2,804 research outputs found
The demise of a model? The state of collective bargaining and worker representation in Germany.
This article investigates collective bargaining trends in the German private sector since 2000. Using data from the IAB Establishment Panel and the German Establishment History Panel, it provides both cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence on these developments. It confirms that the hemorrhaging of sectoral bargaining, first observed in the 1980s and 1990s, is ongoing. Furthermore, works councils are also in decline, so that the dual system also displays erosion. For their part, any increases in collective bargaining at firm level have been minimal in recent years, while the behavior of newly-founded and closing establishments does not seem to lie at the root of a burgeoning collective bargaining free sector. Although there are few obvious signs of an organic reversal of the process, some revitalization of the bargaining system from above is implied by the labor policies of the new coalition government
Tracking Control for FES-Cycling based on Force Direction Efficiency with Antagonistic Bi-Articular Muscles
A functional electrical stimulation (FES)-based tracking controller is
developed to enable cycling based on a strategy to yield force direction
efficiency by exploiting antagonistic bi-articular muscles. Given the input
redundancy naturally occurring among multiple muscle groups, the force
direction at the pedal is explicitly determined as a means to improve the
efficiency of cycling. A model of a stationary cycle and rider is developed as
a closed-chain mechanism. A strategy is then developed to switch between muscle
groups for improved efficiency based on the force direction of each muscle
group. Stability of the developed controller is analyzed through Lyapunov-based
methods.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, submitted to ACC201
Stationary Cycling Induced by Switched Functional Electrical Stimulation Control
Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is used to activate the dysfunctional
lower limb muscles of individuals with neuromuscular disorders to produce
cycling as a means of exercise and rehabilitation. However, FES-cycling is
still metabolically inefficient and yields low power output at the cycle crank
compared to able-bodied cycling. Previous literature suggests that these
problems are symptomatic of poor muscle control and non-physiological muscle
fiber recruitment. The latter is a known problem with FES in general, and the
former motivates investigation of better control methods for FES-cycling.In
this paper, a stimulation pattern for quadriceps femoris-only FES-cycling is
derived based on the effectiveness of knee joint torque in producing forward
pedaling. In addition, a switched sliding-mode controller is designed for the
uncertain, nonlinear cycle-rider system with autonomous state-dependent
switching. The switched controller yields ultimately bounded tracking of a
desired trajectory in the presence of an unknown, time-varying, bounded
disturbance, provided a reverse dwell-time condition is satisfied by
appropriate choice of the control gains and a sufficient desired cadence.
Stability is derived through Lyapunov methods for switched systems, and
experimental results demonstrate the performance of the switched control system
under typical cycling conditions.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, submitted to ACC 201
Enhanced quantum tunnelling induced by disorder
We reconsider the problem of the enhancement of tunnelling of a quantum
particle induced by disorder of a one-dimensional tunnel barrier of length ,
using two different approximate analytic solutions of the invariant imbedding
equations of wave propagation for weak disorder. The two solutions are
complementary for the detailed understanding of important aspects of numerical
results on disorder-enhanced tunnelling obtained recently by Kim et al. (Phys.
