Natural closures, natural compositions and natural sums of monotone operators

We introduce new methods for defining generalized sums of monotone operators and generalized compositions of monotone operators with linear maps. Under asymptotic conditions we show these operations coincide with the usual ones. When the monotone operators are subdifferentials of convex functions, a similar conclusion holds. We compare these generalized operations with previous constructions by Attouch–Baillon–Théra, Revalski–Théra and Pennanen–Revalski–Théra. The constructions we present are motivated by fuzzy calculus rules in nonsmooth analysis. We also introduce a convergence and a closure operation for operators which may be of independent interest.     

Extensible hyperplane nets

Extensible (polynomial) lattice point sets have the property that the number N of points in the node set of a quasi-Monte Carlo algorithm may be increased while retaining the existing points. Explicit constructions for extensible (polynomial) lattice point sets have been presented recently by Niederreiter and Pillichshammer. It is the aim of this paper to establish extensibility for a powerful generalization of polynomial lattice point sets, the so-called hyperplane nets.     

Permutation polynomials over finite fields from a powerful lemma

Using a lemma proved by Akbary, Ghioca, and Wang, we derive several theorems on permutation polynomials over finite fields. These theorems give not only a unified treatment of some earlier constructions of permutation polynomials, but also new specific permutation polynomials over Fq. A number of earlier theorems and constructions of permutation polynomials are generalized. The results presented in this paper demonstrate the power of this lemma when it is employed together with other techniques.     

Singular linear space and its applications

As a generalization of attenuated spaces, the concept of singular linear spaces was introduced in [K. Wang, J. Guo, F. Li, Association schemes based on attenuated spaces, European J. Combin. 31 (2010) 297–305]. This paper first gives two anzahl theorems in singular linear spaces, and then discusses their applications to the constructions of Deza digraphs, quasi-strongly regular graphs, lattices and authentication codes.     

Classifying spaces for braided monoidal categories and lax diagrams of bicategories

This work contributes to clarifying several relationships between certain higher categorical structures and the homotopy type of their classifying spaces. Bicategories (in particular monoidal categories) have well-understood simple geometric realizations, and we here deal with homotopy types represented by lax diagrams of bicategories, that is, lax functors to the tricategory of bicategories. In this paper, it is proven that, when a certain bicategorical Grothendieck construction is performed on a lax diagram of bicategories, then the classifying space of the resulting bicategory can be thought of as the homotopy colimit of the classifying spaces of the bicategories that arise from the initial input data given by the lax diagram. This result is applied to produce bicategories whose classifying space has a double loop space with the same homotopy type, up to group completion, as the underlying category of any given (non-necessarily strict) braided monoidal category. Specifically, it is proven that these double delooping spaces, for categories enriched with a braided monoidal structure, can be explicitly realized by means of certain genuine simplicial sets characteristically associated to any braided monoidal categories, which we refer to as their (Street's) geometric nerves.     

A methodology for supporting strategy implementation based on the VSM: A case study in a Latin-American multi-national

Soft OR tools have increasingly been used to support the strategic development of companies at operational and managerial levels. However, we still lack OR applications that can be useful in dealing with the “implementation gap”, understood as the scarcity of resources available to organizations seeking to align their existing processes and structures with a new strategy. In this paper we contribute to filling that gap, describing an action research case study where we supported strategy implementation in a Latin American multinational corporation through a soft OR methodology. We enhanced the ‘Methodology to support organizational self-transformation’, inspired by the Viable System Model, with substantive improvements in data collection and analyses. Those adjustments became necessary to facilitate second order learning and agreements on required structural changes among a large number of participants. This case study contributes to the soft OR and strategy literature with insights about the promise and constraints of this soft OR methodology to collectively structure complex decisions that support organizational redesign and strategy implementation.     

Symplectic, complex and Kähler structures on four-dimensional generalized symmetric spaces

We obtain the full classification of invariant symplectic, (almost) complex and Kähler structures, together with their paracomplex analogues, on four-dimensional pseudo-Riemannian generalized symmetric spaces. We also apply these results to build some new examples of five-dimensional homogeneous K-contact, Sasakian, K-paracontact and para-Sasakian manifolds.     

