In multi-agent systems [1], coordinated resource sharing is indispensable for a set of autonomous agents, which are running in the same execution space, to accomplish their computational objectives. This research presents a new approach to network resource control in multi-agent systems, based on the CyberOrgs [2] model. This approach aims to offer a mechanism to reify network resource control in multi-agent systems and to realize this mechanism in a prototype system. <p>In order to achieve these objectives, a uniform abstraction vLink (Virtual Link) is introduced to represent network resource, and based on this abstraction, a coherent mechanism of vLink creation, allocation and consumption is developed. This mechanism is enforced in the network by applying a fine-grained flow-based scheduling scheme. In addition, concerns of computations are separated from those of resources required to complete them, which simplifies engineering of network resource control. Thus, application programmers are enabled to focus on their application development and separately declaring resource request and defining resource control policies for their applications in a simplified way. Furthermore, network resource is bounded to computations and controlled in a hierarchy to coordinate network resource usage. A computation and its sub-computations are not allowed to consume resources beyond their resource boundary. However, resources can be traded between different boundaries. <p> In this thesis, the design and implementation of a prototype system is described as well. The prototype system is a middleware system architecture, which can be used to build systems supporting network resource control. This architecture has a layered structure and aims to achieve three goals: (1) providing an interface for programmers to express resource requests for applications and define their resource control policies; (2) specializing the CyberOrgs model to control network resource; and (3) providing carefully designed mechanisms for routing, link sharing and packet scheduling to enforce required resource allocation in the network.

With the development of globalized and liberalized economy, the work allocate becomes more precise and the product life cycle becomes shorter. For many firms, in a changing era and intense global competition environment, effective supply chain management can help organizations to achieve competitive advantage in facing future challenge. This study was according to the Tan¡¦s (2002) research on the supply chain management (SCM) with some measures modified from the viewpoint of actuality. 206 samples were collected. The objective of this study was to derive a set of SCM practices and to identify the major concerns in implementing a successful SCM program. This study also relates the practices and concerns to firm¡¦s performance by means of correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. The major findings are: (1) identified 25 items of practices and 11 items of concerns that are critical for the successful SCM. (2) supply chain integrated, supply management, and strategy planning are significant correlation with performance. (3) different position has significant perception difference in performance; customer service quality has the most significant perception difference in each demographic variables.

This dissertation examines the effect of career concerns on the pattern of investments selected by venture capital fund managers. I propose a simple model in which managers strategically adjust the variance of their portfolio to maximize the probability of raising a follow-on fund. The model demonstrates that career concerns can encourage venture capital fund managers to inefficiently select investments that are too conservative. The influence of these career incentives declines following good initial fund performance, leading to a positive correlation between early fund performance and late fund risk-taking. Using a unique data set of company-level cash flows from 181 venture capital funds, I demonstrate that the intra-fund patterns of investment in venture capital broadly match the predictions of the model. First, I show that the characteristics of career concerns in the venture capital industry are consistent with the assumptions which drive the model. Funds who perform well in their initial investments raise a new fund more quickly, and the size of their next fund is concave with respect to the existing fund's performance. Second, using a maximum likelihood methodology I show that venture capital fund managers select more risky portfolio companies following good performance and tend to be less diversified. / text

This study was done to investigate the types and intensity of teaching concerns preservice teachers have during their coursework and how these are connected to early field experiences (EFE). A survey was conducted comparing preservice teachers in an on-campus versus an on-site course at a local elementary school. Participants (N = 99) were asked about 26 types of concerns and these groups were compared; only one significant difference was found, that the on-campus group had more general teaching concerns than the on-site group. Fuller's (1969; 1974) research on immature versus mature teaching concerns was corroborated by the survey items and factor analyses, although no change over time was found. School-based field experiences were significantly listed by both groups as being the most useful experience in their teacher education; therefore, it is recommended that opportunities be created for preservice teachers to participate in EFEs.

Using a novel setting, I examine the relation between a CEO's career concerns and the provision of an annual earnings forecast. Specifically, I exploit staggered changes in non-compete enforcement laws in three U.S. states as a source of exogenous variation in a CEO’s career concerns. Consistent with theory suggesting that career concerns increase a manager's aversion to risk, I find that a CEO is less likely to issue an earnings forecast in periods of stricter non-compete enforcement. Further, cross-sectional analyses indicate that the lower probability of forecast issuance is more pronounced for a CEO who has greater concern for his reputation, faces more risk in forecasting, and is more vulnerable to dismissal.

