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Autonomous
Kinds of Autonomous Terms modified by Autonomous Selected AbstractsCan We Help Addicts Become more Autonomous?BIOETHICS, Issue 5-6 2003Inside the Mind of An Addict ABSTRACT I examine the impact of addiction on autonomy in terms of the standard literature on addiction , referred to also as ,substance dependence.'1 Then in terms of the criteria for substance dependence, by developing a set of practical strategies to help people with addictions think more clearly, I test the idea whether addicts can be helped to become more autonomous. Given that unsuccessful attempts to quit constitute part of the criteria of substance dependence, I look at what goes wrong when people try to quit using a substance. The subjective experience of addiction is an important aid in understanding addiction and first person accounts and literary characterisations of addiction provide insight into the addict's mind and assist us in deciding whether addicts can be helped to become more autonomous. [source] Formation of virtual organizations in grids: a game-theoretic approachCONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 14 2010Thomas E. Carroll Abstract Applications require the composition of resources to execute in a grid computing environment. The grid service providers (GSPs), the owners of the computational resources, must form virtual organizations (VOs) to be able to provide the composite resource. We consider grids as self-organizing systems composed of autonomous, self-interested GSPs that will organize themselves into VOs with every GSP having the objective of maximizing its profit. Using game theory, we formulate the resource composition among GSPs as a coalition formation problem and propose a framework to model and solve it. Using this framework, we propose a resource management system that supports the VO formation among GSPs in a grid computing system. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Trust-based robust scheduling and runtime adaptation of scientific workflowCONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 16 2009Mingzhong Wang Abstract Robustness and reliability with respect to the successful completion of a schedule are crucial requirements for scheduling in scientific workflow management systems because service providers are becoming autonomous. We introduce a model to incorporate trust, which indicates the probability that a service agent will comply with its commitments to improve the predictability and stability of the schedule. To deal with exceptions during the execution of a schedule, we adapt and evolve the schedule at runtime by interleaving the processes of evaluating, scheduling, executing and monitoring in the life cycle of the workflow management. Experiments show that schedules maximizing participants' trust are more likely to survive and succeed in open and dynamic environments. The results also prove that the proposed approach of workflow evaluation can find the most robust execution flow efficiently, thus avoiding the need of scheduling every possible execution path in the workflow definition. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Feminism Spoken Here: Epistemologies for Interdisciplinary Development ResearchDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 3 2006Cecile Jackson Development studies is a field characterized by an unusual degree of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research, and therefore is constantly subject both to pressures for the reproduction of disciplines as autonomous and self-sufficient, and to an increasing steer from public funders of research for interdisciplinary work which is valued for its problem-solving character and more apparent relevance, in an era greatly exercised by accountability. At a moment when the need to renew disciplinary interchange has intensified it is therefore instructive to consider the social relations which facilitate interdisciplinarity. This article does this through an argument that feminist cross-disciplinary research shows how important shared values are to motivate and sustain these kinds of learning, and that an explicit focus on social justice as the core of development research can be the basis of such a renewal. If feminist interactions and solidarity provide the motivation, feminist epistemologies provide arguments for why socially engaged research is not ,biased', but stronger than research with narrower ideas of objectivity; why reflexivities and subjectivities are crucial to the conduct of research; and how these, and the convergence of concepts of individuals and persons favoured within different disciplines, might build the common ground required for greater disciplinary interchange. [source] SunB, a novel Sad1 and UNC-84 domain-containing protein required for development of Dictyostelium discoideumDEVELOPMENT GROWTH & DIFFERENTIATION, Issue 7 2010Nao Shimada A gene, sunB, encoding a novel class of Sad1 and UNC-84 (SUN) domain, was isolated from a cDNA screen for suppressors of a mutation in Dd-STATa , a Dictyostelium homologue of metazoan STAT (signal transducers and activators of transcription). The SunB protein localized in the area around the nucleus in growing cells, but in the multicellular stages it was predominantly found in prespore vacuoles (PSVs). A disruptant of sunB was multinucleated