulting from a WTO agreement. The results of current preferences indicate that in monetary terms there is only a significant relevance of the preferential EPs in the case of Moroccan tomatoes and, to a lesser extent, in Moroccan clementines. Very little is the relevance for Jordanian tomatoes and cucumbers and Moroccan courgettes, cucumbers and artichokes. In the cases of oranges from Egypt, Morocco, Israel and Jordan, preferential EP has not meant potential monetary transfers to these preference-receiver countries. Instead, the ad valorem tariff exoneration seems crucial in almost all the products. With regard to the erosion of preferences as a result of a WTO agreement, the magnitude of the erosion depends crucially on the variation/no-variation of the current trigger EPs, and the undermining of preferences is concentrated mostly on Moroccan tomatoes.Entry prices, erosion of trade preferences, Euro-Mediterranean trade, fruits and vegetables, International Relations/Trade,
The Übermensch comes to Scandinavia: rereading Hamsun and Dinesen in the light of Nietzsche's philosophy
No full textThesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2000This dissertation seeks to clarify the works of Knut Hamsun (1859--1952) and Isak Dinesen (1885--1962) in the light of Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy (1844--1900). The author considers Hamsun and Dinesen a "step-son" and a "step-daughter" of modernity, in line with Georg Brandes' interpretation of Nietzsche as a "step-child" in his time---in opposition to modern civilization, culture, philosophy, and morality---when he presented Nietzsche to his Scandinavian audience through his lectures in Copenhagen in 1888.Both Hamsun's and Dinesen's critiques of modernity are, like Nietzsche's, fundamental to their works. Rejecting the rigid rules and norms of modern philosophy and Christian Puritan ethics, they do not formulate a new political program for a future society, but focus their attention instead on the individual who they see as the mover of cultural change on the artistic-existential level. Hence, the author focuses in particular on the Nietzschean protagonists in the works of Hamsun and Dinesen, discussing, for instance, their use of masks to survive as outsiders and to defend their artistic-existential projects. Further, the author argues that these projects are fueled by a pantheistic conviction in line with Nietzsche's Dionysian pantheism and the eternal recurrence Nietzsche's prophet Zarathustra preaches.Finally the author discusses Hamsun's fascination with and Dinesen's disturbing views on Hitler as symptomatic of their disregard for the majority of people while celebrating the artistic-existential projects of great individuals. The author emphasizes the importance of recognizing this as a weakness related to their artistic-existential philosophy; a risk that they may be inclined to support a political alternative that is socially destructive while focusing on the opportunities it implies for the individual. This does not, however, mean that we must reject their work. Rather we should approach their work critically and separate the constructive from the destructive in their critiques of modernity
Dataset: "Mixing Chemistry and Pigments: X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy as a Nondestructive Technique for Analysis of Pigments in a Painted Japanese Handscroll" ; F1907.375a, XRF 2018
No full textScanning x-ray fluorescence data
and relevant photodocumentation images of a Japanese handscroll, The Miraculous
Interventions of the Jizō Bosatsu (Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian
Institution, Washington, DC: Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1907.375a). Scans
were performed in 2018 with a Bruker Tracer 5g handheld XRF. The XRF data
provided includes x and y position and the fitted element intensities for
relevant XRF peaks. Any negative intensity values have been replaced by a zero
value. The scanner x,y are rotated compared to the image; transforming the data
may be necessary for proper orientation (rotate 90 deg). The scanner x position
has been shifted to account for scanner travel direction. Data location is
described as the handscroll scene (S##), a sequential letter for the scan area
within the scene (e.g., A = 1), with a descriptor (e.g., woman).Only select scenes from the larger study are provided for use to accompany the publication: "Mixing
Chemistry and Pigments: X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy as a Nondestructive
Technique for Analysis of Pigments in a Painted Japanese Handscroll" by
Kathryn L. Rowberg, Grethe Hystad, Matthew L. Clarke, Jazmin Gonzalez, and
Johnathon M. Taylor in “Contextualizing Chemistry in Art & Archaeology:
Inspiration for Faculty” Editors: Kevin Braun and Kristin Labby. American
Chemical Society, 2021, pp 217-231, DOI: 10.1021/bk-2021-1386.ch010Details about the data collection
may be found in:Clarke, M.L., Gabrieli, F., Rowberg, K.L. et al. Imaging spectroscopies to characterize a 13th century Japanese handscroll, The Miraculous Interventions of Jizō Bosatsu. Herit Sci 9, 20 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-021-00497-1Image credit: Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian
Institution, Washington, DC: Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1907.375a (detail) /
Department of Conservation and Scientific Research, Photograph by Jiro Ueda)</p
The Participation of the Kings in the Early Norwegian Sailing to Bjarmeland (Kola Peninsula and Russian Waters), and the Development of a Royal Policy Concerning the Northern Waters in the Middle Ages
No full text... In earlier times Finmark and the inner parts of Troms were not inhabited by Norwegians but by a Finnish-Ugrain-speaking nomadic people, few in numbers, called Fins. ... [The author traces the movement of Norwegians into Finmark and the polar regions from the early account of King Alfred the Great, informed by Ottmar, through to the Middle Ages. The Danish monarchs inherited the sea empire and became entangled in conflict with England, Germany, Holland, Sweden and Russia as the struggle for free economic enterprise increased.
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