State–of–the–art approaches to optimal control of contact–rich robot dynamics use smooth approximations of value and policy functions and gradient–based algorithms for improving approximator parameters. Unfortunately, the dynamics of mechanical systems subject to unilateral constraints—i.e. robot locomotion and manipulation—are generally nonsmooth. We show that value and policy functions genera...

game theoretic models in political science frequently suggest that the outcomes of bargaining processes in democratic systems should be significantly influenced by the precise character of proposal and veto opportunities, on the one hand, and by informational asymmetries that exist among participants, on the other. In parliamentary systems, although the cabinet is widely recognized as the centr...

Unilateral carbon policies are inefficient due to the fact that they generally mean that abatement takes place in high-cost countries and because they are subject to carbon leakage. In this paper, we ask whether the use of carbon tariffs — tariffs on the carbon embodied in imported goods — might lower the cost of achieving a given reduction in world emissions. Specifically, we explore the role ...

This paper examines implementation issues associated with the Inter-modal SurfaceTransportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). In particular, it discusses whether ISTEA ismore a truly revolutionary change in policy, or a continuation of the status quo. The articleconsiders these issues in the context of a legislation battle that did not produce clear winners andlosers, where bo...

The continuous growth of attacks in the Internet causes to generate a number of rules in security devices such as Intrusion Prevention Systems, firewalls, etc. Policy anomalies in security devices create security holes and prevent the system from determining quickly whether allow or deny a packet. Policy anomalies exist among the rules in multiple security devices as well as in a single securit...

Moral error theory claims that all moral judgments are in error. abolitionism is the view theorist should then eliminate talk or judgments. This paper dis-cusses possible effects of adopting on lying,