7,944 research outputs found
Nonzero-sum Stochastic Games
No full textThis paper treats of stochastic games. We focus on nonzero-sum games and provide a detailed survey of selected recent results. In Section 1, we consider stochastic Markov games. A correlation of strategies of the players, involving ``public signals'', is described, and a correlated equilibrium theorem proved recently by Nowak and Raghavan for discounted stochastic games with general state space is presented. We also report an extension of this result to a class of undiscounted stochastic games, satisfying some uniform ergodicity condition. Stopping games are related to stochastic Markov games. In Section 2, we describe a version of Dynkin's game related to observation of a Markov process with random assignment mechanism of states to the players. Some recent contributions of the second author in this area are reported. The paper also contains a brief overview of the theory of nonzero-sum stochastic games and stopping games which is very far from being complete.average payoff stochastic games, correlated stationary equilibria, nonzero-sum games, stopping time, stopping games
Social capital among older Iranian adults: demographic and socioeconomic differences
No full texteducation, in contrast, was a strong contributor to social capital. The results showed that social capital dimensions were predicted by most of the demographic variables (P < 0.05). They also showed that, like other kinds of capital (physical and human capital), there was an uneven distribution of social capital among older adults in terms of sociodemographic characteristics. However, it was difficult to separate the causal processes involvedtherefore, more studies of the causal effects of sociodemographic characteristics on social capital accumulation are recommended
Transforming Power Relationships: Leadership, Risk, and Hope. IHS Political Science Series No. 135, May 2013
No full textChronic communal conflicts resemble the prisoner’s dilemma. Both communities prefer peace to war. But neither trusts the other, viewing the other’s gain as its own loss, so
potentially shared interests often go unrealized.
Achieving positive-sum outcomes from apparently zero-sum struggles requires a kind of riskembracing leadership. To succeed leaders must: a) see power relations as potentially
positive-sum; b) strengthen negotiating adversaries instead of weakening them; and c) demonstrate hope for a positive future and take great personal risks to achieve it.
Such leadership is exemplified by Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk in the South African democratic transition. To illuminate the strategic dilemmas Mandela and de Klerk faced, we examine the work of Robert Axelrod, Thomas Schelling, and Josep Colomer, who highlight important dimensions of the problem but underplay the role of risk-embracing leadership. Finally we discuss leadership successes and failures in the Northern Ireland settlement and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Diagonal Forms, Linear Algebraic Methods and Ramsey-Type Problems
No full textThis thesis focuses mainly on linear algebraic aspects of combinatorics. Let N_t(H) be an incidence matrix with edges versus all subhypergraphs of a complete hypergraph that are isomorphic to H. Richard M. Wilson and the author find the general formula for the Smith normal form or diagonal form of N_t(H) for all simple graphs H and for a very general class of t-uniform hypergraphs H.
As a continuation, the author determines the formula for diagonal forms of integer matrices obtained from other combinatorial structures, including incidence matrices for subgraphs of a complete bipartite graph and inclusion matrices for multisets.
One major application of diagonal forms is in zero-sum Ramsey theory. For instance, Caro's results in zero-sum Ramsey numbers for graphs and Caro and Yuster's results in zero-sum bipartite Ramsey numbers can be reproduced. These results are further generalized to t-uniform hypergraphs. Other applications include signed bipartite graph designs.
