Search

In recent years, leading website search engines have abandoned vital search features supporting complex information needs, evolving instead for the marketplace and for users seeking speedy answers to easy questions. The consequences are troubling, for researchers and for information science educators, with concerns ranging from the very relevance of search results and the unknowing of what is missing, to the novice searcher's waning ability to frame potent queries and to learn ways to refine results. We report on a grounded theory study of search experiences of information professionals and graduate students (n = 20) that contributes a holistic understanding of web searching, using its findings both to frame what is lacking in the design evolution of search engines for complex information needs and to outline a way forward. One goal of the study was to evaluate an established model of web searching, called Net Lenses, a theoretical framework shown to be highly relevant during the study's grounded theory secondary literature review. The original Net Lenses research used phenomenography to identify variation in the web search experiences of university students (n = 41), evidencing four categories according to the characteristics of searcher awareness, approach to learning, response to obstacles and search outcomes. This study validated the model and led to an expanded version, Net Lenses 2.0, with five categories of search experience, reflecting the complex information needs of more advanced searchers. This resultant Net Lenses 2.0 model is discussed with its implications for search engine design, for advanced searchers and also for learning-to-search modes, much needed by searchers seeking to develop their abilities. The study's implications coalesce in a call to action for more inclusive search interface design, and an agenda is put forth for how information researchers, educators and literacy advocates can move forward in their intersecting domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Abstract This paper presents the searching algorithm to detect a Markovian target which moves randomly in M-cells. Our algorithm is based on maximizing the discounted effort reward search. At each fixed number of time intervals, the search effort is a random variable with a normal distribution. More than minimizing the non-detection probability of the targets at time interval i, we seek for the optimal distribution of the search effort by maximizing the discounted effort reward search. We present some special cases of one Markovian and hidden target. Experimental results for a Markovian, hidden target are obtained and compared with the cases of applying and without applying the discounted effort reward search.

Abstract This article aims to study the existence of the cooperative search technique to find a Brownian target. We have 2n cooperative searchers coordinate their search to find a Brownian target that moves on one of n disjoint real lines. Each line has two searchers. All of these searchers start the searching process from the origin. Rather than finding the conditions that make the expected value of the first interviewing time between one of the searchers and the target is finite, we compute the approximate value of this expected value.

A new search technique is developed to locate the hidden target (object) in one of the N-disjoint regions that are not identical. The lost object follows a bivariate distribution. Minimizing the search effort with discount reward has been applied instead of reducing the expected search time. Moreover, the minimum number of searchers is determined in order to minimize the total expected cost. Assuming the object's position has a Circular Normal distribution, the Kuhn–Tucker necessary conditions are implemented to get the optimum search plan.

This paper considers the problem of finding a landing spot for a drone in a dense urban environment. The conflicting requirements of fast exploration and high resolution are solved using a multi-resolution approach, by which visual information is collected by the drone at decreasing altitudes so that the spatial resolution of the acquired images increases monotonically. A probability distribution is used to capture the uncertainty of the decision process for each terrain patch. The distributions are updated as information from different altitudes is collected. When the confidence level for one of the patches becomes larger than a prespecified threshold, suitability for landing is declared. One of the main building blocks of the approach is a semantic segmentation algorithm that attaches probabilities to each pixel of a single view. The decision algorithm combines these probabilities with a priori data and previous measurements to obtain the best estimates. Feasibility is illustrated by presenting several examples generated by a realistic closed-loop simulator.

