Rent‐seeking models of international competition: An experimental investigation*

This paper experimentally tests a number of hypotheses that follow from models of international competition that are based on Tullock style rent‐seeking models. Specifically, we designed and performed experiments to see how variations in the degree of publicness in the prize as well as changes in the values assigned to the prize affect alliances in terms of individual nation contributions, total contributions, burden sharing, and the likelihood of winning the prize. While there was substantial variation in individual behavior, the results of the experiments generally conform to the theoretical predictions of the rent‐seeking model of international competition and alliances.     

Consociationalism for Weaklings,Autocracy for Muscle Men? Determinants of Constitutional Reform in Divided Societies

Why have some countries adopted consociational constitutions after civil wars, while others have not? This contribution analyses the advent of constitutional provisions and their rationale in the five deeply divided societies that adopted the most ‘radical’ constitutional reforms in 2001–10 (Burundi, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nepal and Sudan). In places where norm-diffusing external actors played a major role in ending an intra-state war, constitutional change was particularly profound. It appears that strong outside mediators have followed a blueprint approach to constitutional engineering in post-war societies with power sharing as a guiding principle, more often than not of the consociational type. There is reason to believe that the strong outside involvement in turn depends on a relative weak bargaining position of sitting governments.     

基于点云配准的室内移动机器人6自由度位姿估计

针对移动机器人在室内环境下难以获取GPS定位信息,仅靠自身惯导不能得到精确位姿的问题,提出了一种基于RGB-D传感器获取三维环境点云,对连续点云提取特征并进行配准的移动机器人6自由度位姿估计方法.首先通过RGB-D传感器获取环境深度图像,根据特征提取算法提取点云特征;然后以特征点为配准点,运用随机一致性采样(RANdom SAmple Consensus,RANSAC)算法对点云进行初配准,剔除部分错误匹配点,获得初始变换矩阵;最后采用改进的迭代最近点(Iterative Closet Point,ICP)算法进行精配准,获得点云间的最终变换矩阵,实现位姿估计.实验结果表明:该方法有效地提高了大规模点云配准效率,得到了较精确的位姿估计信息.     

Panel Causality Analysis Between Defence Expenditure and Economic Growth in Developed Countries

There is much controversy in the literature over whether military expenditures have a positive, negative or no relation impact on economic growth. The aim of this paper is to determine the relationship between GDP and defence expenditure. The study analyses GDP and defence expenditures of the developed countries with cross-sectional ADF and SURADF unit root tests using annual data for the years 1980–2007. We conclude that in the long term, according to the Pedroni cointegration test, there exists a relationship between defence expenditure and economic growth. Furthermore, by utilizing the Granger causality test, we find that defence expenditure is a factor in economic growth. In other words, our study validates the hypothesis that defence spending by economically developed countries positively contributes to their economics.     

驱动线圈极性排列方式对多级同步感应线圈发射器加速性能的影响

为提高多级同步感应线圈发射器的加速性能,以5级同步感应线圈发射器为例,在定义驱动线圈极性相对排列方式的基础上,基于场-路耦合的时步有限元分析方法,研究了驱动线圈极性排列方式对其加速性能的影响,结果表明:驱动线圈同极性相对排列方式更有助于提高发射效率。通过分析内部磁场的分布规律,探讨了驱动线圈同极性相对排列方式改善加速性能的原因,最后通过比较电枢内的感应电流密度的方法验证了分析的正确性。     

Improved bounds for batch scheduling with nonidentical job sizes

Here, we revisit the bounded batch scheduling problem with nonidentical job sizes on single and parallel identical machines, with the objective of minimizing the makespan. For the single machine case, we present an algorithm which calls an online algorithm (chosen arbitrarily) for the one‐dimensional bin‐packing problem as a sub‐procedure, and prove that its worst‐case ratio is the same as the absolute performance ratio of . Hence, there exists an algorithm with worst‐case ratio , which is better than any known upper bound on this problem. For the parallel machines case, we prove that there does not exist any polynomial‐time algorithm with worst‐case ratio smaller than 2 unless P = NP, even if all jobs have unit processing time. Then we present an algorithm with worst‐case ratio arbitrarily close to 2. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 61: 351–358, 2014     

基于分岔理论的数字液压缸稳定性分析与设计

为将分岔理论应用于数字液压缸稳定性分析与设计,对系统非线性模型进行了等价变换和光滑处理,同时为克服刚性问题影响,基于量纲分析理论通过选择合适的基本量将模型无因次化,并采用预测-校正延拓法确保分岔求解的精度和效率。在各自可行区间内,对重要参数和不确定参数进行了单参数分岔分析,结果表明:数字液压缸的初始设计具有一定的稳定裕度和鲁棒性,系统受不确定参数的影响较小;运用分岔理论,能够有效揭示各参数对系统动态稳定性的影响,为系统参数设计提供指导。     

多弯头管道磁致伸缩导波无损检测技术

为了研究超声导波在弯管中的传播特性及检测可行性,使用磁致伸缩导波仪器及传感器对多弯头管道进行了检测实验,并对弯管中导波的传播速度、模态转换、能量衰减等现象进行了探讨。结果表明:当弯管弯曲程度较小时,弯管中导波传播速度与直管中近似;弯管中导波存在明显的模态转换现象;弯管中导波能量随着时间近似呈指数形式衰减,且衰减规律与激励频率存在密切联系。该研究结果可以为复杂结构弯曲管道的导波检测提供参考。     

Military Expenditures,Income Inequality,Welfare and Political Regimes: A Dynamic Panel Data Analysis

The goal of this paper is to investigate the relationship between type of welfare regimes and military expenditures. There is a sizeable empirical literature on the development of the welfare state and on the typology of the welfare regimes. There appear to be, however, no empirical studies that examine welfare regimes with special attention to military spending. This study aims at providing a comprehensive analysis on the topic by considering several different welfare regime typologies. To do so, we use dynamic panel data analysis for 37 countries for the period of 1988–2003 by considering a wide range of control variables such as inequality measures, number of terrorist events, and size of the armed forces. We also replicate the same analyses for the political regimes. Our findings, in line with the literature, show that there is a positive relationship between income inequality and share of military expenditures in the central government budget, and that the number of terrorist events is a significant factor that affects both the level of military expenditure and inequality. Also, the paper reveals a significant negative relationship between social democratic welfare regimes and military expenditures.