Lattice Gas Automata for Reactive Systems

Reactive lattice gas automata provide a microscopic approachto the dynamics of spatially-distributed reacting systems. After introducing the subject within the wider framework of lattice gas automata (LGA) as a microscopic approach to the phenomenology of macroscopic systems, we describe the reactive LGA in terms of a simple physical picture to show how an automaton can be constructed to capture the essentials of a reactive molecular dynamics scheme. The statistical mechanical theory of the automaton is then developed for diffusive transport and for reactive processes, and a general algorithm is presented for reactive LGA. The method is illustrated by considering applications to bistable and excitable media, oscillatory behavior in reactive systems, chemical chaos and pattern formation triggered by Turing bifurcations. The reactive lattice gas scheme is contrasted with related cellular automaton methods and the paper concludes with a discussion of future perspectives.Comment: to appear in PHYSICS REPORTS, 81 revtex pages; uuencoded gziped postscript file; figures available from [email protected] or [email protected]

"A Theoretical Perspective on Multi-level Systems in Europe: Constitutional Power and Partisan Conflict"

types: ArticleThis article distinguishes three constitutionally defined categories of multi-level systems – confederations, federal arrangements and regionalized arrangements, which differ in whether their lower-level governments enjoy constitutional protection and whether we find a constitutional hierarchy between central and lower levels of government. We argue that the constitutional category a multi-level system belongs to systematically shapes first, the dominant mode of day-to-day intergovernmental coordination, second, the mode of formal competence (re)allocation; and third, the relative impact of party (in)congruence across central and lower-level governments on these coordination processes, respectively. The article then specifies the indicators used to test the hypotheses across the range of case studies. It finally shows how the multi-level systems covered in this special issue span the confederal – federal – regionalized spectrum and thus allow for an encompassing comparative assessment of multi-level dynamics and their long-term evolution.ESR

E-Democracy and the European Public Sphere

The chapter starts with an outline of outstanding recent contributions to the discussion of the EU democratic deficit and the so-called “no demos” problem and the debate about European citizenship and European identity—mainly in the light of insights from the EU crisis. This is followed by reflections on the recent discussion on the state of the mass media-based European public sphere. Finally, the author discusses the state of research on the Internet’s capacity to support the emergence of a (renewed) public sphere, with a focus on options for political actors to use the Internet for communication and campaigning, on the related establishment of segmented issue-related publics as well as on social media and its two-faced character as an enabler as well as a distorting factor of the public sphere. The author is sceptic about the capacities of Internet-based political communication to develop into a supranational (European) public sphere. It rather establishes a network of a multitude of discursive processes aimed at opinion formation at various levels and on various issues. The potential of online communication to increase the responsiveness of political institutions so far is set into practice insufficiently. Online media are increasingly used in a vertical and scarcely in a horizontal or interactive manner of communication

A União Europeia entre o alargamento e a vizinhança: os casos dos Balcãs ocidentais e do Cáucaso do sul

O artigo trata as políticas da UE para a sua periferia a leste, com enfoque nos Balcãs ocidentais e no Cáucaso do sul. Partindo de uma abordagem comparativa, o artigo argumenta que a construção de uma ordem regional normativa, com objetivos claros de estabilização por meio da integração de geometria variável, tem encontrado limites. O artigo identifica essas dinâmicas e procura retirar lições da abordagem europeia aos Balcãs e ao Cáucaso

Способ бескоксовой переработки ванадийсодержащего рудного сырья с получением легированной ванадием стали, горячих металлизованных окатышей и ванадиевого шлака

Изобретение относится к области металлургии, в частности к процессам металлизации и электросталеплавильному производству. В шахтной печи осуществляют металлизацию ванадийсодержащего рудного сырья с использованием в качестве восстановителя горячих восстановительных газов, поступающих из газификатора с жидкой ванной, где с одновременным получением газа производятся ванадийсодержащий полупродукт и ванадийсодержащий шлак. Металлизованное сырье, ванадийсодержащий полупродукт, металлургический скрап подают в дуговую электропечь для выплавки стали. Перед подачей в электропечь ванадийсодержащий полупродукт поступает в агрегат деванадации для окисления ванадия с получением рафинированного полупродукта и ванадийсодержащего шлака. После чего рафинированный полупродукт, металлизованное сырье и металлургический скрап подают в электропечь. В электропечи вначале проплавляют рафинированный полупродукт и металлургический скрап, сливают шлак и на полученный расплав подают и проплавляют металлизованное сырье до получения стали. Ванадийсодержащий шлак, полученный при деванадации ванадийсодержащего полупродукта, а также не использованное для выплавки стали металлизованное сырье, полученное в шахтной печи, используют как товарную продукцию. Преимуществом предлагаемого изобретения является удешевление процесса получения легированной ванадием стали, снижение энергоемкости процесса и увеличение степени извлечения ванадия на всех стадиях технологической цепочки

Seeing Polycentrically: Examining Governance Situations Using a Polycentricity Lens

Because many types of governance can be polycentric, an observer faces a challenge in trying to identify and understand polycentric governance in actual settings. This chapter adopts the perspective of thinking about polycentricity as a lens through which to view governance situations. We take an inquiry approach, considering how one might determine whether and in what ways a given governance situation demonstrates the characteristics of polycentric governance. We proceed through a series of questions an observer could pose as part of 'seeing polycentrically', i.e., looking at the aspects and dimensions of polycentric governance introduced in Stephan, Marshall, and McGinnis as a way of building an understanding of a governance situation. We attempt to describe why these queries are important and how posing and answering these questions helps in examining and understanding the situation. We close the chapter by considering the challenges of assessing the operation of polycentric governance arrangements