With the establishment and maturation of the experimental programs searching for new physics with sizeable couplings at the LHC, there is an increasing interest in the broader particle and astrophysics community for exploring the physics of light and feebly-interacting particles as a paradigm complementary to a New Physics sector at the TeV scale and beyond. FIPs 2020 has been the first workshop fully dedicated to the physics of feebly-interacting particles and was held virtually from 31 August to 4 September 2020. The workshop has gathered together experts from collider, beam dump, fixed target experiments, as well as from astrophysics, axions/ALPs searches, current/future neutrino experiments, and dark matter direct detection communities to discuss progress in experimental searches and underlying theory models for FIPs physics, and to enhance the cross-fertilisation across different fields. FIPs 2020 has been complemented by the topical workshop "Physics Beyond Colliders meets theory", held at CERN from 7 June to 9 June 2020. This document presents the summary of the talks presented at the workshops and the outcome of the subsequent discussions held immediately after. It aims to provide a clear picture of this blooming field and proposes a few recommendations for the next round of experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate three issues: how does an innovative search (local search and boundary-spanning search) impact firm innovation performance of latecomers; how does capability reconfiguration (capability evolution and capability substitution) mediates the relationship between innovative search and firm innovation performance; and how does the technological leapfrogging process (initial stage, following stage, synchronization stage and leading stage) moderate the relationship between capability reconfiguration and firm innovation performance. Design/methodology/approach: A "resource-capability-performance" theoretical framework was developed to explore the relationships between local/boundary-spanning search, capability reconfiguration and firm innovation performance. The data were collected by sending out surveys to managers and employees in various industries in mainland China. These hypotheses were tested using structural equation models and hierarchical regressions. Findings: The results showed that: innovative search has a direct causal relationship to capability reconfiguration; local search and boundary-spanning search are conducive to improve the innovation performance of latecomers; the impact of local search and boundary-spanning search on innovation performance is realized through the completion of mediating role of capability reconfiguration; there are differences in the path of local search and boundary-spanning search affecting the capability reconfiguration of enterprise innovation performance; and the relationship between innovative search, capability reconfiguration and enterprise innovation performance evolves with the enterprise in different stages of technological leapfrogging. Originality/value: This study explores the relationship and the path of innovative search to firm innovation performance and analyzes the path difference between local search and boundary-spinning search, which enriches the research of organizational search and enterprise innovation. This paper reveals the whole path of innovative search affecting innovation performance, discusses the important role of capability reconfiguration and makes incremental contributions to dynamic capability theory. It studies the evolution of innovative search on innovation performance under the background of technological leapfrogging, which provides a new perspective for the study of organizational search and capability-based theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the relationship between structural partner market constraints and the timing and educational sorting of unions in Germany (1985–2018). We integrate the literature on the effect of the reversed gender gap in education on educational assortative mating, with a focus on mating dynamics and the measurement of the partner market over the life course. We concentrate on two particular educational groups, low-educated men and highly educated women, those with worsening mating prospects and more subject to experience hypogamous unions. Our results show that the local education-specific mating squeeze influences union formation, its timing, and educational sorting. Indeed, for the two groups, the increasing supply of highly educated women in the partner market increases the likelihood of remaining single or establishing an hypogamous union, where she is higher educated than he. In line with search theory, we find the effects of the mating squeeze to become particularly visible after people turn 30 years of age. This is true for the risk of remaining single and forming an hypogamous union. We underline the necessity to study assortative mating and union formation from a dynamic perspective, taking into account changing structural conditions during the partner search process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some international pharmaceutical companies have succeeded in producing vaccines against COVID‐19. Countries all over the world have aimed to obtain these vaccines with minimum cost. We consider a set of K‐independent Markovian waiting lists. Each list contains a set of countries, where each one of them has an exponential service time and a Poisson arrival process. These companies differ in some characteristics such as the vaccine production cost and the speed of the required quantity delivery. We present a new detection model that helps in providing an appropriate decision to choose a suitable company. Moreover, the concept of balking and the retention of reneged countries is taken into consideration under the quality control process of each waiting list. Under steady state, we face an interesting and difficult discrete stochastic optimization problem. Its solution gives an optimal distribution of the searching effort, which is bounded by a known probability distribution. A simulation study has been derived to get the minimum value of the paid cost random values. The highest service rate, the total expected profit of each queuing system, and the optimum performance measures, which depend on this cost, have been obtained to show the effectiveness of this model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exchange of meta-information has always formed part of information behavior. In this article, we show that this rule also extends to conversational