Scandinavian Cooperative Advantage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Strand, Robert; Freeman, R. Edward

2015-01-01

. We conclude by endorsing the expression “Scandinavian cooperative advantage” in an effort to draw attention to the Scandinavian context and encourage the field of strategic management to shift its focus from achieving a competitive advantage toward achieving a cooperative advantage....

FPGA Based Intelligent Co-operative Processor in Memory Architecture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ahmed, Zaki; Sotudeh, Reza; Hussain, Dil Muhammad Akbar

2011-01-01

benefits of PIM, a concept of Co-operative Intelligent Memory (CIM) was developed by the intelligent system group of University of Hertfordshire, based on the previously developed Co-operative Pseudo Intelligent Memory (CPIM). This paper provides an overview on previous works (CPIM, CIM) and realization......In a continuing effort to improve computer system performance, Processor-In-Memory (PIM) architecture has emerged as an alternative solution. PIM architecture incorporates computational units and control logic directly on the memory to provide immediate access to the data. To exploit the potential...

Game Theory-Based Cooperation for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks: Taxonomy, Review, Research Challenges and Directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Muhammed, Dalhatu; Anisi, Mohammad Hossein; Zareei, Mahdi; Vargas-Rosales, Cesar; Khan, Anwar

2018-02-01

Exploring and monitoring the underwater world using underwater sensors is drawing a lot of attention these days. In this field cooperation between acoustic sensor nodes has been a critical problem due to the challenging features such as acoustic channel failure (sound signal), long propagation delay of acoustic signal, limited bandwidth and loss of connectivity. There are several proposed methods to improve cooperation between the nodes by incorporating information/game theory in the node's cooperation. However, there is a need to classify the existing works and demonstrate their performance in addressing the cooperation issue. In this paper, we have conducted a review to investigate various factors affecting cooperation in underwater acoustic sensor networks. We study various cooperation techniques used for underwater acoustic sensor networks from different perspectives, with a concentration on communication reliability, energy consumption, and security and present a taxonomy for underwater cooperation. Moreover, we further review how the game theory can be applied to make the nodes cooperate with each other. We further analyze different cooperative game methods, where their performance on different metrics is compared. Finally, open issues and future research direction in underwater acoustic sensor networks are highlighted.

Game Theory-Based Cooperation for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks: Taxonomy, Review, Research Challenges and Directions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dalhatu Muhammed

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Exploring and monitoring the underwater world using underwater sensors is drawing a lot of attention these days. In this field cooperation between acoustic sensor nodes has been a critical problem due to the challenging features such as acoustic channel failure (sound signal, long propagation delay of acoustic signal, limited bandwidth and loss of connectivity. There are several proposed methods to improve cooperation between the nodes by incorporating information/game theory in the node’s cooperation. However, there is a need to classify the existing works and demonstrate their performance in addressing the cooperation issue. In this paper, we have conducted a review to investigate various factors affecting cooperation in underwater acoustic sensor networks. We study various cooperation techniques used for underwater acoustic sensor networks from different perspectives, with a concentration on communication reliability, energy consumption, and security and present a taxonomy for underwater cooperation. Moreover, we further review how the game theory can be applied to make the nodes cooperate with each other. We further analyze different cooperative game methods, where their performance on different metrics is compared. Finally, open issues and future research direction in underwater acoustic sensor networks are highlighted.

Game Theory-Based Cooperation for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks: Taxonomy, Review, Research Challenges and Directions

Science.gov (United States)

Muhammed, Dalhatu; Anisi, Mohammad Hossein; Vargas-Rosales, Cesar; Khan, Anwar

2018-01-01

Exploring and monitoring the underwater world using underwater sensors is drawing a lot of attention these days. In this field cooperation between acoustic sensor nodes has been a critical problem due to the challenging features such as acoustic channel failure (sound signal), long propagation delay of acoustic signal, limited bandwidth and loss of connectivity. There are several proposed methods to improve cooperation between the nodes by incorporating information/game theory in the node’s cooperation. However, there is a need to classify the existing works and demonstrate their performance in addressing the cooperation issue. In this paper, we have conducted a review to investigate various factors affecting cooperation in underwater acoustic sensor networks. We study various cooperation techniques used for underwater acoustic sensor networks from different perspectives, with a concentration on communication reliability, energy consumption, and security and present a taxonomy for underwater cooperation. Moreover, we further review how the game theory can be applied to make the nodes cooperate with each other. We further analyze different cooperative game methods, where their performance on different metrics is compared. Finally, open issues and future research direction in underwater acoustic sensor networks are highlighted. PMID:29389874

Incorporating the information from direct and indirect neighbors into fitness evaluation enhances the cooperation in the social dilemmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, Menglong; Wang, Juan; Kong, Lingcong; An, Kang; Bi, Tao; Guo, Baohong; Dong, Enzeng

2015-01-01

Highlights: •A novel fitness evaluation method integrating environmental information is presented. •The introduction of neighbors’ payoff favors the promotion of cooperation in the PDG. •The role of direct neighbors becomes much more prominent. •In the SDG, the cooperative behavior is also improved by this new mechanism. -- Abstract: We propose an improved fitness evaluation method to investigate the evolution of cooperation in the spatial social dilemmas. In our model, a focal player’s fitness is calculated as the linear combination of his own payoff, the average payoffs of direct and indirect neighbors in which two independent selection parameters (α and β) are used to control the proportion of various payoff contribution to the current fitness. Then, the fitness-based strategy update rule is still Fermi-like, and asynchronous update is adopted here. A large plethora of numerical simulations are performed to validate the behaviors of the current model, and the results unambiguously demonstrate that the cooperation level is greatly enhanced by introducing the payoffs from the surrounding players. In particular, the influence of direct neighbors become more evident when compared with indirect neighbors since the correlation between focal players and their direct neighbors is much closer. Current outcomes are significant for us to further illustrate the origin and emergence of cooperation within a wide variety of natural and man-made systems

A study on the establishment of nuclear cooperative relations and future direction between Korea and Vietnam

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, M H; Kim, H S; Chung, W S; Yun, S W; Ko, H S; Lee, J K

2000-10-01

This study was carried out in order to review the cooperation with vietnam and establish and activate the cooperative relations with Vietnam. During the study, current status of use and development of nuclear energy in vietnam, were investigated including nuclear power plant and cooperative relations between two nations were also established. It was agreed through exchanges of visits of cooperation delegation; 1) exchange of visits of cooperation delegation, 2) holding of policy seminar for high level decision makers of Vietnam 3) cooperaton between KAERI/VAEC, 4) joint feasibility study for the construction of KSNP into Vietnam and technical presentation of KSNP. It is recommended that cooperaion with vietnam be implemented systematically through the long term based basic directions and integrated national strategies.

A study on the establishment of nuclear cooperative relations and future direction between Korea and Vietnam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, M. H.; Kim, H. S.; Chung, W. S.; Yun, S. W.; Ko, H. S.; Lee, J. K.

2000-10-01

This study was carried out in order to review the cooperation with vietnam and establish and activate the cooperative relations with Vietnam. During the study, current status of use and development of nuclear energy in vietnam, were investigated including nuclear power plant and cooperative relations between two nations were also established. It was agreed through exchanges of visits of cooperation delegation; 1) exchange of visits of cooperation delegation, 2) holding of policy seminar for high level decision makers of Vietnam 3) cooperaton between KAERI/VAEC, 4) joint feasibility study for the construction of KSNP into Vietnam and technical presentation of KSNP. It is recommended that cooperaion with vietnam be implemented systematically through the long term based basic directions and integrated national strategies

Group Cooperation without Group Selection: Modest Punishment Can Recruit Much Cooperation.