in the vegetative phase; during development it formed mounds with multiple tips and failed to culminate. The mutation was cell autonomous, and showed reduced expression of the prespore marker gene pspA and elevated expression of marker genes for prestalk AB cells. Interestingly, the level of SunB was abnormally high in the prestalk cells of Dd-STATa mutants, which are defective in culmination. We conclude that SunB is essential for accurate prestalk/prespore differentiation during Dictyostelium development and that its cell-type dependent localization is regulated by a Dd-STATa-mediated signaling pathway. [source] Pod1 is required in stromal cells for glomerulogenesisDEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, Issue 3 2003Shiying Cui Abstract Pod1 (capsulin/epicardin/Tcf21) is a basic-helix-loop-helix transcription factor that is highly expressed in the mesenchyme of developing organs that include the kidney, lung, gut, and heart. Null Pod1 mice are born but die shortly after birth due to a lack of alveoli in the lungs and cardiac defects. In addition, the kidneys are hypoplastic and demonstrate disrupted branching morphogenesis of the ureteric bud epithelium, a marked reduction in the number of nephrons, a delay in glomerulogenesis, and blood vessel abnormalities. To further dissect the cellular function of Pod1 during kidney development, chimeric mice were generated through aggregations of null Pod1 embryonic stem cells and murine embryos ubiquitously expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (GFP). Histologic, immunohistochemical, and in situ hybridization analysis of the resulting chimeric offspring demonstrated both cell autonomous and non,cell autonomous roles for Pod1 in the differentiation of specific renal cell lineages that include peritubular interstitial cells and pericytes. Most strikingly, the glomerulogenesis defect was rescued by the presence of wild-type stromal cells, suggesting a non,cell autonomous role for Pod1 in this cell population. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Arrested differentiation and epithelial cell degeneration in zebrafish lens mutantsDEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, Issue 4 2001Thomas S. Vihtelic Abstract In a chemical mutagenesis screen, we identified two zebrafish mutants that possessed small pupils. Genetic complementation revealed these two lines are due to mutations in different genes. The phenotypes of the two mutants were characterized using histologic, immunohistochemical, and tissue transplantation techniques. The arrested lens (arl) mutant exhibits a small eye and pupil phenotype at 48 hr postfertilization (hpf) and lacks any histologically identifiable lens structures by 5 days postfertilization (dpf). In contrast, the disrupted lens (dsl) mutants are phenotypically normal until 5 dpf, and then undergo lens disorganization and cell degeneration that is apparent by 7 dpf. Histology reveals the arl mutant terminates lens cell differentiation by 48 hpf, whereas the dsl lens exhibits a defective lens epithelial cell population at 5 dpf. Lens transplantation experiments demonstrate both mutations are autonomous to the lens tissue. Immunohistochemistry reveals the retinal cells may suffer subtle effects, possibly due to the lens abnormalities. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Death and survival of heterozygous Lurcher Purkinje cells In vitroDEVELOPMENTAL NEUROBIOLOGY, Issue 8 2009Hadi S. Zanjani Abstract The differentiation and survival of heterozygous Lurcher (+/Lc) Purkinje cells in vitro was examined as a model system for studying how chronic ionic stress affects neuronal differentiation and survival. The Lurcher mutation in the ,2 glutamate receptor (GluR,2) converts an orphan receptor into a membrane channel that constitutively passes an inward cation current. In the GluR,2+/Lc mutant, Purkinje cell dendritic differentiation is disrupted and the cells degenerate following the first week of postnatal development. To determine if the GluR,2+/Lc Purkinje cell phenotype is recapitulated in vitro, +/+, and +/Lc Purkinje cells from postnatal Day 0 pups were grown in either isolated cell or cerebellar slice cultures. GluR,2+/+ and GluR,2+/Lc Purkinje cells appeared to develop normally through the first 7 days in vitro (DIV), but by 11 DIV GluR,2+/Lc Purkinje cells exhibited a significantly higher cation leak current. By 14 DIV, GluR,2+/Lc Purkinje cell dendrites were stunted and the number of surviving GluR,2+/Lc Purkinje cells was reduced by 75% compared to controls. However, treatment of +/Lc cerebellar cultures with 1-naphthyl acetyl spermine increased +/Lc Purkinje cell survival to wild type levels. These results support the conclusion that the Lurcher mutation in GluR,2 induces cell autonomous defects in differentiation and survival. The establishment of a tissue culture system for studying cell injury and death mechanisms in a relatively simple system like GluR,2+/Lc Purkinje cells will provide a valuable model for studying how the induction of a chronic inward cation current in a single cell type affects neuronal differentiation and survival. