The Gravity of Arms

The aim of this paper is to investigate the determinants of international arms transfers in a gravity model framework. By distinguishing between the decision to export arms (extensive margin) and the value of the arms exported (intensive margin), while also considering its interdependence, is what differentiates this paper from previous research. A theoretically justified gravity model of trade augmented with political and security motives is estimated using a two-stage panel data approach for 104 exporting countries over the period from 1950 to 2007. In addition to the usual gravity variables related to the economic mass of the trading countries and the trade cost factors, the model is extended with political and security factors. The level of democracy in both trading partners, political differences between trading partners and voting similarity with the United States in the UN General Assembly of the countries engaged in trade are the main political factors, whereas the existence of conflicts, military pacts, and embargoes are taken as security motives. The key result indicates that both political and security motives are an important determinant of an arms trade, but their effects on the extensive margin of exports (the decision to order a transfer) differs from their effect on the intensive margin (average value of exports). Moreover, the relative importance of the factors under study has changed since 1989. In the post-cold war period, countries that are less democratic are more likely to export arms, military pacts are less relevant and embargoes play a role.     

Counterinsurgency Challenge in Post-2001 Afghanistan

Although the Taliban insurgency was internally divided and unable to coordinate its activities in 2014–2015, the Afghan security forces were not able to contain it and steadily lost ground throughout 2015. Until 2015, there had been little effort to develop an indigenous Afghan counterinsurgency strategy, but a sense of urgency emerged after a string of Taliban victories. At the beginning of 2016, it was still not clear if and when the National Unity Government would be able to produce a counterinsurgency strategy and, in any case, the need for a coherent counterinsurgency approach became questionable as the Taliban appeared to be transitioning towards conventional warfare.     

水中大肠杆菌检测传感器的稳定性

为了找到传感器稳定性最好时的脉冲周期,对传感器检测系统进行优化,实验研究了传感器检测饮用水中大肠杆菌时,脉冲周期对传感器稳定性的影响。传感器的构成属于三电极系统,采用常规脉冲伏安法进行检测。结果显示:脉冲周期为20,40,80 ms时传感器稳定性较好,基本不会影响检测结果;脉冲周期为100 ms时稳定性很差,对检测结果有较大影响。实验表明,选择合适的脉冲周期,加以硬件和软件补偿,可以使传感器获得较好的稳定性。     

土体泊松比对压入管桩单桩挤土位移场的影响

基于ABAQUS有限元软件,采用主从接触算法模拟桩-土相互作用、修正剑桥模型作为土体本构模型,通过在桩顶施加竖向位移荷载以及合适的网格划分技术建立了较为符合压入管桩压桩实际的有限元模型。利用得到的有限元模型模拟了压入管桩压桩产生的挤土位移场,对不同泊松比时压入管桩单桩挤土位移场进行了对比分析。结果表明:不同泊松比时竖向和水平挤土位移场沿深度方向和径向的分布规律趋于一致;土体泊松比的变化会对压入管桩压桩产生的竖向和水平挤土位移场产生较大影响;泊松比越大,压桩产生的竖向和水平挤土位移越大。     

Auxiliary Force or National Army? Afghanistan's ‘ANA’ and the Counter-Insurgency Effort, 2002–2006

Afghanistan's fifth effort to form a central army started in 2002, following the fall of the Taleban regime. Mainly run by the US armed forces, the formation of the so-called ‘Afghan National Army’ run into several difficulties, ranging from initially slow recruitment, low educational level of troops and officers, high attrition rates. As the new army began to take shape, it lacked many of the characteristics which had been associated by the promoters with a ‘national’ army. It also showed a low level of commitment and a lax discipline. As of 2006, it looked more like an auxiliary force at the service of the US army and its allies than like a ‘national’ army.     

On lifetimes in random environments

For a component operating in random environment, whose hazard rate is assumed to be the realization of a suitable increasing stochastic process, conditions are found such that its lifetime is increasing in likelihood ratio (ILR). For the lifetimes of two components of the same kind some comparisons based on partial stochastic orders are presented. Some applications to the case of repairable components are finally provided. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 45: 365–375, 1998     

Multilinear extensions and quotients of simple games

Studied here is the problem of evaluating the formation of coalitions in cooperative games by considering its internal and external effects. Our analysis is based upon a formal theory of the quotient game and the use of multilinear extensions to compute the Shapley value and the coalitional value. When it applies to simple games, a series of interesting results is obtained. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Note on “future supply uncertainty in EOQ models”

We present an inventory model where the supply becomes randomly unavailable for random periods of time. We investigate the operating characteristics of the model, and we study the robustness of the optimal order quantity. Our work builds on Parlar and Berkin [2]. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons. Inc.     

A O(nm log(U/n)) time maximum flow algorithm

In this paper, we present an O(nm log(U/n)) time maximum flow algorithm. If U = O(n) then this algorithm runs in O(nm) time for all values of m and n. This gives the best available running time to solve maximum flow problems satisfying U = O(n). Furthermore, for unit capacity networks the algorithm runs in O(n^2/3m) time. It is a two‐phase capacity scaling algorithm that is easy to implement and does not use complex data structures. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 47: 511–520, 2000     

论科学社会主义理论与实践的新发展

科学社会主义理论是一个开放的体系,具有与时俱进的理论品质。中国改革开放的伟大实践有力推动了科学社会主义理论的发展,社会主义事业将不断发展,科学社会主义理论也将得到不断发展。