Science.gov (United States)

Krasnow, Max M; Delton, Andrew W; Cosmides, Leda; Tooby, John

2015-01-01

Humans everywhere cooperate in groups to achieve benefits not attainable by individuals. Individual effort is often not automatically tied to a proportionate share of group benefits. This decoupling allows for free-riding, a strategy that (absent countermeasures) outcompetes cooperation. Empirically and formally, punishment potentially solves the evolutionary puzzle of group cooperation. Nevertheless, standard analyses appear to show that punishment alone is insufficient, because second-order free riders (those who cooperate but do not punish) can be shown to outcompete punishers. Consequently, many have concluded that other processes, such as cultural or genetic group selection, are required. Here, we present a series of agent-based simulations that show that group cooperation sustained by punishment easily evolves by individual selection when you introduce into standard models more biologically plausible assumptions about the social ecology and psychology of ancestral humans. We relax three unrealistic assumptions of past models. First, past models assume all punishers must punish every act of free riding in their group. We instead allow punishment to be probabilistic, meaning punishers can evolve to only punish some free riders some of the time. This drastically lowers the cost of punishment as group size increases. Second, most models unrealistically do not allow punishment to recruit labor; punishment merely reduces the punished agent's fitness. We instead realistically allow punished free riders to cooperate in the future to avoid punishment. Third, past models usually restrict agents to interact in a single group their entire lives. We instead introduce realistic social ecologies in which agents participate in multiple, partially overlapping groups. Because of this, punitive tendencies are more expressed and therefore more exposed to natural selection. These three moves toward greater model realism reveal that punishment and cooperation easily evolve by

Group Cooperation without Group Selection: Modest Punishment Can Recruit Much Cooperation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Max M Krasnow

Full Text Available Humans everywhere cooperate in groups to achieve benefits not attainable by individuals. Individual effort is often not automatically tied to a proportionate share of group benefits. This decoupling allows for free-riding, a strategy that (absent countermeasures outcompetes cooperation. Empirically and formally, punishment potentially solves the evolutionary puzzle of group cooperation. Nevertheless, standard analyses appear to show that punishment alone is insufficient, because second-order free riders (those who cooperate but do not punish can be shown to outcompete punishers. Consequently, many have concluded that other processes, such as cultural or genetic group selection, are required. Here, we present a series of agent-based simulations that show that group cooperation sustained by punishment easily evolves by individual selection when you introduce into standard models more biologically plausible assumptions about the social ecology and psychology of ancestral humans. We relax three unrealistic assumptions of past models. First, past models assume all punishers must punish every act of free riding in their group. We instead allow punishment to be probabilistic, meaning punishers can evolve to only punish some free riders some of the time. This drastically lowers the cost of punishment as group size increases. Second, most models unrealistically do not allow punishment to recruit labor; punishment merely reduces the punished agent's fitness. We instead realistically allow punished free riders to cooperate in the future to avoid punishment. Third, past models usually restrict agents to interact in a single group their entire lives. We instead introduce realistic social ecologies in which agents participate in multiple, partially overlapping groups. Because of this, punitive tendencies are more expressed and therefore more exposed to natural selection. These three moves toward greater model realism reveal that punishment and cooperation

EFL Learners' Use of Direct Strategies in Competitive and Cooperative Learning Contexts

Science.gov (United States)

Zarei, Abbas Ali; Layeq, Hamide

2016-01-01

This study investigated the effects of competitive and cooperative teaching techniques on Iranian adult EFL learners' use of direct strategies. To this end, a sample of 88 non-English major university students at Sohrevardi Nonprofit College in Qazvin were assigned to two groups, and each group received instruction under one of the treatment…

International judicial cooperation by means of direct aid in the fight against international abduction of children in Brazil and Colombia

OpenAIRE

Mizuta, Alessandra; Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul; Hendges, Carla Evelise Justino; Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul

2015-01-01

This paper addresses the issue of international judicial cooperation by the direct assistance. It reflects on the impact of globalization on the state, the law and the legal systems. Contextualize the reduction of the effectiveness of the rights and the crisis of the process. Adresses the international judicial cooperation as a tool to promote integration of various judicial systems, necessary in a complex and interconnected world in judicial cooperation, there is the direct assistance as a m...

Efforts to promote regional security dialogue and cooperation in the North Pacific

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mason, P.

1994-01-01

Indifference to the new realities of the post-cold war era does nothing to preserve the traditional priorities laid down in the Final Document of the first special session on disarmament. On the contrary, such attitudes directly contribute to the trend towards marginalization which began when publics no longer feared the threat of a nuclear holocaust. It is believed that the expertise of forty years of multilateral arms control and disarmament efforts is directly relevant to the broader efforts of the international community to restore, maintain and promote international peace and security. Who can deny that confidence-building is central to preventive diplomacy? Or that the arms control component-from disarming to demobilization-is not equally central to peace operations whether they be traditional peace-keeping or post-conflict peace-building? Indeed the success or failure of the disarmament aspect of a peace operation is often critical to its overall success-Somalia surely being one recent sad example. The multilateral disarmament community must apply itself more directly and systematically to these broader problems - just as the United Nations Secretariat has increasingly begun to do - or risk indifference from Governments forced to make tough choices against a range of competing priorities. It is undeniably true that the post-cold war has significantly increased the potential for the international community to negotiate historic new multilateral disarmament treaties. And this window of opportunity must be utilized to the fullest. At the same time, due account must be taken of the hard fact that, for an increasing number of countries, expensive obligations in relation to advanced unconventional weapons which neither they nor their neighbours seek to possess may count for less than practical assistance in finding solutions to more parochial, but no less urgent, problems

Distributed Cooperative Optimal Control for Multiagent Systems on Directed Graphs: An Inverse Optimal Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Huaguang; Feng, Tao; Yang, Guang-Hong; Liang, Hongjing

2015-07-01

In this paper, the inverse optimal approach is employed to design distributed consensus protocols that guarantee consensus and global optimality with respect to some quadratic performance indexes for identical linear systems on a directed graph. The inverse optimal theory is developed by introducing the notion of partial stability. As a result, the necessary and sufficient conditions for inverse optimality are proposed. By means of the developed inverse optimal theory, the necessary and sufficient conditions are established for globally optimal cooperative control problems on directed graphs. Basic optimal cooperative design procedures are given based on asymptotic properties of the resulting optimal distributed consensus protocols, and the multiagent systems can reach desired consensus performance (convergence rate and damping rate) asymptotically. Finally, two examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

INTERFIRM COOPERATION AND INFORMATION SHARING THROUGH INTERLOCKING DIRECTORATES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammed Belal UDDIN

2012-01-01

Full Text Available When firms engage in cooperative efforts, interfirm relations get particular interest to be studied. A direct interlock occurs when an executive or director of one firm sits on the board of another firm, and an indirect interlock occurs when two firms have directors or executives who sit on the board of a third firm. The three commonly used theoretical models such as social network theory, learning theory, and theory of strategic choice are more relevant for the formation and management of interlocking directorates. Uncertainty, resource scarcity, mutual trust, dependency, etc. influence the formation of interlocking directorates. Consequently, interlocking directorates allow sharing of information and overall cooperation between partners through learning, collaboration, networking, and effective relationship, etc. Proper management of interlocking directorates requires communication and collaboration among partners that enhance exchange of knowledge and cooperation.

Voluntary versus Enforced Team Effort

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia Keser

2011-08-01

Full Text Available We present a model where each of two players chooses between remuneration based on either private or team effort. Although at least one of the players has the equilibrium strategy to choose private remuneration, we frequently observe both players to choose team remuneration in a series of laboratory experiments. This allows for high cooperation payoffs but also provides individual free-riding incentives. Due to significant cooperation, we observe that, in team remuneration, participants make higher profits than in private remuneration. We also observe that, when participants are not given the option of private remuneration, they cooperate significantly less.

U.S. government-to-government cooperation on nuclear materials protection, control, and accounting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mladineo, S.; Bricker, K.; Alberque, W.

1996-01-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is cooperating with Russia, the Newly Independent States (NIS), and the Baltics to help prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons through the improvement of national systems of nuclear material protection, control, and accounting (MPC and A). US cooperation with Russia is carried out under the DOE MPC and A Program and the Nunn-Lugar funded Cooperative Threat Reduction program for Russia. Presidential Decision Directive (PDD)-41 designated DOE as the government agency with primary responsibility for MPC and A efforts in Russia, the NIS, and Baltics. Cooperation is conducted in coordination with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for the development of a strong, independent national regulatory agency in Russia. DOE also coordinates these efforts with the European Community and other countries. DOE''s cooperation under the MPC and A program with Russia includes aggressive near-term activities to better secure nuclear materials through MPC and A system upgrades at facilities. Simultaneously, DOE is supporting Russia in its long-term goal of implementing upgraded MPC and A systems that can be maintained and supported from indigenous resources. Projects include the development of national regulations and laws, training of trainers, the development of a computerized federal information system, and other related tasks. NRC''s role in these efforts includes regulatory development activities, such as licensing and inspection program development, and related training. This paper provides an overview of the activities undertaken through DOE-Russian cooperation on MPC and A and how they complement each other

Forestry cooperatives: past and present

Science.gov (United States)

Mark G. Rickenbach

2006-01-01

Forest landowner cooperatives are not a new phenomenon, but past efforts to create and sustain these businesses have been largely unsuccessful in the U.S. Before and just after World War II saw significant investment in cooperative development that failed to create durable business. The purpose of this chapter is to briefly describe the history of forestry cooperatives...

Hierarchy is Detrimental for Human Cooperation

OpenAIRE

Cronin, Katherine A.; Acheson, Daniel J.; Hernández, Penélope; Sánchez, Angel

2016-01-01

Studies of animal behavior consistently demonstrate that the social environment impacts cooperation, yet the effect of social dynamics has been largely excluded from studies of human cooperation. Here, we introduce a novel approach inspired by nonhuman primate research to address how social hierarchies impact human cooperation. Participants competed to earn hierarchy positions and then could cooperate with another individual in the hierarchy by investing in a common effort. Cooperation was ac...

