How physics is validating the labour theory of value

This article originally appeared in German and subsequently in several other languages. It looks at how the work of econophysics theorists from the 1980s to the 2000s in particularly the work of Farjoun, Machover and Yakovenko has validated many of the original propositions of the labour theory of value

3D oil reservoir visualisation using octree compression techniques utilising logical grid co-ordinates

Octree compression techniques have been used for several years for compressing large three dimensional data sets into homogeneous regions. This compression technique is ideally suited to datasets which have similar values in clusters. Oil engineers represent reservoirs as a three dimensional grid where hydrocarbons occur naturally in clusters. This research looks at the efficiency of storing these grids using octree compression techniques where grid cells are broken into active and inactive regions. Initial experiments yielded high compression ratios as only active leaf nodes and their ancestor, header nodes are stored as a bitstream to file on disk. Savings in computational time and memory were possible at decompression, as only active leaf nodes are sent to the graphics card eliminating the need of reconstructing the original matrix. This results in a more compact vertex table, which can be loaded into the graphics card quicker and generating shorter refresh delay times

HandiVote: simple, anonymous, and auditable electronic voting

We suggest a set of procedures utilising a range of technologies by which a major democratic deficit of modern society can be addressed. The mechanism, whilst it makes limited use of cryptographic techniques in the background, is based around objects and procedures with which voters are currently familiar. We believe that this holds considerable potential for the extension of democratic participation and control

Information technology: gateway to direct democracy in China and the world

The world watches as China moves towards greater democracy. The question in everyone's minds, including Chinese themselves, is “what model will China arrive at, at the journey's end?” There are many lessons to be learnt from other countries, some positive (Tanzania) and some negative (Laos). The United States has no doubts about the “goodness” of its own model but their unthinking belief in the superiority of their model should not be accepted at face value. The Chinese government and people will understandably be considering various different models very carefully, so that they can choose the best possible model for their country, and their own context. In this paper we will consider why current Western models of constitution should be viewed with caution by China as it attempts to move towards an improved socialist democracy. The paper considers the electronic voting system used in the US presidential elections, and draws attention to the opportunities for vote rigging that this type of electronic voting facilitates. It also looks at models of democracy used in the ancient world, and compares these with modern systems. Finally, it presents a secure and anonymous mechanism for electronic voting on issues of concern to the population. We conclude by sounding a note of caution about the dangers of plebiscites being used as rubber stamps by dictators if there are inadequate controls over who puts issues to the vote

The SIMCA algorithm for processing Ground Penetrating Radar data and its use in landmine detection

The main challenge of ground penetrating radar (GPR) based land mine detection is to have an accurate image analysis method that is capable of reducing false alarms. However an accurate image relies on having sufficient spatial resolution in the received signal. But because the diameter of an AP mine can be as low as 2cm and many soils have very high attenuations at frequencies above 3GHz, the accurate detection of landmines is accomplished using advanced algorithms. Using image reconstruction and by carrying out the system level analysis of the issues involved with recognition of landmines allows the landmine detection problem to be solved. The SIMCA (’SIMulated Correlation Algorithm’) is a novel and accurate landmine detection tool that carries out correlation between a simulated GPR trace and a clutter1 removed original GPR trace. This correlation is performed using the MATLAB R processing environment. The authors tried using convolution and correlation. But in this paper the correlated results are presented because they produced better results. Validation of the results from the algorithm was done by an expert GPR user and 4 other general users who predict the location of landmines. These predicted results are compared with the ground truth data

Electronic plebiscites

We suggest a technology and set of procedures by which a major democratic de?cit of modern society can be addressed. The mechanism, whilst it makes limited use of cryptographic techniques in the background, is based around objects and procedures with which voters are currently familiar. We believe that systems like this hold considerable potential for the extension of democratic participation and control

Probabilistic political economy and endogenous money

Since the foundational work of Farjoun and Machover , important contributions to the field of probabilistic economy have been made. In this context one naturally has conservation of money as a postulate. However it is questionable whether a capitalist economy could ever work with entirely exogenous money, and it is interesting to see to what extent probabilistic arguments can illuminate the evolution of the type of endogenous money system that characterizes contemporary capitalism. We first argue, on probabilistic grounds, that a system with a strict conservation law on money was historically unsustainable. We then make the case that phenomena such as the formation of a rate of interest, periodic commercial crises, and the formation of a rentier class can be understood using the sort of reasoning pioneered by Farjoun and Machove

The SCC and the SICSA multi-core challenge

Two phases of the SICSA Multi-core Challenge have gone past. The first challenge was to produce concordances of books for sequences of words up to length N; and the second to simulate the motion of N celestial bodies under gravity. We took both challenges on the SCC, using C and the Linux Shell. This paper is an account of the experiences gained. It also gives a shorter account of the performance of other systems on the same set of problems, as they provide benchmarks against which the SCC performance can be compared with