On the dynamics of the Furuta pendulum

The Furuta pendulum, or rotational inverted pendulum, is a system found in many control labs. It provides a compact yet impressive platform for control demonstrations and draws the attention of the control community as a platform for the development of nonlinear control laws. Despite the popularity of the platform, there are very few papers which employ the correct dynamics and only one that derives the full system dynamics. In this paper, the full dynamics of the Furuta pendulum are derived using two methods: a Lagrangian formulation and an iterative Newton-Euler formulation. Approximations are made to the full dynamics which converge to the more commonly presented expressions. The system dynamics are then linearised using a Jacobian. To illustrate the influence the commonly neglected inertia terms have on the system dynamics, a brief example is offered.Benjamin Seth Cazzolato and Zebb Prim

The equilibrium melting of polymers

Equilibrium melting of polymer

Rural China Takes Off: Institutional Foundations of Economic Reform, by Jean C. Oi, and China’s Industrial Technology: Market Reform and Organizational Change, by Shulin Gu,

Reviews two books on economic reform in China. \u27Rural China Takes Off: Institutional Foundations of Economic Reform,\u27 by Jean C. Oi; \u27China\u27s Industrial Technology: Market Reform and Organizational Change,\u27 by Shulin Gu

William B. Gamble, Investing in China: Legal, Financial and Regulatory Risk

Reviews the book Investing in China: Legal, Financial and Regulator Risk, by William B. Gamble

Utilizing FDI to Stay Ahead: The Case of Singapore

A country of five million people in 710 square kilometers, Singapore has built itself into an integral part of global markets with living standards that are among the highest in the world. The purpose of this article is to apply a capabilities-based approach to understand how a small, resource-scarce country dependent on global markets has done so well. The core of Singapore’s success has been the continuous updating and expanding of domestic social capabilities to meet the needs of foreign companies. Government policies were hyper-sensitive to providing conditions for foreign firms to be successful. Foreign firms investing in Singapore by now have helped close the income gap with advanced economies and are on the way to closing the innovation gap. Singapore demonstrates that with deliberate attention to building skills, institutions and infrastructure, it is possible for a small country to upgrade skills and to move up the production-value chain with primary reliance on FDI. Cultivation of private Singaporean firms has been secondary but may be the next step needed to sustain progress, both to respond to increased competition from China and others, and to build a knowledge-based economy

Technological Innovation in China: The Case of Shanghai\u27s Electronics Industry. Denis Fred Simon , Detlef Rehn

Reviews the book `Technological Innovation in China: The Case of Shanghai\u27s Electronics Industry,\u27 by Denis Fred Simpson and Detlef Rehn