Effort dynamics in a fisheries bioeconomic model: A vessel level approach through Game Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gorka Merino

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Red shrimp, Aristeus antennatus (Risso, 1816 is one of the most important resources for the bottom-trawl fleets in the northwestern Mediterranean, in terms of both landings and economic value. A simple bioeconomic model introducing Game Theory for the prediction of effort dynamics at vessel level is proposed. The game is performed by the twelve vessels exploiting red shrimp in Blanes. Within the game, two solutions are performed: non-cooperation and cooperation. The first is proposed as a realistic method for the prediction of individual effort strategies and the second is used to illustrate the potential profitability of the analysed fishery. The effort strategy for each vessel is the number of fishing days per year and their objective is profit maximisation, individual profits for the non-cooperative solution and total profits for the cooperative one. In the present analysis, strategic conflicts arise from the differences between vessels in technical efficiency (catchability coefficient and economic efficiency (defined here. The ten-year and 1000-iteration stochastic simulations performed for the two effort solutions show that the best strategy from both an economic and a conservationist perspective is homogeneous effort cooperation. However, the results under non-cooperation are more similar to the observed data on effort strategies and landings.

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTEMENTS FLOWS IN BLACK SEA ECONOMIC COOPERATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

RADU-MARCEL JOIA

2011-04-01

Full Text Available We live in a time when the world’s economy is in a constantly change. Foreign direct investments flows are in actual economy one of the most dynamic and prospective part of the world’s economy being in a continuous globalization. These international financial flows determine the traders who take part at the world’s economy to know to adopt a specific management in the international affairs field. We are viewers of an unprecedented expansion of foreign direct investments. The main objective of the paper is to analyze the foreign direct investments flows in Black Sea Economic Cooperation. This study is based on UNCTAD reports and on an econometrical model which gives us the possibility to create different analysis concerning FDI flow in this cooperation. So we defined a simple regression model, in which the dependent variable is represented by Nominal and real GDP, total and per capita, variable explicated by FDI flows, using as method the Least Squared, including 19 observations. Through this paper, we tried to illustrate the relation between the FDI flows and the economic growth rate in the past years inRomania, member of Black Sea Economic region. In line with a general upward trend in FDI to Central and Eastern Europe, inward FDI to the Russian Federation held steady between 1998 and 2001, at an annual average of $2.8 billion. In Black Sea Economic region, Russian average is the biggest one, Russia being a leader country in warding FDI. The Russian Federation is by far the leading investor country in the region, accounting for more than 75% of its annual outflows. Inward and outward direct investments flows in Russia have reached in 2009 an amount of $38,722 billion. In Romania, following years of stagnation at very low levels, 1991 to 1997, FDI flows reached $1.1 billion in 2002. Inflows to Bulgaria peaked at $1 billion in 2000; the surge is largely due to flows from developed countries. Inward and outward direct investments flows in

Neural correlates of social cooperation and non-cooperation as a function of psychopathy.

Science.gov (United States)

Rilling, James K; Glenn, Andrea L; Jairam, Meeta R; Pagnoni, Giuseppe; Goldsmith, David R; Elfenbein, Hanie A; Lilienfeld, Scott O

2007-06-01

Psychopathy is a disorder involving a failure to experience many emotions that are necessary for appropriate social behavior. In this study, we probed the behavioral, emotional, and neural correlates of psychopathic traits within the context of a dyadic social interaction. Thirty subjects were imaged with functional magnetic resonance imaging while playing an iterated Prisoner's Dilemma game with human confederates who were outside the scanner. Subjects also completed two self-report psychopathy questionnaires. Subjects scoring higher on psychopathy, particularly males, defected more often and were less likely to continue cooperating after establishing mutual cooperation with a partner. Further, they experienced more outcomes in which their cooperation was not reciprocated (cooperate-defect outcome). After such outcomes, subjects scoring high in psychopathy showed less amygdala activation, suggesting weaker aversive conditioning to those outcomes. Compared with low-psychopathy subjects, subjects higher in psychopathy also showed weaker activation within orbitofrontal cortex when choosing to cooperate and showed weaker activation within dorsolateral prefrontal and rostral anterior cingulate cortex when choosing to defect. These findings suggest that whereas subjects scoring low on psychopathy have emotional biases toward cooperation that can only be overcome with effortful cognitive control, subjects scoring high on psychopathy have an opposing bias toward defection that likewise can only be overcome with cognitive effort.

Direct and Indirect Effects of Marketing Effort on Brand Awareness and Brand Image.

OpenAIRE

Villarejo Ramos, Ángel Francisco; Rondán Cataluña, Francisco Javier; Sánchez Franco, Manuel Jesús

2008-01-01

The marketing effort orientated to towards strengthening the brand means to increase the degree of knowledge of the brand name. In this paper we want to show the relationship between brand awareness and brand image. Starting out from a theoretical review, we set out a model of direct and indirect effects of the marketing effort-as the brand's antecedents-on brand awareness and brand image. Via the empirical support used, a questionnaire of a sample of consumers, we try to find out how the mar...

Direct Interaction between the Voltage Sensors Produces Cooperative Sustained Deactivation in Voltage-gated H+ Channel Dimers*

OpenAIRE

Okuda, Hiroko; Yonezawa, Yasushige; Takano, Yu; Okamura, Yasushi; Fujiwara, Yuichiro

2016-01-01

The voltage-gated H+ channel (Hv) is a voltage sensor domain-like protein consisting of four transmembrane segments (S1?S4). The native Hv structure is a homodimer, with the two channel subunits functioning cooperatively. Here we show that the two voltage sensor S4 helices within the dimer directly cooperate via a ?-stacking interaction between Trp residues at the middle of each segment. Scanning mutagenesis showed that Trp situated around the original position provides the slow gating kineti...

Study on Enhancing nuclear security cooperation in Northeast Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jounghoon; Heo, Chul

2015-01-01

Regional and global cooperation in nuclear security was urged. Nevertheless, it is hard to seek a successful example of regional cooperation in nuclear security, with the exception of EURATOM. Northeast Asia which includes China, Russia, Japan, ROK and, DPRK has many nuclear issues. For example, the concerns of the international community were raised when the DPRK has conducted three nuclear tests. Countries in this region also possess many nuclear power plants and materials. However, there has been no attempt at creating a community or organization for multinational security in this region. In this paper, we discuss various ways of enhancing nuclear security cooperation in Northeast Asia. We begin with an examination of current global, regional and national nuclear security cooperation efforts. We then discuss directions and strategies for nuclear security cooperation in Northeast Asia, and offer some detailed cooperation agendas to be considers. Northeast Asia countries have tried to cooperate in many areas such as energy, environment, economy, and policy. However, nuclear security issues have not been discussed seriously. We need to start cooperating on nuclear security issues, because a nuclear security event may affect several countries. One country may not be able to respond to such an event independently. In order to gain cooperate in nuclear security, we have to be able to suggest pertinent agendas to Northeast Asia countries. R and D, education and training of nuclear security may be a good suggestion for starting cooperation. And more practical and detailed agendas such as joint response and information sharing may be suggested for cooperation strengthening

Study on Enhancing nuclear security cooperation in Northeast Asia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Jounghoon; Heo, Chul [Korea Institute of Nuclear Non-proliferation and Control, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

Regional and global cooperation in nuclear security was urged. Nevertheless, it is hard to seek a successful example of regional cooperation in nuclear security, with the exception of EURATOM. Northeast Asia which includes China, Russia, Japan, ROK and, DPRK has many nuclear issues. For example, the concerns of the international community were raised when the DPRK has conducted three nuclear tests. Countries in this region also possess many nuclear power plants and materials. However, there has been no attempt at creating a community or organization for multinational security in this region. In this paper, we discuss various ways of enhancing nuclear security cooperation in Northeast Asia. We begin with an examination of current global, regional and national nuclear security cooperation efforts. We then discuss directions and strategies for nuclear security cooperation in Northeast Asia, and offer some detailed cooperation agendas to be considers. Northeast Asia countries have tried to cooperate in many areas such as energy, environment, economy, and policy. However, nuclear security issues have not been discussed seriously. We need to start cooperating on nuclear security issues, because a nuclear security event may affect several countries. One country may not be able to respond to such an event independently. In order to gain cooperate in nuclear security, we have to be able to suggest pertinent agendas to Northeast Asia countries. R and D, education and training of nuclear security may be a good suggestion for starting cooperation. And more practical and detailed agendas such as joint response and information sharing may be suggested for cooperation strengthening.

Cooperative learning neural network output feedback control of uncertain nonlinear multi-agent systems under directed topologies

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, W.; Wang, D.; Peng, Z. H.