search. Information about the user's information need, their preferences, and the quality of search results are only some of the most salient examples of meta-information that are exchanged as a matter of course in a search conversation. To understand the importance of metainformation for conversational search, we revisit its definition and survey how meta-information has been taken into account in the past in information retrieval. Meta-information has gone by many names, about which a concise overview is provided. An in-depth analysis of the role of meta-information in search and conversation theories reveals that they provide significant support for the importance of meta-information in conversational search. We further identify conversational search datasets are suitable for a deeper inspection with regard to meta-information, namely, Spoken Conversational Search and Microsoft Information-Seeking Conversations. A quantitative data analysis demonstrates the practical significance of meta-information in information-seeking conversations, whereas a qualitative analysis shows the effects of exchanging different types. Finally, we discuss practical applications and challenges of meta-information in conversational search, including a case study of VERSE, an existing search system for the visually impaired. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Dr. Takuo Aoyagi invented pulse oximetry in 1974. Pulse oximeters are widely used worldwide, most recently making headlines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Aoyagi passed away on April 18, 2020, aware of the significance of his invention, but still actively searching for the theory that would take his invention to new heights. Method: Many people who knew Dr. Aoyagi, or knew of him and his invention, agreed to participate in this tribute to his work. The authors, from Japan and around the world, represent all aspects of the development of medical devices, including scientists and engineers, clinicians, academics, business people, and clinical practitioners. Results: While the idea of pulse oximetry originated in Japan, device development lagged in Japan due to a lack of business, clinical, and academic interest. Awareness of the importance of anesthesia safety in the US, due to academic foresight and media attention, in combination with excellence in technological innovation, led to widespread use of pulse oximetry around the world. Conclusion: Dr. Aoyagi's final wish was to find a theory of pulse oximetry. We hope this tribute to him and his invention will inspire a new generation of scientists, clinicians, and related organizations to secure the foundation of the theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patrolling monocytes (PMo) are the organism's preeminent intravascular guardians by their continuous search of damaged endothelial cells and harmful microparticles for their removal and to restore homeostasis. This surveillance is accomplished by PMo crawling on the apical side of the endothelium through regulated interactions of integrins and chemokine receptors with their endothelial ligands. We propose that the search mode governs the intravascular motility of PMo in vivo in a similar way to T cells looking for antigen in tissues. Signs of damage to the luminal side of the endothelium (local death, oxidized LDL, amyloid deposits, tumor cells, pathogens, abnormal red cells, etc.) will change the diffusive random towards a Lèvy-like crawling enhancing their recognition and clearance by PMo damage receptors as the integrin αMβ2 and CD36. This new perspective can help identify new actors to promote unique PMo intravascular actions aimed at maintaining endothelial fitness and combating harmful microparticles involved in diseases as lung metastasis, Alzheimer's angiopathy, vaso-occlusive disorders, and sepsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the recursive parameter estimation problem of the exponential autoregressive (ExpAR) model. Applying the Newton search and multi-innovation theory, a multi-innovation Newton recursive algorithm is presented for identifying the ExpAR model. In order to improve the computational efficiency, the hierarchical identification principle is employed to decompose an ExpAR model into two sub-models, and to derive a hierarchical multi-innovation Newton recursive algorithm. A simulation example is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis outlines John Deely's commitment to Augustine's implications for a valueladen semiotic understanding of postmodern inquiry. Deely's value-laden project centers on semiotic signification and semiosis. His work announces the inexorable link between semiotic theory and the search for understanding that matters. He uplifts the importance of engaging signs via context and relational association, uniting ethics and semiotics. Deely's orientation shaped his inquiry on biosemiotics, semioethics, and ongoing discussions of Augustine. My inquiry centers on Deely's explication of value-laden signs that illuminate Augustine's understanding of existence, comprehended as God's world. Thus, I explore Deely's value-laden semiotic mission through an examination of Augustine's God-filled background narrative assumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Familiarity with the landscape increases foraging efficiency and safety. Thus, when animals are confronted with a novel environment, either by natural dispersal or translocation, establishing a home range becomes a priority. While the search for a home range carries a cost of functioning in an unfamiliar environment, ceasing the search carries a cost of missed opportunities. Thus, when to establish a home range is essentially a weighted sum of a two-criteria cost-minimization problem. The process is predominantly heuristic, where the animal must decide how to study the environment and, consequently, when to stop searching and establish a home range in a manner that will reduce the cost and maximize or at least satisfice its fitness. These issues fall within the framework of optimal stopping theory. In this paper we review stopping theory and three stopping rules relevant to home range establishment: the best-of-n rule, the threshold rule, and the comparative Bayes rule. We then describe how these rules can be distinguished from movement data, hypothesize when each rule should be practiced, and speculate what and how environmental factors and animal attributes affect the stopping time. We provide a set of stopping-theory-related predictions that are testable within the context of translocation projects and discuss some management implications.