rev. B{\bf 77}, 024203 (2008)). In particular, we derive analytically the
scaled wavenumber -threshold where disorder-enhanced tunnelling of an
incident electron first occurs, as well as the rate of variation of the
transmittance in the limit of vanishing disorder. Both quantities are in good
agreement with the numerical results of Kim et al. Our non-perturbative
solution of the invariant imbedding equations allows us to show that the
disorder enhances both the mean conductance and the mean resistance of the
barrier.Comment: 10 page
Stabilizing unstable periodic orbits in the Lorenz equations using time-delayed feedback control
For many years it was believed that an unstable periodic orbit with an odd
number of real Floquet multipliers greater than unity cannot be stabilized by
the time-delayed feedback control mechanism of Pyragus. A recent paper by
Fiedler et al uses the normal form of a subcritical Hopf bifurcation to give a
counterexample to this theorem. Using the Lorenz equations as an example, we
demonstrate that the stabilization mechanism identified by Fiedler et al for
the Hopf normal form can also apply to unstable periodic orbits created by
subcritical Hopf bifurcations in higher-dimensional dynamical systems. Our
analysis focuses on a particular codimension-two bifurcation that captures the
stabilization mechanism in the Hopf normal form example, and we show that the
same codimension-two bifurcation is present in the Lorenz equations with
appropriately chosen Pyragus-type time-delayed feedback. This example suggests
a possible strategy for choosing the feedback gain matrix in Pyragus control of
unstable periodic orbits that arise from a subcritical Hopf bifurcation of a
stable equilibrium. In particular, our choice of feedback gain matrix is
informed by the Fiedler et al example, and it works over a broad range of
parameters, despite the fact that a center-manifold reduction of the
higher-dimensional problem does not lead to their model problem.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures, to appear in PR
A linear theory for control of non-linear stochastic systems
We address the role of noise and the issue of efficient computation in
stochastic optimal control problems. We consider a class of non-linear control
problems that can be formulated as a path integral and where the noise plays
the role of temperature. The path integral displays symmetry breaking and there
exist a critical noise value that separates regimes where optimal control
yields qualitatively different solutions. The path integral can be computed
efficiently by Monte Carlo integration or by Laplace approximation, and can
therefore be used to solve high dimensional stochastic control problems.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Accepted to PR
Algorithms for response adaptive sampling designs
An experimental design is a formula or algorithm that specifies how resources are to be utilized throughout a study. The design is considered to be good or even optimal if it allows for sufficiently precise and accurate data analysis with the least output of resources such as time, money and experimental units. Most experimental designs use fixed sampling procedures in which the sample sizes and order of allocations to different study groups are known in advance. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64301/1/25_ftp.pd
Practical Open-Loop Optimistic Planning
We consider the problem of online planning in a Markov Decision Process when
given only access to a generative model, restricted to open-loop policies -
i.e. sequences of actions - and under budget constraint. In this setting, the
Open-Loop Optimistic Planning (OLOP) algorithm enjoys good theoretical
guarantees but is overly conservative in practice, as we show in numerical
experiments. We propose a modified version of the algorithm with tighter
upper-confidence bounds, KLOLOP, that leads to better practical performances
while retaining the sample complexity bound. Finally, we propose an efficient
implementation that significantly improves the time complexity of both
algorithms
Gigantic transmission band edge resonance in periodic stacks of anisotropic layers
We consider Fabry-Perot cavity resonance in periodic stacks of anisotropic
layers with misaligned in-plane anisotropy at the frequency close to a photonic
band edge. We show that in-plane dielectric anisotropy can result in a dramatic
increase in field intensity and group delay associated with the transmission
resonance. The field enhancement appears to be proportional to forth degree of
the number N of layers in the stack. By contrast, in common periodic stacks of
isotropic layers, those effects are much weaker and proportional to N^2. Thus,
the anisotropy allows to drastically reduce the size of the resonance cavity
with similar performance. The key characteristic of the periodic arrays with
the gigantic transmission resonance is that the dispersion curve omega(k)at the
photonic band edge has the degenerate form Delta(omega) ~ Delta(k)^4, rather
than the regular form Delta(omega) ~ Delta(k)^2. This can be realized in
specially arranged stacks of misaligned anisotropic layers. The degenerate band
edge cavity resonance with similar outstanding properties can also be realized
in a waveguide environment, as well as in a linear array of coupled multimode
resonators, provided that certain symmetry conditions are in place.Comment: To be submitted to Phys. Re
Two-parameter deformations of logarithm, exponential, and entropy: A consistent framework for generalized statistical mechanics
A consistent generalization of statistical mechanics is obtained by applying
the maximum entropy principle to a trace-form entropy and by requiring that
physically motivated mathematical properties are preserved. The emerging
differential-functional equation yields a two-parameter class of generalized
logarithms, from which entropies and power-law distributions follow: these
distributions could be relevant in many anomalous systems. Within the specified
range of parameters, these entropies possess positivity, continuity, symmetry,
expansibility, decisivity, maximality, concavity, and are Lesche stable. The
Boltzmann-Shannon entropy and some one parameter generalized entropies already
known belong to this class. These entropies and their distribution functions
are compared, and the corresponding deformed algebras are discussed.Comment: Version to appear in PRE: about 20% shorter, references updated, 13
PRE pages, 3 figure
- …