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The Fiscal Effects of a Federal Paid Family Leave Program, Yet Another Unfunded Entitlement
Report Budget and Spending
March 4, 2020 19 min read Download Report
Rachel Greszler
Research Fellow in Economics, Budget and Entitlements
Rachel researches and analyzes taxes, Social Security, disability insurance, and pensions to promote economic growth.
Americans want paid family leave, and lawmakers want to help them get it—but Americans decidedly do not want any family leave program at any cost. Moreover, they do not need, and cannot afford, another unfunded federal entitlement program, which the Congressional Budget Office concluded the FAMILY Act would create. Evidence across the world and within the U.S. shows that paid family leave programs fail to meet many workers' needs—particularly those of lower-income workers—and that they redistribute money from low-income workers and families to middle-income and higher-income workers and families. Attempts to include more workers and benefit lower-income workers not only fall short, but lead to massive cost increases. Instead of instituting a one-size-fits-all program, policymakers should advance policies that would help meet workers' unique needs, at a cost they can afford.
The well-intentioned—but unfunded and unsustainable—Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act, a proposed entitlement program, cannot meet families' unique needs.
Unless Congress rations benefits, tax rates—including on low-income earners who are unlikely to receive benefits—would more than double within just six years.
Policymakers should consider flexible and accommodating policies instead of crowding out employer-provided family leave with a one-size-fits-all federal program.
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Both conservative and liberal lawmakers are looking for ways to expand access to paid family and medical leave in the United States, primarily through proposals that would create new national entitlement programs. As history—both across the world as well as in some U.S. states—shows, such programs always expand in size, scope, and costs over time. Such programs have unintended consequences and often end up redistributing resources from lower-income workers and families to middle-income and upper-income workers and families.
As lawmakers consider the implications of a federal paid family and medical leave program, their decisions should be informed by the benefits and costs of such policies in the short-run as well as the long-run. A recent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of the Democrats' proposed Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, as well as other analyses of proposals for, and evidence from, U.S. states and other countries, provide valuable information for lawmakers. There is no way to know for sure how a federal paid family and medical leave program would play out in the United States, but evidence and analysis suggest that such a program would cost far more than anticipated, expand in size and scope over time, fail to meet many workers' needs, and have undesirable distributional effects.
The CBO's Score for the FAMILY Act
The FAMILY Act would provide up to three months of partially paid family and medical leave for workers in order to address their own serious health condition, to care for an immediate family member with a serious medical condition, for the birth or adoption of a child, or for a "qualifying exigency" caused by the foreign deployment of a family member in the Armed Forces. Workers would have to meet certain work history requirements (such as having earnings over the previous 12 months) to qualify for benefits, and benefits would equal 66 percent of workers' wages, with a maximum of $4,000 per month. A new payroll tax equal to 0.4 percentage points of wages up to Social Security's taxable base ($137,700 in 2020) would finance the program, with workers and employers each paying 0.2 percentage points (and the self-employed paying 0.4 percentage points).REF
The CBO provided an analysis of the FAMILY Act in a February 13, 2020, letter to ranking Ways and Means Committee Member Kevin Brady (R–TX).REF That analysis concluded that the 0.4 percentage point payroll tax levied in the FAMILY Act would not cover the program's costs. The CBO estimated that use of a federal paid family and medical leave program would rise over time as more and more people become aware of it as an entitlement. Although not specifically noted in the CBO analysis, there would likely be a shift, with workers who currently receive paid family and medical leave through their employers, receiving these benefits from the federal program instead—adding even more to the taxpayer burden.
The CBO stated that "the bill would establish an entitlement by creating a legal obligation for the federal government to provide benefits to applicants who apply and are deemed eligible." Yet, the FAMILY Act "limits outlays to the amounts in the trust fund," which is the accumulation of the FAMILY Act's payroll taxes. As the CBO report shows, the FAMILY Act's costs (including a decline in other federal tax revenues) would exceed its payroll taxes beginning in 2023, when the FAMILY Act program would have a roughly $7 billion deficit. Thus, in fewer than three years after the program was enacted and only one year after beginning to pay benefits, policymakers would have to decide whether to raise taxes or ration paid family and medical leave benefits.
Without rationing benefits, taxes would continue to rise. In 2023, the initial 0.4 percentage point payroll tax would have to rise by 25 percent to 0.5 percentage points. By 2026, the necessary payroll tax would need to double to 0.8 percentage points, and by 2028, it would need to rise to about 240 percent of its initial level, to 0.95 percentage points.REF
In dollar figures, the program would increase spending by $521 billion between 2020 and 2030, causing a $42 billion reduction in other federal revenues (as a result of employers reducing workers' wages and benefits), for a net cost of $563 billion.REF Administrative costs, at 5 percent of benefits or $26 billion over the 2020–2030 period, would be substantial.
Explosive Growth in Entitlements and Paid Family and Medical Leave Programs
Most industrialized nations have generous government paid family and medical leave programs—which started off relatively modest, many of them similar to the provisions of the FAMILY Act. While taxes and benefits typically started out low for such government programs, virtually all programs have expanded significantly over time in an effort to accommodate more workers' and families' needs.
Between 1980 and 2011, the median amount of paid leave for mothers living in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries increased from 14 weeks to 42 weeks.REF In Canada, expansions—including increasing 17 weeks of paid maternity leave to 35 weeks of paid parental leave—caused the program's costs to quadruple (from 0.07 percent of gross domestic product in 1980 to 0.28 percent in 2011).REF
Although the U.S. does not yet have a federal paid family leave entitlement, it has multiple other entitlement programs, all of which started out relatively small in size, scope, and costs, and mushroomed over time to create a huge fiscal threat to the U.S. economy. Social Security started out as a 2 percent payroll tax, but it now takes 12.4 percent of workers' paychecks, costs 13.9 percent,REF and is projected to rise to 16.6 percent in 2040, according to Social Security Trustees.REF
Within the U.S., relatively new state-based paid family and medical leave programs have already expanded benefits and raised taxes in an attempt to increase awareness and utilization.REF In New Jersey, for example, only 40 percent of the population knows the program exists, and only 12 percent of eligible new parents and only 1 percent of eligible caregivers use the program.REF
New Jersey recently doubled the maximum length of leave to 12 weeks, increased the maximum payment level from 66 percent to 85 percent of earnings, broadened the group of employers to whom New Jersey's state-based paid family and medical leave program applies to include those with 30 or more employees, and expanded eligibility criteria to include anyone with whom the employee has "the equivalent of a family relationship." These changes are estimated to quadruple the maximum tax rate paid by workers.REF
First enacted in 2004, California has expanded its paid family and medical leave program at least three times to increase eligibility, raise benefit levels, eliminate a waiting period before qualifying for benefits, and increase the number of weeks available for leave.REF California's governor and legislature are considering further expansions.
FAMILY Act Would Still Not Cover All Leaves
Despite a significant and growing cost, the CBO estimates assume that a significant number of workers who need and take leave will not use the federal program. This could be because the federal program would take time and effort to receive benefits (negating its use for shorter-term leaves), and a significant portion of workers who need leave would not meet the federal program's eligibility requirements (about 30 percent of new parents would not be eligible). The CBO report does not note whether it incorporates lower usage rates among low-income workers who are less likely to be able to afford to take leave with the program's partial 66 percent wage benefits. It does note, however, that some workers would not use the program because of non-financial reasons, such as fear of losing their jobs.
Overall, the CBO report estimated that about half of people who need leave for their own health conditions would claim federal benefits; about one in six needing leave to care for family members would use the federal program; and close to 70 percent of mothers and 35 percent of fathers would claim benefits for the birth or adoption of a child. Clearly, the cost of the program would be substantially higher if close to all workers who needed leave were to use the program.
How the FAMILY Act Would Hurt Low-Income Workers
Evidence from countries across the world as well as from U.S. states that have enacted government paid family and medical leave programs suggests that middle-income and upper-income earners would benefit most from a national paid family and medical leave program such as the FAMILY Act. Additionally, such a program would provide windfall benefits to companies—primarily larger companies—that already provide paid family and medical leave benefits to their workers.
According to a review of the economic literature on the distributional effects of government paid family leave programs by the Independent Women's Forum, low-income workers tend to lose more than they gain from such programs, which, despite their intent, primarily benefit middle-income and upper-income earners.REF There are multiple reasons for these outcomes, including:
Lower awareness. In California, only 35 percent of families with incomes below $35,000 were aware of California's program, compared to 65 percent of families with incomes above 80 percent.REF In New Jersey, a poll found: "Lack of awareness is more prevalent among populations that could need paid leave the most, including people of color and young adults."REF
Inability to make ends meet with partial benefits. Low-income families face tighter budgets and are less likely to be able to pay their bills and meet basic needs with partial benefit replacements. The FAMILY Act would mean a worker who makes $15 per hour would have to get by on $396 per week instead of the usual $600.
Lower eligibility. Low-income workers are more likely to work in part-time or temporary jobs where they do not qualify for benefits.REF
Traditional gender roles. Low-income women are more likely to be stay-at-home parents, hence not qualify for benefits, while low-income men are less likely to take paid leave.REF
Rigid rules and administrative barriers. Rules such as those prohibiting any work while on leave, as well as delays in processing applications, disproportionately deter low-income workers from using government programs.REF
Job protection concerns. The FAMILY Act would not extend job protection to all workers, likely because doing so would create significant costs and administrative burdens for smaller employers. Low-income workers tend to be more concerned about losing their jobs if they take leave, and they are less likely to have job protection. According to an Urban Institute study, low-income workers are twice as likely to be employed by very small firms and one out of every three low-wage, low-income workers with children was employed by a firm with fewer than 10 employees.REF
Experience with Family Leave Programs in the U.S. and in Other Countries
As a result of these factors, many programs in the U.S. and in other countries have struggled to meet lower-income workers' and families' needs, even as they have grown in size and scope:
California. In California, 38 percent of the workforce has wages below $20,000, and yet only 1 percent of those low-wage workers use the state's paid family leave program.REF Workers in the highest income bracket (above $84,000) were five times more likely to file paid family leave claims with the state as those in the lowest income bracket (below $12,000).REF Even in San Francisco, which has its own paid family leave law that provides 100 percent benefits to new mothers, low-income mothers (below $32,000) were only half as likely as higher-income mothers (above $97,000) to receive paid family leave benefits from the government.REF
New Jersey. New Jersey's program was characterized as "simply unaffordable, even for middle-class families, many of whom still live paycheck to paycheck in high-cost New Jersey." REF Moreover, "The state's paid family leave policy puts many workers below the poverty level for the duration of their leaves, and pushes people who are already struggling deeper into poverty."REF And, recent expansions of the program that are intended to increase awareness and use are estimated to quadruple workers' maximum payroll tax.REF
Canada. Government paid family leave programs have exacerbated class inequality: "Despite proportionate and obligatory contributions of all employers and employees to these programs, the distribution of benefits is unbalanced and aids the social reproduction of higher-income families, especially outside of Québec."REF While Quebec, which operates its own program, has taken action to increase government benefits, they "are still not equally used by mothers with lower socio-economic status."REF
Norway. In Norway, which expanded paid leave to 100 percent replacement rates for nearly all mothers, researchers found that "paid maternity leave has negative redistribution properties," and that "the extra leave benefits amounted to a pure leisure transfer, primarily to middle and upper income families."REF The researchers concluded that "the generous extensions to paid leave were costly, had no measurable effect on outcomes and [also had] poor redistribution properties."REF
In the U.S., where substantial employer-provided paid family leave exists, a government program could be even more regressive because it would provide windfall benefits to larger companies and higher-income employees who already have paid family leave policies.REF According to Deloitte representative Carolyn O'Boyle's testimony before a Senate Finance Subcommittee on July 11, 2018, Deloitte instructs its workers who live in states with government paid family leave programs to use the state-provided paid leave benefits first, which Deloitte then tops off with its own benefits in order to meet the company's maximum benefit. Similar transfers of private-sector costs to taxpayers would occur at the national level, and larger companies with large human resources departments would be the most capable of maximizing federal taxpayer-funded benefits.
Inevitable Expansions Would Cause Costs to Soar
The CBO report showed rising costs over time, even without an expansion in the program. As examined below, the FAMILY Act's provisions would be insufficient to cover a large portion of workers' leaves and would particularly fail to benefit low-income workers. Expanding the program to try to meet more workers' needs would lead to even higher costs. Analysts at the American Action Forum found similar cost estimates for the FAMILY Act as the CBO, but when they applied higher utilization rates matching how much leave workers said (in a Cato Institute poll) that they wanted to take, the American Action Forum estimate showed costs soaring to a necessary 2.9 percent payroll tax—more than seven times the FAMILY Act's proposed tax rate.REF
More Flexible, Efficient, and Accommodating Ways to Meet Workers Needs
It is important that family members be able to care for one another, and in a time when many households are headed by a single adult, or both spouses are working, providing necessary care can require taking time off work. Employers who fail to recognize and provide for this need risk losing good workers and incurring high turnover costs. Fortunately, a competitive global economy, recent pro-growth tax cuts and deregulatory actions, and the strong U.S. labor market are driving more and more employers to voluntarily provide paid family leave to their workers. This expansion in private provision is encouraging and most appropriate, as the overwhelming majority of Americans believe that employers—not the government, whether federal or state—should cover workers' leave.REF
Yes, there are still workers who lack the ability to take paid family and medical leave, and there are businesses that cannot yet afford to provide it. And, policymakers can help generate paid family leave options that meet workers' and employers' unique needs, in flexible and accommodating ways, without enacting a new unfunded federal entitlement program.
The Working Families Flexibility Act would benefit lower-income hourly workers by allowing them the choice to accumulate paid leave—so-called comp time—in exchange for overtime work.
Universal savings accounts, or letting workers use other tax-preferred savings for paid family leave, would be particularly helpful for independent, part-time, and temporary workers.
Expanding private disability insurance beyond the roughly 50 percent of full-time private-sector workers who currently have it would help workers to meet their own medical and maternity leave needs.REF
Pro-growth tax and regulatory policies would help employers afford to provide paid family leave and help workers to afford taking leave.
Unlike a one-size-fits-all program, these policies would help to meet workers' unique needs, at a cost they can afford.
Americans want paid family leave, and policymakers want to help them get it. But neither Americans nor politicians want another unfunded entitlement that expands over time and threatens the fiscal future of America. Americans want a program that meets their needs with as little cost, burden, and disruption as possible. A one-size-fits-all federal program simply cannot achieve this. Not only would it crowd out existing programs, shifting private costs to taxpayers, but, like other government entitlements and family leave programs, its costs would balloon over time and it would redistribute resources from low-income workers to middle- and higher-income workers.
Rachel Greszler is Research Fellow in Economics, the Budget, and Entitlements in the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget, of the Institute for Economic Freedom, at The Heritage Foundation.
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\section{Introduction}
Even in the present era, visually impaired people face a constant challenge of navigation. The most common tool available to them is the cane. Although the cane allows good detection of objects in the user's immediate vicinity, it lacks the ability to detect obstacles further away. It also remains incapable of detecting obstacles above waist height \cite{b10}, which have no or minimal ground foundations (e.g. bar tables etc.) \cite{b11}. An additional drawback is a sub-optimal performance for elevated surfaces like stairs and the struggle under varying weather conditions. Snow, for example, can cover the textured pavements made for the visually impaired during winter \cite{b12}. All this means that visually impaired people still require external assistance, which limits their independence. This shows the need for a system to enable obstacle avoidance and navigation.