2017-09-01

Without assuming that the communication topologies among the neural network (NN) weights are to be undirected and the states of each agent are measurable, the cooperative learning NN output feedback control is addressed for uncertain nonlinear multi-agent systems with identical structures in strict-feedback form. By establishing directed communication topologies among NN weights to share their learned knowledge, NNs with cooperative learning laws are employed to identify the uncertainties. By designing NN-based κ-filter observers to estimate the unmeasurable states, a new cooperative learning output feedback control scheme is proposed to guarantee that the system outputs can track nonidentical reference signals with bounded tracking errors. A simulation example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.

Cooperation mechanisms of the EU renewable energy directive and flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol: comparison and lessons learnt. Working paper

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frieden, Dorian; Tuerk, Andreas; Steiner, Daniel

2013-07-15

This working paper discusses similarities and differences between the cooperation mechanisms of the EU renewable energy directive (RES directive) and the flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol. The cooperation mechanisms allow the (virtual) trade of renewable energy and were introduced with the RES directive to provide Member States (MS) with greater flexibility to achieve their national targets for renewable energy sources (RES). A similar kind of flexibility is known from the flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol which aim at the cost efficient achievement of emission reduction targets. Lessons learned from the Kyoto mechanisms may allow conclusions to be drawn on the design and implementation of the renewable energy cooperation mechanisms. This paper first gives an overview of the cooperation mechanisms regarding their potential, advantages and disadvantages, barriers and preconditions. This is followed by a brief explanation of and a systematic comparison with the flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol – Joint Implementation (JI); Clean Development Mechanism (CDM); and International Emissions Trading (IET). A gamut of factors influenced the success of the Kyoto mechanisms in general and in specific national contexts. Therefore, it is not possible to directly transfer past experiences with the Kyoto mechanisms to the capability of specific nations to make use of the renewable energy cooperation mechanisms. A comparison of specific features, such as the mechanism type (transfer, project-based, support scheme), price building and specific barriers can, however, help anticipate the possible dynamics and challenges of the cooperation mechanisms. Experiences with the Kyoto mechanisms show that predictions based on supply-demand analysis were valid only to a limited extent and that specific factors such as institutional capacity constraints or legal uncertainties delayed or prevented the use of the mechanisms in some cases. Similarly, for the cooperation

Cooperation for a competitive position: The impact of hospital cooperation behavior on organizational performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Büchner, Vera Antonia; Hinz, Vera; Schreyögg, Jonas

2015-01-01

Several public policy initiatives, particularly those involving managed care, aim to enhance cooperation between partners in the health care sector because it is expected that such cooperation will reduce costs and generate additional revenue. However, empirical evidence regarding the effects of cooperation on hospital performance is scarce, particularly with respect to creating a comprehensive measure of cooperation behavior. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of hospital cooperation behavior on organizational performance. We differentiate between horizontal and vertical cooperation using two alternative measures-cooperation depth and cooperation breadth-and include the interaction effects between both cooperation directions. Data are derived from a survey of German hospitals and combined with objective performance information from annual financial statements. Generalized linear regression models are used. The study findings provide insight into the nature of hospitals' cooperation behavior. In particular, we show that there are negative synergies between horizontal administrative cooperation behavior and vertical cooperation behavior. Whereas the depth and breadth of horizontal administrative cooperation positively affect financial performance (when there is no vertical cooperation), vertical cooperation positively affects financial performance (when there is no horizontal administrative cooperation) only when cooperation is broad (rather than deep). Horizontal cooperation is generally more effective than vertical cooperation at improving financial performance. Hospital managers should consider the negative interaction effect when making decisions about whether to recommend a cooperative relationship in a horizontal or vertical direction. In addition, managers should be aware of the limited financial benefit of cooperation behavior.

Strengthening Institutions and Enterprises of Cooperative and Their Impact on Members’ Assets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sri Widiyati Soemodipoero

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Revitalization of Cooperative interpreted as a series of activities undertaken to reorganize the institutional and strengthen cooperative efforts in accordance with the values and principles of cooperatives. Cooperative serves as a tool to equalize the concentration of control of economic assets so that the weak economy may have opportunities to enhance economic independence. The purpose of this study is to explore the link between the level of member participation and human resource competencies to the strengthening of the institutional and cooperative efforts as well as its impact on member assets. This research used logistic regression analysis and Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. The results showed that the level of participation of members and managers of Human Resources competencies significantly affect institutional strengthening and cooperative efforts. Different test shows that there is a difference between financial capital and human capital before and after become a member of the cooperative.

U.S., Russia join efforts to clean up nuclear sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richard Seltzer.

1993-01-01

U.S. and Russian scientists are stepping up their cooperative efforts to deal with a vexing and controversial problem in both nations--cleanup of radioactive wastes at former nuclear weapons production sites. Last month, a top-level delegation of Russian officials and scientists came to the U.S. for two weeks. They visited Washington, D.C., and the Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford site in Washington State, studying U.S. cleanup activities and providing information on Russian problems and efforts. The visit was part of a program of exchanges in the areas of environmental restoration and waste management called for by a 1990 memorandum of cooperation between DOE and the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy. The memo helps implement a U.S.-Russian collaborative agreement on peaceful uses of atomic energy. Currently, cooperation under the memo exists in four areas: vitrification, waste separation, contaminant transport modeling, and student-scientist exchanges. The paper summarizes the visit to the Hanford Reservation and describes the cleanup efforts there

International cooperation in planetary exploration - Past success and future prospects

Science.gov (United States)

Rosendhal, Jeffrey D.

1987-01-01

A review is given of the ways in which the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has participated in international efforts to explore the solar system. Past examples of successful international cooperative programs are described. Prospects for future cooperative efforts are discussed with emphasis placed on current events, issues, and trends which are likely to affect possibilities for cooperation over the next 5 to 10 years. Key factors which will play a major role in shaping future prospects for cooperation include the move towards balancing the budget in the United States and the impact of the Challenger accident on the NASA program.

Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project Safety Advancement Field Effort (SAFE) Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1994-02-01

In 1992, the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project experienced several health and safety related incidents at active remediation project sites. As a result, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) directed the Technical Assistance Contractor (TAC) to establish a program increasing the DOE`s overall presence at operational remediation sites to identify and minimize risks in operations to the fullest extent possible (Attachments A and B). In response, the TAC, in cooperation with the DOE and the Remedial Action Contractor (RAC), developed the Safety Advancement Field Effort (SAFE) Program.

Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project Safety Advancement Field Effort (SAFE) Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-02-01

In 1992, the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project experienced several health and safety related incidents at active remediation project sites. As a result, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) directed the Technical Assistance Contractor (TAC) to establish a program increasing the DOE's overall presence at operational remediation sites to identify and minimize risks in operations to the fullest extent possible (Attachments A and B). In response, the TAC, in cooperation with the DOE and the Remedial Action Contractor (RAC), developed the Safety Advancement Field Effort (SAFE) Program

Nuclear energy and international cooperation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oshima, Keiichi

1981-01-01

There is no need to emphasize that nuclear energy cannot be developed without international cooperation at either the industrial or the academic level. In the meanwhile, there have been some marked political, economic and social changes in recent years which are posing constraints to the international cooperation in nuclear energy. The problems and constraints impeding nuclear power programs cannot be overcome by only one nation; international cooperation with common efforts to solve the problems is essential. Nuclear energy is different from fossil energy resources in that it is highly technology-intensive while others are resource-intensive. International cooperation in technology has an entirely different importance in the field of nuclear energy. Educational institutions will play a role in a new era of the international cooperation. (Mori, K.)

Residential Fuel Cell Demonstration Handbook: National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Cooperative Research Network

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Torrero, E.; McClelland, R.

2002-07-01

This report is a guide for rural electric cooperatives engaged in field testing of equipment and in assessing related application and market issues. Dispersed generation and its companion fuel cell technology have attracted increased interest by rural electric cooperatives and their customers. In addition, fuel cells are a particularly interesting source because their power quality, efficiency, and environmental benefits have now been coupled with major manufacturer development efforts. The overall effort is structured to measure the performance, durability, reliability, and maintainability of these systems, to identify promising types of applications and modes of operation, and to assess the related prospect for future use. In addition, technical successes and shortcomings will be identified by demonstration participants and manufacturers using real-world experience garnered under typical operating environments.

