Asylum Seekers in Europe: The Warm Glow of a Hot Potato

The Common European Asylum System calls for increased coordination of the EU countries’ policies towards asylum seekers and refugees. In this paper, we provide a formal analysis of the effects of coordination, explicitly modelling the democratic process through which policy is determined. In a symmetric, two-country citizen-candidate setup, in which accepting asylum seekers in one country generates a cross-border externality in the other, we show that coordination is desirable. Internalizing the externality leads to a welfare improvement over the non–cooperative outcome. However, contrary to suggestions by many observers, we show that allowing for cross-country transfers in the cooperative outcome leads to a welfare inferior outcome because the possibility of compensation exacerbates strategic delegation effects.Political Economy, Asylum Policy, Migration

Integrating rules of modular coordination to improve model authoring in BIM

As the adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) becomes pervasive and its level of application matures, the need to incorporate domain-specific knowledge in BIM authoring tools is also increasing. Rule-based scripts that assist and guide the modeller in model authoring are needed to enhance the level of usage of BIM. The authors developed a framework for incorporation of rule-driven domain knowledge into BIM authoring tools. With the objective of customizing the modelling process using a set of rules, the approach presented in this paper combines rules of modular coordination in prefabricated building with BIM. Modular coordination, a dimensional coordination system for sizing and placing building elements within a three-dimensional (3D) reference system, is translated into rules that are incorporated into the BIM authoring tool through object-level and process-level interventions. The study explores various options of parametric modelling for integration of identified modular coordination rules. The aim of integrating modular coordination rules is to assist the user during the modelling process. The proposed approach has the potential of reducing inconsistencies and time spent in modelling and documentation allowing the designer to spend more effort on value-adding design tasks. With the help of a case study and an experiment, capabilities of the proposed framework are demonstrated and validated

Modelling the GSM handover protocol in CommUnity

CommUnity is a formal approach to software architecture. It has a precise, yet intuitive mathematical semantics based on category theory. It supports, at the methodological level, a clear separation between computation, coordination, and distribution (including mobility). It provides a simple state-based language for describing component behaviour that is inspired by Unity and Interacting Processes. It also addresses composition as a first class concern and accounts for the emergence of global system properties from interconnections. This paper describes the approach and available tool support by modelling essential aspects of the GSM handover protocol. We also sketch a framework that we are implementing for the distributed execution of such specifications using Klava, a Java library for mobile agent systems based on tuple spaces

The consequences of time-phased order releases on two M/M/1 queues in series.

A key characteristic of MRP applications includes the coordination of assembly and purchased component requirements by time-phased order releases. In the literature on order review and release strategies, time- phased order releases are described as a worthy alternative to load limited release mechanisms. This paper initializes the development of a stochastic model that quantifies the consequences of time-phased order releases on the stochastic system behavior. This is done by introducing them in an open queueing network composed of two M/M/1 stations. The core of the analysis is focused on the modified flow variability which is specified by the second-order stationary departure process at the first station in the routing. It is a process characterized by a negligible autocorrelation. Based on the stationary-interval method and the asymptotic method, we propose an approximating renewal process for the modified departure process. The modelling efforts provide interesting conclusions and practical insights on some coordination issues in stochastic multi-echelon systems.

Modelling mucociliary clearance

Mathematical modelling of the fluid mechanics of mucociliary clearance (MCC) is reviewed and future challenges for researchers are discussed. The morphology of the bronchial and tracheal airway surface liquid (ASL) and ciliated epithelium are briefly introduced. The cilia beat cycle, beat frequency and metachronal coordination are described, along with the rheology of the mucous layer. Theoretical modelling of MCC from the late 1960s onwards is reviewed, and distinctions between ‘phenomenological’, ‘slender body theory’ and recent ‘fluid–structure interaction’ models are explained.\ud \ud The ASL consists of two layers, an overlying mucous layer and underlying watery periciliary layer (PCL) which bathes the cilia. Previous models have predicted very little transport of fluid in the PCL compared with the mucous layer. Fluorescent tracer transport experiments on human airway cultures conducted by Matsui et al. [Matsui, H., Randell, S.H., Peretti, S.W., Davis, C.W., Boucher, R.C., 1998. Coordinated clearance of periciliary liquid and mucus from airway surfaces. J. Clin. Invest. 102 (6), 1125–1131] apparently showed equal transport in both the PCL and mucous layer. Recent attempts to resolve this discrepancy by the present authors are reviewed, along with associated modelling findings. These findings have suggested new insights into the interaction of cilia with mucus due to pressure gradients associated with the flat PCL/mucus interface. This phenomenon complements previously known mechanisms for ciliary propulsion. Modelling results are related to clinical findings, in particular the increased MCC observed in patients with pseudohypoaldosteronism. Recent important advances by several groups in modelling the fluid–structure interaction by which the cilia movement and fluid transport emerge from specification of internal mechanics, viscous and elastic forces are reviewed. Finally, we discuss the limitations of existing work, and the challenges for the next generation of models, which may provide further insight into this complex and vital system