Over the past few decades, many Electronic Travel Aids (ETA) have been developed with the aim of filling this gap. The solutions can broadly be categorized into two major groups based on the medium of feedback i.e. acoustic or haptic. Acoustic feedback-based approaches include, among others, a single camera, open-source solution, which applies image-to-sound rendering technology \cite{b2} and a stereoscopic camera approach with acoustic transducers \cite{b3}. But work by M. J. Proulx et al. demonstrated that systems like these require long times of training to adapt to the device \cite{b4}. Moreover, many blind people highly rely on their sense of hearing for the perception of their surroundings and even navigate by using human echolocation \cite{b16}. Therefore, audio-based feedback through headphones poses the risk of interfering with their hearing-based abilities and needs \cite{b15}.

Haptic feedback resolves most of the drawbacks caused by acoustic feedback. Early work goes back to 1969 when Bach-y-Rita et al. proposed a vision substitution system using tactile projection \cite{b20}. Since then the technology has seen tremendous advancement as shown by Bloomfield et al. in their work on a wearable vibrotactile array \cite{b21}. Choi et al. provide a holistic overview of vibrotactile solutions from the past decade \cite{b17}. Recently more sophisticated sensors using distance or depth information, have enabled the development of even more reliable blind navigation tools using haptic feedback. Many methods are based on low-cost ultrasonic sensors. Examples include an implementation of an ultrasonic obstacle detection for indoor navigation \cite{b6} and a prototype using three sonar sensors and two vibrators \cite{b5}. The major disadvantage of ultrasonic sensors is the low resolution since they can only tell if an object is within the view field or not. This does not help much in identifying the size or shape of objects and even makes the object localization slow. Therefore other approaches leverage Microsoft's Kinect sensor, which provides a full depth image. S. Mann et al. presented a Kinect on a helmet with 1-D vibrotactile elements around the head to create an assistant for blind navigation based on the depth information \cite{b7}. N. Kanwal et al. built upon that approach by using both the depth sensor and the built-in camera \cite{b8}. They applied corner detection to the camera image to perform obstacle detection and then estimated the distance using the depth map of the same scene. \cite{b9} presented a guidance system using a chest-worn Kinect and sonication to convey obstacle information to the user via headphones.

Most of the systems and approaches presented suffer the same problem i.e. the tradeoff between the size of the device and the quality of obstacle detection. Smaller lightweight systems like simple cameras or ultrasonic sensors lack the resolution to provide sufficient information. On the other hand, Kinect based systems are too conspicuous for everyday usage, hence, risking user stigmatization.

\section{Our solution}

The system we are proposing uses a 3D depth camera (mounted on 3D printed glasses) to gather the information about obstacles and a haptic feedback sleeve to display/translate the information to the user. In the following sections, the 3D camera glasses and the haptic sleeve will be explained. Then the mapping algorithm will be introduced, and finally, performance test results will be discussed.