Research results on some other problems are also included in this thesis, such as a Ramsey-type problem on equipartitions, Hartman's conjecture on large sets of designs and a matroid theory problem proposed by Welsh.</p
Use of delay and sum for sparse reconstruction improvement for structural health monitoring
No full textTo perform active structural health monitoring, guided Lamb waves for damage detection have recently gained extensive attention. Many algorithms are used for damage detection with guided waves and among them, the delay-and-sum method is the most commonly used algorithm because of its robustness and simplicity. However, delay-and-sum images tend to have poor accuracy with a large spot size and a high noise floor, especially in the presence of multiple damages. To overcome these problems, another method that is based on sparse reconstruction can be used. Although the images produced by the sparse reconstruction method are superior to the conventional delay-and-sum method, it has the challenges of the time and cost of computations in comparison with the delay-and-sum method. Also, in some cases in multi-damage detection, the sparse reconstruction method totally fails. In this article, using prior support information of the structure achieved by the delay-and-sum method, a hybrid method based on sparse reconstruction method is proposed to improve the computational performance and robustness of sparse reconstruction method in the case of multi-damage presence. The effectiveness of the proposed method in detecting damages is demonstrated experimentally and numerically on a simple aluminum plate. The technique is also shown to accurately identify and localize multi-site damages as well as single damage with low sampled signals.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Structural Integrity & Composite
Hobby Lobby and the Zero-Sum Game
No full textIn a zero-sum game, one person’s gain is another person’s loss. Some claims under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act present such zero-sum circumstances in that easing the claimant’s religious burden increases someone else’s burden. This article explores the effect of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores on such zero-sum claims using a paradigmatic example: RFRA claims challenging the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. This inquiry reveals that Hobby Lobby did not open the door for cases involving true zero-sum games, including those under the Eagle Act and some under the anti-discrimination laws. In such cases, granting the requested religious accommodation merely shifts the claimant’s burden onto a third party. RFRA provides for easing burdens, not transferring them to others. Hence, even after Hobby Lobby, such zero-sum claims should fail.Peer reviewe
Government expenditures as a citizens'evaluation of public output : public choice and the benefit principle of taxation
No full textCombining elements from the theories of public choice and benefit taxation, the author develops a framework in which private citizens can evaluate public activities. Why, and under what circumstances, do bureaucrats increase the size of the public sector and the amount of public spending in their own self interest? What does the private sector think public output should be, what is actual public output, and how does the private sector evaluate that output? The author applies the theoretical results of an attempt to answer these questions in four Central European countries (Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia), using actual data for 1989-91 and projections for 1992. Interpreting indirect evidence, he shows that the private sector would prefer less government activity in all countries, from a low of 5 percent less public spending (in Poland) to a high of one-third less (in Slovenia). If those governments were to follow those guidelines, their spending-to-GDP ratios would more closely resemble the 1987-89 average for a selected group of European market economies. The author also introduces a more rigorous, if not necessarily more objective, approach to determining optimal government spending. This approach requires little information, but uses a static model and requires faith in the direction of causality for some key variables. To the extent that one can accept those limitations, the model may be a useful operational tool in public spending evaluation.Public Sector Economics&Finance,National Governance,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Fiscal&Monetary Policy
An iterative Sum-of-Squares optimization for static output feedback of polynomial systems
No full textThis work proposes an iterative procedure for static output feedback of polynomial systems based on Sum-of-Squares optimization. Necessary and sufficient conditions for static output feedback stabilization of polynomial systems are formulated, both for the global and for the local stabilization case. Since the proposed conditions are bilinear with respect to the decision variables, an iterative procedure is proposed for the solution of the stabilization problem. Every iteration is shown to improve the performance with respect to the previous one, even if convergence to a local minimum might occur. Since polynomial Lyapunov functions and control laws are considered, a Sum-of-Squares optimization approach is adopted. A numerical example illustrates the results.Accepted Author ManuscriptTeam Bart De Schutte
Variants of the Min-Sum Link-Disjoint Paths Problem
No full textA survivable connection usually requires computing link-disjoint primary and backup paths. Finding a min-sum pair of link-disjoint paths whose total cost is minimized can be solved in polynomial time. However, adding extra requirements may render the problem NP-complete. In this paper, we study different variants of the min-sum link-disjoint paths problem. We examine the complexity of these problem variants and provide exact and heuristic algorithms for them.Network Architectures and ServicesElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc
Online Iterative Adaptive Dynamic Programming Approach for Solving the Zero-Sum Game for Nonlinear Continuous-Time Systems with Partially Unknown Dynamics
No full textThe current study presents an online iterative adaptive dynamic programming approach to resolve the zero-sum game (ZSG) for nonlinear continuous-time (CT) systems containing a partially unknown dynamic. The Hamilton-Jacobian-Issacs (HJI) equation is solved along the state trajectory according to the value function approximation and the policy improvement online. Relaxed dynamic programming is utilized to ensure the algorithm’s convergence. Model and costate networks were established to conduct the method. Computational simulations are performed to present the efficiency of the algorithm.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Control & Simulatio
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