Patrolling monocytes (PMo) are the organism’s preeminent intravascular guardians by their continuous search of damaged endothelial cells and harmful microparticles for their removal and to restore homeostasis. This surveillance is accomplished by PMo crawling on the apical side of the endothelium through regulated interactions of integrins and chemokine receptors with their endothelial ligands. We propose that the search mode governs the intravascular motility of PMo in vivo in a similar way to T cells looking for antigen in tissues. Signs of damage to the luminal side of the endothelium (local death, oxidized LDL, amyloid deposits, tumor cells, pathogens, abnormal red cells, etc.) will change the diffusive random towards a Lèvy-like crawling enhancing their recognition and clearance by PMo damage receptors as the integrin αMβ2 and CD36. This new perspective can help identify new actors to promote unique PMo intravascular actions aimed at maintaining endothelial fitness and combating harmful microparticles involved in diseases as lung metastasis, Alzheimer’s angiopathy, vaso-occlusive disorders, and sepsis.

This paper focuses on a non-standard constrained nonlinear optimal control problem in which the objective functional involves an integration over a space of stochastic parameters as well as an integration over the time domain. The research is inspired by the problem of optimizing the trajectories of multiple searchers attempting to detect non-evading moving targets. In this paper, we propose a framework based on the approximation of the integral in the parameter space for the considered uncertain optimal control problem. The framework is proved to produce a zeroth-order consistent approximation in the sense that accumulation points of a sequence of optimal solutions to the approximate problem are optimal solutions of the original problem. In addition, we demonstrate the convergence of the corresponding adjoint variables. The accumulation points of a sequence of optimal state-adjoint pairs for the approximate problem satisfy a necessary condition of Pontryagin Minimum Principle type, which facilitates assessment of the optimality of numerical solutions.

This paper investigates the interplay between offer size and offer deadline in a Stackelberg game involving a proposer and a responder. The proposer acts first by making an offer to the responder with a deadline, and the responder, concurrently following a continuous-time finite-horizon search for alternative offers, has to respond to the proposer's offer by the deadline. Taking into account the responder's reaction, the proposer's optimal strategy can vary from an exploding offer—an offer that has to be accepted or rejected on the spot—to an offer with an extended deadline under different market conditions, proxied by characteristics of the alternative offer distribution. In particular, the proposer should offer an exploding offer when the alternative offer market is unfavorable to the responder, and the harsher it is, the smaller will be the offer size. By contrast, when the alternative offer market is favorable to the responder, the proposer can benefit from making a smaller (compared with the exploding offer) nonexploding offer, and the more favorable the market, the smaller will be the offer size and the longer the deadline. Our analysis is further extended to the case where the responder has private knowledge of the alternative offers' arrival rate, and we characterize the optimal strategy for the proposer when she makes either a single offer or a menu of offers that serves as a self-selection mechanism. In the latter case, the optimal menu of offers can be implemented as a sign-up bonus type of contract. This paper was accepted by Manel Baucells, decision analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent experimental observation of the first bilayer clusters B48−/0 reveals a new structural domain in boron nanostructures. Inspired by the previously reported bilayer B48, B54, B60, and B62 and based on extensive global‐minimum searches and density‐functional theory calculations, we predict herein a new series of medium‐sized bilayer boron nanoclusters C2 B64 (I), D2 B66 (II), D2 B68 (III), C1 B70 (IV), and Ci B72 (V) which all contain an elongated B46 bilayer hexagonal prism at the center with four effective interlayer 2c–2e B−B σ bonds formed between the top and bottom layers and the bilayer to core‐shell structural transition at B74 where core‐shell species start to dominate in thermodynamics, defining the up‐limit of the bilayer boron nanoclusters at B72. The newly obtained bilayer C2 B64 (I), D2 B68 (III), and C1 B70 (IV) appear to be systematically more stable than the previously reported cage‐like D4d B64, core‐shell C1 B68, and quasi‐planar C3v B70, respectively. Detailed bonding analyses indicate that these bilayer species follow the universal bonding pattern of σ+π double delocalization, rendering three‐dimensional aromaticity to the systems. The IR, Raman, and UV‐vis spectra of the concerned bilayer species are computationally simulated to facilitate their future characterizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public value continues