The main focus of the paper is on the asymptotic behaviour of linear discrete-time positive systems. Emphasis is on highlighting the relationship between asymptotic stability and the structure of the system, and to expose the relationship between null-controllability and asymptotic stability. Results are presented for both time-invariant and time-variant systems.

The stability of positive linear continuous-time and discrete-time systems is analyzed by the use of the decomposition of the state matrices into symmetrical and antisymmetrical parts. It is shown that: 1) The state Metzler matrix of positive continuous-time linear system is Hurwitz if and only if its symmetrical part is Hurwitz; 2) The state matrix of positive linear discrete-time system is Schur if and only if its symmetrical part is Hurwitz. These results are extended to inverse matrices of the state matrices of the positive linear systems.

The global (absolute) stability of nonlinear systems with negative feedbacks and positive descriptor linear parts is addressed. Transfer matrices of positive descriptor linear systems are analyzed. The characteristics u = f(e) of the nonlinear parts satisfy the condition
k₁e  ≤ f(e) ≤ k₂e for some positive k₁, k₂. It is shown that the nonlinear feedback systems are globally asymptotically stable if the Nyquist plots of the positive descriptor linear parts are located in the right-hand side of the circles (–¹/k₁,  –¹/k₂).

The positive asymptotically stable continuous-time linear systems are approximated by corresponding asymptotically stable discrete-time linear systems. Two methods of the approximation are presented and the comparison of the methods is addressed. The considerations are illustrated by three numerical examples and an example of positive electrical circuit.

The present study aimed to test how common workaholism is and which groups are most targeted in the workplace among Jordanian employees. Additionally, the roles of positive and negative perfectionism in workaholism were investigated. The sample consisted of 686 employees. All of them completed the study instruments. The results showed that the mean of workaholism was around the mean of the cut -off. Additionally, multivariate tests showed that the results of post hoc differences for positive perfectionism were in favor of males, subordinates, those with a bachelor’s degree, those with less than 5 years of experience, and those aged less than 30 years. Furthermore, the differences for negative perfectionism were in favor of those with a bachelor’s degree and subordinates. For workaholism, the differences were in favor of subordinates, public sector employees, married persons, and those with a diploma degree. Finally, the results of hierarchical regression analysis found that positive and negative perfectionism and some demographic variables predicted 12.9% of the variability in workaholism, and the typical hierarchical regression model included positive and negative perfectionism without other demographic variables.

The term positive psychology has recently entered the field of Second Language Acquisition. The article explains the meaning of the term, presents the definitions of positive psychology, its objectives and history. The key part of the article demonstrates the importance of positive psychology in the second language acquisition presenting many connections between the two fields. The author recommends that positive education is introduced in every school and every foreign language classroom.

The Bulletin of the Polish Academy of Sciences: Technical Sciences (Bull.Pol. Ac.: Tech.) is published bimonthly by the Division IV Engineering Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences, since the beginning of the existence of the PAS in 1952. The journal is peer‐reviewed and is published both in printed and electronic form. It is established for the publication of original high quality papers from multidisciplinary Engineering sciences with the following topics preferred: Artificial and Computational Intelligence, Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology, Civil Engineering, Control, Informatics and Robotics, Electronics, Telecommunication and Optoelectronics, Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, Thermodynamics, Material Science and Nanotechnology, Power Systems and Power Electronics.

Journal Metrics: JCR Impact Factor 2018: 1.361, 5 Year Impact Factor: 1.323, SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) 2017: 0.319, Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) 2017: 1.005, CiteScore 2017: 1.27, The Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education 2017: 25 points.

Abbreviations/Acronym: Journal citation: Bull. Pol. Ac.: Tech., ISO: Bull. Pol. Acad. Sci.-Tech. Sci., JCR Abbrev: B POL ACAD SCI-TECH Acronym in the Editorial System: BPASTS.

A new method for computation of positive realizations of given transfer matrices of fractional linear continuous-time linear systems is proposed. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of positive realizations of transfer matrices are given. A procedure for computation of the positive realizations is proposed and illustrated by examples.

It is shown that 2(n + 1) is the upper bound for the reachability index of the n-order positive 2D general models.

A new notion of a realization of transfer matrix of (P;Q; V)-cone-system for discrete-time linear systems is proposed. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of the realizations are established. A procedure is proposed for computation of a realization of a given proper transfer matrix T(z) of (P;Q; V)-cone-system. It is shown that there exists a realization of T(z) of (P;Q; V)-cone-system if and only if there exists a positive realization of T(z) = V T(z)Q!1, where V;Q and P are non-singular matrices generating the cones V;Q and P respectively.

The concept of strong stability is extended for positive and compartmental linear systems. It is shown that: 1) the asymptotically stable positive and compartmental systems are strongly stable if the eigenvalues of the system matrix are distinct, 2) electrical circuits consisting of resistances, capacitances (inductances) and source voltages are strongly stable.

New tests (criterions) for checking the reachability and the observability of positive linear-discrete-time systems are proposed. The tests do not need checking of rank conditions of the reachability and observability matrices of the systems. Simple sufficient conditions for the unreachability and unobservability of the systems are also established.

A new class of positive fractional 2D hybrid linear systems is introduced. The solution of the hybrid system is derived. The classical Cayley-Hamilton theorem is extended for fractional 2D hybrid systems. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the positivity are established.

A new concept (notion) of the practical stability of positive fractional discrete-time linear systems is introduced. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the practical stability of the positive fractional systems are established. It is shown that the positive fractional systems are practically unstable if corresponding standard positive fractional systems are asymptotically unstable.