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2009 [source] The governance and performance of universities: evidence from Europe and the USECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 61 2010Philippe Aghion Summary We test the hypothesis that universities are more productive when they are both more autonomous and face more competition. Using survey data, we construct indices of university autonomy and competition for both Europe and the United States. We show that there are strong positive correlations between these indices and multiple measures of university output. To obtain causal evidence, we investigate exogenous shocks to US universities' expenditures over three decades. These shocks arise through the political appointment process, which we use to generate instrumental variables. We find that an exogenous increase in a university's expenditure generates more output, measured by either patents or publications, if the university is more autonomous and faces more competition. Exploiting variation over time in the ,stakes' of competitions for US federal research grants, we also find that universities generate more output for a given expenditure when research competitions are high stakes. We draw lessons, arguing that European universities could benefit from a combination of greater autonomy and greater accountability. Greater accountability might come through increased reliance on competitive grants, enhanced competition for students and faculty (promoted by reforms that increase mobility), and yardstick competitions (which often take the form of assessment exercises). --- Philippe Aghion, Mathias Dewatripont, Caroline Hoxby, Andreu Mas-Colell and André Sapir [source] T-cell tolerance induced by repeated antigen stimulation: Selective loss of Foxp3, conventional CD4 T cells and induction of CD4 T-cell anergyEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 4 2009Lena Eroukhmanoff Abstract Repeated immunization of mice with bacterial superantigens induces extensive deletion and anergy of reactive CD4 T cells. Here we report that the in vitro proliferation anergy of CD4 T cells from TCR transgenic mice immunized three times with staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) (3× SEB) is partially due to an increased frequency of Foxp3+ CD4 T cells. Importantly, reduced number of conventional CD25, Foxp3, cells, rather than conversion of such cells to Foxp3+ cells, was the cause of that increase and was also seen in mice repeatedly immunized with OVA (3× OVA) and OVA,peptide (OVAp) (3× OVAp). Cell-transfer experiments revealed profound but transient anergy of CD4 T cells isolated from 3× OVAp and 3× SEB mice. However, the in vivo anergy was CD4 T-cell autonomous and independent of Foxp3+ Treg. Finally, proliferation of transferred CD4 T cells was inhibited in repeatedly immunized mice but inhibition was lost when transfer was delayed, despite the maintenance of elevated frequency of Foxp3+ cells. These data provide important implications for Foxp3+ cell-mediated tolerance in situations of repeated antigen exposure such as human persistent infections. [source] Expression of a non-DNA-binding Ikaros isoform exclusively in B cells leads to autoimmunity but not leukemogenesisEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 4 2007Heather Wojcik Abstract Ikaros is a transcriptional regulator whose function is essential for B cell development. It is expressed in the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) through the mature B cell stage. Using genetically engineered mice in which the endogenous Ikaros gene is disrupted, it has been shown that a lack of Ikaros leads to a block in B cell development and that its severe diminution results in a hyperresponsive B cell compartment. Ikaros expression within the HSC has led to speculation as to whether the role of Ikaros in B cell biology is largely accomplished prior to B cell specification. In addition, widespread expression of Ikaros in hematopoietic cells leads to the possibility that some or all of the observed defects are not B cell autonomous. In this report, we demonstrate that over-expression of a dominant interfering Ikaros isoform exclusively in B cells has profound effects on mature B cell function. We provide evidence that continued high-level expression of Ikaros is essential for homeostasis of peripheral lymphocytes and maintenance of B cell tolerance. We also show that deregulation of Ikaros activity does not rapidly result in B cell leukemogenesis as it does with 100% penetrance within the T cell lineage. [source] A role for synGAP in regulating neuronal apoptosisEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 3 2005Irene Knuesel Abstract The brain-specific Ras/Rap GTPase-activating protein synGAP is a major component of the postsynaptic density at glutamatergic synapses. It is a target for phosphorylation by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, which up-regulates its GTPase-activating activity. Thus, SynGAP may play an important role in coupling N -methyl- d -aspartate-type glutamate receptor activation to signaling pathways downstream of Ras or Rap. Homozygous deletion of synGAP is lethal within the first few days after birth. Therefore, to study the functions of synGAP, we used the cre/loxP recombination system to produce conditional mice mutants in which gradual loss of synGAP begins at ,,1 week, and usually becomes maximal by 3 weeks, after birth. The resulting phenotypes fall into two groups. In a small group, the level of synGAP protein is reduced to 20,25% of wild type, and they