279 research outputs found
Le drame des 'harragas' vu de près et de loin: Youssef Amine Elalamy rencontre Hafid Bouazza
No full textHarragas (those who burn) is the name given to the thousands of illegal immigrants from Africa who, since the 1990's, have attempted to cross the Mediterranean in search of a better life in Europe. Recently these shipwreck stories have led to the creation of a new literary genre, the harraga novel, which distinguishes itself by its innovative style and magic-realistic elements. I make a comparison between two texts in which the theme of the harragas is central. De Oversteek (The Crossing, 2005) is a short story written by Hafid Bouazza, a Dutch author of Moroccan descent. Les Clandestins (The illegal immigrants, 2000) was written by Youssef Amine Elalamy, a French-speaking Moroccan writer who lives and is published in Rabat. This essay examines the way in which both of these authors make use of magical and poetic symbolism to confer a political and/or historical, autobiographical character to their texts
Direct torque control method applied to the WECS based on the PMSG and controlled with backstepping approach
No full textModeling the flow behavior of Haynes 214 superalloy during hot deformation using mathematical and artificial intelligence-based models
No full textThis work proposes, enhances, and compares various mathematical and artificial intelligence-based models for the modeling and prediction of the flow behavior of Haynes 214 superalloy at hot deformation. The utilized models are as follows: Johnson-Cook (JC), three modifications of JC (M1_JC, M2_JC, and M3_JC), Artificial Neural Network (ANN), and Subtractive Clustering-Fuzzy Interference System (SC-FIS). The predictions of the flow behavior are evaluated and assessed using various statistical error measures, namely, correlation coefficient (R), Relative Error (RE), and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). The results showed that the M3_JC is the best addressed mathematical model in terms of flow prediction accuracy, while the Artificial Intelligence (AI) based SC-FIS model outperformed all of the six addressed mathematical and AI-based models with an R value of 0.999, RE range of − 0.79–1.15% and an RMSE value of as low as 0.89 MPa.Scopu
An adaptive switched control approach to heterogeneous platooning with inter-vehicle communication losses
No full textThe advances in distributed inter-vehicle communication networks have stimulated a fruitful line of research in Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC). In CACC, individual vehicles, grouped into platoons, must automatically adjust their own speed using on-board sensors and communication with the preceding vehicle so as to maintain a safe inter-vehicle distance. However, a crucial limitation of CACC is that the string stability of the platoon can be proven only when the vehicles have identical driveline dynamics and perfect engine performance (homogeneous platoon), and possibly an ideal communication channel. This work proposes a novel CACC strategy that overcomes the homogeneity assumption and that is able to adapt its action and achieve string stability even for uncertain heterogeneous platoons. Moreover, in order to handle the inevitable communication losses, we formulate an extended average dwell-time framework and an adaptive switched control strategy which activates an augmented CACC or an augmented Adaptive Cruise Control strategy depending on communication reliability. Stability is proven analytically and simulations are conducted to validate the theoretical analysis.Accepted Author ManuscriptTeam Bart De Schutte
Wages and unemployment in Poland : recent developments and policy issues
No full textThe authors review recent developments in wages, employment, and unemployment in Poland and discuss some of the main risks Poland faces in sustaining its stabilization effort. They find that: unemployment has increased dramatically with stabilization, but this increase cannot be said to reflect widespread economic adjustment and restructuring throughout the Polish economy; and wages showed a significant degree of downward flexibility - in real terms - at the beginning of the year, when firms faced a severe supply shock coupled with very tight credit. The wage policy still in force in Poland at the end of 1991 maintains a few undesirable features. The monthly indexation and the possibility of carrying forward the unused margins are among the policy's main drawbacks; another is the link between wages and profitability. The current wage policy could be replaced by a generalized agreement on the wage path, with synchronized six-month contracts. The wage path should be related to expected inflation and economywide productivity. This scheme would also have the advantage of being based on a consensual agreement instead of being perceived as being imposed as a punitive tax.Youth and Governance,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Theory&Research,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Environmental Economics&Policies
The legal framework for private sector development in a transitional economy : the case of Poland
No full textThe economies of Central and Eastern Europe are in the midst of a historic transition from central planning and state ownership to development of a market-driven private sector. This transition requires comprehensive changes in"rules of the game"- including the legal framework for economic activity. A market economy presupposes a set of property rights and a system of laws or customs that allow the exchange of those rights. The legal framework in a market economy has at least three basic functions: defining the universe of property rights; setting the rules for entry into and exit from productive activities; and setting the rules of market exchange. These legal tasks are accomplished by areas of law such as: company, foreign investment, bankruptcy, contract and competition law. Poland has a rich legal tradition dating from pre-socialist times, which was suppressed but not eliminated during its forty years of socialism. This tradition is being revised as the country moves toward a private market economy. The current legal framework in Poland closely follows other continental jurisdictions and has a clear and reasonable internal logic. Many of the laws are old, but most are flexible enough to permit a wide range of modern, market-oriented activity. Property law, however, remains a"jungle". The wide discretion and general lack of precedent create tremendous legal uncertainty that is sure to hamper private sector development.Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Municipal Housing and Land,Legal Products,Land and Real Estate Development
Hybrid adaptive motion search with wavelet/wavelet packet based motion residual video coding
