Enhanced LFR-toolbox for MATLAB and LFT-based gain scheduling

We describe recent developments and enhancements of the LFR-Toolbox for MATLAB for building LFT-based uncertainty models and for LFT-based gain scheduling. A major development is the new LFT-object definition supporting a large class of uncertainty descriptions: continuous- and discrete-time uncertain models, regular and singular parametric expressions, more general uncertainty blocks (nonlinear, time-varying, etc.). By associating names to uncertainty blocks the reusability of generated LFT-models and the user friendliness of manipulation of LFR-descriptions have been highly increased. Significant enhancements of the computational efficiency and of numerical accuracy have been achieved by employing efficient and numerically robust Fortran implementations of order reduction tools via mex-function interfaces. The new enhancements in conjunction with improved symbolical preprocessing lead generally to a faster generation of LFT-models with significantly lower orders. Scheduled gains can be viewed as LFT-objects. Two techniques for designing such gains are presented. Analysis tools are also considered

Relations between Brazilian economy and social policies and the informal economy

Orientador: Marcelo Weishaupt ProniDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de EconomiaResumo: Economia informal é um conceito proposto pela Organização Internacional do Trabalho para estudar situações ocupacionais que combinam condições de trabalho precárias e remuneração baixa, o que geralmente contribui para a reprodução de desigualdades sociais e da pobreza. No Brasil, a informalidade é um problema crônico que abrange quase 50% da força de trabalho. As causas primárias dessa informalidade se encontram nas características do mercado de trabalho brasileiro, marcado por uma oferta estruturalmente excedente de mão-de-obra, que resulta em uma enorme parcela da força de trabalho submetida a uma inserção ocupacional muito vulnerável e sem acesso a um trabalho digno e proteção social. Partindo das formulações teóricas de Claus Offe e Gosta Esping-Andersen, pode-se afirmar que a informalidade do trabalho no Brasil decorre da insuficiência de políticas públicas capazes de superar a herança deixada pelo modelo de desenvolvimento excludente e de corrigir as distorções produzidas pelo funcionamento do mercado de trabalho. Três grandes linhas de ação política podem ser destacadas como requisitos para fornecer mais e melhores empregos e promover a inclusão social: (i) as políticas macroeconômicas, a política industrial e a política de desenvolvimento regional, que balizam a trajetória de crescimento econômico; (ii) a definição do arranjo institucional que regulamenta e fiscaliza o funcionamento do mercado de trabalho e as relações de emprego; e (iii) as políticas sociais que delimitam o acesso à proteção social e aos serviços sociais, reduzindo a dependência dos trabalhadores pobres em relação ao mercado de trabalho. A maioria daqueles que trabalham informalmente hoje em dia estão excluídos desses esquemas de proteção. A presente dissertação tem como objetivo examinar os efeitos mais visíveis das políticas econômicas, das políticas laborais e das políticas sociais do Governo Lula sobre a economia informal. O primeiro capítulo apresenta o referencial teórico que dá suporte ao estudo. O segundo capítulo esclarece como a informalidade se tornou um problema crônico no Brasil e procura dimensionar suas principais facetas no mercado de trabalho. O terceiro capítulo apresenta indicadores da evolução recente da economia brasileira e menciona as diretrizes das políticas macroeconômicas adotadas. O quarto capítulo focaliza as políticas de mercado de trabalho e as políticas sociais para a constituição da economia informal. Ao final, fica demonstrado que o crescimento econômico substantivo, a regulação mais eficiente do mercado de trabalho e o compromisso com políticas sociais dirigidas para os segmentos mais pobres da população reduziram a informalidade no mercado de trabalho brasileiro ao longo da década passada. Será concluído que crescimento econômico é uma condição necessária para a melhora do problema social da informalidade, mas sem mudanças na direção das políticas sociais e laborais, não é uma condição suficienteAbstract: Informal economy is a concept proposed by the International Labour Organisation to study occupational situations that combine conditions of precarious work and low remuneration, what generally contributes to the reproduction of social inequalities and poverty. In Brazil, informality is a chronic problem that affects nearly 50% of the workforce. The primary causes of this informality are found in the characteristics of the Brazilian labour market, marked by a structural supply surplus of labour, which results in an enormous part of the workforce being submitted to a very vulnerable occupational insertion without access to decent work and social protection Departing from theoretical perspectives of Claus Offe and Gosta Esping-Andersen, it is affirmed that the informality of work in Brazil results from the insufficiency of public policies that are not able to overcome the heritage of the excluding development model and to correct the distortions produced by the labour market. Three great lines of political action can be emphasized as requirements for the provision of better employment and to improve social inclusion: (i) macroeconomic policies, industrial policies and the regional development policies that mark the trajectory of economic growth; (ii) the definition of the institutional arrangements that regulate and control the functioning of the labour market and the labour relations; and (iii) social policies that restrict the access to social protection and services, reducing the dependency of poor workers from the labour market. The majority of those who work informally today are excluded from these protections schemes. The present work will examine the most visible effects on the informal economy of economic policies and of the social and labour policies during the Lula-Government (2002-2010). The first chapter introduces the theoretical references that are used in the study. The second chapter shows how informality turned into a chronic problem in Brazil and tries to outline its principal labour market facets. The third chapter presents indicators of the recent evolution of the Brazilian economy and mentions the guidelines of the adopted macroeconomic policies. The fourth chapter focuses on the labour market and social policies and their role for the constitution of the informal economy. Finally it will be shown, how substantial economic growth, more effective regulation of the labour market and a commitment with social policies directed towards the poorest segments of the population reduced informality in the Brazilian labour market over the last decade. This will lead to the conclusion, that economic growth is a necessary condition for the improvement of the social problem informality, but without changes in the direction of social and labour policies, it is not a sufficient conditionMestradoEconomia Social e do TrabalhoMestre em Desenvolvimento Econômic