Variation of fee-for-service specialist direct care work effort with patient overall illness burden.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodman, Robert

2011-08-01

To explore whether a common industry measure of overall patient illness burden, used to assess the total costs of members in a health plan, would be suitable to describe variation in a summary metric of utilization that assesses specialist physician direct patient care services not grouped into clinical episodes, but with exclusion criteria applied to reduce any bias in the data. Data sources/study setting Calendar year 2006 administrative data on 153,557 commercial members enrolled in a non-profit single-state statewide Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) and treated by 4356 specialists in 11 specialties. The health plan's global referral process and specialist fee-for-service reimbursement likely makes these results applicable to the non-managed care setting, as once a global referral was authorized there was no required intervention by the HMO or referring primary care provider for the majority of any subsequent specialist direct clinical care. Study design Specialty-specific correlations and ordinary least-squares regression models to assess variations in specialist direct patient care work effort with patient overall illness burden, after the application of exclusion criteria to reduce potential bias in the data. Principle findings Statistically significant positive correlations exist between specialist direct patient care work effort and patient overall illness burden for all studied specialties. Regression models revealed a generally monotonic increasing relationship between illness burden categories and aggregate specialist direct patient care work effort. Almost all regression model differences from the reference category across specialties are statistically significant (P ≤ 0.012). Assessment of additional results demonstrates the relationship has more substantive significance in some specialties and less in others. The most substantive relationships in this study were found in the specialties of orthopaedic surgery, general surgery and interventional

Multilateral nonproliferation cooperation: US - Led effort to remove HEU/LEU fresh and spent fuels from the Republic of Georgia to Dounreay, Scotland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shelton, Thomas A.; Viebrock, James M.; Riedy, Alexander W.; Moses, Stanley D.; Bird, Helen M.

1998-01-01

This paper presents the efforts led by United States for removing HEU/LEU fresh and spent fuel from dhe Republic of Georgia to Dounreay, Scotland. These efforts are resulted from a plan approved by the United States Government, in cooperation with the United Kingdom and Georgia Governments to rapidly retrieve and transport circa 4.3 kilograms of enriched uranium. This material consisted largely of highly enriched uranium (HEU) and a small amount of low enriched uranium (LEU) fresh fuel, as well as about 800 grams of HEU/LEU-based spent fuel from a shutdown IR T-M research reactor on the outskirts of Table's, Georgia. The technical team lead by DOE consisted of HEU handling, packaging and transportation experts from the Oak Ridge Y-12 plant, managed and operated by Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, and fuel handling and transportation experts from Nac International in Norcross, Georgia, United States

Establishment of a Nuclear Cooperation Network between Korea and Brazil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Kyoung Pyo; Sohn, Dong Seong; Song, Kee Chan (and others)

2008-03-15

The objective of this study is to establish a personnel network and to identify potential complementary areas for technical cooperation in the future to advance Korean-Brazilian nuclear cooperation activities. To this end, current status of the cooperation in the areas of economy, energy resources and S and T between the two countries was surveyed, and the history of the nuclear development program and the current nuclear R and D status in Brazil, as well as the bilateral nuclear cooperation activities of both countries were analyzed. In addition, areas of mutual interest were identified by both countries' focal points and a personnel network was established. Based on the aforementioned preliminary activities, bilateral joint seminars were held in Brazil. At the joint seminars, possible areas of cooperation were discussed and joint research collaboration areas were surveyed and identified while both sides made efforts to expand the information and experts exchanges in specific areas. Through this study, possible specific areas of cooperation in which both sides have a common interest were identified in such areas as radiation technology application, post irradiation examination, radioactive waste management, I and C, and advanced nuclear fuel, and also concrete implementation methods were proposed. These results will be effectively utilized in establishing a basic direction for expanding bilateral nuclear cooperation activities in the future. Consistent establishment of a foundation for promoting cooperation could be established and maintained through the operation of a focal point in charge of coordinating bilateral technical cooperation, and then a long-term and stable human network could be established.

Establishment of a Nuclear Cooperation Network between Korea and Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Kyoung Pyo; Sohn, Dong Seong; Song, Kee Chan

2008-03-01

The objective of this study is to establish a personnel network and to identify potential complementary areas for technical cooperation in the future to advance Korean-Brazilian nuclear cooperation activities. To this end, current status of the cooperation in the areas of economy, energy resources and S and T between the two countries was surveyed, and the history of the nuclear development program and the current nuclear R and D status in Brazil, as well as the bilateral nuclear cooperation activities of both countries were analyzed. In addition, areas of mutual interest were identified by both countries' focal points and a personnel network was established. Based on the aforementioned preliminary activities, bilateral joint seminars were held in Brazil. At the joint seminars, possible areas of cooperation were discussed and joint research collaboration areas were surveyed and identified while both sides made efforts to expand the information and experts exchanges in specific areas. Through this study, possible specific areas of cooperation in which both sides have a common interest were identified in such areas as radiation technology application, post irradiation examination, radioactive waste management, I and C, and advanced nuclear fuel, and also concrete implementation methods were proposed. These results will be effectively utilized in establishing a basic direction for expanding bilateral nuclear cooperation activities in the future. Consistent establishment of a foundation for promoting cooperation could be established and maintained through the operation of a focal point in charge of coordinating bilateral technical cooperation, and then a long-term and stable human network could be established

30 years of cooperation in neutron physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lescsenko, B.E.

2000-01-01

A brief account is presented of the cooperative efforts between the Physics Departments of the Debrecen Kossuth Lajos University, Hungary, and the Kiev Taras Shevchenko University, Ukraine. The fields of cooperation included time-of-flight experiments, high-intensity neutron generators, and neutron capture reactions. (R.P.)

A Project in Support of International Nuclear Cooperation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Myung Ro; Kim, Kyoung Pyo; Lee, Jeong Kong; Jung, Sung Hyon; Shim, Jae Sun

2009-01-01

The objective of this study is to establish the strategies of international cooperation in order to promote our nation's leading role in international community, to lay the foundation for the effective transfer of nuclear technology to developing countries, and to cope with the rapidly changing in the international nuclear communities. This study contains the work undertaken to promote multilateral cooperation within the framework of international nuclear related organizations and regional cooperative agreements and the relevant forums, to enhance bilateral cooperation with foreign nuclear related research institutes as well as to promote cooperation through the exchange of foreign scientists. As for multilateral cooperation, activities for promoting cooperation within the IAEA and regional cooperative frameworks are introduced. Regarding bilateral cooperation, activities for concluding arrangements and MOUs with foreign research institutes and for participation in joint nuclear coordinating committee meetings between Korea and other countries are presented. For promoting personnel exchanges, activities for inviting and utilizing foreign scientists and mutual discussions with foreign experts, who have visited KAERI, are also described. Continuous efforts to contributing towards the international community through utilizing Korea's experience gained in the process of technical self-reliance and development of human resources are needed. Also efforts to establish the foundation of international cooperation and to make inroad into overseas nuclear markets for export of our nuclear technologies should be made. Meanwhile in the bilateral cooperation, we need to beef up cooperation with U.S.A. and Canada through the joint committee for the joint export to third countries. It is expected that this study would be utilized as a basic material for the international cooperation of nuclear energy, especially for the KAERI's international cooperation in an effective way

A project in support of international nuclear cooperation activities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Jeongkong; Kim, Myungro; Choi, Pyunghoon; Kim, Kyungpyo; Jung, Sunghyon; Park, Jiyeon; Eom, Jaesik; Kim, Wangkeun; Chung, Byungsun

2011-12-15

This study contains the work undertaken to promote multilateral cooperation within the framework of international nuclear related organizations and regional cooperative agreements and the relevant forums, to enhance bilateral cooperation with foreign nuclear related research institutes as well as to promote cooperation through the exchange of foreign scientists. As for multilateral cooperation, activities for promoting cooperation within the IAEA and regional cooperative frameworks are introduced. Regarding bilateral cooperation, activities for concluding arrangements and MOUs with foreign research institutes and for participation in joint nuclear coordinating committee meetings between Korea and other countries are presented. For promoting personnel exchanges, activities for inviting and utilizing foreign scientists and mutual discussions with foreign experts, who have visited KAERI, are also described. Continuous efforts to contributing towards the international community through utilizing Korea's experience gained in the process of technical self-reliance and development of human resources are needed. Also efforts to establish the foundation of international cooperation and to make inroad into overseas nuclear markets for export of our nuclear technologies should be made. Meanwhile in the bilateral cooperation, we need to beef up cooperation with U. S. A. and Canada through the joint committee for the joint export to third countries. It is expected that this study would be utilized as a basic material for the international cooperation of nuclear energy, especially for the KAERI's international cooperation in an effective way.

