Large faces in Poisson hyperplane mosaics

A generalized version of a well-known problem of D. G. Kendall states that the zero cell of a stationary Poisson hyperplane tessellation in ${\mathbb{R}}^d$, under the condition that it has large volume, approximates with high probability a certain definite shape, which is determined by the directional distribution of the underlying hyperplane process. This result is extended here to typical $k$-faces of the tessellation, for $k\in\{2,...,d-1\}$. This requires the additional condition that the direction of the face be in a sufficiently small neighbourhood of a given direction.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/09-AOP510 the Annals of Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aop/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

A Man's Face in the Sky Instead of the Sun

This is Daniel Rolf's thesis. It consists of short, interrelated fictions that work together as a whole

Assessing proposals for a transatlantic free trade area.

Initiatives to reduce transatlantic trade barriers or to harmonize trade-related domestic policies in the EU and the US appear regularly on the agenda of policy makers. The last decade saw also considerable steps in transatlantic economic cooperation focusing on special aspects. In February 2002, a new call for a study on the benefits of a transatlantic free trade area (TAFTA) was made by the President of the EU Council to facilitate further liberalization schemes. This article examines recent developments in transatlantic economic policies, discusses changes in approaches in transatlantic regionalism and presents estimates of the economic consequences of transatlantic liberalization. Given the expected small benefits of a TAFTA and the induced costs for multilateral liberalization negotiations, the article discusses alternatives to TAFTA and argues for a multilateral approach, eventually being accompanied by some sort of open regionalism.Außenhandelsliberalisierung; Freihandelszone; EU-Staaten; USA;