An approach to indexical beliefs is presented and defended in the paper. The account is inspired by David Kaplan’s representationalist analysis of de re belief reports. I argue that imposing additional constraints on the Kaplanian notion of representation results in an elegant theory of indexical beliefs. The theory is committed to representations of limited accessibility but is not committed to relativized proposition, special de se contents or propositions of limited accessibility.
Analytical solutions describing the 1D substance transport in streams have many limitations and factors, which determine their accuracy. One of the very important factors is the presence of the transient storage (dead zones), that deform the concentration distribution of the transported substance. For better adaptation to such real conditions, a simple 1D approximation method is presented in this paper. The proposed approximate method is based on the asymmetric probability distribution (Gumbel’s distribution) and was verified on three streams in southern Slovakia. Tracer experiments on these streams confirmed the presence of dead zones to various extents, depending mainly on the vegetation extent in each stream. Statistical evaluation confirms that the proposed method approximates the measured concentrations significantly better than methods based upon the Gaussian distribution. The results achieved by this novel method are also comparable with the solution of the 1D advection-diffusion equation (ADE), whereas the proposed method is faster and easier to apply and thus suitable for iterative (inverse) tasks.
This study explores the significance of the Taiwanese aboriginal territories that Japanese political and military leaders founded in the early 1870s. In April 1874, Meiji Japan dispatched expeditionary forces to the aboriginal territories on the basis of two cases of atrocities that the aboriginal people had committed against their “subjects” several years earlier and their claim that part of the island of Taiwan was terra nullius. By focusing on the discourse between the leaders during the years just before the expedition’s launch, this article argues that the first overseas military campaign was not motivated by a single issue on the part of the new imperial regime, but by a combination of several domestic and external concerns. These issues, which drove them into the expedition against the Taiwanese aborigines, were all linked by a single thread; namely, their concern with regard to national security. In this sense, from the Japanese perspective, the Japanese viewed the aboriginal territories as the stage upon which national survival could be secured in the late 19th century’s international environment, one in which the West enjoyed predominance.
We are discussing changepoint detection in tropospheric parameter time series that occurs in a numerical weather reanalysis model. Our approach applies a statistical method that is based on the maximum value of two sample t-statistics. We use critical values calculated by applying an asymptotic distribution. We also apply an asymptotic distribution to finding approximate critical values for the changepoint position. Experiments on “test” and “real” data illustrate the assumed accuracy and efficiency of our method. The method is assessed by its application to our series after adding synthetic shifts. A total of more than 3,000 original profiles are then analysed within the time-span of the years 1990-2015. The analysis shows that at least one changepoint is present in more than 9% of the studied original time series. The uncertainty of estimated times achieved tens of days for shifts larger than 9 mm, but it was increased up to hundreds of days in the case of smaller synthetic shifts. Discussed statistical method has potential for suspected change point detection in time series with higher time resolution.
We build a multi-stage stochastic program of an asset-liability management problem of a leasing company, analyse model results and present a stress-testing methodology suited for financial applications. At the beginning, the business model of such a company is formulated. We introduce three various risk constraints, namely the chance constraint, the Value-at-Risk constraint and the conditional Value-at-Risk constraint along with the second-order stochastic dominance constraint, which are applied to the model to control risk of the optimal strategy. We also present the structure and the generation process of our scenarios. To capture the evolution of interest rates the Hull-White model is used. Thereafter, results of the model and the effect of the risk constraints on the optimal decisions are thoroughly investigated. In the final part, the performance of the optimal solutions of the problems for unconsidered and unfavourable crisis scenarios is inspected. The methodology of a stress test we used was proposed in such a way that it answers typical questions asked by asset-liability managers.
The neutral differential equation (1.1) $$ \frac{{\mathrm{d}}^n}{{\mathrm{d}} t^n} [x(t)+x(t-\tau)] + \sigma F(t,x(g(t))) = 0, $$ is considered under the following conditions: $n\ge 2$, $\tau >0$, $\sigma = \pm 1$, $F(t,u)$ is nonnegative on $[t_0, \infty) \times (0,\infty)$ and is nondecreasing in $u\in (0,\infty)$, and $\lim g(t) = \infty$ as $t\rightarrow \infty$. It is shown that equation (1.1) has a solution $x(t)$ such that (1.2) $$ \lim_{t\rightarrow \infty} \frac{x(t)}{t^k}\ \text{exists and is a positive finite value if and only if} \int^{\infty}_{t_0} t^{n-k-1} F(t,c[g(t)]^k){\mathrm{d}} t < \infty\text{ for some }c > 0. $$ Here, $k$ is an integer with $0\le k \le n-1$. To prove the existence of a solution $x(t)$ satisfying (1.2), the Schauder-Tychonoff fixed point theorem is used.
Does there exist an atomic lattice effect algebra with non-atomic subalgebra of sharp elements? An affirmative answer to this question (and slightly more) is given: An example of an atomic MV-effect algebra with a non-atomic Boolean subalgebra of sharp or central elements is presented.
On the example of Ostrów Tumski in Wrocław (Silesia, Polish lands) an attempt of identification of places associated with trade and exchange in early medieval strongholds was made. The alleged marketplace existed in the stronghold from the end of the 11th century to the end of the 12th century. Its existence would be confirmed by the empty square between buildings, the accumulation of finds related to trade and exchange as well as spending free time. The connection of some buildings form Ostrów Tumski with commercial activities is also not excluded. On the basis of analogies from the main centers of the Piast state and selected sites from the Bohemian and Moravian territories, the potential location of the marketplaces was analyzed. Attention was drawn to the relationship between finds related to trade and exchange with other manifestations of economic activity (e.g. non-ferrous metallurgy). An attempt was also made to answer the question when and in what political and economic conditions such places could be created.
We developed an automated miniature constant-head tension infiltrometer that measures very small infiltration rates at millimetre resolution with minimal demands on the operator. The infiltrometer is made of 2.9 mm internal radius glass tube, with an integrated bubbling tower to maintain constant negative head and a porous mesh tip to avoid air-entry. In the bubbling tower, bubble formation and release changes the electrical resistance between two electrodes at the air-inlet. Tests were conducted on repacked sieved sands, sandy loam soil and clay loam soil, packed to a soil bulk density ρd of 1200 kg m-3 or 1400 kg m-3 and tested either air-dried or at a water potential ψ of -50 kPa. The change in water volume in the infiltrometer had a linear relationship with the number of bubbles, allowing bubble rate to be converted to infiltration rate. Sorptivity measured with the infiltrometer was similar between replicates and showed expected differences from soil texture and ρd, varying from 0.15 ± 0.01 (s.e.) mm s-1/2 for 1400 kg m-3 clay loam at ψ = -50 kPa to 0.65 ± 0.06 mm s-1/2 for 1200 kg m-3 air dry sandy loam soil. An array of infiltrometers is currently being developed so many measurements can be taken simultaneously.