The pKa Cooperative: a collaborative effort to advance structure-based calculations of pKa values and electrostatic effects in proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Nielsen, Jens E; Gunner, M R; García-Moreno, Bertrand E

2011-12-01

The pK(a) Cooperative (http://www.pkacoop.org) was organized to advance development of accurate and useful computational methods for structure-based calculation of pK(a) values and electrostatic energies in proteins. The Cooperative brings together laboratories with expertise and interest in theoretical, computational, and experimental studies of protein electrostatics. To improve structure-based energy calculations, it is necessary to better understand the physical character and molecular determinants of electrostatic effects. Thus, the Cooperative intends to foment experimental research into fundamental aspects of proteins that depend on electrostatic interactions. It will maintain a depository for experimental data useful for critical assessment of methods for structure-based electrostatics calculations. To help guide the development of computational methods, the Cooperative will organize blind prediction exercises. As a first step, computational laboratories were invited to reproduce an unpublished set of experimental pK(a) values of acidic and basic residues introduced in the interior of staphylococcal nuclease by site-directed mutagenesis. The pK(a) values of these groups are unique and challenging to simulate owing to the large magnitude of their shifts relative to normal pK(a) values in water. Many computational methods were tested in this first Blind Prediction Challenge and critical assessment exercise. A workshop was organized in the Telluride Science Research Center to objectively assess the performance of many computational methods tested on this one extensive data set. This volume of Proteins: Structure, Function, and Bioinformatics introduces the pK(a) Cooperative, presents reports submitted by participants in the Blind Prediction Challenge, and highlights some of the problems in structure-based calculations identified during this exercise. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

JAEA's efforts for regional transparency in the area of nuclear nonproliferation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoffheins, Barbara; Kawakubo, Yoko; Inoue, Naoko

2014-03-01

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has undertaken a joint R and D project with the US Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) for the purposes of developing an Information Sharing Framework (ISF) for regional nonproliferation cooperation since July 2011. This project builds on nearly twenty years of technical cooperation between JAEA, its predecessor organizations and the DOE including the activities to define, develop and test transparency technologies and other multilateral efforts. The objective of current project is to design a viable information sharing process to support the goals of building confidence in the peaceful nature of regional nuclear programs. At the end of a two-year-effort, project partners, JAEA and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), have defined the comprehensive requirements for an ISF that will ensure nonproliferation transparency success and sustainability. In October 2011, a parallel project with the similar title and objective was launched under the arrangement between the US DOE/NNSA and the Republic of Korea Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST). Since then, JAEA, SNL, the Korea Institute for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control (KINAC) and Korea Atomic Energy Institute (KAERI) have jointly carried out the project in a form of informal, multilateral cooperation. The project partners have identified needs and audience for ISF, and initiated the discussion to develop requirements for ISF through workshops, meetings, regular telephone conferences, etc. The activities include conducting a survey to identify stakeholders' needs and requirements for an ISF, launching a website to practice information sharing concepts, and presenting papers. This paper provides the historical context of the current project to establish ISF, and reports the progress to date and speculates on future directions. (author)

A Project in Support of International Nuclear Cooperation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Myung Ro; Kim, Kyoung Pyo; Lee, Jeong Kong; Jung, Sung Hyon; Shim, Jae Sun

2008-12-15

The objective of this study is to establish the strategies of international cooperation in order to promote our nation's leading role in international community, to lay the foundation for the effective transfer of nuclear technology to developing countries, and to cope with the rapidly changing in the international nuclear communities. This study contains the work undertaken to promote multilateral cooperation within the framework of international nuclear related organizations and regional cooperative agreements and the relevant forums, to enhance bilateral cooperation with foreign nuclear related research institutes as well as to promote cooperation through the exchange of foreign scientists. As for multilateral cooperation, activities for promoting cooperation within the IAEA and regional cooperative frameworks are introduced. Regarding bilateral cooperation, activities for concluding arrangements and MOUs with foreign research institutes and for participation in joint nuclear coordinating committee meetings between Korea and other countries are presented. For promoting personnel exchanges, activities for inviting and utilizing foreign scientists and mutual discussions with foreign experts, who have visited KAERI, are also described. Continuous efforts to contributing towards the international community through utilizing Korea's experience gained in the process of technical self-reliance and development of human resources are needed. Also efforts to establish the foundation of international cooperation and to make inroad into overseas nuclear markets for export of our nuclear technologies should be made. Meanwhile in the bilateral cooperation, we need to beef up cooperation with U.S.A. and Canada through the joint committee for the joint export to third countries. It is expected that this study would be utilized as a basic material for the international cooperation of nuclear energy, especially for the KAERI's international cooperation in an

A Project in Support of International Nuclear Cooperation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Myung Ro; Kim, Kyoung Pyo; Lee, Jeong Kong; Jung, Sung Hyon; Shim, Jae Sun

2009-01-15

The objective of this study is to establish the strategies of international cooperation in order to promote our nation's leading role in international community, to lay the foundation for the effective transfer of nuclear technology to developing countries, and to cope with the rapidly changing in the international nuclear communities. This study contains the work undertaken to promote multilateral cooperation within the framework of international nuclear related organizations and regional cooperative agreements and the relevant forums, to enhance bilateral cooperation with foreign nuclear related research institutes as well as to promote cooperation through the exchange of foreign scientists. As for multilateral cooperation, activities for promoting cooperation within the IAEA and regional cooperative frameworks are introduced. Regarding bilateral cooperation, activities for concluding arrangements and MOUs with foreign research institutes and for participation in joint nuclear coordinating committee meetings between Korea and other countries are presented. For promoting personnel exchanges, activities for inviting and utilizing foreign scientists and mutual discussions with foreign experts, who have visited KAERI, are also described. Continuous efforts to contributing towards the international community through utilizing Korea's experience gained in the process of technical self-reliance and development of human resources are needed. Also efforts to establish the foundation of international cooperation and to make inroad into overseas nuclear markets for export of our nuclear technologies should be made. Meanwhile in the bilateral cooperation, we need to beef up cooperation with U.S.A. and Canada through the joint committee for the joint export to third countries. It is expected that this study would be utilized as a basic material for the international cooperation of nuclear energy, especially for the KAERI's international cooperation in an

Contribution of village cooperation unit in improving farmers incomes

Science.gov (United States)

Sibuea, M. B.; Sibuea, F. A.

2018-02-01

One of the government and private efforts to improve people’s welfare particularly to improve farmer’s income is to activate the Village Cooperation Unit (KUD). The objective of research was to know the efficiency level of farming organized by farmers together with cooperative. Theoretically some social economic variables have been known influences the rate of farmer’s income, therefore three social variables, such us the level of cooperation services, members participation and friendship among farmers with cooperation were studied. List of questions divided into forty family’s leader members of KUD which become samples. Analysis models were used production function of Cob-Douglass and Output Input Ratio models. It was concluded that level of participation and friendship partially were significantly to the income’s rate meanwhile variable of cooperation services level were not significant. Simultaneously, three factors gave very significant contribution, where R-square was 0.97 so that very significant. It’s also concluded that the biggest contribution given by the friendship level. Efficiency level or farming efforts of the farmers is very well and feasible with the average of OIR rate 19.23. This research recommended that this effort could be improved from friendship process among institution since the contribution was significantly improving the farmer’s income.

Stability Analysis of R&D Cooperation in a Supply Chain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luyun Xu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available R&D outsourcing becomes the often-adopted strategy for firms to innovate. However, R&D cooperation often ends up with failure because of its inherent quality of instability. One of the main reasons for cooperation failure is the opportunistic behavior. As the R&D contract between firms is inherently incomplete, opportunistic behavior always cannot be avoided in the collaborative process. R&D cooperation has been divided into horizontal and vertical types. This paper utilizes game theory to study opportunistic behavior in the vertical R&D cooperation and analyzes the equilibrium of the cooperation. Based on the equilibrium and numerical results, it is found that the vertical R&D cooperation is inherently unstable, and the downstream firm is more likely to break the agreement. The level of knowledge spillovers and the cost of R&D efforts have different effects on firms’ payoffs. When the level of knowledge spillover is low or the cost of R&D efforts is high, mechanisms such as punishment for opportunism may be more effective to guarantee the stability of cooperation.

New roads toward North-South cooperation.

Science.gov (United States)

Terpstra, E G

1989-12-01

A Netherlands Parliament member gives a European Perspective on population and development, problems in urban development, and methods of cooperation between industrialized and developing countries. On population and development, the relationship between population explosion and poverty, underdevelopment, environment, social infrastructure, and food shortages is pointed out. Most population growth in the years ahead will be in developing countries. Rampant population growth and burgeoning poverty strain the world's carrying capacity and environment, both in industrial and developing countries. Development policy and cooperation will fail in the absence of efforts to stem population growth. On this front, religious and political leaders have groundbreaking cooperative steps in supporting international family planning efforts through the global forum of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders on Human Survival. Economic development, environment, and population issues are inexorably tied together. The numerous problems faced by uncontrolled Third World urbanization are discussed with potential solutions for change. Incorporating women in the development process is strongly encouraged. The interdependent North-South relationship is discussed. All nations, the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, and women must cooperate to find solutions and effect positive change on a case-by-case basis.

Cooperative Threat Reduction: Status of Defense Conversion Efforts in the Former Soviet Union

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

1997-01-01

DOD's program to convert former Soviet Union defense industries to commercial enterprises is part of the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, which DOD has supported since 1992 to reduce the weapons...

