216 research outputs found
The European Parliament as an International Parliamentary Institution (IPI)
No full textInterest in the role of International Parliamentary Institutions (IPIs) remains extremely limited, especially if one considers their growing numbers, functions, and importance in the international relations of a globalizing world. This article aims at contextualizing the European Parliament (EP)’s international role according to the IPIs literature, by asking whether the EP can be included in comparative studies on IPIs or, on the contrary, if it should rather be considered a ‘sui generis’ phenomenon – because of its role in European Union (EU) integration and the scope of its powers. Our argument is that the EP can (and should) be included in comparative studies on IPIs, at least for two different reasons: (i) by exploring conditions under which IPIs are established and empowered; (ii) by analysing the EP’s external relations. As a result, both the literature on IPIs and that on the external dimension of the EP will be enriched and allow for more, including synergetic, work in areas where there still is a clear academic gap. Accordingly, there will be three different sections. The first section will offer the background empirical description of what IPIs are, what their historical evolution has been, as well what are the more relevant definitions and categorizations offered by the literature to date. In the following section, the main argument will be developed, through the operationalization of IPIs’ different powers. After a brief presentation of the specific tools that the EP has been developing over the years in its external relations, the third section will focus on its inter-parliamentary assemblies. Finally, the conclusions will sum up some general findings, as well as identify a number of possible avenues for future research on the role of IPIs in world affairs
Pick-and-place in dynamic environments with a mobile dual-arm robot equipped with distributed distance sensors
No full textMobile bimanual manipulation in a dynamic and uncertain environment requires the continuous and fast adjustment of the robot motion for the satisfaction of the constraints imposed by the task, the robot itself and the environment. We formulate the pick-and-place task as a sequence of mobile manipulation tasks with a combination of relative, global and local targets. Distributed distance sensors on the robot are utilized to sense the surroundings and facilitate collision avoidance with dynamic and static obstacles. We propose an approach to kinematically control the robot by solving a priority constrained optimization problem online. Experimental results on the YuMi bimanual robot mounted on the Ridgeback mobile platform validate the performance of the proposed approach
Partnership for the Americas: Western Hemisphere Strategy and U.S. Southern Command
No full textSince its creation in 1963, United States Southern Command has been led by 30 senior officers representing all four of the armed forces. None has undertaken his leadership responsibilities with the cultural sensitivity and creativity demonstrated by Admiral Jim Stavridis during his tenure in command.
Breaking with tradition, Admiral Stavridis discarded the customary military model as he organized the Southern Command Headquarters. In its place he created an organization designed not to subdue adversaries, but instead to build durable and enduring partnerships with friends. His observation that it is the business of Southern Command to launch “ideas not missiles” into the command’s area of responsibility gained strategic resonance throughout the Caribbean and Central and South America, and at the highest levels in Washington, DC.
Pursuing his vision for the Americas with limited resources, Admiral Stavridis made the most of every ship, airplane, Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, and Coastguardsman committed to the region, employing each on constructive missions designed to create goodwill and mutual respect.
Perhaps Jim Stavridis’ most enduring contribution to Southern Command is the newly constructed headquarters complex in Miami. The new building, which finally creates a permanent lodgment for the command in the city that the Admiral correctly describes as the “Gateway to the Americas,” is a testimonial to his persistence, persuasiveness, and credibility within the Department of Defense and the U. S. Congress. More than a building, the new headquarters is tacit recognition of the importance of the command and acknowledgment that Miami is the single right location for the institution that, as much or more than any other, expresses our commitment to peace and stability in this hemisphere.
Admirals and Generals leave their marks on the organizations they command in different ways. Some solve the problems of the day; others set courses that will influence events and relationships for decades. Clearly, Admiral Stavridis is in the latter category. He has set wheels in motion that will transform our American culture to a culture of the Americas. xii PARTNERSHIP FOR THE AMERICAS
This thoughtful book should be required reading for those who recognize that the security of the United States, and indeed our destiny, are inextricably intertwined with those of our neighbors to the south.
