Solving Systems of Non-Linear Equations by Broyden's Method with Projected Updates

We introduce a modification of Broyden's method for finding a zero of n nonlinear equations in n unknowns when analytic derivatives are not available. The method retains the local Q-superlinear convergence of Broyden's method and has the additional property that if any or all of the equations are linear, it locates a zero of these equations in n+1 or fewer iterations. Limited computational experience suggests that our modification often improves upon Eroyden's method.

GNC Architecture Design for ARES Simulation. Revision 3.0

The purpose of this document is to describe the GNC architecture and associated interfaces for all ARES simulations. Establishing a common architecture facilitates development across the ARES simulations and provides an efficient mechanism for creating an end-to-end simulation capability. In general, the GNC architecture is the frame work in which all GNC development takes place, including sensor and effector models. All GNC software applications have a standard location within the architecture making integration easier and, thus more efficient

(Review) After Life: An Ethnographic Novel

The article reviews the book After Life: An Ethnographic Novel, by Tobias Hecht

Rethinking Clientelism: Demands, Discourses and Practices in Contemporary Brazil

It has been more than a decade since the Brazilian military relinquished its hold on the electoral process. Effective democratic governance has yet to be established, however. Traditional elites still dominate the scene, political parties remain weak, fragmented and unstable, and public administrations continue to pay lip-service to demands for citizens\u27 rights. The source of these various problems of democratic governance is, by all accounts, the widespread practice of exchanging votes for favours, otherwise known as clientelism. In this essay, I argue that clientelism is an essential and endearing feature of the Brazilian political landscape. I also argue, however, that both the form and the function of clientelism remain unexamined and that, as a consequence, its role in the political process has been misunderstood or ignored. Aunque ha pasado más de una década desde que los militares brasileños renunciaron a su control del proceso electoral, aún debe establecerse un gobierno democrático efectivo. Las elites tradicionales aún dominan la escena, los partidos políticos permanecen siendo débiles, fragmentados e inestables, y las administraciones públicas continúan apoyando, pero sólo de los dientes para afuera, las demandas de derechos ciudadanos. La fuente de estos problemas de administración democrática es, por donde se mire, la extendida práctica de canjear votos por favores, conocida de otro modo bajo el nombre de clientelismo. En este ensayo propongo que el clientelismo es un rasgo atractivo y esencial del paisaje político brasileño. Sin embargo, también sostengo que tanto la forma como la función del clientelismo permanecen sin ser estudiados y, como consecuencia, su papel en el proceso político ha sido mal entendido o ignorado

(Review) Urban Outcasts: A Comparative Sociology of Advanced Marginality

The article reviews the book Urban Outcasts: A Comparative Sociology of Advanced Marginality, by Loïc Wacquant

(Review) The Illusion of Civil Society: Democratization and Community Mobilization in Low-Income Mexico

The article reviews the book The Illusion of Civil Society: Democratization and Community Mobilization in Low-Income Mexico, by Jon Shefner

An integrated model platform for the economic assessment of agricultural policies in the European Union

A number of economic models have been applied to analyse the Common Agricultural Policy. The partial equilibrium models CAPRI, ESIM, AGLINK, AGMEMOD and CAPSIM and the general equilibrium models GLOBE and GTAP are currently integrated in a modelling platform for Agro-Economic Policy Analysis in the premises of the Joint Research Centre in Seville in close collaboration with Directorate- General for Agriculture and Rural Development. Each of the models included has a specific focus, enlarging the capacity for complex policy analysis within this platform. This can be done by comparing the results of different models or by linking them, where several methodological options are available. This paper gives some insights on current applications in the field of model integration for agricultural policy analysis.European Commission, Common Agricultural Policy, economic models, quantitative analysis, Agricultural and Food Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER? OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS OF SCIENTIFIC POLICY ANALYSIS FOR AGRICULTURE

Agricultural and Food Policy,

Beyond modernism and postmodernism: reflexivity and development economics

This thesis has two main objectives. First, it outlines a taxonomy of reflexive development practice, which aims at transcending the divide between modernism and postmodernism in the methodology of development economics. Second, the thesis examines the taxonomy in two countries at opposite ends of the development spectrum, Vanuatu and Singapore, attempting to show that the taxonomy provides insights for policymaking. The taxonomy is the principal contribution. It suggests an examination of external values and norms; an assessment of the importance of local context; a recognition that policies can worsen the problems that they try to solve; and the idea that theory and policy should be revised as circumstances change. The taxonomy is developed as a way of addressing the difficulties encountered by the modernist Washington Consensus on the one hand and postmodernism on the other. Some postmodernists have criticised modernists for trying to make universal statements based on findings specific to a particular time and context. A further criticism is that the modernist-type theorising exemplified by the Washington Consensus assumes too much certainty, putting excessive faith in the ‘expert’ outsider. Postmodernists, on the other hand, have often been criticised for being relativist or even being against theory itself. In extreme versions of postmodernism, the entire rejection of epistemological foundations allows no analysis or significant discussion. The taxonomy aims to steer away from the pitfalls of either tradition, emphasising in particular the unity of theory and practice and the need for analysis and policy advice to take account of both the objectivism of the outsider and the subjectivism of the insider. The thesis is divided into two parts. The first part discusses how the open systems approach of critical realism, John Maynard Keynes and the neo-Austrians aims to overcome the difficulties of modernism and postmodernism. It then examines some of the principal uses of the term reflexivity in the past century or so, suggesting that some of these uses are compatible with each other and with the idea of open systems. This section draws on the work of several economic methodologists and sociologists, including Karl Marx, Karl Mannheim, Pierre Bourdieu, Anthony Giddens and thinkers within the sociology of scientific knowledge. Next is a critical discussion of the Washington Consensus and its amended version, followed by the development of the taxonomy. Part two begins with a brief discussion of the nature of comparison within developing economies, before looking at the taxonomy in the context of Vanuatu and Singapore. Following the case-studies is an attempt to draw lessons from the experience of the two countries. Finally, the discussion is summarised and some conclusions established.ESRC scholarshi