to capture the attention of policy theorists as it provides unique insights into the accommodations public managers do and do not make when considering citizen perspectives. However, the concept is currently constrained by its emphasis on the consideration of a single public and the need to find consensus on values. This article considers the search for a unified theory of public value in complex and pluralistic settings against the inherent tensions exemplified in three policy areas – Indigenous policy, gambling policy and school education. It argues that rather than seeking a unified conception, a more productive approach is to accommodate alternative positions, including the notion of multiple publics by embracing agonistic ideas of difference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent experimental observation of the first bilayer clusters B48−/0 reveals a new structural domain in boron nanostructures. Inspired by the previously reported bilayer B48, B54, B60, and B62 and based on extensive global‐minimum searches and density‐functional theory calculations, we predict herein a new series of medium‐sized bilayer boron nanoclusters C2 B64 (I), D2 B66 (II), D2 B68 (III), C1 B70 (IV), and Ci B72 (V) which all contain an elongated B46 bilayer hexagonal prism at the center with four effective interlayer 2c–2e B−B σ bonds formed between the top and bottom layers and the bilayer to core‐shell structural transition at B74 where core‐shell species start to dominate in thermodynamics, defining the up‐limit of the bilayer boron nanoclusters at B72. The newly obtained bilayer C2 B64 (I), D2 B68 (III), and C1 B70 (IV) appear to be systematically more stable than the previously reported cage‐like D4d B64, core‐shell C1 B68, and quasi‐planar C3v B70, respectively. Detailed bonding analyses indicate that these bilayer species follow the universal bonding pattern of σ+π double delocalization, rendering three‐dimensional aromaticity to the systems. The IR, Raman, and UV‐vis spectra of the concerned bilayer species are computationally simulated to facilitate their future characterizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work analyzed, with the title “Ethical foundations of taxation: in search of a Theory of Justice in Kant”, is the result of a dissertation by Raphael Silva Rodrigues developed in the Master's Program of the Faculty of Law of UFMG. The author offers important knowledge to the legal community, both for Tax Law and Philosophy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In times of crisis, when current theories are revealed as inadequate to task, and new physics is thought to be required—physics turns to re-evaluate its principles, and to seek new ones. This paper explores the various types, and roles of principles that feature in the problem of quantum gravity as a current crisis in physics. I illustrate the diversity of the principles being appealed to, and show that principles serve in a variety of roles in all stages of the crisis, including in motivating the need for a new theory, and defining what this theory should be like. In particular, I consider: the generalised correspondence principle, UV-completion, background independence, and the holographic principle. I also explore how the current crisis fits with Friedman's view on the roles of principles in revolutionary theory-change, finding that while many key aspects of this view are not represented in quantum gravity (at the current stage), the view could potentially offer a useful diagnostic, and prescriptive strategy. This paper is intended to be relatively non-technical, and to bring some of the philosophical issues from the search for quantum gravity to a more general philosophical audience interested in the roles of principles in scientific theory-change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combustion phasing of spark ignition (SI) engines is traditionally regulated with map-based spark timing (SPKT) control. The calibration of these maps is time-consuming for SI engines with a high number of control actuators. This paper proposes three online SPKT optimization algorithms that can utilize control-oriented semiphysics-based combustion models making the SPKT control algorithm more adaptive to different engine designs. These three SPKT optimizers do not require model inversion and derivative information. These methods also preserve the dependence between combustion phasing, knock, and coefficient of variation (COV) of indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) models to avoid evaluating combustion models multiple times within one iteration. The two-phase and constraint relaxation methods are derived from direct search optimization theories. The recursive least square (RLS) polynomial fitting method can be considered as a virtual extreme seeking (ES) process that converts the original "black" box nonlinear constrained optimization into the solution of three low-order polynomial equations. Although these three online SPKT optimization approaches have unique properties making them preferable with certain types of combustion models, simulation and test results show that all of them can find the optimal SPKT