Regular LDPC Codes from Semipartial Geometries

By considering a class of combinatorial structures, known as semipartial geometries, we define a class of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes. We derive bounds on minimum distance, rank and girth for the codes from semipartial geometries, and present constructions and performance results for the classes of semipartial geometries which have not previously been proposed for use with iterative decoding.     

General constructions of biquandles and their symmetries

Biquandles are algebraic objects with two binary operations whose axioms encode the generalized Reidemeister moves for virtual knots and links. These objects also provide set theoretic solutions of the well-known Yang-Baxter equation. The first half of this paper proposes some natural constructions of biquandles from groups and from their simpler counterparts, namely, quandles. We completely determine all words in the free group on two generators that give rise to (bi)quandle structures on all groups. We give some novel constructions of biquandles on unions and products of quandles, including what we refer as the holomorph biquandle of a quandle. These constructions give a wealth of solutions of the Yang-Baxter equation. We also show that for nice quandle coverings a biquandle structure on the base can be lifted to a biquandle structure on the covering. In the second half of the paper, we determine automorphism groups of these biquandles in terms of associated quandles showing elegant relationships between the symmetries of the underlying structures.     

Geometrical constructions of class‐uniformly resolvable structure

We use arcs, ovals, and hyperovals to construct class‐uniformly resolvable structures. Many of the structures come from finite geometries, but we also use arcs from non‐geometric designs. Most of the class‐uniformly resolvable structures constructed here have block size sets that have not been constructed before. We construct CURDs with a variety of block sizes, including many with block sizes 2 and 4. In addition, these constructions give the first systematic way of constructing infinite families of CURDs with three block sizes. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 19:329‐344, 2011     

Okhuma Graphs and Coloured Chains

A structure is said to be ‘Okhuma’ if its automorphism group acts on it uniquely transitively, or slightly generalizing this, if its automorphism group acts uniquely transitively on each orbit. In this latter case we can think of the orbits as ‘colours’. Okhuma chains and related structures have been studied by Okhuma and others. Here we generalize their results to coloured chains, and give some constructions resulting from this of Okhuma graphs and digraphs. Mathematics Subject Classifications (2000) 06A05, 06F15.     

Algebraic algorithms for the analysis of mechanical trusses

Infinite periodic lattices can be used as models for analyzing and understanding various properties of mechanical truss constructions with periodic structures. For infinite lattices, the problems of connectivity and stability are nontrivial from the mathematical point of view and have not been addressed adequately in the literature. In this paper, we will present a set of algebraic algorithms, which are based on ideal theory, to solve such problems.

For the understanding of the notion ``complicated three-dimensional lattices', it is essential to have this paper with colored figures.

     

Measure theory based on lattices and transfinite recursion

In this methodological study we develop the foundations of measure theory using lattices as prime structures instead of rings. Topological as well as abstract regularity is incorporated into this approach from the outset. The use of inner and outer measures is replaced by transfinite constructions. Basic extension steps are transfinitely iterated to yield generalizations of Carathéodory’s theorem which are optimal with respect to inner and outer approximations. Received: 5 May 2008     

The Influence of Positivism on the Teaching of Mathematics in Brazil: 1870–1930

This article describes the strong influence of positivism on the teaching of mathematics in Brazil. The dissemination of positivism occurred in a very intensive way from 1870 to 1930, due mainly to the strong leadership of teachers at the military and engineering academies. From its firmly entrenched position in these institutions, the positivistic ideology affected the social, political, pedagogical, and ideological life in Brazil. Here, I identify the main representatives of positivism, who focused their research on Auguste Comte's concept of mathematics. They oriented curricula and programs according to Comte's principles as well as produced mathematics with a distinct positivist bent. Although a marked decline occurred after 1930, the positivistic phenomenon was not exhausted as a research topic, and, indeed, it still has not been entirely extinguished in Brazilian life. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.Este trabalho descreve a forte influência do positivismo no ensino da Matemática no Brasil. A difusão do positivismo aconteceu de forma muita intensa entre 1870 e 1930, devido principalmente a atuação dos docentes-militares, que mantinham uma liderança forte nas academias militares e de engenharia. Nestas instituições a ideologia positivista encontrou uma forte sustentação e pode, então, ter efeitos na vida social, polı́tica, pedagógica e ideológica brasileira. Identificamos os principais representantes do positivismo no cı́rculo acadêmico. Detectamos as primeiras manifestações da concepção de Matemática de Auguste Comte em livros-texto. Identificamos a orientação de currı́culos e programas segundo os preceitos de Comte e analisamos principalmente as obras de Matemática de autores positivistas. O declı́nio do positivismos depois de 1930 também é registrado. O fenômeno positivismo não foi esgotado como tema de pesquisa e tudo indica que ainda não se extinguiu completamente da vida brasileira. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.MSC 1991 subject classifications: 01A55, 01A70.     