\subsection{3D-Camera Glasses}
The 3D camera glasses are based on an Intel RealSense D415 camera. The camera uses an active IR stereo technology, producing a resolution of 1280x720 and up to 90 fps (for the purpose of this project it was operated at 480p and 6fps to maximize computational performance). It is also low-cost, lightweight and significantly smaller than a Kinect, enabling the development of normally worn glasses. A fitting housing was designed, including spaces (for future work) to add a battery pack, bone conducting speakers and a computing unit. The prototype was 3D printed using fused deposition modeling (FDM) technology and can be seen in figure \ref{fig:glasses2}.

\begin{figure}[htbp]
\centerline{\includegraphics{glasses2.png}}
\caption{The 3D printed prototype (left) and the prototype in usage (right).}
\label{fig:glasses2}
\end{figure}

\subsection{Haptic Feedback Sleeve}
For transmitting the gathered information to the user, a haptic feedback sleeve was designed. It consists of a 2D array of 25 vibration motors sewed onto a stretchable fabric to allow easy adjustment to varying forearm sizes (figure \ref{fig:sleeve1}). Each motor can be controlled individually using PNP transistors and an Adafruit 24-Channel TLC5947 driver (used to extend the Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) ports of an Adafruit Feather 32u4 Microprocessor). The slim design allows the user to even wear clothing on top of the sleeve, making it less conspicuous, hence reducing user stigmatization when worn in public. The system is worn on the forearm because humans distinguish vibrotactile feedback better when it occurs close to body landmarks/joints \cite{b14}.

\begin{figure}[htbp]
\centerline{\includegraphics[width=0.45\textwidth]{sleeve2.png}}
\caption{The inside of the prototype.}
\label{fig:sleeve1}
\end{figure}

\subsection{The Combined System}
To create an obstacle avoidance system, both components are combined. For that purpose, an AAEON Up Board \cite{b18} is used. It runs Linux and serves as a processing unit for downsampling the depth image generated by the 3D camera. The Up Board is also used to transmit the control signal for the motors to the Microprocessor of the haptic feedback sleeve. The complete system is powered by a 5V, 5A battery pack, making the prototype lightweight and portable. A schematic sketch of the system design can be seen in figure \ref{fig:system1}.

\begin{figure}[htbp]
\centerline{\includegraphics[width=0.4\textwidth]{system1.jpg}}
\caption{Schematics of the functioning system}
\label{fig:system1}
\end{figure}

\subsection{The Mapping Algorithm}
Since the RealSense D415 has a resolution of up to 1280x720 pixels, downsampling is necessary to map the information to the haptic feedback sleeve. The input depth image is down-sampled into a 5x5 array, where each array element represents a single vibration motor. These depth values are then used to control the strength of vibration by varying the PWM voltage for the respective motor. A narrow hallway will, thus, generates strong vibrations on each side of the sleeve and the intensity of these vibrations reduces when moving to the center of the array (figure \ref{fig:mapping1}). Users can detect obstacles based on the structural feeling of vibrations. If a user walks towards an obstacle, the vibration intensity of the respective motors gradually increases. Additionally since the arm is only used to display the information of the camera, the user can now walk and perform tasks that require two free hands at the same time.

\begin{figure}[htbp]
\centerline{\includegraphics[width=0.4\textwidth]{mapping2.png}}
\caption{The results of the mapping algorithm for a hallway.}
\label{fig:mapping1}
\end{figure}

\subsection{Operation Mode and Lighting}
To ensure adaptability to environmental variation, it is important to have feedback that can adjust dynamically. For this purpose, two different modes of operation are proposed. In the indoor mode, vibrational feedback is restricted to a certain distance (a distance of 3m is proposed). The vibrational range is then covered within this distance which produces relatively large step sizes for a small change in obstacle distance. In the outdoor mode only distances greater than two meters, out of the range of a cane are mapped. This allows the system to be a good add-on to the existing solutions, by giving the blind user a way to identify distant objects.

One of the advantages of using a Realsense camera is its IR module. It allows the perception of depth even in complete darkness. As exhibited in the photos in figure \ref{fig:daynight}, the depth results from the day and night imagery of the same scene are almost the same. This feature of the camera makes the solution robust to variation in the lighting conditions.

\begin{figure}[htbp]
\centerline{\includegraphics[width=0.4\textwidth]{day_nigt.png}}
\caption{Depth maps for pictures in light (top) and dark (bottom)}
\label{fig:daynight}
\end{figure}

\section{Method}
To evaluate the performance of the new obstacle avoidance system, two tests were conducted. The goal was to confirm the ability to display information with a vibration sleeve and prove the usability of the combined system as an obstacle avoidance system. Also, the user adoption time for the new system should be tested.

\subsection{General Pattern Tests}
A vibration pattern test was performed to analyze the functionality of the haptic feedback sleeve. The goal was to test if users can localize and tell apart vibration motors on the sleeve. Eleven vibrational patterns were designed and tested on eight users. The experiment was done in three iterations with a pause of one week in between iterations, to identify user adaptation over time. The patterns included single and multi-axis vibrations to test the usability on simple and more complex patterns. Furthermore, single, lower multiple (2-5) and higher multiple ($>$ 5) numbers of motors vibrating at the same time, were used to analyze the localization of vibrations. The user had to pick from one of the three options. An Example of a test pattern can be seen in figure \ref{fig:patterns8}. The left pattern shows a single motor vibration on one axis. The vibration of a single motor moves along the rows of the vibration band, starting in the top-left corner (1) and ending in the bottom-right corner (25), with each motor vibrating for 500ms. The blue color gradient visualizes the moving direction of the vibration. The right pattern of figure \ref{fig:patterns8} shows a multi-axial vibration pattern with a lower multiple of motors vibrating at the same time. The vibration starts again with a single motor at the top-left corner (1) and then continues diagonal towards the bottom-right corner (9), with a maximum of 5 motors vibrating at the same time. Further examples can be seen in figure \ref{fig:patterns4}. All user responses during the tests were analyzed against two criteria to classify them as correct, partially correct and wrong. The criteria being: \\
\begin{itemize}
\item[1)] Correctly identify the pattern based on the moving direction of the motor vibration over time.
\item[2)] Correctly identify the number of motors (single, lower multiple, higher multiple) vibrating at the same time for each time step of a pattern.\\
\end{itemize}

\begin{figure}[htbp]
\centerline{\includegraphics[width=0.3\textwidth]{patterns8a.png}}
\caption{Two example patterns of an iterating single motor vibration on the horizontal axis (left) and lower multiple motor vibration on the horizontal and vertical axis (right)}
\label{fig:patterns8}
\end{figure}

\begin{figure}[htbp]
\centerline{\includegraphics[width=0.45\textwidth]{patterns.png}}
\caption{Three example patterns of an iterating multi-motor vibration on the vertical axis (left) a iterating higher multiple motor vibration on the vertical and horizontal axis (middle) and a multiple motor vibration localization task (right)}
\label{fig:patterns4}
\end{figure}

\subsection{Testing Route}
In the second experiment to evaluate the combined system, a testing route was designed. It includes walkways, doors, and obstacles that need to be detected to complete the run. A sketch of the route can be seen in figure \ref{fig:parkour4}. Only the indoor mode of the downsampling algorithm was used and the system was tested in complete darkness. This should showcase the performance of the system in a setting where an optical system would not be able to function. The time required to complete the testing route was recorded for five volunteers. Again three iterations with a week of delay were recorded, to assess the relative improvement over time. The metric is an indicator of the adaption to the system during everyday usage.

\begin{figure}[htbp]
\centerline{\includegraphics[width=0.35\textwidth]{parkour5.png}}
\caption{Sketch of the testing route}
\label{fig:parkour4}
\end{figure}

\section{Results}
The first experiment of evaluating the haptic feedback sleeve showed promising results. Users were able to identify patterns involving single motors with near-perfect accuracy of 98,6\% (figure \ref{fig:patterns1}). The accuracy dropped to $\sim$70\% for patterns with multiple motors vibrating at the same time. The results are similar for lower numbers and higher numbers of multiple vibrating motors. Overall the percentage of incorrectly identifies patterns triples moving from single to lower multiple to higher multiple. The difference can be attributed to the interference when multiple motors vibrate, making it difficult for the user to accurately identify the number of motors. The higher the number of motors vibrating, the higher the interference and hence the higher the number of incorrectly identified patterns. Moreover, as shown in the second graph in figure \ref{fig:patterns3} users performed better on patterns with vibrations along a single axis compared to those along multiple axes. This is probably due to the interference of motors and the difference in sensitivity on various parts of the forearm. Therefore vibrations in the more sensitive parts overshadow vibrations in less sensitive areas.\\

Qualitative user interviews after each test run showed few additional observations: 1) Vibrations over more muscular regions of the forearm are easier to recogniz compared to other regions. This was already anticipated during the experiment setup and therefore users were instructed to wear the band on the inside of the forearm, covering a larger sensitive area. 2) Vibrations close to the wrist are best recognized, indicating high vibrational sensitivity. 3) Most users reported a too small motor distance, making it harder to distinguish motor vibrations. 4) The already good performance in identifying patterns showed no further increase over the weekly iterations. Therefore, the adaption time for the haptic feedback sleeve seems to be very short.

\begin{figure}[htbp]
\centerline{\includegraphics[width=0.5\textwidth]{patterns1b.png}}
\caption{The percentage of correctly identified and localized vibration patterns divided into single motor vibration patterns, vibration patterns with 2-5 motors vibrating at the same time and patterns with more than 5 motors vibrating at the same time.}
\label{fig:patterns1}
\end{figure}

\begin{figure}[htbp]
\centerline{\includegraphics[width=0.5\textwidth]{patterns3b.png}}
\caption{The percentage of correctly identified and localized vibration patterns divided into vibration moving along a single axis and vibration moving along different directions at the same time (multi-axis).}
\label{fig:patterns3}
\end{figure}