No full textGlobal trends in raw materials consumption
No full textThis paper reviews movements in raw materials consumption over the past 30 years. Included in this review are all base metals and steel, and important agricultural raw materials. These primary commodities share the common characteristic that they are used as inputs in manufacturing and construction. Some metals and minerals, energy commodities, and timber products are not included in this review for various reasons. The period reviewed is from 1961 to 1988. A prominent characteristic of the metals market during the past 15 years has been its very slow growth. In some years consumption of several raw materials has even declined. Explaining the causes of this slowdown, in the face of moderate economic growth, has become a topical issue. The slowdown has important implications for a number of developing countries that rely heavily on exports of these materials. The severity and persistence of post-1973 declines in metals intensity per unit of GNP, prompted the conjecture that it may have been structural. This paper reviews the debate on this issue, including results of statistical tests. It also summarizes the trends in raw materials consumption and reviews the technological developments relating to raw materials consumption.Mining&Extractive Industry (Non-Energy),Montreal Protocol,Sanitation and Sewerage,Primary Metals,Environmental Economics&Policies
Thermal History Effects on Moisture Absorption of Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites
No full textFiber-reinforced polymer composites may offer numerous attractive features such as low cost, high specific performance, and ease of production. However, there are concerns about the overall durability of these materials, especially for sustained performance under severe and changing environmental conditions. There also is a general lack of data on the effects of life-cycle thermal history and temporal changes on moisture absorption dynamics in polymer composites. This work investigates the effects of previous life-cycle thermal history on moisture absorption in resin transfer molded glass/epoxy composites. Disk-shaped parts were fabricated using EPON 815C resin and EPICURE 3282 curing agent. Reinforcement was provided by six layers of randomly-oriented planar glass fiber preforms, yielding approximately 32% fiber volume fraction. Samples cut from the molded disks were initially immersed in water at room temperature for 48 hours. The samples were then divided into three groups and subjected to 0ºC, -25ºC, or liquid nitrogen for another 48 hours to impose various levels of life-cycle damage. A set of specimens was subjected to the same absorption cycle at room temperature in order to characterize the baseline behavior of the composite samples. Afterwards, all samples went through a desorption cycle to remove the absorbed moisture. The specimens were then immersed in water at room temperature for 18 months. Their masses were measured at periodic intervals to quantify the amount of water absorbed. Moisture intake during the 18-month period was found to increase considerably in composite samples subjected to harsher environmental/thermal conditions. In addition, short beam shear strength and stiffness reductions after freezing and after moisture absorption were measured. SBSS and stiffness dropped considerably for all composite parts after thermal conditioning. Property drop was observed to be much more significant for the samples that were exposed to lower freezing temperatures before moisture absorption. As much as 28 and 17% reduction in SBSS and stiffness, respectively, was observed for samples subjected to liquid nitrogen. After saturation with moisture, additional property drops were observed in all composite samples.YesPeer reviewed and accepted for presentation at the 32nd International Conference of the Polymer processing Society
Post trade liberalization policy and institutional challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean
No full textArgentina, Chile, Colombia, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay undertook extensive trade reform at a time of crisis, at which time institutional reform was difficult to undertake. Many of the countries had become members of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in the late 1980s and anticipated institutional reform. Only later did they reform trade policymaking institutions to bring them somewhat in line with trade policy regimes and GATT rules. These countries have all used reference prices and antidumping provisions of GATT, rather than safeguards, to provide relief from import surges. They have all tried to centralize trade policy by moving it from different agencies into a single agency. Despite liberalization, some sectors -- including automobiles, textiles and agriculture -- remain protected. Lessons the author draws from experience in these coutries: 1) the deteriorating macroeconomic situations are the main challenge to maintaining open trade policy; 2) trade policymaking must be constantly reviewed to prevent reversals, and the costs of protection must be communicated to the public at large; 3) There must be short-run measures to help domestic activities adjust to short-run price movements and alleviate pressure for protection. The danger -- such measures (unrelated to long-run price trends) can become permanent. 4) external commitments (through WTO or customs unions) can be used to discourage a return to protection; 5) extending reform (to labor and capital markets and the regulatory framework) will help maintain and extend trade liberalization. Allowing factors of production to move smoothly from one activity to another could help prevent the buildup of pressures that lead to protection; 6) an institution to consider exceptional protection should be advisory (independent of day-to-day trade policymaking), so that it works steadily, free from administrative pressures and exigencies. Requests for protection must be handled openly and transparently, with the findings subject to public scrutiny. Procedures for granting relief through safeguards and similar mechanisms must reflect all interests, including those of consumers, exporters, and users of the product; and 7) the analysis to establish injury must conform to high technical standards. The criteria to consider trade policies must reflect national interests, not those of any particular sector.Economic Theory&Research,Common Carriers Industry,Trade Policy,Environmental Economics&Policies,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Economic Theory&Research,Trade Policy,Environmental Economics&Policies,Transport and Trade Logistics
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