die at 2,3 weeks of age. In a larger group, the levels remain higher than ,,40% of wild type, and they survive and remain healthy. In all mutants, however, an abnormally high number of neurons in the hippocampus and cortex undergo apoptosis, as detected by caspase-3 activation. The effect is cell autonomous, occurring only in neuronal types in which the synGAP gene is eliminated. The level of caspase-3 activation in neurons correlates inversely with the level of synGAP protein measured at 2 and 8 weeks after birth, indicating that neuronal apoptosis is enhanced by reduction of synGAP. These data show that synGAP plays a role in regulation of the onset of apoptotic neuronal death. [source] Identity styles and causality orientations: in search of the motivational underpinnings of the identity exploration processEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 5 2005Bart Soenens Abstract This study examines relationships between constructs based on two perspectives on the development of self-governance, namely Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000) and Berzonsky's (1990) identity style model. Theoretically predictable relationships are found between the three causality orientations defined by SDT (autonomous, controlled, and impersonal) and the three identity styles proposed by Berzonsky (informational, normative, diffuse,avoidant) in a sample of Belgian late adolescents. An autonomous causality orientation is positively related to an informational identity style and negatively related to a diffuse,avoidant style. A controlled orientation is positively associated with a normative identity style, and an impersonal orientation is positively related to a diffuse,avoidant identity style. Participants' gender does not moderate these relationships. The findings suggest that the causality orientations late adolescents employ may play an important role in how actively and thoroughly they explore identity-relevant issues. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Doing one's duty: chronological age, felt autonomy, and subjective well-beingEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 2 2005Kennon M. Sheldon Existential, psychosocial, and organismic theories propose that human beings tend towards greater autonomy over the lifespan, and that greater autonomy is associated with greater happiness. We tested these two ideas in the under-studied domain of social duties by examining the associations between chronological age, felt autonomy while engaging in various social duties, and subjective well-being (SWB). Study 1 found that older Americans felt more autonomous while voting, tipping, and paying taxes, Study 2 showed that American parents felt more autonomous in their work and citizenship roles compared with their own children, and Study 3 found that older Singaporeans felt more autonomous while obeying authorities, helping distant relatives, and staying politically informed. In all three studies, felt autonomy was also associated with higher SWB. It appears that older persons better internalize their social duties, to their own and societies' benefit. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Kant, Quasi-Realism, and the Autonomy of Aesthetic JudgementEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY, Issue 2 2001Robert Hopkins Aesthetic judgements are autonomous, as many other judgements are not: for the latter, but not the former, it is sometimes justifiable to change one's mind simply because several others share a different opinion. Why is this? One answer is that claims about beauty are not assertions at all, but expressions of aesthetic response. However, to cover more than just some of the explananda, this expressivism needs combining with some analogue of cognitive command, i.e. the idea that disagreements over beuaty can occur, and when they do it is a priori that one side has infringed the norms governing aesthetic discourse. This combination can be achieved by reading Kant's aesthetic theory in expressivist terms. The resulting view is a form of quasi-realism about beauty. The position has its merits, but cannot ultimately explain the phenomena which motivate it. This conclusion generalises to quasi-realism about other matters. [source] Delegation of Regulatory Powers in a Mixed PolityEUROPEAN LAW JOURNAL, Issue 3 2002Giandomenico Majone It is a common place of academic and political discourse that the EC/EU, being neither a parliamentary democracy nor a separation-of-powers system, must be a sui generis polity. Tocqueville reminds us that the pool of original and historically tested constitutional models is fairly limited. But however limited, it contains more than the two systems of rule found among today's democratic nation states. During the three centuries preceding the rise of monarchical absolutism in Europe, the prevalent constitutional arrangement was ,mixed government',a system characterised by the presence in the legislature of the territorial rulers and of the ,estates' representing the main social and political interests in the polity. This paper argues that this model is applicable to the EC, as shown by the isomorphism of the central tenets of the mixed polity and the three basic Community principles: institutional balance, institutional autonomy and loyal cooperation among European institutions and Member States. The model is