The results for the second experiment testing the obstacle avoidance system also showed great results. Even in their first run, all five participants were able to complete the obstacle route. In the first run, the total time for completion ranged between 175 and 466 seconds (table \ref{tab2}). Besides person2, who lost orientation for a short time in his last run, all participants show a steady improvement in time over the three runs. The variance in performance between the contestants is quite high, which can be seen in figure \ref{fig:testrun4}. Overall the averages for the runs decreased from 320 seconds in the first run to 148 seconds in the third run, two weeks later. This is a reduction of 53 percent and shows that an obstacle avoidance system would need some time for the user to adapt to the handling. This might be attributed to the highly unusual method of presenting distance information via vibration on the forearm. Since the learning curve in our experiments has not reached saturation, it would also be possible that user performance would increase even more over time.

\begin{table}[htbp]
\caption{Obstacle Avoidance System}
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|}
\hline
&Run 1&Run 2&Run 3\\
\hline
person1 [sec] &337 &206 &155\\
\hline
person2 [sec] &340 &229 &238\\
\hline
person3 [sec] &466 &120 &111\\
\hline
person4 [sec] &281 &239 &175\\
\hline
person5 [sec] &175 &102 &59\\
\hline\hline
average time [sec] &320 &179 &148\\
\cline{1-4}
average time [\%] &100 &60 &47\\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\label{tab2}
\end{center}
\end{table}

\begin{figure}
\def\linewidth{\linewidth}
\centerline{\scalebox{.7}{\input{images/testrun7.pdf_tex}}}
\caption{The average time needed to complete the test route for three test-runs (bold color) and the individual test-runs of each user (light color).}
\label{fig:testrun4}
\end{figure}

\section{Conclusion}

In this paper, we presented a new depth-based obstacle avoidance system. Our solution is low-cost, lightweight and designed for indoor as well as outdoor usage. The haptic feedback sleeve does not interfere with the user's sense of hearing which is extensively used by the visually impaired. It also takes away stigmatization, allowing blind people to add a useful tool for more independence, safety, and confidence. The system could also be a good add-on for usage outdoors, allowing the identification of objects not in the immediate vicinity, which would not be possible with a cane.
The performance tests showed that users are able to identify vibration patterns on their forearms. For single motor vibration patterns, users show an identification accuracy of 98,6\% and even for complex multi-motor and multi-axis vibration the identification accuracy is still 70\% or larger. During the tests, it was discovered that the ability of tell single motor vibrations apart is dependent on the specific location and muscularity of the forearm region. This could be accounted for in further improvements. In the darkness indoor testing route, all participants were able to complete the navigation task. Users improved their time of completion by 53\% over three runs, with one week separating every run. This shows that there is a substantial adaption time necessary for the usage of the system.

