11,514 research outputs found
An Analysis of Some Refractive Error Trends in US Air Force Pilots and Navigators
Refractive error trends with age in US Air Force pilots and navigator
Globalization, Women’s Economic Rights and Forced Labor
Globalization critics are concerned that increased trade openness and foreign direct investment exacerbate existing economic disadvantages of women and foster conditions for forced labor. Defenders of globalization argue instead that as countries become more open and competition intensifies, discrimination against any group, including women, becomes more difficult to sustain and is therefore likely to recede. The same is argued with respect to forced labor. This article puts these competing claims to an empirical test. We find that countries that are more open to trade provide better economic rights to women and have a lower incidence of forced labor. This effect holds in a global sample as well as in a developing country sub-sample and holds also when potential feedback effects are controlled via instrumental variable regression. The extent of an economy’s ‘penetration’ by foreign direct investment has no statistically significant impact. Globalization might weaken the general bargaining position of labor such that outcome-related labor standards might suffer. However, being more open toward trade is likely to promote rather than hinder the realization of two labor rights considered as core or fundamental by the International Labour Organization, namely the elimination of economic discrimination and of forced labor.
Analysis of Decision Support Systems of Industrial Relevance: Application Potential of Fuzzy and Grey Set Theories
The present work articulates few case empirical studies on decision making in industrial
context. Development of variety of Decision Support System (DSS) under uncertainty and
vague information is attempted herein. The study emphases on five important decision making
domains where effective decision making may surely enhance overall performance of the
organization. The focused territories of this work are i) robot selection, ii) g-resilient supplier
selection, iii) third party logistics (3PL) service provider selection, iv) assessment of supply
chain’s g-resilient index and v) risk assessment in e-commerce exercises.
Firstly, decision support systems in relation to robot selection are conceptualized through
adaptation to fuzzy set theory in integration with TODIM and PROMETHEE approach, Grey
set theory is also found useful in this regard; and is combined with TODIM approach to
identify the best robot alternative. In this work, an attempt is also made to tackle subjective
(qualitative) and objective (quantitative) evaluation information simultaneously, towards
effective decision making.
Supplier selection is a key strategic concern for the large-scale organizations. In view of this, a
novel decision support framework is proposed to address g-resilient (green and resilient)
supplier selection issues. Green capability of suppliers’ ensures the pollution free operation;
while, resiliency deals with unexpected system disruptions. A comparative analysis of the
results is also carried out by applying well-known decision making approaches like Fuzzy-
TOPSIS and Fuzzy-VIKOR.
In relation to 3PL service provider selection, this dissertation proposes a novel ‘Dominance-
Based’ model in combination with grey set theory to deal with 3PL provider selection,
considering linguistic preferences of the Decision-Makers (DMs). An empirical case study is
articulated to demonstrate application potential of the proposed model. The results, obtained
thereof, have been compared to that of grey-TOPSIS approach.
Another part of this dissertation is to provide an integrated framework in order to assess gresilient
(ecosilient) performance of the supply chain of a case automotive company. The
overall g-resilient supply chain performance is determined by computing a unique ecosilient
(g-resilient) index. The concepts of Fuzzy Performance Importance Index (FPII) along with
Degree of Similarity (DOS) (obtained from fuzzy set theory) are applied to rank different gresilient
criteria in accordance to their current status of performance.
The study is further extended to analyze, and thereby, to mitigate various risk factors (risk
sources) involved in e-commerce exercises. A total forty eight major e-commerce risks are
recognized and evaluated in a decision making perspective by utilizing the knowledge
acquired from the fuzzy set theory. Risk is evaluated as a product of two risk quantifying
parameters viz. (i) Likelihood of occurrence and, (ii) Impact. Aforesaid two risk quantifying
parameters are assessed in a subjective manner (linguistic human judgment), rather than
exploring probabilistic approach of risk analysis. The ‘crisp risk extent’ corresponding to
various risk factors are figured out through the proposed fuzzy risk analysis approach. The risk
factor possessing high ‘crisp risk extent’ score is said be more critical for the current problem
context (toward e-commerce success). Risks are now categorized into different levels of
severity (adverse consequences) (i.e. negligible, minor, marginal, critical and catastrophic).
Amongst forty eight risk sources, top five risk sources which are supposed to adversely affect
the company’s e-commerce performance are recognized through such categorization. The
overall risk extent is determined by aggregating individual risks (under ‘critical’ level of
severity) using Fuzzy Inference System (FIS). Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) is then
used to obtain structural relationship amongst aforementioned five risk sources. An
appropriate action requirement plan is also suggested, to control and minimize risks associated
with e-commerce exercises
An Evaluation Schema for the Ethical Use of Autonomous Robotic Systems in Security Applications
We propose a multi-step evaluation schema designed to help procurement agencies and others to examine the ethical dimensions of autonomous systems to be applied in the security sector, including autonomous weapons systems
EXPLAINING LATERALITY
Working with multi-species allometric relations and drawing on mammalian theorist Denenberg’s works, I provide an explanatory theory of the mammalian dual-brain as no prior account has
The role of temporal frequency in continuous flash suppression: A case for a unified framework
In continuous flash suppression (CFS), a rapidly changing Mondrian sequence is presented to one eye in order to suppress a static target presented to the other eye. Targets generally remain suppressed for several seconds at a time, contributing to the widespread use of CFS in studies of unconscious visual processes. Nevertheless, the mechanisms underlying CFS suppression remain unclear, complicating its use and the comprehension of results obtained with the technique. As a starting point, this thesis examined the role of temporal frequency in CFS suppression using carefully controlled stimuli generated by Fourier Transform techniques. A low-level stimulus attribute, the choice of temporal frequency allowed us to evaluate the contributions of early visual processes and test the general assumption that fast update rates drive CFS effectiveness. Three psychophysical studies are described in this thesis, starting with the temporal frequency tuning of CFS (Chapter 2), the relationship between the Mondrian pattern and temporal frequency content (Chapter 3), and finally the role of temporal frequency selectivity in CFS (Chapter 4). Contrary to conventional wisdom, the results showed that the suppression of static targets is largely driven by high spatial frequencies and low temporal frequencies. Faster masker rates, on the other hand, worked best with transient targets. Indicative of early, feature selective processes, these findings are reminiscent of binocular rivalry suppression, demonstrating the possible use of a unified framework
Unbundling Constitutionality
Constitutional theory features a persistent controversy over the source or sources of constitutional status, that is, over the criteria that qualify some rules as constitutional rules. This Article contends that no single criterion characterizes all of the rules that American law treats as constitutional, such that it is a mistake to think of constitutionality as a status with necessary conditions. It is better to think of constitutionality on a bundle-of-sticks model: different attributes associated with constitutionality might or might not be present in any constitutional rule. Analysts should often direct their attention more to the separate substantive properties that are associated with constitutionality than to the question of constitutional status itself
Unbundling Constitutionality
Constitutional theory features a persistent controversy over the source or sources of constitutional status, that is, over the criteria that qualify some rules as constitutional rules. This Article contends that no single criterion characterizes all of the rules that American law treats as constitutional, such that it is a mistake to think of constitutionality as a status with necessary conditions. It is better to think of constitutionality on a bundle-of-sticks model: different attributes associated with constitutionality might or might not be present in any constitutional rule. Analysts should often direct their attention more to the separate substantive properties that are associated with constitutionality than to the question of constitutional status itself
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