2,060 research outputs found
An Intuitive Approach to Geometric Continuity for Parametric Curves and Surfaces (Extended Abstract)
The notion of geometric continuity is extended to an arbitrary order for curves and surfaces, and an intuitive development of constraints equations is presented that are necessary for it. The constraints result from a direct application of the univariate chain rule for curves, and the bivariate chain rule for surfaces. The constraints provide for the introduction of quantities known as shape parameters. The approach taken is important for several reasons: First, it generalizes geometric continuity to arbitrary order for both curves and surfaces. Second, it shows the fundamental connection between geometric continuity of curves and geometric continuity of surfaces. Third, due to the chain rule derivation, constraints of any order can be determined more easily than derivations based exclusively on geometric measures
Dual Federalism, Constitutional Openings, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
A description of several tools for the synchronization of concurrent processes
technical reportConcurrent processes are tasks which may be executed simultaneously. When several such processes have access to shared variables, it is necessary to establish some regimen to control this access. Several language tools for expressing various synchronization disciplines are presented
The Worldwide Change in the Behavior of Interest Rates and Prices in 1914
This paper evaluates the role of the destruction of the gold standard and the founding of the Federal Reserve, both of which occurred in 1914, in contributing to observed changes in the behavior of interest rates and prices after 1914. The paper presents a model of policy coordination in which the introduction of the Fed stabilizes interest rates, even if the gold standard remains intact, and it offers empirical evidence that the dismantling of the gold standard did not play a crucial role in precipitating the changes in interest rate behavior.
The Seasonal Cycle and the Business Cycle
Almost all recent research on macroeconomic fluctuations has worked with seasonally adjusted or annual data. This paper takes a different approach by treating seasonal fluctuations as worthy of study in their own right. We document the quantitative importance of seasonal fluctuations, and we present estimates of the seasonal patterns in a set of standard macroeconomic variables. Our results show that seasonal fluctuations are an important source of variation in all macroeconomic quantity variables but small or entirely absent in both real and nominal price variables. The timing of the seasonal fluctuations consists of increases in the second and fourth quarter, a large decrease in the first quarter, and a mild decrease in the third quarter. The paper demonstrates that, with respect to each of several major stylized facts about business cycles, the seasonal cycle displays the same characteristics as the business cycle, in some cases even more dramatically than the business cycle. That is, we find that at seasonal frequencies as well as at business cycle frequencies, output movements across broadly defined sectors move together, the timing of production and sales coincide closely, labor productivity is procyclical, nominal money and real output are highly correlated, and prices vary less than quantities. There is a "seasonal business cycle" in the United States economy, and its characteristics mirror closely those of the conventional business cycle.Center for Research on Economic and Social Theory, Department of Economics, University of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/100965/1/ECON040.pd
Bulk and Interfacial Shear Thinning of Immiscible Polymers
Nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations are used to study the shear
thinning behavior of immiscible symmetric polymer blends. The phase separated
polymers are subjected to a simple shear flow imposed by moving a wall parallel
to the fluid-fluid interface. The viscosity begins to shear thin at much lower
rates in the bulk than at the interface. The entire shear rate dependence of
the interfacial viscosity is consistent with a shorter effective chain length
that also describes the width of the interface. This is independent
of chain length and is a function only of the degree of immiscibility of
the two polymers. Changes in polymer conformation are studied as a function of
position and shear rate.Shear thinning correlates more closely with a decrease
in the component of the radius of gyration along the velocity gradient than
with elongation along the flow. At the interface, this contraction of chains is
independent of and consistent with the bulk behavior for chains of length
. The distribution of conformational changes along chains is also studied.
Central regions begin to stretch at a shear rate that decreases with increasing
, while shear induced changes at the ends of chains are independent of .Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure
The Worldwide Change in the Behavior of Interest Rates and Prices in 1914
This paper evaluates the role of the destruction of the gold standard and the founding of the Federal Reserve, both of which occurred in 1914, in contributing to observed changes in the behavior of interest rates and prices after 1914. The paper presents a model of policy coordination in which the introduction of the Fed stabilizes interest rates, even if the gold standard remains intact, and it offers empirical evidence that the dismantling of the gold standard did not play a crucial role in precipitating the changes in interest rate behavior.Center for Research on Economic and Social Theory, Department of Economics, University of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/100954/1/ECON039.pd
Eyeglasses-free display: towards correcting visual aberrations with computational light field displays
Millions of people worldwide need glasses or contact lenses to see or read properly. We introduce a computational display technology that predistorts the presented content for an observer, so that the target image is perceived without the need for eyewear. By designing optics in concert with prefiltering algorithms, the proposed display architecture achieves significantly higher resolution and contrast than prior approaches to vision-correcting image display. We demonstrate that inexpensive light field displays driven by efficient implementations of 4D prefiltering algorithms can produce the desired vision-corrected imagery, even for higher-order aberrations that are difficult to be corrected with glasses. The proposed computational display architecture is evaluated in simulation and with a low-cost prototype device.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (grant number IIS-1219241)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (grant number IIS-1116718)Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship
Eyeglasses-free display: towards correcting visual aberrations with computational light field displays
Millions of people worldwide need glasses or contact lenses to see or read properly. We introduce a computational display technology that predistorts the presented content for an observer, so that the target image is perceived without the need for eyewear. By designing optics in concert with prefiltering algorithms, the proposed display architecture achieves significantly higher resolution and contrast than prior approaches to vision-correcting image display. We demonstrate that inexpensive light field displays driven by efficient implementations of 4D prefiltering algorithms can produce the desired vision-corrected imagery, even for higher-order aberrations that are difficult to be corrected with glasses. The proposed computational display architecture is evaluated in simulation and with a low-cost prototype device.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (grant number IIS-1219241)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (grant number IIS-1116718)Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship
- …