Further developments could include the implementation of an object recognition, based on the RGB image of the camera. This would allow the system to artificially generate bordered paths, solving the problem of orientation in a large open space. The proposed system is also already prepared for the implementation of bone conduction speakers, allowing the implementation of voice-based control. This would potentially add a navigation system to the proposed obstacle avoidance. Overall the system is a promising approach towards providing more independence for the visually impaired.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
Project acronym COBHUNI
Project Contemporary Bioethics and the History of the Unborn in Islam
Researcher (PI) Thomas Alexander Eich
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITAET HAMBURG
Summary COBHUNI will for the first time provide a comprehensive investigation of the History of the Unborn in Islam until today. This aims at diversifying our understanding of how pre-natal life is conceptualized in texts of Islamic normativity. At the center will be the analysis of statements in the Qur'an and the prophetic sayings (Hadith) relating to the unborn and the commentary tradition which evolved around them over ca. the last millennium. The objectives of COBHUNI: 1. Thematically: Showing how processes of communication a) between religious communities, b) different regions within the Muslim community, and c) the emergence of modern medicine impacted on the imagination of the unborn. 2. Conceptually: Drawing on three new approaches in the study of Islam: a) emergence of Islam within the context of late antiquity, b) canonization studies, and c) study of exegetical literature. 3. Methodologically: Developing and applying computerlinguistic approaches to Arabic text material and thus improving significantly on the state of the art of Arabic Digital Humanities. The realization will encompass the analysis of the text material along two axes. Vertical axis: citations and cross-referencing within the exegetical tradition; Horizontal axis: contextualizing the exegesis and scrutinizing links to other genres. I have been working on contemporary Islamic Bioethics since 2003 and since 2008 I have broadened my research to the historical scope of the topic. With my comprehensive experience in the study of Contemporary Islamic Bioethics and historical texts from Islamic Normativity and my knowledge in the study of Arabic Qur'an and Hadith exegesis I will be able to successfully lead this cutting-edge project. My team will generate additional data and enhance the IT applications necessary for its analysis. My project will offer powerful approaches to show the complex web of influences impacting on the imaginations of the unborn in Islam.
COBHUNI will for the first time provide a comprehensive investigation of the History of the Unborn in Islam until today. This aims at diversifying our understanding of how pre-natal life is conceptualized in texts of Islamic normativity. At the center will be the analysis of statements in the Qur'an and the prophetic sayings (Hadith) relating to the unborn and the commentary tradition which evolved around them over ca. the last millennium. The objectives of COBHUNI: 1. Thematically: Showing how processes of communication a) between religious communities, b) different regions within the Muslim community, and c) the emergence of modern medicine impacted on the imagination of the unborn. 2. Conceptually: Drawing on three new approaches in the study of Islam: a) emergence of Islam within the context of late antiquity, b) canonization studies, and c) study of exegetical literature. 3. Methodologically: Developing and applying computerlinguistic approaches to Arabic text material and thus improving significantly on the state of the art of Arabic Digital Humanities. The realization will encompass the analysis of the text material along two axes. Vertical axis: citations and cross-referencing within the exegetical tradition; Horizontal axis: contextualizing the exegesis and scrutinizing links to other genres. I have been working on contemporary Islamic Bioethics since 2003 and since 2008 I have broadened my research to the historical scope of the topic. With my comprehensive experience in the study of Contemporary Islamic Bioethics and historical texts from Islamic Normativity and my knowledge in the study of Arabic Qur'an and Hadith exegesis I will be able to successfully lead this cutting-edge project. My team will generate additional data and enhance the IT applications necessary for its analysis. My project will offer powerful approaches to show the complex web of influences impacting on the imaginations of the unborn in Islam.
Project acronym COMICS
Project Children in Comics: An Intercultural History from 1865 to Today
Researcher (PI) Maaheen AHMED
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITEIT GENT
Summary Owing to their visual essence and status as a popular, modern medium, comics – newspaper strips, comics magazines and graphic novels – provide valuable insight into the transformation of collective consciousness. This project advances the hypothesis that children in comics are distinctive embodiments of the complex experience of modernity, channeling and tempering modern anxieties and incarnating the freedom denied to adults. In testing this hypothesis, the project constructs the first intercultural history of children in European comics, tracing the changing conceptualizations of child protagonists in popular comics for both children and adults from the mid-19th century to the present. In doing so, it takes key points in European history as well as the history of comics into account. Assembling a team of six multilingual researchers, the project uses an interdisciplinary methodology combining comics studies and childhood studies while also incorporating specific insights from cultural studies (history of family life, history of public life, history of the body, affect theory and scholarship on the carnivalesque). This enables the project to analyze the transposition of modern anxieties, conceptualizations of childishness, child-adult power relations, notions of liberty, visualizations of the body, family life, school and public life as well as the presence of affects such as nostalgia and happiness in comics starring children. The project thus opens up a new field of research lying at the intersection of comics studies and childhood studies and illustrates its potential. In studying popular but often overlooked comics, the project provides crucial historical and analytical material that will shape future comics criticism and the fields associated with childhood studies. Furthermore, the project's outreach activities will increase collective knowledge about comic strips, which form an important, increasingly visible part of cultural heritage.
Owing to their visual essence and status as a popular, modern medium, comics – newspaper strips, comics magazines and graphic novels – provide valuable insight into the transformation of collective consciousness. This project advances the hypothesis that children in comics are distinctive embodiments of the complex experience of modernity, channeling and tempering modern anxieties and incarnating the freedom denied to adults. In testing this hypothesis, the project constructs the first intercultural history of children in European comics, tracing the changing conceptualizations of child protagonists in popular comics for both children and adults from the mid-19th century to the present. In doing so, it takes key points in European history as well as the history of comics into account. Assembling a team of six multilingual researchers, the project uses an interdisciplinary methodology combining comics studies and childhood studies while also incorporating specific insights from cultural studies (history of family life, history of public life, history of the body, affect theory and scholarship on the carnivalesque). This enables the project to analyze the transposition of modern anxieties, conceptualizations of childishness, child-adult power relations, notions of liberty, visualizations of the body, family life, school and public life as well as the presence of affects such as nostalgia and happiness in comics starring children. The project thus opens up a new field of research lying at the intersection of comics studies and childhood studies and illustrates its potential. In studying popular but often overlooked comics, the project provides crucial historical and analytical material that will shape future comics criticism and the fields associated with childhood studies. Furthermore, the project's outreach activities will increase collective knowledge about comic strips, which form an important, increasingly visible part of cultural heritage.
Project acronym COMPAUL
Project The Earliest Commentaries on Paul as Sources for the Biblical Text
Researcher (PI) Hugh Alexander Gervase Houghton
Host Institution (HI) THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH5, ERC-2011-StG_20101124
Summary This project will develop a new approach to the textual history of the Pauline Epistles by exploring the biblical text of the earliest commentaries in Greek and Latin. Each author's treatment of their source gives insights into their compositional practices, their attitudes to the Bible and the differing versions of the New Testament known to them. Detailed verbal analysis of the quotations will identify the form of text originally used and situate it within the wider textual tradition. Studying the subsequent transmission of these commentaries in their manuscripts and in other writers will reveal how they were altered or adapted to bring them into agreement with later textual norms and practices. It will also show the development of a hierarchy of authority, first for the biblical and then for the authorial text. The methodology pioneered by the project offers a new paradigm for using biblical quotations and Christian writers to reconstruct early forms of the New Testament text.
This project will develop a new approach to the textual history of the Pauline Epistles by exploring the biblical text of the earliest commentaries in Greek and Latin. Each author's treatment of their source gives insights into their compositional practices, their attitudes to the Bible and the differing versions of the New Testament known to them. Detailed verbal analysis of the quotations will identify the form of text originally used and situate it within the wider textual tradition. Studying the subsequent transmission of these commentaries in their manuscripts and in other writers will reveal how they were altered or adapted to bring them into agreement with later textual norms and practices. It will also show the development of a hierarchy of authority, first for the biblical and then for the authorial text. The methodology pioneered by the project offers a new paradigm for using biblical quotations and Christian writers to reconstruct early forms of the New Testament text.
Project acronym COMPLEX
Project The Degradation of Complex Modern Polymeric Objects in Heritage Collections: A System Dynamics Approach
Researcher (PI) Katherine CURRAN
Summary By viewing a scientific problem through the lens of heritage, COMPLEX will create an entirely new cross-disciplinary vision for understanding and modelling polymer degradation and build a world leading research team studying the degradation of modern polymeric objects in collections. Rather than focussing on specific chemical or physical processes, as has been done in the past, COMPLEX will consider polymeric objects as almost akin to living organisms, and by using a system dynamics approach will model objects in their environments in a way that reflects their real complexity, with multiple, inter-connecting interactions between material properties and environmental parameters. As a polymer chemist, this project has been inspired by my 4 years of experience in the field of heritage, in particular by experiencing the problems raised by the conservation of modern polymeric objects such as plastics. The development of modern polymers during the 19th and 20th centuries has changed history and society and they are a part of our material heritage that it is essential to conserve for future generations. However, these objects are at risk due to their instability and a lack of knowledge within the museum sector as to their degradation behaviour. System dynamics models will be developed incorporating multiple chemical and physical interactions between the components of polymeric objects and environmental parameters such as relative humidity or light. These will be used to predict the degradation behaviour of objects over time, to identify key parameters that are correlated to object change and provide practical solutions for heritage professionals. Above all, COMPLEX will provide a new way of looking at polymer degradation, that can be applied across a wide range of fields, including medicine, waste management and industry.
By viewing a scientific problem through the lens of heritage, COMPLEX will create an entirely new cross-disciplinary vision for understanding and modelling polymer degradation and build a world leading research team studying the degradation of modern polymeric objects in collections. Rather than focussing on specific chemical or physical processes, as has been done in the past, COMPLEX will consider polymeric objects as almost akin to living organisms, and by using a system dynamics approach will model objects in their environments in a way that reflects their real complexity, with multiple, inter-connecting interactions between material properties and environmental parameters. As a polymer chemist, this project has been inspired by my 4 years of experience in the field of heritage, in particular by experiencing the problems raised by the conservation of modern polymeric objects such as plastics. The development of modern polymers during the 19th and 20th centuries has changed history and society and they are a part of our material heritage that it is essential to conserve for future generations. However, these objects are at risk due to their instability and a lack of knowledge within the museum sector as to their degradation behaviour. System dynamics models will be developed incorporating multiple chemical and physical interactions between the components of polymeric objects and environmental parameters such as relative humidity or light. These will be used to predict the degradation behaviour of objects over time, to identify key parameters that are correlated to object change and provide practical solutions for heritage professionals. Above all, COMPLEX will provide a new way of looking at polymer degradation, that can be applied across a wide range of fields, including medicine, waste management and industry.
Project acronym CONNECTINGEUROPE
Project Digital Crossings in Europe: Gender, Diaspora and Belonging
Researcher (PI) Sandra Ponzanesi
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT
Summary Many immigrants enter Europe both legally and illegally every year. This creates multiple challenges for the Union, including the gender and ethnic segregation of migrant groups, especially women. While it strives for an inclusive and integrated society as envisioned by the EU motto 'Unity in Diversity', it is still often perceived more as 'Fortress Europe.' This project focuses on the 'connected migrant', studying how virtual communities of migrants, or digital diasporas, convey issues of technology, migration, globalisation, alienation and belonging capturing the lives of migrants in their interaction with multiple worlds and media. More specifically, it will investigate whether digital technologies enhance European integration or foster gender and ethnic segregation, and, if so, how. Using a multi-layered and cutting-edge approach that draws from the humanities, social science and new media studies (i.e. internet studies and mobile media), this research considers: 1. How migration and digital technologies enable digital diasporas (Somali, Turkish, Romanian) and the impact these have on identity, gender and belonging in European urban centres; 2. How these entanglements are connected to and perceived from outside Europe by focusing on transnational ties; and 3. How digital connections create new possibilities for cosmopolitan outlooks, rearticulating Europe's motto of 'Unity in Diversity.' The outcomes of this work will be innovative at three levels. a) Empirically, the project gathers, maps and critically grounds online behaviour by migrant women from a European comparative perspective. b) Methodologically, it breaks new ground by developing new methods of analysis for digital diasporas contributing to the development of 'postcolonial' digital humanities. c) Conceptually, it integrates colonial and migrant relations into the idea of Europe, elaborating on the notion of cosmopolitan belonging through virtual connectivity.
Many immigrants enter Europe both legally and illegally every year. This creates multiple challenges for the Union, including the gender and ethnic segregation of migrant groups, especially women. While it strives for an inclusive and integrated society as envisioned by the EU motto 'Unity in Diversity', it is still often perceived more as 'Fortress Europe.' This project focuses on the 'connected migrant', studying how virtual communities of migrants, or digital diasporas, convey issues of technology, migration, globalisation, alienation and belonging capturing the lives of migrants in their interaction with multiple worlds and media. More specifically, it will investigate whether digital technologies enhance European integration or foster gender and ethnic segregation, and, if so, how. Using a multi-layered and cutting-edge approach that draws from the humanities, social science and new media studies (i.e. internet studies and mobile media), this research considers: 1. How migration and digital technologies enable digital diasporas (Somali, Turkish, Romanian) and the impact these have on identity, gender and belonging in European urban centres; 2. How these entanglements are connected to and perceived from outside Europe by focusing on transnational ties; and 3. How digital connections create new possibilities for cosmopolitan outlooks, rearticulating Europe's motto of 'Unity in Diversity.' The outcomes of this work will be innovative at three levels. a) Empirically, the project gathers, maps and critically grounds online behaviour by migrant women from a European comparative perspective. b) Methodologically, it breaks new ground by developing new methods of analysis for digital diasporas contributing to the development of 'postcolonial' digital humanities. c) Conceptually, it integrates colonial and migrant relations into the idea of Europe, elaborating on the notion of cosmopolitan belonging through virtual connectivity.
Project acronym CONTACTS
Project Traces of contact: Language contact studies and historical linguistics
Researcher (PI) Pieter Muysken
Host Institution (HI) STICHTING KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT
Summary This project aims to establish criteria by which results from language contact studies can be used to strengthen the field of historical linguistics. It does so by applying the scenario model for language contact studies to a number of concrete settings, which differ widely in their level of aggregation and dime depth: the languages of the Amazonian fringe in South America, the complex multilingual setting of the Republic of Suriname, the multilingual interaction of immigrant groups in the Netherlands, and two groups of multilingual individuals. New methods from structural phylogenetics are employed, and the same linguistic variables (TMA and evidentiality marking, argument realization) will be studied in the various projects. In the various projects, use will be made from a shared questionnaire, so that comparable data can be gathered. By applying the scenaio model at various levels of aggregation, a more principled link between language contact studies and historical linguistics can be established.
This project aims to establish criteria by which results from language contact studies can be used to strengthen the field of historical linguistics. It does so by applying the scenario model for language contact studies to a number of concrete settings, which differ widely in their level of aggregation and dime depth: the languages of the Amazonian fringe in South America, the complex multilingual setting of the Republic of Suriname, the multilingual interaction of immigrant groups in the Netherlands, and two groups of multilingual individuals. New methods from structural phylogenetics are employed, and the same linguistic variables (TMA and evidentiality marking, argument realization) will be studied in the various projects. In the various projects, use will be made from a shared questionnaire, so that comparable data can be gathered. By applying the scenaio model at various levels of aggregation, a more principled link between language contact studies and historical linguistics can be established.
Project acronym COSMED
Project FROM STEREOTOMY TO ANTISEISMIC CRITERIA: CROSSROADS OF EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN. SICILY AND MEDITERRANEAN (XII-XVIII CENTURY)
Researcher (PI) Rosario Marco Nobile
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PALERMO
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH5, ERC-2011-ADG_20110406