General Charles E. Wilhelm United States Marine Corps (Retired)https://digitalcommons.ndu.edu/ndupress-books/1002/thumbnail.jp
The Slavic Homer: From Grigorios Stavridis to Grigor Prličev
No full textIn 1860 Stavridis/Prličev’s poem Armatol unexpectedly won him the University of Athens poetry competition, which met with opposition from part of the Greek community and a smear campaign in the press. Despite his declarations of having a “Hellenic heart”, the author from Ohrid was not well received by Athenian society. He took part in the competition once more two years later, this time trying to match Homer himself and presenting an extensive though unfinished epic poem with Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg as the protagonist. The paper, which serves as an introduction to the Polish translation of Skanderbeg, contains extensive excerpts from the reports of both competition committees, chaired by Alexandros Rangavis, especially the second one, when the judges justified why they could not award Stavridis the prize despite being impressed with his poem. His disappointment at his cool reception and his failure in the competition most likely contributed to a radical change in the attitude of the Slavic Homer, who not only stopped “serving Greece” but began vigorously eliminating any Greek influences in his native Ohrid
Model Updating and Damage Assessment of a RC Structure Using an Iterative Eigenvalue Problem
No full textDistributed Spatially-Modulated Space-Time-Block-Codes
No full textIn this paper, a novel energy-efficient protocol, intended for wireless networks with large number of relay nodes, is proposed. The main distinguishable feature of the proposed protocol is that it offers throughput enhancement, by having the same diversity-gain and having to activate the same number of relay nodes at any given time-instance, as the the conventional distributed space-time-block-codes (D-STBC). The proposed protocol applies the recently introduced idea of Spatially-Modulated Space-Time-Block-Codes (SM-STBC) devised for multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) systems to cooperative relay networks. The specific contributions of this paper are: i) an error-aware Maximum-Likelihood (ML) demodulator, which is robust to demodulation errors at the relays is developed; ii) a low-complexity error-aware demodulator is also developed; and iii) it is shown, with the help of Monte Carlo simulations, that the proposed protocol outperforms state-of-the-art relaying protocols
“Emerging Powers” as obstacles to “Effective Multilateralism”: The negative impact of Brazil´s Foreign Policy on the Rhetoric of “Civilian Power Europe”
No full textLa emergencia de Brasil como actor internacional importante no cabe más duda. En un nuevo orden mundial basado sobre multilateralismo efectivo, la colaboración entre estados y otros entes democráticos de “ideas afinaes” es una condición necesaria aunque no suficiente. Este artículo presenta un análisis critico del impacto de la política exterior de Brasil bajo las presidencias de Lula y Rousseff sobre la retórica de la” potencia civil europea”. El artículo ilustra esto con ejemplos concretos. El interés más general es que presenta también una ilustración de lo complicado que es crear un nuevo orden internacional multilateralista
On the energy efficiency of spatial modulation concepts
No full textSpatial Modulation (SM) is a Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) transmission technique
which realizes low complexity implementations in wireless communication systems. Due the
transmission principle of SM, only one Radio Frequency (RF) chain is required in the transmitter.
Therefore, the complexity of the transmitter is lower compared to the complexity of
traditional MIMO schemes, such as Spatial MultipleXing (SMX). In addition, because of the
single RF chain configuration of SM, only one Power Amplifier (PA) is required in the transmitter.
Hence, SM has the potential to exhibit significant Energy Efficiency (EE) benefits. At
the receiver side, due to the SM transmission mechanism, detection is conducted using a low
complexity (single stream) Maximum Likelihood (ML) detector. However, despite the use of a
single stream detector, SM achieves a multiplexing gain.
A point-to-point closed-loop variant of SM is receive space modulation. In receive space modulation,
the concept of SMis extended at the receiver side, using linear precoding with Channel
State Information at the Transmitter (CSIT). Even though receive space modulation does not
preserve the single RF chain configuration of SM, due to the deployed linear precoding, it
can be efficiently incorporated in a Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA) or in a Virtual
Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (VMIMO) architecture.
Inspired by the potentials of SM, the objectives of this thesis are the evaluation of the EE of
SM and its extension in different forms of MIMO communication. In particular, a realistic
power model for the power consumption of a Base Station (BS) is deployed in order to assess
the EE of SM in terms of Mbps/J. By taking into account the whole power supply of a BS and
considering a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) multiple access scheme, it is shown that
SM is significantly more energy efficient compared to the traditional MIMO techniques. In
the considered system setup, it is shown that SM is up to 67% more energy efficient compared
to the benchmark systems. In addition, the concept of space modulation is researched at the
receiver side. Specifically, based on the union bound technique, a framework for the evaluation
of the Average Bit Error Probability (ABEP), diversity order, and coding gain of receive space
modulation is developed. Because receive space modulation deploys linear precoding with
CSIT, two new precoding methods which utilize imperfect CSIT are proposed. Furthermore, in
this thesis, receive space modulation is incorporated in the broadcast channel. The derivation of
the theoretical ABEP, diversity order, and coding gain of the new broadcast scheme is provided.
It is concluded that receive space modulation is able to outperform the corresponding traditional
MIMO scheme. Finally, SM, receive space modulation, and relaying are combined in order
to form a novel virtual MIMO architecture. It is shown that the new architecture practically
eliminates or reduces the problem of the inefficient relaying of the uncoordinated virtual MIMO
space modulation architectures. This is undertaken by using precoding in a novel fashion. The
evaluation of the new architecture is conducted using simulation and theoretical results
Partnership for the Americas: Western Hemisphere strategy and U. S. Southern Command
No full textEn el texto se exploran los enlaces geográficos, culturales, económicos y geopolíticos, que Estados Unidos comparte con América Latina y el Caribe. Se describe asimismo algunas de las difíciles condiciones que afectan a la región – pobreza y desigual distribución de las riquezas – y como estas influyen en desafíos específicos como: el crimen, la violencia y el tráfico ilícito de drogas, gente y armamento. The text explores the links geographic, cultural, economic and geopolitical, which the U.S. shares with Latin America and the Caribbean. It describes some of the difficult conditions facing the region - poverty and unequal distribution of wealth - and how are you influencing specific challenges such as crime, violence and drug trafficking, people and weapons.National Defense University PressÍNDICE | Foreword xi | Preface xiii | Introduction xvii | Chapter 1 We're All in This Together 1 | Chapter 2 Have a Plan 23 | Chapter 3 Pulling the Oar Together 49 | Chapter 4 Trafficking 73 | Chapter 5 People First, Human Rights Always 103 | Chapter 6 Health Engagement and Humanitarianism 135 | Chapter 7 Innovation 171 | Chapter 8 Youth Matters 205 | Chapter 9 Looking to the Future 229 | About the Author 263
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