then applied to gain a better understanding of the delegation problem. As is well known, a crucial normative obstacle to the delegation of regulatory powers to independent European agencies is the principle of institutional balance. By way of contrast, separation-of-powers has not prevented the US Congress from delegating extensive rule-making powers to independent commissions and agencies. Comparison with the philosophy of mixed government explains this difference. The same philosophy suggests the direction of regulatory reform. The growing complexity of EC policy making should be matched by greater functional differentiation, and in particular by the explicit acknowledgement of an autonomous ,regulatory estate'. At a time when the Commission aspires to become the sole European executive, as in a parliamentary system, it is particularly important to stress the importance of separating the regulatory function from general executive power. The notion of a regulatory estate is meant to emphasise this need. [source] Independent Movement or Government Subcontractor?FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY & MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2003Strategic Responses of Voluntary Organizations to Institutional Processes The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that can explain differing responses of voluntary organizations to the pressure of homogenization that follows from interaction with public authorities. The paper is theoretically based on institutional organization theory and resource dependence theory, and empirically on research on voluntary organizations in the social sector. It is asserted that the following factors may explain voluntary organizations' ability to maintain autonomous in relation to public organizations: the characteristics of the organizational field, the focal organization's relations to the dominating organization in the field, organization characteristics and intra,organizational processes and strategies. [source] The architecture of ethnic logic: Exploring the Meaning of the Built Environment in the ,Mixed' City Of Lod , IsraelGEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 3-4 2002Haim Yacobi This article analyses the evolution of the built environment in Israel's ,mixed cities' in Israel; sites shaped by the logic of ethno,nationalism, and characterized by patterns of segregation between the Jewish dominant majority and the Arab subordinate minority. The paper investigates the changes and dynamics of the urban landscape from the British Mandate period to recent times, focusing on the interrelations between ideology and architecture in its wider sense, i.e. referring to the practices of urban design and planning. The production of urban landscapes in Israeli ,mixed cities', I will argue, is a result of the social construction of an ethnic logic, and thus cannot be seen as autonomous from the existing socio,political context. Rather, I would propose, the architecture of the ,mixed city' reflects on one hand, and shapes on the other the struggle over identity, memory and belonging, rooted in urban colonialism discourse. Empirically, this paper focuses on the city of Lod/Lydda where as in other previously Palestinian cities, a strategy of colonization had been implemented, forming the city,s central planning policy since the Mandate period. The paper analyzes in detail various aspects and sites of this process, and explores the role of planners and architects in the construction of a sense of place in tangible as well as discursive levels, which are often neglected in the body of knowledge that deals with urban,ethnic conflicts. [source] Banishing Bureaucracy or Hatching a Hybrid?GOVERNANCE, Issue 2 2000The CanadianFood Inspection Agency, the Politics of Reinventing Government The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is a means to overcoming long-standing bureaucratic politics while attaining some major policy ends.Contrary to some of the new public management bravado of transforming the public sector, the CFIA is not a bureaucratic revolution in reshaping the Canadian State. Changes in scientific staffing, funding, and inspection have been more incremental than fundamental. Moreover, the CFIA is something less than the special and separate operating agency models discussed in the alternative service delivery literature in terms of autonomy and market orientation, but something more autonomous and entrepreneurial than traditional government departments. These organizational and managerial reforms are modest extensions providing a means for achieving economies and enhanced effectiveness in carrying out the mandate of safety, consumer protection, and market access for Canadian food, animal, plant, and forestry products. [source] Autonomy and modernisation: the management of change in an English primary care trustHEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 3 2004Ruth McDonald BA MSc PhD Abstract Recent New Labour policy for the ,modernisation' of Government places a good deal of emphasis on decentralisation. This emphasis is particularly marked in relation to the organisation of primary care. However, like hospitals and other National Health Service institutions, primary care trusts (PCTs) are subject to a substantial raft of centrally established performance targets and indicators, including those