Summary Over the centuries, Sicily has known an unequalled variety of building experiences. Strategically located, the largest Mediterranean island has served as a centre for the dissemination of innovative solutions, as well as a collector of ideas from multiple sources. This intellectual interchange is clearly evident in the long history of stereotomy or stone construction. A rich tradition of advanced stone cutting (domes, cross vaults and complex stair solutions), evolved through experimentation and importation. Initially solutions from the Byzantine world and North Africa were influential. A wider experimentation occurred during the Renaissance. In this era new technologies often related to seismic concerns and involving the use of lighter structures stimulated innovation. The multiple earthquakes that struck the island initiated a fascinating and, in some ways, effective series of experiments in the field of anti-seismic construction technology. This project aims to investigate building criteria applied between the Middle Ages and the Modern era in the Mediterranean basin, with a particular attention to Sicily and other big islands, southern Italy, eastern Spain, North Africa and near East. Measurements, surveys, and the material knowledge of the building techniques will be intertwined with the tools of the historical investigation. Research will study geometric, constructive and formal models and chart their origins and routes of development. A most challenging aspect of the project is the verification of the flow of ideas in the Mediterranean, in order to show a less simplistic image of the history and of the civilizations that here faced. It is expected to have a relevant scientific and social impact, modifying scholars' attitude on the investigated topics and laying the foundations for a new strategy of conservation and management of the Mediterranean cultural heritage, thought as a whole, stimulating the rising of new study interests and fruition circuits.
Over the centuries, Sicily has known an unequalled variety of building experiences. Strategically located, the largest Mediterranean island has served as a centre for the dissemination of innovative solutions, as well as a collector of ideas from multiple sources. This intellectual interchange is clearly evident in the long history of stereotomy or stone construction. A rich tradition of advanced stone cutting (domes, cross vaults and complex stair solutions), evolved through experimentation and importation. Initially solutions from the Byzantine world and North Africa were influential. A wider experimentation occurred during the Renaissance. In this era new technologies often related to seismic concerns and involving the use of lighter structures stimulated innovation. The multiple earthquakes that struck the island initiated a fascinating and, in some ways, effective series of experiments in the field of anti-seismic construction technology. This project aims to investigate building criteria applied between the Middle Ages and the Modern era in the Mediterranean basin, with a particular attention to Sicily and other big islands, southern Italy, eastern Spain, North Africa and near East. Measurements, surveys, and the material knowledge of the building techniques will be intertwined with the tools of the historical investigation. Research will study geometric, constructive and formal models and chart their origins and routes of development. A most challenging aspect of the project is the verification of the flow of ideas in the Mediterranean, in order to show a less simplistic image of the history and of the civilizations that here faced. It is expected to have a relevant scientific and social impact, modifying scholars' attitude on the investigated topics and laying the foundations for a new strategy of conservation and management of the Mediterranean cultural heritage, thought as a whole, stimulating the rising of new study interests and fruition circuits.
Project COSMOS: Computational Shaping and Modeling of Musical Structures
Researcher (PI) Elaine Chew
Summary Music performance is considered by many to be one of the most breath taking feats of human intelligence. That music performance is a creative act is no longer a disputed fact, but the very nature of this creative work remains illusive. Taking the view that the creative work of performance is the making and shaping of music structures, and that this creative thinking is a form of problem solving, COSMOS proposes an integrated programme of research to transform our understanding of the human experience of performed music, which is almost all music that we hear, and of the creativity of music performance, which addresses how music is made. The research themes are as follows: i) to find new ways to represent, explore, and talk about performance; ii) to harness volunteer thinking (citizen science) for music performance research by focussing on structures experienced and problem solving; iii) to create sandbox environments to experiment with making performed structures; iv) to create theoretical frameworks to discover the reasoning behind the structures perceived and made; and, v) to foster community engagement by training experts to provide feedback on structure solutions so as to increase public understanding of the creative work in music performance. Analysis of the perceived and designed structures will be based on a novel duality paradigm that turns conventional computational music structure analysis on its head to reverse engineer why a perceiver or a performer chooses a particular structure. Embedded in the approach is the use of computational thinking to optimise representations and theories to ensure accuracy, robustness, efficiency, and scalability. The PI is an established performer and a leading authority in music representation, music information research, and music perception and cognition. The project will have far reaching impact, reconfiguring expert and public views of music performance and time-varying music-like sequences such as cardiac arrhythmia.
Music performance is considered by many to be one of the most breath taking feats of human intelligence. That music performance is a creative act is no longer a disputed fact, but the very nature of this creative work remains illusive. Taking the view that the creative work of performance is the making and shaping of music structures, and that this creative thinking is a form of problem solving, COSMOS proposes an integrated programme of research to transform our understanding of the human experience of performed music, which is almost all music that we hear, and of the creativity of music performance, which addresses how music is made. The research themes are as follows: i) to find new ways to represent, explore, and talk about performance; ii) to harness volunteer thinking (citizen science) for music performance research by focussing on structures experienced and problem solving; iii) to create sandbox environments to experiment with making performed structures; iv) to create theoretical frameworks to discover the reasoning behind the structures perceived and made; and, v) to foster community engagement by training experts to provide feedback on structure solutions so as to increase public understanding of the creative work in music performance. Analysis of the perceived and designed structures will be based on a novel duality paradigm that turns conventional computational music structure analysis on its head to reverse engineer why a perceiver or a performer chooses a particular structure. Embedded in the approach is the use of computational thinking to optimise representations and theories to ensure accuracy, robustness, efficiency, and scalability. The PI is an established performer and a leading authority in music representation, music information research, and music perception and cognition. The project will have far reaching impact, reconfiguring expert and public views of music performance and time-varying music-like sequences such as cardiac arrhythmia.
Project acronym CRAACE
Project Continuity and Rupture in Central European Art and Architecture, 1918-1939
Researcher (PI) Matthew RAMPLEY
Host Institution (HI) Masarykova univerzita
Summary When new political elites and social structures emerge out of a historical rupture, how are art and architecture affected? In 1918 the political map of central Europe was redrawn as a result of the collapse of Austria-Hungary, marking a new era for the region. Through comparative analysis of the visual arts in 3 states built on the ruins of the Habsburg Empire (Austria, Hungary and [former] Czechoslovakia), this project examines how such political discontinuity affected art and architecture between 1918 and 1939. The project is organised into 4 themes, each resulting in a monograph: 1. Vernacular modernisms, nostalgia and the avant-garde 2. Presenting the state: world fairs and exhibitionary cultures 3. Piety, reaction and renewal 4. Contested histories: monuments, memory and representations of the historical past It is the first systematic and comprehensive trans-national study of this type, based on the claim that the successor states to Austria-Hungary belonged to a common cultural space informed by the shared memory of the long years of Habsburg society and culture. The project focuses on the contradictory ways that visual arts of artists and architects in central Europe adapted to and tried to shape new socio-political circumstances in the light of the past. The project thus examines the long shadow of the Habsburg Empire over the art and culture of the twentieth century. The project also considers the impact of the political and ideological imperatives of the three successor states on the visual arts; how did governments treat the past? Did they encourage a sense of historical caesura or look to the past for legitimation? How did artists and architects respond to such new impulses? In answering these questions the project analyses the conflicts between avant-gardes and more conservative artistic movements; the role of the visual arts in interwar memory politics; the place of art in the nexus of religion, national and state identity.
When new political elites and social structures emerge out of a historical rupture, how are art and architecture affected? In 1918 the political map of central Europe was redrawn as a result of the collapse of Austria-Hungary, marking a new era for the region. Through comparative analysis of the visual arts in 3 states built on the ruins of the Habsburg Empire (Austria, Hungary and [former] Czechoslovakia), this project examines how such political discontinuity affected art and architecture between 1918 and 1939. The project is organised into 4 themes, each resulting in a monograph: 1. Vernacular modernisms, nostalgia and the avant-garde 2. Presenting the state: world fairs and exhibitionary cultures 3. Piety, reaction and renewal 4. Contested histories: monuments, memory and representations of the historical past It is the first systematic and comprehensive trans-national study of this type, based on the claim that the successor states to Austria-Hungary belonged to a common cultural space informed by the shared memory of the long years of Habsburg society and culture. The project focuses on the contradictory ways that visual arts of artists and architects in central Europe adapted to and tried to shape new socio-political circumstances in the light of the past. The project thus examines the long shadow of the Habsburg Empire over the art and culture of the twentieth century. The project also considers the impact of the political and ideological imperatives of the three successor states on the visual arts; how did governments treat the past? Did they encourage a sense of historical caesura or look to the past for legitimation? How did artists and architects respond to such new impulses? In answering these questions the project analyses the conflicts between avant-gardes and more conservative artistic movements; the role of the visual arts in interwar memory politics; the place of art in the nexus of religion, national and state identity.
Project acronym CREWS
Project Contexts of and Relations between Early Writing Systems
Researcher (PI) Philippa Mary Steele
Summary Contexts of and Relations between Early Writing Systems This project takes an innovative and interdisciplinary approach to the history of writing, redressing lingering problems that have hampered previous research and developing new methodologies for studying scripts and their social context. The staff on the project will work on specific case studies relating to inscriptions of the ancient Aegean, Eastern Mediterranean and Levant (c.2000-600 BC), developing a new and much deeper understanding of writing, literacy and social and cultural interrelations in the area than has ever been possible via the often out-dated traditional methods usually applied to these data. The focus will be on enriching our understanding of both linguistic and social aspects of the borrowing and propagation of writing. This planned research has the potential to change the way we think about writing systems, their societal context and the ways in which ideas were exchanged in early civilisations. Published and publicised through multiple outputs and media, the results will be of importance not only to the specific chronological period and geographical area under close consideration but also to the diachronic study of relationships between population groups and the significance of such relationships for the wider field of cultural history.
Contexts of and Relations between Early Writing Systems This project takes an innovative and interdisciplinary approach to the history of writing, redressing lingering problems that have hampered previous research and developing new methodologies for studying scripts and their social context. The staff on the project will work on specific case studies relating to inscriptions of the ancient Aegean, Eastern Mediterranean and Levant (c.2000-600 BC), developing a new and much deeper understanding of writing, literacy and social and cultural interrelations in the area than has ever been possible via the often out-dated traditional methods usually applied to these data. The focus will be on enriching our understanding of both linguistic and social aspects of the borrowing and propagation of writing. This planned research has the potential to change the way we think about writing systems, their societal context and the ways in which ideas were exchanged in early civilisations. Published and publicised through multiple outputs and media, the results will be of importance not only to the specific chronological period and geographical area under close consideration but also to the diachronic study of relationships between population groups and the significance of such relationships for the wider field of cultural history.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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text:
Taliban Terrorists Targeting Stadiums
Funny story written by Abel Rodriguez
A photo of one of the Taliban camels that was parked in the parking lot of a Colorado Springs Whataburger Restaurant.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Executive Assistant Senior Director of Homefield Security Shirley Baskethandle, who is a male, but who just happens to have a girl's first name, has issued a type 7 terrorist warning to take effect at 12:42 am, Monday, Sept. 28, 2009, which coincidentally just happens to be National Breast Appreciation Day.
Shirley Baskethandle, 43, said that Tucker Takazuki Jr., an undercover half Native American Indian, half Japanese HS agent informed him that he had gotten some rather informative information from a highly informed counter-information informant.
Baskethandle, who has a major in Indonesian Informational Info from Indiana University, confessed that he is taking this information with a completely filled salt shaker.
He added that they have checked the biographical info of the highly reputable informant Infozali Moostafooki, 30; aka Ahmad Cha Cha Cha, 31; aka Sa-eed Humparumpa, 28; aka Ricky Sha Na Na, 29, (no relation to Nancy Sha Na Na, 24, the famous Paramus, New Jersey pole dancer originally from Warsaw).
Shirl Baskethandle, as his little 8-year-old daughter Joaquin calls him, holds the indoor/outdoor watermelon seed spitting record of Vermont.
Baskethandle emailed Vice-President Joe Biden and informed him that Mr. Moostafooki, no relation to NFL great defensive tackle Jorge Moostafooki, has concrete-proof evidence that a Taliban cell has been operating on the campus of the Air Force Academy located in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Moostafooki has cell phone photos which clearly show the Taliban operatives with Pikes Peak in the background. Other photos show three Taliban members having what appears to be a wienie roast at the famed Garden of the Gods.
Colorado Springs police reported to Vice-President Joe Biden that a tourist visiting Colorado Springs from Cancun, Mexico had found a Manila envelope that had blueprint photographs of three football stadiums.
The three stadiums included King Elvis Presley Stadium in Memphis home of The Memphis State Johnny Rebs, The Lake Michigan Dome, home of The Kenosha Tech Ice Pirates, and The President Billy Clinton Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas, where the Arkansas A&M Alligators play their home games.
The CSPD said that the three blueprints each had little yellow Post-It Notes attached to them showing information like the price of hot dogs, cotton candy, and Skittles at each of the three stadiums.
Other Post-It's included the private cell phones numbers of well-known individuals such as former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, Los Angeles Dodgers super star Manny Ramirez, Two and A Half Men star Charlie Sheen, and recent America's Got Talent winner Kevin Skinner.
Moostafooki, as he sometimes likes to refer to himself, said that he interviewed a local Colorado Springs resident named Edna November who owns and manages a local Whataburger Restaurant.
Mrs. November told him that a few weeks ago she had four very suspicious looking gentlemen come into her eating establishment.
Edna, who is one of the biggest John Lennon fans in the entire state, was asked what made them suspicious looking.
She replied that for openers the four drove up on two camels. That right there, Edna observed was quite an attention-getter in itself.
When she was asked one hump or two, she thought for a moment and then replied that the shorter camel was a standard one humper and the taller camel was a standard two humper.
She was asked what other qualities or features grabbed her attention. She said that all four were dressed in what she can best describe as Sahara desert-type outfits.
Edna who is also an avid San Antonio Spurs fan was asked if by that she meant brownish in color and she answered no that she meant that they had that vile, putrid, obnoxious sand crab smell to them.
She paused for a moment taking a bite out of her Whataburger Jr., and then informed Mr.Moostafooki that other than the extremely prevalent camel smell three of the individuals also smelled a little bit like rotten sand.
She said that when they left, one of her employees observed that they had left about half a pound of sand underneath their table.
Mrs. November said that one of her employees Allison Nascaroni said that she heard one of the men singing an old Tommy Sands tune.
Alliso, as her husband Sean calls her, added that one of the men, the tallest one who had a tattoo on his forehead that read, "Iraq Rocks" asked her if she knew of any football stadiums nearby that had palm trees in the front big enough for one to hide say a football, or perhaps a small DVD player.
She told him that the only local stadium that she knew of was Cheyenne Mountain Jr. College's Tons of Snow Stadium which has pine trees and Aspen trees but no palm trees.
A, as her mom calls her said that the man became so happy that a drop of slobber fell out of his mouth and onto his Justaburger, a smaller version of the Whataburger Jr., which is a smaller version of the regular Whataburger.
Edna said that as soon as the men left she immediately called the Colorado Springs Police Department. She says that when they arrived they immediately asked her if she had jotted down their license plate numbers.
Edna looked at them with a total look of puzzlement and remarked, "License plate numbers? Ah...they were riding camels duh."
They then asked what color? And she replied that one was sandy colored and the other one wasn't. One of the officers asked her if there was any other bit of information that she could pass on to them.
Edna thought for a few seconds and said that she did have one more piece of information. One of the officers asked "What is it?" And Edna replied that it's knowledge that is communicated or received which concerns a particular fact or circumstance.
"Ah...I meant what is the information?" She replied that she just happened to notice on the surveillance camera that they have installed directly overlooking the urinal in the bathroom that the smaller of the four was wearing a T-Shirt that read, "Property of The Taliban, if found please mail to Box 9, Kabul, Afghanistan."
In other news. Ryan Seacrest reported on his Los Angeles radio show that fired American Idol judge Paula Abdul has just received her first unemployment check. Ryan asked her how much it was for and Paula told him that it was none of his business. Ryan said fine and that he would just call up Larry King and ask him.
Revision to Monoploy, Terroropoly sees huge sales. 19 September 2009
Foil Terrorists At Gas Mark 7 For Best Results 19 September 2009
Jihadi Comes Back From Death; Outlines Disappointment. 16 September 2009
Nevada Cultural Anthropologist Slams Breast Appreciation Day As Cultural Terrorism 10 September 2009
CIA Discover New Al Qaeda Plot 10 September 2009
UK Decision To Release Libyan Terrorist A 'Mistake' 02 September 2009
Brooklyn Bridge Saved From Terrorists! 01 September 2009
Death of 100W lightbulb 'due to terror' says Obama 31 August 2009


