Per-antenna rate and power control for MIMO layered architectures in the low- and high-power regimes

In a MIMO layered architecture, several codewordsare transmitted from a multiplicity of antennas. Although thespectral efficiency is maximized if the rates of these codewordsare separately controlled, the feedback rate within the linkadaptation loop is reduced if they are constrained to be identical.This poses a direct tradeoff between performance andfeedback overhead. This paper provides analytical expressionsthat quantify the difference in spectral efficiency between bothapproaches for arbitrary numbers of antennas. Specifically, thecharacterization takes place in the realm of the low- and highpowerregimes via expansions that are shown to have a widerange of validity.In addition, the possibility of adjusting the transmit powerof each codeword individually is considered as an alternative tothe separate control of their rates. Power allocation, however,turns out to be inferior to rate control within the context of thisproblem.

Individualisation du croire et recomposition de la religion

Dans cet article, j'aimerais poursuivre l'interprétation de données sur le croire, plus précisément sur celles relatives aux croyances. Ces données ont été collectées tout au long de la recherche dont nous venons de publier les résultats dans un ouvrage intitulé précisément «Croire en Suisse(s)». En prenant quelque distance par rapport à notre première interprétation des réponses suisses relatives au domaine des croyances, des questions épis-témologiques nouvelles sont apparues, inspirées à la fois par une deuxième lecture moins à chaud et par les remarques de quelques collègues. Je vais donc tenter de formuler ces questions puis de les appliquer aux données mentionnées.

Spectral efficiency in reference-signal-assisted low-power wireless communication

Expressions relating spectral efficiency, power and Doppler spectrum are derived for low-power Rayleighfaded wireless channels with proper complex signaling. Noside information on the state of the channel is assumed at the receiver. Rather, periodic reference signals are postulated inaccordance with the functioning of most wireless systems. In contrast with most previous studies, which relied on block-fading channel models, a continuous-fading model is adopted. This embeds the Doppler spectrum directly in thederived expressions thereby imbuing them with practical significance.

Discourse, knowledge, power and politics: towards critical epistemic discourse analysis

Although both are fundamental terms in the humanities and social sciences, discourse and knowledge have seldom been explicitly related, and even less so in critical discourse studies. After a brief summary of what we know about these relationships in linguistics, psychology, epistemology and the social sciences, with special emphasis on the role of knowledge in the formation of mental models as a basis for discourse, I examine in more detail how a critical study of discourse and knowledge may be articulated in critical discourse studies. Thus, several areas of critical epistemic discourse analysis are identified, and then applied in a study of Tony Blair’s Iraq speech on March 18, 2003, in which he sought to legitimatize his decision to go to war in Iraq with George Bush. The analysis shows the various modes of how knowledge is managed and manipulated of all levels of discourse of this speech.

A Dethroned King? The Limits of State Infrastructural Power in France

Since the 1980s in Western Europe, centralized states' control over subnational territories has been deeply affected by processes of Europeanization and regionalization. These changes have raised the issue of state territorial restructuring in a particular fashion: what capacity have formerly centralized states retained to steer and control subnational territories? The article draws on Mann's concept of infrastructural power, which refers to the state's capacity to exercise control and implement political decisions over the national territory. The article applies the two main operationalizations of the concept, namely the capability of the state to exercise control and the weight of the state in the subnational territories. Empirically, the article focuses on the French state in two policy sectors (education and housing). Although France is a most likely case, this article challenges this expectation, and shows the limits of the French state's infrastructural power over the subnational territories since the late 1980s.

Spirituality and religion in outpatients with schizophrenia: A multi-site comparative study of Switzerland, Canada, and the United States

Objective: To assess the importance of spirituality and religious coping among outpatients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder living in three countries. Method: A total of 276 outpatients (92 from Geneva, Switzerland, 121 from Trois-Rivières, Canada, and 63 from Durham, North Carolina), aged 18-65, were administered a semi-structured interview on the role of spirituality and religiousness in their lives and to cope with their illness. Results: Religion is important for outpatients in each of the three country sites, and religious involvement is higher than in the general population. Religion was helpful (i.e., provided a positive sense of self and positive coping with the illness) among 87% of the participants and harmful (a source of despair and suffering) among 13%. Helpful religion was associated with better social, clinical and psychological status. The opposite was observed for the harmful aspects of religion. In addition, religion sometimes conflicted with psychiatric treatment. Conclusions: These results indicate that outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder often use spirituality and religion to cope with their illness, basically positively, yet sometimes negatively. These results underscore the importance of clinicians taking into account the spiritual and religious lives of patients with schizophrenia.

The Economic Effects of Christian Moralities

This article examines the different influences that Catholicism and Protestantism exert on economically relevant values. It argues that Catholic theology and practice facilitate personal transactions while Protestantism favors values and types of moral and legal enforcement better adapted for impersonal trade. Protestantism may thus be more conducive to economic growth through anonymous exchange while Catholicism may provide better support for personal contracting. Several components of this hypothesis are confirmed using statistical models with data from the 1998 ISSP international survey on religion. These show that Protestants are more trusting of anonymous counter parties, develop more reliable institutions for legal enforcement and are more willing to spend resources on monitoring and punishing other members of the community. Catholicism is more protective of the family and small-group relationships, and provides more tolerant and less motivating beliefs. Relatively smaller and less consistent differences appear in terms of worldly personal success and incentives.