Système et crise en politique internationale

This paper is designed to enrich basic concepts. The specific goals are twofold: to stimulate a renewed interest in a System orientation to international relations ; and to prepare the g round for an analysis of the system-crisis linkage, that is, crises as international earthquakes or triggers to System change. The first section analyses approches to international Systems. In the light of their shortcomings a revised definition of a System is presented, along with a discussion of the core System components - structure, process, issue, boundaries, context and environment. The second part attempts to break fresh ground on the concepts of stability and equilibrium. The third section provides a new perspective on systemic crisis. Part four confronts the major task of linking the unit and System levels of crisis analysis, conceptually and empirically

Laser-assisted shearing of stainless steel and spring steel plates with the use of a laser scanner system - new hybrid production technology for the sheet metal industry

AbstractThe Fraunhofer IPT recently developed a new hybrid laser-assisted shearing process which enables conventional punching machines to produce punched sheared edges with continuous flush-cut surfaces in stainless steel plates (1.4301), spring steel plates (1.4310) and titanium alloy plates (3.7165). The new combination of localised laser-induced softening of the plate material in the shearing zone and the shearing process significantly reduces both process forces and process-related noise emissions. A modular system-upgrade for existing punching machines allows laser-assisted shearing to be implemented without the need for expensive new machine designs. The principle of the laser-assisted shearing process is based on briefly and selectively heating the material in the shearing zone via local absorption of laser radiation on the underside of the sheet metal plate before the punching tool comes into contact on the upper side of the metal plate. Laser-induced heating softens the material in the shearing zone within the material within a few tenths of a second. The laser-induced softening mechanisms also lead to a significant decrease of cutting forces as well as a reduction of tool wear, warping and noise emissions

Optimization of teaching foreign languages with Web 2.0 technologies

The article considers possibilities of using Web 2.0 technologies for optimization of teaching foreign languages. Particular attention is paid to the characteristics of such Web 2.0 tools as Voicethread, Voki and Comic Generator

Корпус домашнего фотобиореактора

Объектом исследования является корпус бытового фотобиореактора для выращивания микроводорослей. Цель работы – создание дизайна корпуса фотобиореактора для выращивания микроводорослей в домашних условиях. В процессе исследования проводились теоретические исследования, разработка концепта и вариантов корпуса прибора, трехмерное моделирование и прототипирование.The object of the research is the housing of a domestic photobioreactor for growing microalgae. The goal of the work is to create a design of the housing of the photobioreactor for growing microalgae at home. In the course of the research, theoretical studies, development of the concept and variants of the instrument case, three-dimensional modeling and prototyping were carried out

Gender Difference or Parallel Publics? The Dynamics of Defense Spending Opinions in the United States, 1965-2007

Gender is now recognized as an important dividing line in American political life, and scholars have accumulated evidence that national security issues are an important reason for gender differences in policy preferences. We therefore expect that the dynamics of support for defense spending among men and women will differ. In contrast, several scholars have shown that population subgroups exhibit a ‘‘parallel’’ dynamic in which the evolution of their preferences over time is very similar, despite differences in the average level of support. Unfortunately, there is little time series evidence on gendered reactions to policy, including defense spending, that would allow one to arbitrate between these competing perspectives. In this research note, we assemble a time series of support for defense spending among men and women and model the determinants of that support for the period 1967–2007. We find that women are on average less supportive of defense spending than are men. However, we also find that the over time variation of support for defense spending among men and women is very similar—each is conditioned principally by the past year’s change in defense spending and occasionally by war casualties and a trade-off between defense and civilian spending