On perfect hashing of numbers with sparse digit representation via multiplication by a constant

Consider the set of vectors over a field having non-zero coefficients only in a fixed sparse set and multiplication defined by convolution, or the set of integers having non-zero digits (in some base $b$) in a fixed sparse set. We show the existence of an optimal (resp. almost-optimal in the latter case) `magic' multiplier constant that provides a perfect hash function which transfers the information from the given sparse coefficients into consecutive digits. Studying the convolution case we also obtain a result of non-degeneracy for Schur functions as polynomials in the elementary symmetric functions in positive characteristic.Comment: 5 page

Anti-dumping policies and safeguard measures in the context of Costa Rica's economic liberalization

This paper reviews the most important changes, both in the economy and in the legal and institutional framework, to deal with unfair trade practices that Costa Rica has experienced during its trade liberalization process. It also evaluates whether the sectors that as a result of such a process have been facing increased foreign competition, and may have attempted to use the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules adopted by Costa Rica as a protectionist instrument. Costa Rica's legal framework against unfair trade practices at the multilateral level emerged when the country adopted the WTO rules on antidumping policies and safeguard measures. That has been reinforced at the bilateral level through the subscription of free trade agreements with Central America, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Chile, and Canada. So far, only six antidumping petitions and five safeguards have been received by the government. In reviewing these petitions, the government has paid particular attention to the impact of any action on the competitiveness of the domestic market and on the possibility that it would support modernization of the industry. Behind the political acceptance of this disciplined approach lies widespread recognition of the social as well as economic progress that liberalization has supported.TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Access to Markets,Markets and Market Access

Book Review: The Human Icon: A Comparative Study of Hindu and Orthodox Christian Beliefs

Book review of The Human Icon: A Comparative Study of Hindu and Orthodox Christian Beliefs. By Christine Mangala Frost. Cambridge, UK: James Clarke & Co, 2017, xv + 368 pages

Book Review: \u3ci\u3eHis Hiding Place is Darkness: A Hindu-Catholic Theopoetics of Divine Absence.\u3c/i\u3e

Book review of, His Hiding Place is Darkness: A Hindu-Catholic Theopoetics of Divine Absence. by Francis X. Clooney

The Limits of Theodicy: An Eastern Orthodox Perspective on Evil and Interreligious Theology

This essay is written from the vantage point of a comparative theologian who is personally steeped in the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition and who primarily specializes in Christian-Muslim comparative theology. It might seems curious, then, that the present essay employs the comparative theological method in order to focus on questions of theodicy in the Christian and Hindu traditions. Perhaps even more curious, however, is that I aim not at articulating a comparative Christian-Hindu theodicy, but rather at suggesting that the most productive path forward is a comparative theological rejection of theodicy as a productive enterprise. Drawing from resources within my own Orthodox Christian tradition, as well as from the thought of Paul Ricoeur, my essay will revolve around two primary arguments: first, theodicy functions primarily to reconcile human beings to evil’s existence, thus legitimizing it and reducing the need to counteract evil; and second, religious traditions more effectively encounter the question of evil by teaching a path by which practitioners can mourn, reject, combat, and transform evil. Accordingly, I will first briefly examine two salient instances of comparative Christian-Hindu theodicy in order to demonstrate how my approach differs. Next, I will engage with key critics of theodicy, some of whom are skeptical of religion (or even hostile to it), and some of whom are religious adherents who maintain theodicy is an inherently deleterious mode of thought. I will conclude by drawing from both Fyodor Dostoevsky and Paul Ricoeur in order to suggest a more productive trajectory for comparative theology and the challenges posed by the existence of evil and suffering

On the convergence rate of the Dirichlet-Neumann iteration for unsteady thermal fluid structure interaction

We consider the Dirichlet-Neumann iteration for partitioned simulation of thermal fluid-structure interaction, also called conjugate heat transfer. We analyze its convergence rate for two coupled fully discretized 1D linear heat equations with jumps in the material coefficients across these. These are discretized using implicit Euler in time, a finite element method on one domain, a finite volume method on the other one and variable aspect ratio. We provide an exact formula for the spectral radius of the iteration matrix. This shows that for large time steps, the convergence rate is the aspect ratio times the quotient of heat conductivities and that decreasing the time step will improve the convergence rate. Numerical results confirm the analysis and show that the 1D formula is a good estimator in 2D and even for nonlinear thermal FSI applications.Comment: 29 pages, 20 figure