From rates of mixing to recurrence times via large deviations

A classic approach in dynamical systems is to use particular geometric structures to deduce statistical properties, for example the existence of invariant measures with stochastic-like behaviour such as large deviations or decay of correlations. Such geometric structures are generally highly non-trivial and thus a natural question is the extent to which this approach can be applied. In this paper we show that in many cases stochastic-like behaviour itself implies that the system has certain non-trivial geometric properties, which are therefore necessary as well as sufficient conditions for the occurrence of the statistical properties under consideration. As a by product of our techniques we also obtain some new results on large deviations for certain classes of systems which include Viana maps and multidimensional piecewise expanding maps.     

Trees, set compositions and the twisted descent algebra

We first show that increasing trees are in bijection with set compositions, extending simultaneously a recent result on trees due to Tonks and a classical result on increasing binary trees. We then consider algebraic structures on the linear span of set compositions (the twisted descent algebra). Among others, a number of enveloping algebra structures are introduced and studied in detail. For example, it is shown that the linear span of trees carries an enveloping algebra structure and embeds as such in an enveloping algebra of increasing trees. All our constructions arise naturally from the general theory of twisted Hopf algebras.     

Robustness of Stein-type estimators under a non-scalar error covariance structure

The Stein-rule (SR) and positive-part Stein-rule (PSR) estimators are two popular shrinkage techniques used in linear regression, yet very little is known about the robustness of these estimators to the disturbances’ deviation from the white noise assumption. Recent studies have shown that the OLS estimator is quite robust, but whether this is so for the SR and PSR estimators is less clear as these estimators also depend on the F statistic which is highly susceptible to covariance misspecification. This study attempts to evaluate the effects of misspecifying the disturbances as white noise on the SR and PSR estimators by a sensitivity analysis. Sensitivity statistics of the SR and PSR estimators are derived and their properties are analyzed. We find that the sensitivity statistics of these estimators exhibit very similar properties and both estimators are extremely robust to MA(1) disturbances and reasonably robust to AR(1) disturbances except for the cases of severe autocorrelation. The results are useful in light of the rising interest of the SR and PSR techniques in the applied literature.     

New constructions for perfect hash families and related structures using combinatorial designs and codes

In this paper, we consider explicit constructions of perfect hash families using combinatorial methods. We provide several direct constructions from combinatorial structures related to orthogonal arrays. We also simplify and generalize a recursive construction due to Atici, Magliversas, Stinson and Wei [3]. Using similar methods, we also obtain efficient constructions for separating hash families which result in improved existence results for structures such as separating systems, key distribution patterns, group testing algorithms, cover‐free families and secure frameproof codes. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Combin Designs 8:189–200, 2000     

Generic constructions for partitioned difference families with applications: a unified combinatorial approach

Partitioned difference families are an interesting class of discrete structures which can be used to derive optimal constant composition codes. There have been intensive researches on the construction of partitioned difference families. In this paper, we consider the combinatorial approach. We introduce a new combinatorial configuration named partitioned relative difference family, which proves to be very powerful in the construction of partitioned difference families. In particular, we present two general recursive constructions, which not only include some existing constructions as special cases, but also generate many new series of partitioned difference families. As an application, we use these partitioned difference families to construct several new classes of optimal constant composition codes.