with less than 10 evaluations of the combustion models. This fact makes it possible to implement the proposed model-based SPKT control strategy in future engine control units (ECUs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harmony search algorithm is the recently developed metaheuristic in the last decade. It mimics the behavior of a musician producing a perfect harmony. It has been used to solve the wide variety of real-life optimization problems due to its easy implementation over other metaheuristics. It has an ability to provide the balance between exploration and exploitation during search. In this paper, a systematic review on harmony search algorithm (HSA) is presented. The natural inspiration and conceptual framework of HSA are discussed. The control parameters of HSA are described with their mathematical foundation. The improvement and hybridization in HSA with other metaheuristics are discussed in detail. The applicability of HSA in different problem domains is studied. The future research directions of HSA are also investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article exploits positive systems theory in the search for Zames–Falb multipliers for the analysis of discrete‐time Lurie systems, where the nonlinearity is assumed to be slope‐restricted. Although a similar problem has been tackled in a continuous time context, the results in discrete‐time take a different form and require a somewhat different approach to overcome certain technical problems. The work has two compelling features: (i) the arising algorithms are completely convex; and (ii) numerical results compare well with the state‐of‐the‐art in some cases, providing the least conservative result in one instance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the concept of Olga Tokarczuk's "tender narrator", which was demonstrated in her Nobel speech, and developed in a book entitled "Tender Narrator" (Tokarczuk 2020). The writer's proposed way of describing the narrative and narrator was used to examine the concept of the biographical narrator, his bond with a hero, the truth and the fiction in the biography, the process of discovering and finding a purpose to existence. Olga Tokarczuk's idea was discussed in the context of other useful theories aimed at the search for meaning: a reference to the concept of the course of life of Charlotte Bühler (1933/1999) and the will to make sense of Viktor E. Frankl (1948/2018, 1982/2017, 1988/2018, 1992/2018) allowed us to see a common ground for reflection on the role and specificity of biographical narrative. On the one hand, Agata Bielik-Robson's concept (2004) on the trauma of the present highlighted the need for retrospective life storytelling and its therapeutic, reparative nature. On the other hand, the personalistic norm (in its original sense proposed by Karol Wojtyła in "Love and Responsibility" of 1986), according to which the only appropriate way to refer to a person is love, turned out to be close to the model of "tender narrator". The extensive conceptualization of that idea, proposed by Olga Tokarczuk, compared to the concept of biographical narrator and the concepts mentioned above, allows for a reconsideration of the important issues discussed earlier: the "tender narrator" model turned out to be inspiring for attempts to rethink the adequacy of biographical representation, the objectivity vs. involvement of a biographer, and the relationship between biography and literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is generally argued that the ordering principle of domestic and international politics is different. The domestic political theories are in search of ideal state, and international affairs are all about order and power. In this regard, this study aims to comprehend mainstream International Relations (IR) theories' normative position and what kind of relation values and power share in IR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Instead of using performance data to help improve organizational performance, many public officials have responded to the implementation of performance measurement (PM) systems in their organizations by gaming these systems. While research on the dysfunctional effects of PM is growing, we are still in search of frameworks and theories that are capable of explaining the causes of PM gaming by public organizations and officials. This research proposes that PM gaming is a product of the motivation of the officials and the opportunity presented by the context. It articulates specific propositions and presents a causal model that aims to provide a more systematic explanation about the main causes of PM gaming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ritz method is widely used in variational theory to search for an approximate solution. This paper suggests a Ritz-like method for integral equations with an emphasis of pantograph delay equations. The unknown parameters involved in the trial solution can be determined by balancing the fundamental terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infrared fixed points of gauge theories provide intriguing targets for the modern conformal bootstrap program. In this work