The Roberta Mitchell Lecture: Structuring Responsibility in Securitization Transactions

In this Lecture, Professor Schwarcz examines how complex securitization transactions may have created a “protection gap,” the conundrum that transaction parties may be unable to purchase or might not want to pay the price for full protection. As a result, they sometimes choose or are forced to assume the good faith of the other parties to the transaction and the consistency and completeness of protections provided in the transaction documents

Kas ir patiesība? Ēriha Fromma modelis

Rakstā aplūkoti divi patiesības interpretācijas ceļi, ko piedāvā Ērihs Fromms: absolūtā patiesība un optimālā patiesība. Fromma idejas ir aktuālas tad, kad problēmām ir vajadzīgs nevis teorētisks skaidrojums, bet praktisks risinājums. Fromma pragmatiski ievirzītā optimālā patiesība ir tieši tas, ko izteic tās nosaukums – optimāla. Tas nenozīmē, ka tā ir vienīgā, labākā vai pareizākā, bet gan to, ka šādai patiesībai piemīt lietojums

A Pyrrhic Victory: Harold Wilson, Helmut Schmidt, and the British Renegotiation of EC Membership, 1974–5

Britain’s renegotiation of EC membership in 1974-5 has commonly been praised by historians as a tactical masterpiece by Prime Minister Harold Wilson in holding a divided country and party together while also keeping Britain inside the European Community. By contrast, this article focuses on the detrimental effect the episode had on Britain’s standing inside the EC. Using the prism of high-level diplomacy between Wilson and the German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, it reconstructs precisely the changes in German perceptions of British positions, showing how initial goodwill towards Britain’s demands soon gave way to widespread scepticism over British motives and ultimate intentions. While highlighting the strong domestic pressures driving Britain and Germany apart, the article ultimately argues that these differences were unnecessarily exacerbated by Wilson’s failure at personal diplomacy on the highest level. A different handling of Schmidt may not have resulted in a radically different outcome of the renegotiations; but it may well have avoided the profound sense of distrust and suspicion over Britain’s future role in Europe that the episode stimulated among the Germans. The article is based on recently declassified sources from three countries, as well as on rare materials from Schmidt’s private archive in Hamburg.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis via http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07075332.2014.98533

Simulation-driven design : Motives, Means, and Opportunities

Efficiency and innovative problem solving are contradictory requirements for productdevelopment (PD), and both requirements must be satisfied in companies that strive to remainor to become competitive. Efficiency is strongly related to ”doing things right”, whereasinnovative problem solving and creativity is focused on ”doing the right things”.Engineering design, which is a sub-process within PD, can be viewed as problem solving or adecision-making process. New technologies in computer science and new software tools openthe way to new approaches for the solution of mechanical problems. Product datamanagement (PDM) technology and tools can enable concurrent engineering (CE) bymanaging the formal product data, the relations between the individual data objects, and theirrelation to the PD process. Many engineering activities deal with the relation betweenbehavior and shape. Modern CAD systems are highly productive tools for conceptembodiment and detailing. The finite element (FE) method is a general tool used to study thephysical behavior of objects with arbitrary shapes. Since a modern CAD technology enablesdesign modification and change, it can support the innovative dimension of engineering aswell as the verification of physical properties and behavior. Concepts and detailed solutionshave traditionally been evaluated and verified with physical testing. Numerical modeling andsimulation is in many cases a far more time efficient method than testing to verify theproperties of an artifact. Numerical modeling can also support the innovative dimension ofproblem solving by enabling parameter studies and observations of real and syntheticbehavior. Simulation-driven design is defined as a design process where decisions related tothe behavior and performance of the artifact are significantly supported by computer-basedproduct modeling and simulation.A framework for product modeling, that is based on a modern CAD system with fullyintegrated FE modeling and simulation functionality provides the engineer with tools capableof supporting a number of engineering steps in all life-cycle phases of a product. Such aconceptual framework, that is based on a moderately coupled approach to integratecommercial PDM, CAD, and FE software, is presented. An object model and a supportingmodular modeling methodology are also presented. Two industrial cases are used to illustratethe possibilities and some of the opportunities given by simulation-driven design with thepresented methodology and framework.QC 2010081

Behavior Modeling in Mechanical Engineering- A Modular Approach

Many engineering activities are confronted with the relation between shape and behavior. Modern ”state-of-the-art ” CAD systems can support a dynamic design process with flexible and unambiguous geometric modeling of artifacts. The finite element (FE) method is a general method to model and simulate physical behavior. CAD and FE integration enables numerical prediction of the physical behavior of artifacts. To deal with the complexity of modern products and the dynamic character of the design process, the integration must be addressed from both a systems and a process point of view. The models must thus be flexible, scaleable, and reusable. A modularized modeling approach based on four stages is proposed, and exemplified with behavior modeling of a turn-key grinding machine. Keywords. CAD; Feature; Finite element modeling; Order-based design; Physical behavio

Technical note: Experiences of studying airborne wear particles from road and rail transport

Airborne particles and their adverse effects on air quality have been recognized by humans since ancient times. Current exhaust emission legislations increase the relative contribution of wear particles on the PM levels. Consequently, wearbased particle emissions from rail and road transport have raised concerns as ground transportation is developing quickly. Although scientific research on airborne wear-based particles started in 1909, there is almost no legislation that control the generation of wear-based particles. In addition, there is no accepted and approved standard measurement technique for monitoring and recording particle characteristics. The main objective of this study is to review recent experimental work in this field and to discuss their set-ups, the sampling methods, the results, and their limitations, and to propose measures for reducing these limitations.QC 20130802</p