text:
Why the Republican-hijacked "Tea Party" movement has become a pathetic joke!
Author Topic: Why the Republican-hijacked "Tea Party" movement has become a pathetic joke! (Read 112938 times)
PeaceAndFreedom
Re: Why the Republican-hijacked "Tea Party" movement has become a pathetic joke!
« Reply #120 on: June 11, 2011, 03:25:45 pm »
Quote from: Geolibertarian on June 11, 2011, 10:21:05 am
Translation: if you disagree with certain of Ron Paul's Austrian School views on economics, then even if you agree with him on ending wars of aggression and dismantling the police state, you still hate "freedom" and are hence not welcome in his movement (unless, of course, you agree to keep your mouth shut whenever you hear someone advocate instituting a new gold standard or making our tax system even more friendly to rent-seeking land speculators than it already is).
My thanks to Anthony Gregory for proving my point about how the Austrian School-dominated Tea Party movement of 2007/2008 needlessly narrowed its own base, and thereby made itself unnecessarily vulnerable to being hijacked by Republican Party operatives who, of course, have made a career out of parroting the very same empty platitudes about "economic liberty" (an obvious illustration of this being the euphemism-laced "Contract from America" which begins this thread.)
I'm sure more such proof is forthcoming.
Their needless narrowing of the base is the correct observation, but the economic issues being the cause is the wrong analysis. The problem is the TP was NEVER in Austrian camp to begin with, and are only just now stepping their toe into antiwar waters as it stands. MOST of Ron Paul's emphasis is on an Austrian approach to economic issues, yet the TP has not been firmly associated with him. The emphasis of the group was on tax and spending restraint, without any firm (or even vague) intellectual grasp of the underlying principles of liberty as applied to the market. This lack of a base led to the incoherent agenda, that made the TP susceptible to being raided. Tax-and-spend austerity is standard "fiscal conservative" rhetoric, and absent a true alternate framework, was easy for Republicans to exploit.
The warfare leads to the welfare state, and vice versa; being opposed to half a loaf does not eliminate the bread. Unlike the 'brainy' or consistent-to-a-fault libertarians, the TP was more 'heart' or action oriented, and is the inconsistent side of the liberty movement. it senses something is wrong, but does not apply a systematic embrace of liberty to fight it. That's why Gregory's critique is correct. What the Libertarian sites, from LRC to AWC, have actually been guilty of in needlessly narrowing the base, is refusing to openly embrace 9-11 truth, tax honesty, birthers, or any other subject (besides anti-war, or end the Fed) that the mainstream derides. These issues would have given the TP a backbone of unique issues, making them less vulnerable to being compromised. If the real TP can rebooted, it has to hitch its wagon to the array of issues of the liberty movement, not those of the GOP leadership.
"I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered!... I am not a number, I am a free man!"
One movement long long ago, was in my oppinion 99% on the level.
Vietnam Vets against the war.(non political, non Gov)
Sure there are allways those sukling opportunist leaching, Lil Johny Kerry being one who was with us, we didn't along well, I had met some of his former crew, I knew his game.
That asside, any movement of a political nature have been and allways will be infiltrated, when the base of a movement in overshadowed by these faces-actors-pols-the raw level of its origins can be slanted. SOP
abyssus abyssum invocat
I have some assoication with 9-12er and Tea Party people and if this comes up I am going to use your responses, thank you.
condemnant quod non intellegunt
Re: Why the "Tea Party" movement has become a sick, pathetic joke!
« Reply #123 on: June 13, 2011, 10:38:45 am »
Quote from: jofortruth on May 11, 2010, 12:39:29 pm
This sounds like the influence of Newt Gingrich. Remember, he created his "Contract with America" in 1995 (I think was the year)! We know he has influence with the Tea Party TAKEOVER group, and he promoted Sarah Palin to take it over also.
In hindsight Gingrich really meant a Contract ON America instead of a Contract with America! (He must have mis-spoke)
Quote from: PeaceAndFreedom on June 11, 2011, 03:25:45 pm
Correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem to be suggesting that the mistake the original, non-partisan Tea Party made was in not narrowing its base enough to only that small percentage of the population who accept as divine gospel the anarcho-capitalist dogma of the privatize-everything Austrian School.
If that is indeed the case, then all I can say is: good luck effecting meaningful change with that backwards approach, because you're going to need it.
The growing success of Austrian candidate Paul shows that the honest pro-constitution libertarian approach is not the problem. The problem was in the TP being manipulated into casting off the patriot movement issues that WERE the attraction point for the movement. Once woken up, it's easy (or much easier) to get people to re-orient towards a more radical vision of the role of government. Most people are otherwise prone to accept divine gospel the corporate-capitalist dogma of the mega-welfare state, including the backwards notions that there will always be infinite money around to pay for infinite subsidies. So long as the government tax and Fed policy is robbing Peter to pay Paul, or Mary Inc. or inflating the currency to do so, there absolutely will be no change.
Quote from: PeaceAndFreedom on June 14, 2011, 10:04:09 am
So the Austrian School's brilliantly-conceived public relations message to the American people is: even if you want to abolish wage taxes, abolish sales taxes, abolish taxes on capital goods, abolish taxes on houses, buildings and other improvements, abolish prohibitively high licensing barriers, abolish ObamaCare, abolish corporate welfare, abolish corporate personhood, abolish compulsory school attendance laws, abolish gun control laws, abolish the Deparment of Homeland "Security," abolish the DEA, abolish the BATFE, abolish the CIA, abolish FEMA, and abolish the Department of "Education," you're STILL not welcome in the non-Republicanized Tea Party movement if you're either (a) a Greenbacker instead of a Goldbug, or (b) a Georgist who, as such, thinks America's Founders had the right idea when, in the Articles of Confederation, they called for deriving federal revenue from a tax levied upon "the value of all land within each State."
If you honestly think that that sort of ridiculously exclusionary approach to movement building is a recipe for "success," then you're in for a very rude awakening.
But don't take my word for it. By all means, find out the hard way.
MartinSilenus1987
Quote from: donnay on June 11, 2011, 09:48:50 am
If you want to know if someone is serious about freedom, ask him about the last president, U.S. war, or major federal program that he admires. If he names anything from the last sixty years, he is obviously not serious about the short-term threat and long-term struggle for liberty.
Rebelitarian
The Globalists want to wreck it all.
If only the TEA-Partiers would get in with the Constitution Party.
www.constitutionparty.com
www.believeinamerica.com
Ron Paul is still kicking ass in the straw polls with some guy named Huntsman coming in 2nd over the Globalist puppets.
Huntsman surprises in big GOP straw poll
By: CNN Political Reporter Peter Hamby
New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) - Jon Huntsman was a no-show at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, but the former Utah governor raised eyebrows with a surprising second place in the conference's 2012 presidential straw poll Saturday.
Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who delivered a fiery and well-attended speech here in Friday, continued his record of strong straw poll performances and won the vote outright with 612 votes. Huntsman came next with 382 votes.
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, coming off an impressive debate performance on Monday in New Hampshire, finished in third place with 191 votes.
They were followed by pizza magnate Herman Cain (104 votes), former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (74 votes), former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (69 votes) and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (41 votes).
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum finished in eighth place with 30 votes. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who did not speak at the conference, finished in a dismal ninth place with 18 votes.
Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson came in last with just 10 votes.
It was Huntsman's surprising runner-up finish, though, that grabbed the most attention on Saturday when the results of the two-day vote were announced.
When he was booked as one of the speakers at the semi-annual event, there were questions about how Huntsman - who has broken with GOP orthodoxy on issues like climate change and same-sex civil unions - would be received among the conservative activists who typically attend such gatherings.
Huntsman, though, came down with a last minute cold this week and decided to skip the event. He dispatched his wife, Mary Kaye, to greet conference-goers in his stead.
And his strong finish in the straw poll might have gotten a boost from some behind-the-scenes work by his political team. Several of his political advisers, including John Weaver, Chris Allen, John Yob and Jake Suski, made the trip to New Orleans and were seen huddling with delegates at the riverfront hotel where the conference was held.
Miller attributed the win to the former ambassador to China's economic message. He did not comment when asked if Huntsman advisers paid for their supporters to get to the ballot box.
"His willingness to take the debt crisis seriously and his foreign policy message really resonated with the younger conservatives who attended," Miller said.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/18/huntsman-surprises-in-big-gop-straw-poll/
heavyhebrew
Laughter is the best medicine.
At this point, I just want an honest person to step up and rationally explain what needs to be done and I know it will never come from Washington D.C.
I remember when the Campaign for Liberty began. I gave money for the first time for a political cause and was proud of it. Look what grew from its hijacking; nothing but an abomination controlled by financial elites mouthing words of fake patriotism, Ron Paul sidelined by slander from the fake left and ignored by the warmongers on the fake right and a chance for a new American awakening snuffed out by ignorant, emotional imbeciles.
We are beset on all sides by what appears a fundamental corruption at all levels of our polity. We have a soul sucking apathy in our citizenry. Always around us it seems people more interested in name calling and point scoring but never real solutions. And we fear taking the steps necessary to have a real correction for we fear by our actions causing what little we have left will be swept into a maelstrom of destruction.
We, you and I, need to be the men and women this time demands we be. We need to take action, we need to demand to be heard, we need to unite.
We will not be slaves for corporate greed. We will not submit to the wishes of madmen lost in the insanity of power and greed.
Our children's future demands it!
We work jobs we hate to pay for stuff we don't need to impress people we don't like. Am I the crazy one here?
Quote from: heavyhebrew on June 24, 2011, 12:33:41 am
BUMPED.
Agree entirely. But facing corruption needs resolve, self-discipline and intellectual coherency to prevail against the tide. To reiterate, verbatim, what was stated earlier about the TP (before things got misdirected), the emphasis of the group was on tax and spending restraint, without any firm (or even vague) intellectual grasp of the underlying principles of liberty as applied to the market. This lack of a base led to the incoherent agenda, that made the TP susceptible to being raided. Tax-and-spend austerity is standard "fiscal conservative" rhetoric, and absent a true alternate framework, was easy for Republicans to exploit.
Quote from: Rebelitarian on June 20, 2011, 06:50:51 pm
so who exactly are the globalist puppets?
So why is everyone so afraid to name names?