we provide some preliminary evidence that a family of gauged fermionic CFTs saturate bootstrap bounds and can potentially be solved with the conformal bootstrap. We start by considering the bootstrap for SO(N) vector 4-point functions in general dimension D. In the large N limit, upper bounds on the scaling dimensions of the lowest SO(N) singlet and traceless symmetric scalars interpolate between two solutions at ∆ = D/2 − 1 and ∆ = D − 1 via generalized free field theory. In 3D the critical O(N) vector models are known to saturate the bootstrap bounds and correspond to the kinks approaching ∆ = 1/2 at large N. We show that the bootstrap bounds also admit another infinite family of kinks T D , which at large N approach solutions containing free fermion bilinears at ∆ = D − 1 from below. The kinks T D appear in general dimensions with a D-dependent critical N* below which the kink disappears. We also study relations between the bounds obtained from the bootstrap with SO(N) vectors, SU(N) fundamentals, and SU(N) × SU(N) bi-fundamentals. We provide a proof for the coincidence between bootstrap bounds with different global symmetries. We show evidence that the proper symmetries of the underlying theories of T D are subgroups of SO(N), and we speculate that the kinks T D relate to the fixed points of gauge theories coupled to fermions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The realist theoretical tradition has never enjoyed a strong position in Europe. During recent decades, although it is commonly claimed otherwise, it even seems to have lost its limited traction and most of its relatively few representatives. The aim of the article is to analyse this evolution, highlight how realist theorists have contributed limited conceptual or theoretical innovation, been unable to adjust their research agenda to current analytical challenges, and produced relatively few comprehensive empirical studies informed by one or more realist theories. Instead, we observe three main activities. Some realists do meta-studies on realist theory. Others do retrospectives, for instance, (re-)discovering the qualities of classical realist scholars or classical concepts such as the security dilemma. Still others practice ideology that may enjoy certain functions in legitimising national foreign policy orientations but has limited theoretical quality. Thus, textbooks are probably the only remaining context in which realism is presented as constituting a dominant orientation; a fact that highlights the complex and problematic relationship between reality and representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay surveys the literature on directed search and competitive search equilibrium, covering theory and a variety of applications. These models share features with traditional search theory, but also differ in important ways. They share features with general equilibrium theory, but with explicit frictions. Equilibria are often efficient, mainly because markets price goods plus the time required to get them. The approach is tractable and arguably realistic. Results are presented for finite and continuum economies. Private information and sorting with heterogeneity are analyzed. While emphasizing issues and applications, we also provide several hard-to-find technical results. (JEL D50, D83) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we set up a two-sided random search model to study the trading behaviour between buyers and sellers in the commercial real estate market. Our model shows that the interaction between search and bargaining has a profound influence on the role played by the market search friction regarding the equilibrium transaction price of commercial property and the well-being of both buyers and sellers. Against the traditional view that the existence of search friction always plays a negative role in the commercial real estate market, we find that under some conditions the market search friction can increase the equilibrium transaction price of commercial property and thus benefit sellers, which is considered the most valuable especially during the downturn of a business cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While research on the dysfunctional uses of performance data is growing, we are still in search of theories that go beyond system-specific explanations and address data manipulation behavior at the level of the employee. In this article, we conceptualize different gaming responses to performance systems and test a model of performance cheating that emphasizes the critical role of employees' prosocial impact, their job stress, and organizations' red tape. We screen through a sample of almost 10,000 potential subjects and identify 964 public employees who work with performance data. Conducting a list experiment, a technique known to yield unbiased ratings of sensitive behaviors, we find that all three factors tend to reinforce performance cheating among public employees. The article contributes to the extension of causal chains in performance gaming theory via the inclusion of factors that have proven to be influential in behavioral research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]