Living with strangers: direct benefits favour non-kin cooperation in a communally nesting bird.

Science.gov (United States)

Riehl, Christina

2011-06-07

The greater ani (Crotophaga major), a Neotropical cuckoo, exhibits an unusual breeding system in which several socially monogamous pairs lay eggs in a single nest and contribute care to the communal clutch. Cooperative nesting is costly-females compete for reproduction by ejecting each other's eggs-but the potential direct or indirect fitness benefits that might accrue to group members have not been identified. In this study, I used molecular genotyping to quantify patterns of genetic relatedness and individual reproductive success within social groups in a single colour-banded population. Microsatellite analysis of 122 individuals in 49 groups revealed that group members are not genetic relatives. Group size was strongly correlated with individual reproductive success: solitary pairs were extremely rare and never successful, and nests attended by two pairs were significantly more likely to be depredated than were nests attended by three pairs. Egg loss, a consequence of reproductive competition, was greater in large groups and disproportionately affected females that initiated laying. However, early-laying females compensated for egg losses by laying larger clutches, and female group members switched positions in the laying order across nesting attempts. The greater ani, therefore, appears to be one of the few species in which cooperative breeding among unrelated individuals is favoured by direct, shared benefits that outweigh the substantial costs of reproductive competition.

US/Japan cooperation in high energy physics

Science.gov (United States)

1993-11-01

The objective of the Implementing Arrangement was to further the energy programs of both countries by establishing a framework for cooperation in the field of high energy physics, including research, accelerator and detector instrumentation research and development, the fabrication and subsequent use of new experimental devices and facilities, and related joint efforts as may be mutually agreed. Over the years, this cooperation has been very effective and has strengthened the overall collaborative efforts and the understanding between our nations and their citizens. It has demonstrated to the world our ability to work together to attack difficult problems. High Energy Physics goes across national borders; the bond is clearly intellectual and common ground is shared for the benefit of all in a most effective manner. This review covers the activities conducted under the aegis of the US/Japan Committee for Cooperation in High Energy Physics during the past five years (1988-1993). This was the second such US review of the US/Japan cooperative activities; the first was held in 1987.

Cooperative federalism and hydraulic fracturing: a human right to a clean environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Burleson, Elizabeth

2012-01-01

This Article argues that filling the energy governance gaps regarding unconventional natural gas can best be accomplished through collaborative governance that is genuinely adaptive and cooperative. Through cooperative federalism, combined with procedural rights for inclusive, innovative decision-making, state and non-state actors should design and implement the requisite safeguards before further natural gas development advances. Hydraulic fracturing provisions are strikingly fragmented and have sparked a fierce debate about chemical disclosure, radioactive wastewater disposal, and greenhouse gas emissions. United States natural gas production may stunt the direction and intensity of renewable energy by up to two decades and will not provide a bridge to a sound energy policy if it "erode[s] efforts to prepare a landing at the other end of the bridge." Unconventional natural gas extraction need not become a transition to a new addiction. This Article analyzes how cooperative federalism and inclusive decision-making can provide legitimacy and transparency when balancing property rights against police powers to regulate natural gas production.

Cooperatives and the State: The Case of Ontario

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel Laforest

2011-01-01

Full Text Available In the early 2000s, the cooperative movement in Ontario came together in order to lobby its provincial government for active cooperative development support programs. Momentum was building for these types of programs. Already, many provincial governments had implemented active support programs in their jurisdiction. Despite having one of the largest cooperative sectors in Canada, Ontario was lagging behind. This article assesses the progress of the efforts of the Ontario cooperative movement to date. It details how the Ontario cooperative movement developed a sectoral identity for itself and framed its objectives in an effort to strengthen its relationship with the Ontario government. / Le mouvement coopératif en Ontario s'est rassemblé au début des années 2000 afin de faire pression sur le gouvernement provincial pour qu'il développe des programmes de soutient actif pour coopératives. Déjà plusieurs gouvernements provinciaux avaient mis en place de telles politiques. L'Ontario tardait malgré le fait qu'il avait un des plus grands secteurs coopératifs au Canada. Cet article examine le progrès qu'a connu le mouvement coopératif en Ontario dans ses efforts. Il décrit comment le mouvement coopératif a construit une identité sectorielle autour de laquelle il a pu ancrer ses demandes auprès du gouvernement ontarien.

Cooperative Prototyping Experiments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bødker, Susanne; Grønbæk, Kaj

1989-01-01

This paper describes experiments with a design technique that we denote cooperative prototyping. The experiments consider design of a patient case record system for municipal dental clinics in which we used HyperCard, an off the shelf programming environment for the Macintosh. In the ecperiments we...... tried to achieve a fluent work-like evaluation of prototypes where users envisioned future work with a computer tool, at the same time as we made on-line modifications of prototypes in cooperation with the users when breakdown occur in their work-like evaluation. The experiments showed...... that it was possible to make a number of direct manipulation changes of prototypes in cooperation with the users, in interplay with their fluent work-like evaluation of these. However, breakdown occurred in the prototyping process when we reached the limits of the direct manipulation support for modification. From...

Cooperative Monitoring Center Occasional Paper/8: Cooperative Border Security for Jordan: Assessment and Options

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qojas, M.

1999-03-01

This document is an analysis of options for unilateral and cooperative action to improve the security of Jordan's borders. Sections describe the current political, economic, and social interactions along Jordan's borders. Next, the document discusses border security strategy for cooperation among neighboring countries and the adoption of confidence-building measures. A practical cooperative monitoring system would consist of hardware for early warning, command and control, communications, and transportation. Technical solutions can expand opportunities for the detection and identification of intruders. Sensors (such as seismic, break-wire, pressure-sensing, etc.) can warn border security forces of intrusion and contribute to the identification of the intrusion and help formulate the response. This document describes conceptual options for cooperation, offering three scenarios that relate to three hypothetical levels (low, medium, and high) of cooperation. Potential cooperative efforts under a low cooperation scenario could include information exchanges on military equipment and schedules to prevent misunderstandings and the establishment of protocols for handling emergency situations or unusual circumstances. Measures under a medium cooperation scenario could include establishing joint monitoring groups for better communications, with hot lines and scheduled meetings. The high cooperation scenario describes coordinated responses, joint border patrols, and sharing border intrusion information. Finally, the document lists recommendations for organizational, technical, and operational initiatives that could be applicable to the current situation.

User Interfaces for Cooperative Remote Design

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Hodges, Larry

1998-01-01

.... We seek to develop new methods to facilitate cooperative remote design utilizing both high-bandwidth networking capability and virtual reality with appropriate graphical interfaces to support the collaborative effort...

两层供应链系统最优广告努力水平与直接价格折扣的博弈分析%A Game Analysis of Optimal Advertising Efforts and Direct Price Discount Strategy for the Two-level Supply Chain

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

何丽红; 廖茜; 刘蒙蒙; 苑春

2017-01-01

在两层供应链中,考虑需求受广告努力水平和制造商提供的直接价格折扣的联合影响,建立供应链成员的合作广告努力水平与价格折扣策略模型,通过比较Nash均衡模型、制造商主导的Stackelberg博弈模型、零售商主导的Stackelberg博弈模型和合作博弈模型,得到不同情形下制造商与零售商的最优广告努力水平与制造商提供给消费者的最优价格折扣策略.结果表明,仅当商品价格弹性满足一定水平时,制造商才可能给予消费者一定的价格折扣;价格弹性越大,制造商可给与的直接价格折扣就越大,且消费者在合作博弈下可以得到更实惠的价格.当制造商给予消费者最优直接价格折扣时,制造商和零售商的广告努力积极性与价格弹性正相关.此外,制造商和零售商的广告成本存在比例关系,一方可以通过自身广告成本投入来估算另一方的广告成本.最后,运用帕累托改进对合作博弈下供应链系统的最大利润进行充分协调,以实现供应链参与双方和消费者的“三赢”局面.上述结论对供应链参与方合作模式的选择、最优广告努力水平与直接价格折扣策略的制定具有指导意义.%When the market demand is sensitive to sales price and the advertising efforts,both manufacturer and retailer in a supply chain must make decisions on their advertising effort levels and price discount.Based on the new demand function which is simultaneously affected by advertising efforts and direct price discount offered by the manufacturer to consumers,the optimal advertising efforts strategy of the supply chain and direct price discount of the manufacturer are mainly discussed by comparing four game models,which are Nash Equilibrium,Stackelberg game model in which the manufacturer is leader,Stackelberg game model in which the retailer is leader and cooperative game.The study finds that only when price elasticity meets a certain

Hierarchy is Detrimental for Human Cooperation.