text:
rm -rf sprited ./.spriter.json &
node add.js

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Compute a linear model of the combined controller-plant system without the effects of the feedback signal. Use a Bode plot of the resulting linear model to see the open-loop response.
The Water-Tank System block represents the plant in this control system and contains all of the system nonlinearities.
Right-click the PID Controller block input signal (the output of the Sum block). Select Linear Analysis Points > Input Perturbation.
Right-click the Water-Tank System output signal, and select Linear Analysis Points > Open-loop Output.
Annotations appear in the model indicating which signals are designated as linearization I/O points.
In the Simulink Editor, select Analysis > Control Design > Linear Analysis.
By default, the I/O points you specified in the model are the selected Analysis I/Os for linearization, as displayed in the Analysis I/Os menu.
Linearize the model with the specified I/Os, and generate a Bode plot of the linearized model.
Click Bode. The Bode plot of the linearized plant appears.
Tip Instead of a Bode plot, generate other response types by clicking the corresponding button in the plot gallery.
View the minimum stability margins for the model.
Right-click the plot and select Characteristics > Minimum Stability Margins.
The Bode plot displays the phase margin marker. Click the marker to show a data tip that contains the phase margin value.


She could hear every word loud and clear. It seemed so easy! Yet, she was also able to see that everyone in the room had severe problems fulfilling the task they had been given. She instantly felt better knowing that neither money nor reputation made those guys "worthy" concerning these skills. Concentration meant everything.
Yeah. It would have been so much easier if you actually COULD see the little parts of everything. She stared at the glass of water. She could have won a staring contest like this for sure! Evil stare of anger, WHY DOESN'T IT WORK?!?
Suddenly, one little drop of water jumped into the air and quickly fell back again. She smiled.
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