which contribute to the public award of between zero and three performance ,stars'. This raises questions about the extent to which employees can exercise autonomy in the context of rigid top-down directives. This paper presents findings from a study using participant observation and interviews to examine the impact of a training course aimed ostensibly at increasing employee autonomy in an English PCT. The suggestion is that attempts to make employees more autonomous can be seen as a strategy for increasing central control based upon the internalisation by the employees of centrally promulgated values. The attraction of such strategies is that they may be potentially more effective and less costly than alternative strategies of direct control. However, the study suggests that the outcome of attempts by such methods as programmes to increase employee autonomy may be very different from those intended. [source] The dynamic network subserving the three phases of cognitive procedural learningHUMAN BRAIN MAPPING, Issue 12 2007Valérie Hubert Abstract Cognitive procedural learning is characterized by three phases (cognitive, associative, and autonomous), each involving distinct processes. We performed a behavioral study and a positron emission tomography (PET) activation study using the Tower of Toronto task. The aim of the behavioral study was to determine cognitive predictors for the length of each of the three learning phases, in order to preselect subjects for the PET study. The objective of the second study was to describe the cerebral substrates subtending these three phases. Contrasted with a reference (motor) task, the cognitive phase activated the prefrontal cortex, cerebellum, and parietal regions, all of which became less active as learning progressed. The associative phase was characterized by the activation of the occipital regions, right thalamus, and caudate nucleus. During the autonomous phase, new regions were involved, including the left thalamus and an anterior part of the cerebellum. These results, by employing a direct comparison between phases, provide the first evidence of the involvement and the time course of activation of different regions in each learning phase, in accordance with current models of cognitive procedural learning. The involvement of a frontoparietal network suggests the use of strategies in problem solving during the cognitive phase. The involvement of the occipital regions during the associative and autonomous phase suggests the intervention of mental imagery. Lastly, the activation of the cerebellum during the autonomous phase is consistent with the fact that performance in this phase is determined by psychomotor abilities. Hum Brain Mapp, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The Underside of Conflict Management , in Africa and ElsewhereIDS BULLETIN, Issue 1 2001Laura Nader Summaries This article traces the evolution of thought on dispute resolution in recent decades and takes a critical look at its latest incarnation, the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) revolution. It argues that ADR is premised on the harmony model of law that denies the unequal power of disputing parties and ignores issues of social justice. It calls for a real dialogue by serious scholars willing to examine the now plentiful evidence of the performance of ADR devices. The article also shows that dispute resolution is not autonomous from other social and economic components of social systems, and that as a consequence it is not possible to divorce law and power. Any ADR scheme, therefore, needs careful study of the social conditions in which it may operate. [source] Changing Patterns of Industrial Relations in TaiwanINDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 3 2003Shyh-Jer Chen This article examines changing patterns of industrial relations (IR) in Taiwan. Although trade unions have become more autonomous since the lifting of martial law in the mid-1980s, trends such as the privatization of state-owned enterprises, industrial restructuring, flexible employment practices, and importation of foreign workers hinder union development. The millennium may represent a turning point for workers and their organizations because the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) replaced the Kuomintang (KMT) as the ruling party. This may further union independence and power because the DPP tends to be a more pro-labor party. However, balancing the interests of workers and employers will still be a challenge for the DPP, particularly given employer opposition to many of the DPP's labor policies. [source] A consideration on R&D direction for future Internet architectureINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, Issue 6-7 2010Hiroshi Esaki Abstract The professional Internet system has been operated for more than 20 years, while preserving the continuous introduction of technical innovations. The Internet architecture, of course including the future Internet, must preserve the following five essential features of the Internet architecture. These are (1) autonomous, (2) distributed, (3) disconnected, (4) inter-domain, and (5) global operation. The current Internet system is challenged by the following three aspects; global, ubiquitous and mobility. ISOC, Internet Society (www.isoc.org), has initiated the strategic initiative that is focusing on ,Trust and Identifier'. We must re-design the identifier, directory service, trust model, routing and communication model for the computer system and for the computer networks. For example, Delay Tolerant Networking or Peer-to-Peer system architecture would challenge the introduction of new technological frameworks to the existing Internet. Finally, this paper discusses how to build and how to deploy the future Internet infrastructure. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), VEGF receptors expression and microvascular density in benign and malignant thyroid diseasesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PATHOLOGY, Issue 4 2007Ala'eddin Jebreel Summary Angiogenesis is critical for the growth and metastatic spread of tumours. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is the most potent inducer of neovasculature, and its increased expression has been related to a worse clinical outcome in many diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relation between VEGF, its receptors (VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2) and microvessel density (MVD) in thyroid diseases. Immunostaining for VEGF and VEGF receptors was performed in 66 specimens of thyroid tissue, comprising 17 multinodular goitre (MNG), 14 Graves' disease, 10 follicular adenoma, 8 Hashimoto's thyroiditis, 7 papillary carcinoma and 10 normal thyroid specimens. Thyrocyte positivity for VEGF and VEGF receptors was scored 0,3. Immunohistochemistry for CD31, and CD34 on the same sections was performed to evaluate MVD. Immunohistochemical staining of VEGF in thyrocytes was positive in 92% of all the thyroid tissues studied. Using an immunostaining intensity cut off of 2, increased thyrocyte staining was seen in follicular adenoma specimens, MNG and normal thyroids compared with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and Graves' disease (P < 0.05). Similarly, VEGF thyrocyte expression in Graves' disease was less than other pathologies (P < 0.05). VEGFR-1 expression and the average MVD score did not differ between the different thyroid pathologies. VEGF expression was lower in autoimmune pathologies compared to autonomous growth processes. Conversely, both VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2 were widely expressed in benign and neoplastic thyroid disease, suggesting that the up-regulation of VEGF and not its receptors occurs as tissue becomes autonomous. There was no clear relationship between MVD measurement and thyroid pathology. [source] Economics-inspired decentralized control approach for adaptive grid services and applicationsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS, Issue 12 2006Lei Gao Grid technologies facilitate innovative applications among dynamic virtual organizations, while the ability to deploy, manage, and properly remain functioning via traditional approaches has been exceeded by the complexity of the next generation of grid systems. An important method for addressing this challenge may require nature-inspired computing paradigms. This technique will entail construction of a bottom-up multiagent system; however, the appropriate implementation mechanism is under consideration in order for the autonomous and distributed agents to emerge as a controlled grid service or application. A credit card management service in economic interactions is considered in this article for a decentralized control approach. This consideration is based on a preliminarily developed ecological network-based grid middleware that has features desired for the next generation grid systems. The control scheme, design, and implementation of the credit card management service are presented in detail. The simulation results show that (1) agents are accountable for their activities such as behavior invocation, service provision, and resource utilization and (2) generated services or applications adapt well to dynamically changing environments such as agent amounts as well as partial failure of agents. The approach presented herein is beneficial for building autonomous and adaptive grid applications and services. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Int Syst 21: 1269,1288, 2006. [source] Using virtual topologies to manage inter-domain QoS in next-generation networksINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NETWORK MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2010Ricardo B. Freitas Recently, several computer fields have turned to virtualization as a way to simplify complex problems. In this context, the Virtual Topology Service (VTS) was created to manage the advertisement and acquisition of virtual topologies (abstractions of the network status of a domain) and their use in inter-domain resource reservation to provide end-to-end quality of service (QoS). As an effort to create new network architectures which could attend current requirements like mobility and context-aware applications and support autonomous, heterogeneous and mobile domains next-generation networks (NGNs) emerged, with Ambient Networks (AN) as one of its instances. With an ever increasing multitude of online applications, end-to-end QoS has become increasingly important, especially for media and real-time uses. In this context, in order to better manage inter-domain QoS in these new networks, better coping with mobile nodes and domains, this work presents a new design and implementation of the VTS, adapted to the AN environment. The new VTS stores resource reservation information to enable the reuse of these reservations when re-establishing QoS after a node/domain movement. This implementation was tested on a real NGN prototype and showed considerable time saving when compared to QoS re-establishment without reusing the reservations. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A proactive management algorithm for self-healing mobile ad hoc networksINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NETWORK MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2008Adel F. Iskander The ability to proactively manage mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) is critical for supporting complex services such as quality of service, security and access control in these networks. This paper focuses on the problem of managing highly dynamic and resource-constrained MANET environments through the proposal of a novel proactive management algorithm (PMA) for self-healing MANETs. PMA is based on an effective integration of autonomous, predictive and adaptive distributed management strategies. Proactive management is achieved through the distributed analysis of the current performance of the mobile nodes utilizing an optimistic discrete event simulation method, which is used to predict the mobile nodes' future status, and execution a proactive fault-tolerant management scheme. PMA takes advantage of distributed parallel processing, flexibility and intelligence of active packets to minimize the management overhead, while adapting to the highly dynamic and resource-constrained nature of MANETs. The performance of the proposed architecture is validated through analytical performance analysis and comparative simulation with the Active Virtual Network Management Protocol. The simulation results demonstrate that PMA not only significantly reduces management control overhead, but also improves both the performance and the stability of MANETs. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Predicting autonomous and controlled motivation to transfer trainingINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 2 2009Andreas Gegenfurtner In spite of a broad consensus on the importance of motivation for the transfer of learning from training to the job in work organizations, studies investigating motivation to transfer are limited. This study combines the self-determination theory, the expectancy theory and the theory of planned behaviour to provide a theoretical framework for investigating attitudes towards training content, relatedness and instructional satisfaction as predictors of two dimensions of transfer motivation: autonomous motivation to transfer and controlled motivation to transfer. A total of 444 subjects, trained in 23 occupational health and safety training courses, completed multi-item questionnaires immediately following training. Structural equation modelling procedures indicate that controlled motivation to transfer was affected by attitudes towards training content and that autonomous motivation to transfer was affected by attitudes, relatedness and instructional satisfaction. The results are discussed in terms of theoretical and practical implications for training effectiveness associated with the interplay of motivation and transfer in professional training. [source] The Importance of Being Connected.INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 20102005), City Networks, Eurocities (1990, Urban Government: Lyon Abstract The international dimension of cities and their role in inter-urban markets and inter-urban competition are now often studied and analysed from the perspective of public policy, urban planning or geography. Yet few studies highlight the political work that goes on in acquiring this dimension. Focusing on an inter-urban network such as Eurocities sheds light on this work and makes it possible to move away from an analysis of the Europeanization of cities in terms of centre and periphery. In this network, a horizontal form of Europeanization can be observed. The article examines this inter-urban network as an inter-urban configuration. The network is based on relationships between city councils, but due to a sort of cluster effect, it becomes more autonomous and , through resources as well as constraints , influences those relationships, indeed influences urban governance. Résumé La dimension internationale et la place des villes dans le marché et la compétition inter-urbaines sont aujourd'hui des objets bien étudiés à la fois en analyse de l'action publique, en urbanisme ou en géographie. Mais peu de travaux repèrent le travail politique à l',uvre pour acquérir cette dimension. Le détour par un réseau de villes comme Eurocités éclaire ce travail comme il permet de se défaire d'une analyse de l'européanisation des villes en termes de centre et de périphérie. C'est une européanisation horizontale qui est mise au jour à travers ce réseau. Le réseau de villes est ici saisi comme une configuration interurbaine: il repose sur des relations entre municipalités urbaines mais par un effet d'agrégation, le réseau gagne en autonomie et pèse ,à travers des ressources comme des contraintes , sur ces relations voire sur le gouvernement des villes. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||