Aspect-Oriented Requirement Engineering (AORE) is an emerging software engineering paradigm with increasing attention from academic as well as industrial communities. AORE aims at the systematic identification, modularization, composition and analysis of crosscutting concerns that manifest in requirements. It is believed that systematically managing crosscutting concerns early on at the requirement engineering stage can provide valuable insight at the architecture design and implementation stages and can help identify and thus manage crosscutting concerns at these stages. Moreover, identifying crosscutting concerns in requirements can help to reveal the scope of each concern in a software system, to detect potential conflicts between concerns and to facilitate trade-off negotiation early on. Hundreds of papers regarding AORE have been published in AORE communities. However, few of them address crosscutting concerns in real world requirements. Whether the proposed AORE approaches are productive when applied to real world requirements is unknown. In this thesis, we conduct an AORE case study consisting of an experiment using a real world software requirement specification in order to examine how crosscutting concerns present in real world requirement documents, explore the difference between crosscutting concerns in requirements and crosscutting concerns in code, and reason whether identifying and thus managing crosscutting concerns from real world requirements is a productive practice. / Thesis (Master, Computing) -- Queen's University, 2009-09-21 15:09:27.262

The needs and concerns of the siblings of children who are deaf-blind were studied. Subjects included 12 siblings (eight males, four females) whose families are involved in the Utah Intervener Services Program. Information was collected by conducting one-on-one interviews with the siblings. The Siblings' Perceptions of the Intervener Interview (SPII) and Taylor's Siblings' Problems Questionnaire were administered. The results indicated that individual sibling's perspectives were unique, varying from positive to negative. As a group, the siblings made positive comments about the intervener and their life with their deaf-blind brother or sister.

This research used qualitative methods to investigate the police officer decision-making processes within the theoretical context of the focal concerns framework and the theory of planned behavior. This research had two primary goals. The first goal was to determine what similarities and differences exist in how ideas from the focal concerns framework manifest themselves in a policing context as compared to how they operate for judges when sentencing convicted offenders. The second goal of this research was to use ideas from the theory of planned behavior to elaborate the focal concerns framework into a functional theoretical model of police officer decision-making. While intuitively sound, the focal concerns perspective is in need of conceptual enhancements to operationalize the mechanisms through which the focal concerns identified are transformed into action. Interviews with police officers were conducted to elicit the considerations that police officers see as important to their decision-making process in order to develop a theory of police decision-making which incorporates concepts from the focal concerns framework and the theory of planned behavior. The results of this study indicate that although police officers share the same broad focal concerns as judges, the way these concerns manifest themselves in the execution of their duties is different for police officers. The results also indicate that the construct of intent from the theory of planned behavior may be a viable cognitive mechanism to connect ideas from the focal concerns framework with criminal justice outcomes, although other constructs from the theory were only found to be partially applicable. Theoretical implications of the findings and directions for future research are also discussed.

Although clemency is often an offender's final prospect to avoid execution within the death penalty context, prior research concerning clemency decisions remains limited by the fact that it is often atheoretical and researchers have used data more than a decade old. This study specifically placed clemency decisions within a focal concerns framework and examined death row inmates who were either executed or granted clemency between 1984 and 2008. This study used logistic regression as its primary modeling technique to examine whether measures of focal concerns theory were predictive of clemency decisions. While the current measures for offender blameworthiness and protection of the community were not found to influence clemency decisions, practical constraints and consequences measured by political factors and regional location along with offender characteristics were found to predict such decisions. Female offenders, non-white offenders, and offenders with lower educational levels were most likely to be granted clemency. Whereas lame duck governors were more likely to grant clemency, governors in southern states were less likely to grant clemency. The odds of clemency were reduced with each year an offender served.

The Defense Systems Management College (DSMC) is beginning a major transition from its traditional classroom training methods to technology-based education and training. Conventional classroom courses will be rewritten and restructured to a computer-based format and be delivered on-line. According to the Concerns-Based Adoption Model, the faculty will experience concerns during the process of adopting this innovation. Identification of these concerns can assist in selecting appropriate interventions to minimize problems and to ease the adoption process. This study had two purposes. The first was to identify the Stages of Concern of the DSMC faculty toward the use of technology-based education and training by measuring faculty responses to the Stages of Concern (SoC) Questionnaire. The second was to determine appropriate interventions to assist the faculty through the change process. The study accomplished both purposes. All teaching faculty (N=135) received the questionnaire about their concerns and issues with this innovation, and 126 responses were returned (93% response rate). A total of eighty-one respondents (64%) reported no experience with technology-based courses, and the composite faculty SoC profile correspondingly reflected the &quot;nonuser&quot; category. No significant differences in Stages of Concern were found between groups of faculty when divided by common demographic criteria such as years of teaching experience, civilian or military status, and experience with educational technology. Quantitative methods of analysis included SoC profile comparison, High Stage Score and Second High Stage Score analysis, analysis-of variance (ANOVA), and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Qualitative methods were also used to analyze responses to an open-ended question on the survey instrument. Results reflected a general lack of knowledge and awareness about the innovation from the faculty and strong personal concerns about what impact it will have on them. The faculty clearly displayed a negative attitude toward this innovation and seemed unconvinced that it was the optimal solution. Written responses to the open-ended question provided key insight into faculty attitudes. The majority of concerns identified were educational issues, particularly dealing with the effectiveness of a computer-based format when teaching highly-interactive management courses. Based on these results, recommended intervention strategies for DSMC were generated. These strategies focus on the need for better information dissemination about educational technology and for a realistic implementation plan. More importantly, interventions were recommended to provide incentives for faculty to increase proficiency with educational technology and the use of technology in their courses. / Ed. D.