Stopping Nuclear Traffic

The exploits of the A.Q. Khan nuclear network have received significant attention in the last three years. Gordon Corera's recent book, Shopping for Bombs, is an important addition to the existing literature. In this book, the author explores how Khan became a nuclear supplier and why his network was able to flourish for so many years. In his analysis, Corera examines relevant domestic and international political circumstances that affected Khan's rise and ultimate fall. The author also gives a compelling account of the international investigation that shut down this network in 2004 and warns that Khan's network will not be the last to challenge international nonproliferation regimes. Despite a few gaps in the book's narrative and analysis, Shopping for Bombs is an important source of insight into the activities of Khan and his network.     

The Sword of General Sir William Fenwick Williams,Baronet of Kars,in the Royal Armouries (IX.1841) and Aspects of High Victorian Sword Design

Abstract

The Sword of Honour (RA IX.1841) presented in 1856 by the Province of Nova Scotia to its native son, General Sir William Fenwick Williams, Bart. for his deeds at Kars, Turkey, is described, illustrated, discussed and placed both in its historical and its design context. Other notable British swords of the Victorian Age (1837–1901), the Age of Empire, are also examined and the various and influential aspects of their designs, ornament and iconography discussed.     

Dual-Ignition Musket Locks Including a Matchlock — a Note on their Design and Utility

Abstract

A review is presented of dual-ignition musket locks, including a matchlock, to identify the key design variants and their subtleties, and to initiate a discussion on their utility.     

光电跟瞄平台稳定控制器设计

以考虑光电跟瞄平台三轴环架间的耦合所建立的数学模型为基础,对光电跟瞄平台的稳定回路分别设计了基于线性矩阵不等式(LMI)的状态反馈H∞控制器和多输入系统极点配置控制器;分别建立基于所设计两种控制器的跟瞄平台稳定控制系统,并对其控制效果进行对比研究,结果表明,二者皆能实现对光电跟瞄平台的稳定控制,都具有一定的鲁棒性能。其中H∞控制器的设计更简单,超调更小且达到稳定的时间短,更适合于光电跟瞄平台的稳定控制。     

倾斜转弯无人水下航行器H_∞鲁棒控制策略

针对倾斜转弯无人水下航行器的控制系统是横滚、俯仰、偏航三通道强耦合非线性系统这一特点,首先建立了三通道控制问题加权性能结构模型,并研究了权函数的选取;然后,设计了H∞鲁棒控制器,并进行降阶处理;最后,进行了仿真验证。仿真验证表明:该设计方法能有效克服各通道的交叉耦合作用,可以满足倾斜转弯无人水下航行器的控制设计要求。     

Measuring the Impact of Military Spending: How Far Does a DSGE Model Deviate from Reality?

Dunne, Smith, and Willenbockel (2005) argue that the mainstream growth literature has not found military spending to be a significant determinant of economic growth, yet much of the defense economics literature has noted significant effects. This paper revisits this issue by using a DSGE-VAR approach, combining both theoretical and empirical methods. We present that the DSGE approach (estimated with the Bayesian technique) and the Bayesian VAR with the Minnesota Prior both lead to worse in-sample fit than our proposed DSGE-VAR framework. The DSGE-VAR approach reveals that a positive military spending shock boosts the U.S. economy, increasing per capita real GDP growth, consumption, inflation and interest rate. Our results are robust to alternative model specifications. Future investigations such as exploring an optimal military spending policy could adopt the approach in this paper to determine the best model – empirical, theoretical, or a combination of the two.     

Dangerous work: Terrorism against U.S. diplomats

The goal of diplomats is to represent their countries’ interests through diplomacy, not arms. Because they are not military personnel, they may be perceived as at lower risk of being the target of terrorists. However, recent events have called this perception into question. Despite this danger, there has been little research on terrorist attacks against diplomats. Drawing on the terrorism studies literature, this article argues that diplomats are targeted more than non-diplomatic targets in countries where certain U.S. foreign policies are implemented. An empirical analysis of 471 attacks against U.S. diplomats from 1970 to 2011 reveals that while U.S. alliances and foreign aid increase the likelihood of attacks against diplomats, U.S. military intervention and civil war, on the other hand, increase the risk of terrorism against non-diplomatic targets. This finding is relevant because it shows terrorist attacks against diplomats result from certain types of foreign policy.     

基于H∞滤波的无序量测更新算法

在目标跟踪系统中,传感器量测因通信延迟无序地到达融合中心,产生无序量测融合问题。针对此问题,将H∞滤波作为基础滤波算法,提出了一种可处理单步或多步延迟无序量测的新算法。新算法借鉴有序滤波思想,利用等价量测来代替无序量测发生时刻后的量测序列,然后从该时刻起利用无序量测和等价量测进行有序更新。仿真实验表明,新算法相比于传统算法有更高的滤波精度,尤其在系统模型误差较大时仍有良好的滤波效果。     

继电式自动驾驶仪滚动回路自振分析

分析了继电式自动驾驶仪滚动回路的工作特性,给出了该继电特性的描述函数。在此基础上,用描述函数法分析了回路的稳定性,计算出了回路自持振荡的参数,分析了影响自振参数的因素。