Biomimetic Emotional Learning Agents

This extended abstract proposes a type of AI agent comprised of: an autonomous real-time control system,\ud low-level emotional learning (including a simple\ud knowledge base that links homeostatic/innate drives to sensory perception states), and a novel sliding-priority drive motivation mechanism. Learning occurs in both phylogenetic and ontogenetic training

ALPHA_I, Remote Manufacturing, and Solid Freeform Fabrication

Alpha_l is a nonuniform rational B-spline (NURBs) based solid modeling system that has been developed at the University of Utah over the past 10 years. In addition to being useful in modeling objects that are described by simple rotation and extrusion operations, the real power of Alpha_l is demonstrated in the modeling of complex parts with sculptured surfaces. For the past several years, a major research thrust has been to use Alpha_l to semi-automatically generate process plan information and numerical control code to manufacture mechanical parts directly from the models. A long term goal is to support an on-line remote manufacturing facility for producing prototype parts. Recently, a 3D Systems stereo lithography machine has been added to the advanced manufacturing laboratory. The stereo lithography process and other SFF techniques are of particular interest for supporting a remote manufacturing facility in that these processes are inherently much safer than numerically controlled machining. Special Alpha_l interfaces including a new slicing algorithm are being developed for the SFF machine use. By generating a SFF part directly from its NURBs description, Alpha_l should facilitate the manufacture of complex parts while providing smoother surfaces.Mechanical Engineerin

Integral Bases for the Universal Enveloping Algebras of Map Algebras

Given a finite-dimensional, complex simple Lie algebra we exhibit an integral form for the universal enveloping algebra of its map algebra, and an explicit integral basis for this integral form. We also produce explicit commutation formulas in the universal enveloping algebras of the map algebras of sl_2 that allow us to write certain elements in Poincare-Birkhoff-Witt order.Comment: 20 page

American Longevity: Past, Present, and Future

How long we live, and how long members of our families and social groups live, is extraordinarily important to us. It's not a subject of daily discussion, but it would be if we were threatened with a return to earlier conditions. Unfortunately, the subject of longevity falls between the cracks of academe and has received far less attention than it warrants. We are all aware, at least dimly, that peole are living longer than they used to. The numbers are impressive: at the turn of the century, life expectancy at birth in the United States was 48 years; it's now 76 years. Since life expectancy during the Stone Age was in the range of 20 to 30 years, it is clear that a majority of the cumulative advances have taken place in the short span of the 20th century. Without the improvements during this century, half of us would not e here: a quarter of the present U.S. population would have been born and died, and another quarter would never have been born because of the pre-reproductive death of a mother, grandmother, or great grandmother. In developing countries, nearly all of the improvements in longevity have occurred in this century. How these gains were achieved has important implications for public policy; how large future gains will be is the single most important area of uncertainty affecting the fiscal viability of our "old age welfare state." These are the two related issues that I focus on in this policy brief.

The development of industrial pensions in the United States in the twentieth century

Pensions are retirement income. They offer protection in case you live long enough to quit collecting a paycheck and can stop working. In the United States, pensions are provided by both public and private sectors. Private sector pension funds are the largest formal financial institution for life-cycle saving, with assets of trillions of dollars. Pensions developed when more traditional forms of life-cycle saving became more difficult to carry out, job tenure increased, and there was a movement away from the spot labor market. Employers wanted to create a stable, experienced work force that was reluctant to leave - that is, a stock of firm-specific human capital. Thus they had an incentive to create a deferred wage. And workers wanted retirement insurance that was secure. As developing countries begin to employ an older work force with longer job tenure, the demand for defined benefit pensions will rise. Which institution can best provide pensions: the employer, a financial intermediary, or the state? If markets fluctuate because of financial instability, workers will prefer defined benefit plans, and they will want them to be provided by the institution in which they have the most faith. Funding is important in the long run. Sound accounting practices would dictate that the cumulative reserves match pension liabilities as they accumulate. The regular contribution to these funds would be the deferred wage. But historically, in the United States, pensions were funded only when profits were high or tax incentives or regulation dictated. Developing countries will need a sound corporate tax structure and must be willing to forgo some immediate tax revenue, to create a large pension savings fund.Public Health Promotion,Banks&Banking Reform,Pensions&Retirement Systems,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Municipal Financial Management,Banks&Banking Reform,Pensions&Retirement Systems,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Municipal Financial Management,Gender and Law

Bank holding companies : a better structure for conducting universal banking?

Banking systems in many countries have become increasingly unstable in recent years. At the same time, market forces have pushed banks to expand into a variety of universal banking activities without impairing the stability of the banking system. The basic bank holding company proposal contains three major elements : first, any bank that wants to operate as a universal bank must first form a holding company and then conduct all riskier activities in holding company units rather than directly in the bank. The bank would continue to engage in traditional banking activities that involve the usual level of risk; second, the government would develop laws and regulations designed as safeguards to insulate the bank from any financial problems that might occur in holding company affiliates of the bank; and lastly bank regulatory authorities would impose little or no supervision on holding company units. The use of the bank holding company device to conduct universal banking activities can promise important public benefits including : 1) a sounder commercial banking system; 2) less banking regulation; and 3) greater competitive equality between banking and nonbanking units.Microfinance,Banks&Banking Reform,Financial Intermediation,Private Participation in Infrastructure,Small Scale Enterprise

Are failproof banking systems feasible? Desirable?

In recent years, instability of the banking system has returned as a major problem in many countries, particularly in the developing world. In many cases, this instability has been so threatening to financial intermediation and the functioning of the payments system that governments have felt compelled to intervene and restructure banks, often at considerable cost to the public budget. One response to these problems has been a proposal to create failproof banking systems - to radically transform the structure, priorities, and operation of the banking and financial system. Banks would be limited to issuing deposits, holding essentially riskless portfolios, and operating the payments system. To minimize the resulting disruptions to the financial system, banks would be authorized (and encouraged) to set up holding companies and then transfer to holding company affiliates all the functions - including lending - that banks would no longer be permitted to perform. So while the failproof banking proposal would severely restrict the activity of banks, it would not restrict the activities of banking organizations that convert to a holding company form of organization. This proposal would produce major public benefits. It would assure a nation of a smoothly functioning banking and payments system, would substantially reduce the resources committed to banking supervision, would prevent bank-type regulation from expanding to the rest of the financial system, and would place banking and nonbanking organizations on a level playing field for the financial activities in which they compete. There are two major problems with the proposal. First, it might be difficult to implement because of too few riskless assets in a nation's financial system. (The author suggests several modifications that would alleviate this problem in some countries.) Second, the proposal might hurt the financial market by: (a) increasing interest rates for higher-risk borrowers, forcing them out of the market; and (b) transfering greater risk to the nonbank sector of the financial system, making it more susceptible to crisis. Although the proposal would benefit developing countries (more prone to banking instability) more than industrial countries, it would also be more difficult to implement in developing countries. And the adverse effects of the proposal would be felt more severely in the financial markets of developing countries than in industrial countries, which have deeper, more responsive financial markets.Banks&Banking Reform,Financial Intermediation,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Banking Law,Settlement of Investment Disputes