A Versatile Simulation Environment of FTC Architectures for Large Transport Aircraft

We present a simulation environment with 3-D stereo visualization facilities destined for an easy setup and versatile assessment of fault detection and diagnosis based fault tolerant control systems. This environment has been primarily developed as a technology demonstrator of advanced reconfigurable flight control systems and is based on a realistic six degree of freedom flexible aircraft model. The aircraft control system architecture includes a flexible fault detection and diagnosis system and a reconfigurable nonlinear dynamic inversion based controller, able to handle different fault situations

On Time-sensitive Control Dependencies

We present efficient algorithms for time-sensitive control dependencies (CDs). If statement y is time-sensitively control dependent on statement x, then x decides not only whether y is executed but also how many timesteps after x. If y is not standard control dependent on x, but time-sensitively control dependent, then y will always be executed after x, but the execution time between x and y varies. This allows us to discover, e.g., timing leaks in security-critical software. We systematically develop properties and algorithms for time-sensitive CDs, as well as for nontermination-sensitive CDs. These work not only for standard control flow graphs (CFGs) but also for CFGs lacking a unique exit node (e.g., reactive systems). We show that Cytron’s efficient algorithm for dominance frontiers [10] can be generalized to allow efficient computation not just of classical CDs but also of time-sensitive and nontermination-sensitive CDs. We then use time-sensitive CDs and time-sensitive slicing to discover cache timing leaks in an AES implementation. Performance measurements demonstrate scalability of the approach

The Cycle of Violence: Associations Between Exposure to Violence, Trauma-Related Symptoms and Aggression - Findings from Congolese Refugees in Uganda

Hecker T, Fetz S, Ainamani H, Elbert T. The Cycle of Violence: Associations Between Exposure to Violence, Trauma-Related Symptoms and Aggression - Findings from Congolese Refugees in Uganda. Journal of Traumatic Stress. 2015;28(5):448-455.War-related trauma exposure has been linked to aggression and enhanced levels of community and family violence, suggesting a cycle of violence. Reactive aggression - an aggressive reaction to a perceived threat - has been associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In contrast, appetitive aggression - a hedonic, intrinsically motivated form of aggression - seems to be negatively related to PTSD in offender and military populations. This study examined the associations between exposure to violence, trauma-related symptoms and aggression in a civilian population. In semistructured interviews, 290 Congolese refugees were questioned about trauma exposure, PTSD symptoms, and aggression. War-related trauma exposure correlated positively with exposure to family and community violence in the past month (r = .31, p < .001), and appetitive (r = .18, p = .002) and reactive aggression (r = .29, p < .001). The relationship between war-related trauma exposure and reactive aggressive behavior was mediated by PTSD symptoms and appetitive aggression. In a multiple sequential regression analysis, trauma exposure (β = .43, p < .001) and reactive aggression (β = .36, p < .001) were positively associated with PTSD symptoms, whereas appetitive aggression was negatively associated (β=−.13, p = .007) with PTSD symptoms. Our findings were congruent with the cycle of violence hypothesis and indicate a differential relation between distinct subtypes of aggression and PTSD