We consider positivity preserving model order reduction of SISO linear systems. Whereas well-established model reduction methods usually do not result in a positive approximation, we show that a symmetry characterization of balanced truncation can be used to preserve positivity after performing balanced truncation. As a consequence, the method is independent of the initial realization and always r

Det förefaller bildas ett slags vardagsetiskt tomrum i massutbildningssystemet, vilket nu bland annat fylls genom betoningen av social kompetens i skolan. Social kompetens tenderar att bli den vardagsetiska aspekten av vår tids bildning. Den viktiga frågan att diskutera är inte om vi ska ha undervisning och träning i social kompetens i skolan eller inte, utan snarare hur det kan komma sig att vard

De senaste två decennierna har införandet av kvalitetssäkring varit en bland såväl privata som offentliga verksamheter i Sverige. Trenden har fört med sig nya kvalitetssäkringstekniker, kontrollformer och i viss mån normer och värderingar. I boken beskrivs de tämligen olika förändringsprocesser som införandet av kvalitetssäkring har gett upphov till i hälso- och sjukvården samt revisionsbranschen.

The introductory chapter briefly describes the transnational turn in global governance, reviews the state of the art, and situates the chapter contributions in terms of how they expand the research agenda.

Engineering design problems are most frequently charac-terized by constraints that make them hard to solve and time-consuming. When evolutionary algorithms are used to solve these problems, constraints are often handled with the generic weighted sum method or with techniques specific to the prob-lem at hand. Most commonly, all constraints are evaluated at each generation, and it is also necessary

In Statoil, understanding and managing risk is today considered a core value. This principle has been duly integrated in the organization, and is inscribed in steering documents as well as in a booklet handed out to all employees, describing core values, corporate governance, the operating model and corporate policies. The company has developed a sophisticated approach to ERM that centers on the p

The aim of this article is to increase the understanding of how institutional forces and organizational context, in parallel with cognitive issues, impact knowledge sharing within multinational corporations (MNCs). Furthermore, the aim is to elaborate on differences between industries by comparing and contrasting a retail firm with a manufacturing firm. The focus is on IKEA and SCA Packaging and t

The choice of a polymeric support is a key factor for the success of solid-phase methods for syntheses of organic compounds and biomolecules such as peptides and oligonucleotides. Classical Merrifield solid-phase peptide synthesis, performed on low cross-linked hydrophobic polystyrene (PS) beads, sometimes suffers from sequence-dependent coupling difficulties. The concept of incorporating PEG into

Departing from three metaphors—the body as gift, resource, and commodity—the book explores the contemporary exchange of organs, tissues, and cells. Although the gift is the sanctioned metaphor for donating parts of the body, the underlying perspective from the side of states, authorities, and the medical establishment often seems to be that the body shall be understood as a resource. But medicine,