Working to End Sweatshops

This document is part of a digital collection provided by the Martin P. Catherwood Library, ILR School, Cornell University, pertaining to the effects of globalization on the workplace worldwide. Special emphasis is placed on labor rights, working conditions, labor market changes, and union organizing.CFO_2006_Report_working_to_end.pdf: 3 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Numerical Study of a One-Dimensional Poisson-Nernst–Planck Ion Channel Model By Finite Element Backward and Forward Euler Methods

This thesis presents a numerical study of a one-dimensional Poisson-Nernst-Planck (PNP) ion channel model,which describes the transport of charged species in an electrolyte under the influence of an electric field. We develop a new numerical scheme for solving the PNP model by combining the method of lines with the finite element and Euler\u27s forward and backward methods. We then implement the scheme based on the finite element library from the FEniCS project. To validate the accuracy of our numerical scheme, we construct an analytical solution of the PNP model with source terms. We find in numerical tests that the backward Euler method is more accurate and stable than the forward Euler method, especially for larger time steps. Furthermore, we use our numerical scheme to investigate the properties of the PNP model for an electrolyte with two ionic species. Our numerical results show that our numerical scheme can accurately capture the solution behavior of the PNP model

Computer-aided Interactive Classification: Applications of VIBE

Tools like the VIBE visualization system permit human analysts to use both an understanding of a data set's content and a recognition of structure that the visualization reveals. But what happens when a database's semantics are hidden from the analyst? What guidelines or heuristics can he or she use to reveal the "correct" underlying structure? Results of two experiments conducted at the University of Pittsburgh support the claim that VIBE analysts can uncover a meaningful clustering even without semantic clues. In one experiment artificial data sets were created in which some of the variables discriminate one or more clusters and the other half contribute only random noise. Variable selection guidelines based on computed discrimination value were used in an attempt to distinguish between the signal and noise variables. In a second experiment, a human analyst's encoding of 714 short phrases to 23 overlapping and inter-related categories was stripped of meaningful titles and relabeled with integers. A VIBE analyst was able to highlight relationships among the 23 categories solely on the basisof co-assignment of the phrases

Busy Beaver Scores and Alphabet Size

We investigate the Busy Beaver Game introduced by Rado (1962) generalized to non-binary alphabets. Harland (2016) conjectured that activity (number of steps) and productivity (number of non-blank symbols) of candidate machines grow as the alphabet size increases. We prove this conjecture for any alphabet size under the condition that the number of states is sufficiently large. For the measure activity we show that increasing the alphabet size from two to three allows an increase. By a classical construction it is even possible to obtain a two-state machine increasing activity and productivity of any machine if we allow an alphabet size depending on the number of states of the original machine. We also show that an increase of the alphabet by a factor of three admits an increase of activity

Semantic metrics

In the context of the Semantic Web, many ontology-related operations, e.g. ontology ranking, segmentation, alignment, articulation, reuse, evaluation, can be boiled down to one fundamental operation: computing the similarity and?or dissimilarity among ontological entities, and in some cases among ontologies themselves. In this paper, we review standard metrics for computing distance measures and we propose a series of semantic metrics. We give a formal account of semantic metrics drawn from a variety of research disciplines, and enrich them with semantics based on standard Description Logic constructs. We argue that concept-based metrics can be aggregated to produce numeric distances at ontology-level and we speculate on the usability of our ideas through potential areas

Long-run consequences of informal elderly care and implications of public long-term care insurance

We estimate a dynamic structural model of labor supply, retirement, and informal care supply, incorporating labor market frictions and the German tax and benefit system. We find that in the absence of Germany's public long-term insurance scheme, informal elderly care has adverse and persistent effects on labor market outcomes and, thus, negatively affects lifetime earnings and future pension benefits. These consequences of caregiving are heterogeneous and depend on age, previous earnings, and institutional regulations. Policy simulations suggest that public long-term care insurance policies are fiscally costly and induce negative labor market effects. But we also show that they can offset the personal costs of caregiving to a large extent and increase welfare for those providing care, especially for low-income individuals

Supporting decision making process with "Ideal" software agents: what do business executives want?

According to Simon’s (1977) decision making theory, intelligence is the first and most important phase in the decision making process. With the escalation of information resources available to business executives, it is becoming imperative to explore the potential and challenges of using agent-based systems to support the intelligence phase of decision-making. This research examines UK executives’ perceptions of using agent-based support systems and the criteria for design and development of their “ideal” intelligent software agents. The study adopted an inductive approach using focus groups to generate a preliminary set of design criteria of “ideal” agents. It then followed a deductive approach using semi-structured interviews to validate and enhance the criteria. This qualitative research has generated unique insights into executives’ perceptions of the design and use of agent-based support systems. The systematic content analysis of qualitative data led to the proposal and validation of design criteria at three levels. The findings revealed the most desirable criteria for agent based support systems from the end users’ point view. The design criteria can be used not only to guide intelligent agent system design but also system evaluation