Challenges and opportunities for energy system modelling to foster multi-level governance of energy transitions

Achieving the swift energy transition necessary to meet global climate ambitions requires concerted action across governance scales, from municipal authorities to national governments. Decision-making is often closely informed by energy system modelling, making energy models a crucial tool to foster a multi-level governance system that is based on mutual understanding and coordination across scales. Here, we review 186 energy modelling studies and identify challenges and opportunities for the energy modelling community to take into account and facilitate multi-level governance systems. We show that current energy modelling practices typically focus on and aim to support a single scale, largely overlooking the multi-level nature of energy governance. Embedding multi-level governance throughout the energy modelling process entails significant obstacles but is crucial for ensuring such approaches continue to provide timely and salient decision-support

Beyond in-phase and anti-phase coordination in a model of joint action

In 1985, Haken, Kelso and Bunz proposed a system of coupled nonlinear oscillators as a model of rhythmic movement patterns in human bimanual coordination. Since then, the Haken–Kelso–Bunz (HKB) model has become a modelling paradigm applied extensively in all areas of movement science, including interpersonal motor coordination. However, all previous studies have followed a line of analysis based on slowly varying amplitudes and rotating wave approximations. These approximations lead to a reduced system, consisting of a single differential equation representing the evolution of the relative phase of the two coupled oscillators: the HKB model of the relative phase. Here we take a different approach and systematically investigate the behaviour of the HKB model in the full four-dimensional state space and for general coupling strengths. We perform detailed numerical bifurcation analyses and reveal that the HKB model supports previously unreported dynamical regimes as well as bistability between a variety of coordination patterns. Furthermore, we identify the stability boundaries of distinct coordination regimes in the model and discuss the applicability of our findings to interpersonal coordination and other joint action tasks

Compositional Construction of Real-Time Dataflow Networks

Increasing sizes of present-day distributed software systems call for coordination models which are both \emph{modular} and \emph{scalable}. Precise modelling of real-life applications further requires the notion of \emph{real-time}. In this paper, we present a modular formal development of a compositional model for real-time coordination in dataflow networks. While real-time dataflow networks are typically asynchronous, our approach includes coordination patterns which combine, but are not limited to, synchrony and asynchrony. We define a constraint- and SAT-based encoding, which allows us to benefit from high-end constraint solving techniques when inspecting valid interactions of the system

Explaining higher education progress through risk dominance in an n-person coordination (Stag Hunt) game

In this paper, we use HARSANYI and SELTEN (1988)’s risk dominance concept to explain the growth in the Portuguese higher education system during two time periods: 1998 - 2005 and 2005-2018. During the first time period, the high annual growth rate in tertiary schooling (8.2%) can be accounted for by a n – person, k – coordination Stag Hunt game framework. Hence, the progress in university education can be described as the outcome of a noncooperative game, where youngsters and their families can take decisions without needing to communicate previously. By contrast, during 2005-2018, the former coordination game seems inadequate to rationalize the continued progress in college schooling at an annual rate of 5%, since the wage premium of tertiary education fell drastically (more than 20%) during the same interval. Hence, we switch to an “unanimity” game as framework of analysis. Within such a game, the widespread tertiary enrolment can be accounted for a diminishing “unanimity” requirement, derived from a shrinking demography and the sheer cumulative effect of past spread of college education. We apply here NASH (1950, 1953)’s intuition that the selection of an equilibrium point within an unanimity game is a tool for modelling the outcome of a game, where the players discuss in order to reach an agreement. Hence, we can describe the rise in college education in Portugal in the more recent time period as the outcome of a cooperative process, leading to a wide policy consensus.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio