The effect of swingarm stiffness on motorcycle stability: Experimental measurements and numerical simulations

This paper focuses on the effect of swingarm deformability on motorcycle stability and in particular on the weave mode. Multibody models for the analysis of stability and handling of single track vehicles require a lumped element representation of the deformability of the critical structural elements of the vehicle. The twist axis method is used to identify lumped stiffness and damping elements able to represent bending and torsion deformability of the swingarm. Experimental tests and identification results dealing with two different swingarms are presented. The identified lumped stiffness and damping elements are implemented in a multibody code and some numerical stability analyses are carried out. Calculated results show that swingarm deformability has a small effect on the stability of super sport motorcycles, whereas the stability of the weave mode of enduro motorcycles is affected by swingarm deformability in a specific range of speeds

Parametric analysis of the stability of a bicycle taking into account geometrical, mass and compliance properties

Some studies of bicycle dynamics have applied the Whipple Carvallo bicycle model (WCBM) for the stability analysis. The WCBM is limited, since structural elements are assumed to be rigid bodies. In this paper, the WCBM is extended to include the front assembly lateral compliance, and analysis focuses on the study of the open loop stability of a benchmark bicycle. Experimental tests to identify fork and wheel properties are performed, this data is used in the stability analysis for ranking the influence of design parameters. Indexes from the eigenvalues analysis are applied in a full factorial approach. The results show that introducing front assembly compliance generates a wobble mode with little effect on self-stability. The forward displacement of the centre of mass of the rear frame and the increment in trail lead to large increments in the self-stability, whereas increments in front wheel radius and wheelbase reduce stability

Cosmopolitanism and Space in Kant's Political Thought

Kant’s cosmopolitanism can be read from two main perspectives: temporal and spatial. Reading cosmopolitanism from a temporal perspective means paying attention to the historical realization of the ideal of cosmopolitanism and to its related issues such as: the progress of humankind, its final destination, the purpose of universal history, the highest purpose of nature. Instead, reading cosmopolitanism from a spatial perspective means paying attention, e.g. to the ‘fact’ of the sphericity of the earth and to its relationship with cosmopolitan right, territoriality, borders and freedom of movement. In this paper I would like to show how adopting a spatial perspective is useful not only in order to delimit a field of inquiry, but also to shed new light on apparently well- known and thoroughly investigated notions of Kant’s cosmopolitanism, such as the notions of the citizen of the world, of the cosmopolitan right, and of the World republic

La società possibile. Una lettura del Contrat social di Jean-Jacques Rousseau (A. Loche)

Il volume pubblicato da Annamaria Loche rappresenta il denso distil-lato di uno studio serio ed appassionato durato anni, che ha prodotto una comprensione utile e originale di un’opera così difficile quale è il Contrat social di J.-J. Rousseau, che sempre lascia sconcertati per il contrasto tra la cristallina chiarezza della lingua e la complessità – che talvolta rasenta l’oscurità – del suo pensiero..

Determinantes del poder de los grupos económicos agroalimentarios: el caso de Arcor en Argentina

This paper aims to review the historical stages that characterized the accumulation process of the Arcor group. To do so, it is not only proposed to examine its productive and commercial expansion strategy, but also to analyze the way in which it was articulated with the different national governments. In methodological terms, the analysis is essentially qualitative, although it is supported by quantitative records, using information gathered from existing literature and data generated by public and private organizations. It is concluded that Arcor's power building was simultaneously supported by political, social and inflationary elements, with the ability to operate in different spaces and scales, improving its bargaining power directly and indirectly.Este trabajo se propone revisar las etapas históricas que caracterizaron el proceso de acumulación del grupo Arcor. Para ello no solo se propone examinar su estrategia de expansión productiva y comercial, sino también analizar el modo en que se fue articulando con los distintos gobiernos nacionales. En términos metodológicos, el análisis es esencialmente cualitativo, si bien se apoya en registros cuantitativos, usando información recolectada de la literatura existente y datos generados por organismos públicos y privados. Se concluye que la construcción de poder de Arcor se apoyó en simultáneamente sobre elementos políticos, sociales e inflacionarios, con la capacidad de operar en distintos espacios y escalas, mejorando su capacidad de negociación directa e indirectamente

Cosmopolitismo e migrazione nel pensiero di Hannah Arendt

Arendt assigns to humanity as a political actor the ‘cosmopolitan’ responsibility to defend the right to have rights. A prerequisite for this to be at least possible is that a reform of the state and international organisation is initiated in order to establish a ‘cosmopolitan system of relations’, a system of federal entities based on the council system of government, where the right to have rights can be agreed upon and guaranteed and, at the same time, recognised by citizens and always actively defended locally. In anticipation of this reform, Arendt would be in favour of guaranteeing all residents, including de jure and de facto stateless people, the possibility of participating in political life in the country of arrival, and thus acquiring a political even before legal citizenship

La infoesfera y el proyecto GDELT

The dizzying expansion of the mass media and information technologies in recent decades has given shape to new cultural configurations. One of the most current expressions of these processes is Big Data. This phenomenon has transformed many of the economic, social and political processes with which it has interacted. In the field of social sciences, new objects of study emerged such as Social Networks or the Web, while new data analysis techniques were incorporated. Considering this context, the present work intends to relate the concept of Infosphere, considered by Franco Berardi as the circular space in which signals carrying cultural intention transit, and the development of the sub-field of Social Sciences known as Culturomics 2.0. In order to visualize some of the conceptual tensions, a case study on the GDELT Project will be carried out. Its function is to monitor the messages that circulate in the Digital Mass Media and Social Networks; in order to create an open platform in real time that allows to investigate the events, dreams, fears and conflicts that occur around the world today