Science.gov (United States)

Cronin, Katherine A; Acheson, Daniel J; Hernández, Penélope; Sánchez, Angel

2015-12-22

Studies of animal behavior consistently demonstrate that the social environment impacts cooperation, yet the effect of social dynamics has been largely excluded from studies of human cooperation. Here, we introduce a novel approach inspired by nonhuman primate research to address how social hierarchies impact human cooperation. Participants competed to earn hierarchy positions and then could cooperate with another individual in the hierarchy by investing in a common effort. Cooperation was achieved if the combined investments exceeded a threshold, and the higher ranked individual distributed the spoils unless control was contested by the partner. Compared to a condition lacking hierarchy, cooperation declined in the presence of a hierarchy due to a decrease in investment by lower ranked individuals. Furthermore, hierarchy was detrimental to cooperation regardless of whether it was earned or arbitrary. These findings mirror results from nonhuman primates and demonstrate that hierarchies are detrimental to cooperation. However, these results deviate from nonhuman primate findings by demonstrating that human behavior is responsive to changing hierarchical structures and suggests partnership dynamics that may improve cooperation. This work introduces a controlled way to investigate the social influences on human behavior, and demonstrates the evolutionary continuity of human behavior with other primate species.

Alternative vision or utopian fantasy? Cooperation, empowerment and women's cooperative development in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Mayoux, L

1995-01-01

The discussion addresses the costs and benefits of working in cooperatives in India, imposed participation, methods for increasing incomes, preconceived models, the importance of meeting the actual needs of women, and participatory options. This author evaluated 10 producer cooperatives in West Bengal, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu during 1984-92. It is argued that more discussion is needed on how ideals of cooperation and empowerment of women can occur simultaneous with the context in which cooperatives must operate. The ten study cooperatives were all officially registered cooperatives. Cooperatives varied in size, organizational structure, and forms of support. Four were determined to be successful in economic and participatory terms. Three were successful because of the efforts of the women themselves. All three cases were based on earning goals that were higher than the women could have achieved on their own. Six failed in terms of participatory decision making and cooperative operations. Lack of sufficient support and/or excessive bureaucratic red tape were involved in the six failures, but to varying degrees. Type of support and means of implementation were important in the six failures. All women used cooperatives as a means of increasing income. Participation rules were imposed by outside agencies. Women were given "cooperative" training. Disputes occurred because women selected to power positions were powerful leaders outside the cooperative. Consensus was difficult to reach. There were conflicts of interest between different departments. Quality control was made difficult by women's inability to provide discipline. Personal conflicts from outside were carried on within the cooperative. Incomes could be improved by training women in local marketing and networking, insuring adequate resources and capital, and providing savings schemes. Gender inequalities were a key factor limiting income for women, but cooperatives did not address this issue. Gains for women

An Empirical Evaluation of an Activity-Based Infrastructure for Supporting Cooperation in Software Engineering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tell, Paolo; Babar, Muhammad Ali

2016-01-01

Software engineering (SE) is predominantly a team effort that needs close cooperation among several people who may be geographically distributed. It has been recognized that appropriate tool support is a prerequisite to improve cooperation within SE teams. In an effort to contribute to this line...

International cooperation for operating safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dupuis, M.C.

1989-03-01

The international-cooperation organization in nuclear safety domain is discussed. The nuclear energy Direction Committee is helped by the Security Committee for Nuclear Power Plants in the cooperation between security organizations of member countries and in the safety and nuclear activity regulations. The importance of the cooperation between experts in human being and engine problems is underlined. The applied methods, exchange activities and activity analysis, and the cooperation of the Nuclear Energy Agency and international organizations is analysed [fr

Natural gas co-operation in the Baltic region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jensen, J.K.

1996-01-01

Co-operation between the gas companies in the Baltic Region has been in place for several years. The overview given in this paper shows that the co-operation has been developed in trade, investments, privatisation and participation in the restructuring process. Finally, through a broad technical co-operation, significant efforts are made to establish common operational practices, codes and standards and the integrity of gas transmission pipelines. The Baltic Region, from a resource and gas interconnection point of view, enjoys a strategic position in the future development of the gas industry in Europe. The Baltic gas sector represents an interesting and growing gas market with the significant gas storage capacity. The region is also located strategically for planned gas interconnections and could serve as a transit corridor for the future gas supplies from western Siberia or the North Sea. This co-operation in the region is being supported by international regulations and agreements such as the Energy Charter between the European Union and the central and east European countries. However, at present the gas industry in the Baltic Region seems to be ahead of these international agreements. It may well be seen that trade arrangements such as Third Party Access are implemented directly by market forces rather than through international agreements. The regional development may thus be a driving force for the implementation of the Internal Energy Market for the gas industry

Technical Co-operation Report for 1996. Report by the Director General

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-01-01

The Agency's Technical Cooperation (TC) Programme made further progress during 1996 in implementing recent initiatives to strengthen efficiency and effectiveness. These initiatives seek to maximize the developmental contribution of counterpart institutions by emphasizing the management of technology to solve social and economic problems. The new direction has been embodied in the term ''Partners in Development''. The Partners in Development approach is reflected in last year's Report to the Board of Governors and the General Conference on Strengthening of the Agency's Technical Co-operation Activities, which provided an update on ongoing activities and elaborated new initiatives. The 1995 Technical Cooperation Report focused on the progress in implementing these initiatives. Next year, the Secretariat plans to combine the TC Report with the Report on Strengthening of the Agency's Technical Co-operation Activities in order to improve the clarity, consistency and economy of these presentations. Establishing a development partnership with Member States is the central goal of a new Strategy for TC. The refinement of this strategy required considerable effort during 1996, when the process first began to define objectives, targets and the means of accomplishing them. Alongside internal consultations, the role of SAGTAC became instrumental in reaching consensus on the main elements of the strategy. Future efforts include the formulation of implementation plans for the strategy. Once completed, the strategy will be presented to the TACC and Board in 1997. Reflecting these developments, section A of this Report presents the basic features of the TC Strategy, and the approach to be taken to achieve its objectives. The Strategy addresses among others the recommendations contained in resolution GC(40)/RES/13 on the Strengthening of Technical Co-operation: activities to improve the scientific and technological capabilities of developing countries; to achieve sustainable

Followings of nuclear cooperation with India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nahla, Nasr

2009-01-01

This article speaks about the agreements of nuclear cooperation between India and USA,France and Russia. The Nuclear Suppliers Group,NSG, opened the door to the civil nuclear commercial with India, with the support of Canada, after 35 years of forbidden. The responsibility of NSG and any country enters in new arrangements for nuclear civil cooperation with India to assure the action of India towards its commitments to support world efforts for non-nuclear proliferation

A New Step for ''State-IAEA Cooperation'' Based on the Enhanced Cooperation Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jo, S.Y.; Kim, M.; Kim, S.

2015-01-01

Since joining the IAEA comprehensive safeguards agreements, the ROK has made some exemplary case of implementing the IAEA's safeguards policy in a State. It's the results of the ROK Government's persistent effort for nuclear transparency to maintain its peaceful nuclear activities which is indispensible in Korea. The history of the ROK SSAC development can be reflected on the trajectory of the evolution of the IAEA safeguards. The ROK SSAC has achieved technical capabilities required for IAEA safeguards, which was not possible without cooperation programme with the IAEA. The first memorable moment of the ROK-IAEA cooperation is the enhanced cooperation program for the ROK LWRs in 2001, introducing remote monitoring systems and some changes in interim inspections. The next chance for leveling the ROK SSAC up came with IS implementation. Two parties consulted what should be prepared for efficient implementation of IS through seven times working group meetings. The WG put out IS approaches which have been being applied for the ROK nuclear facilities since 2008. The IS implementation, which is based on the state level approach, allowed the ROK SSAC to get opportunities to improve more its technical capabilities about support for IAEA safeguards activities, developing verification devices and safeguards approaches for pyroprocessing related facilities. The IAEA and the ROK are putting strenuous efforts for strengthening safeguards cooperation based on the Enhanced Cooperation Arrangements which was signed in 2012, discussing the SSAC role in IAEA safeguards activities, joint use equipment, etc. Besides, two parties are considering introducing unannounced inspections at LWRs after several rehearsals. In this paper, the implication and importance of State-IAEA cooperation is presented based on the ROK's experience with summarizing the brief history of SSAC development and cooperation with the IAEA. (author)

Japan-U.S. cooperation in transport of plutonium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeda, Yu

2012-01-01

Japan's effort to utilize plutonium for peaceful purpose since 1950s was caught in a cross fire after the end of the Cold War. Maritime transport of plutonium from France to Japan in 1993, for instance, was criticized by U.S. Congress, nonproliferation specialists and environmental activists. U.S. government, however, compiled with Japan-US Nuclear Cooperation Agreement and cooperated to ship plutonium. This paper focuses on why Washington was supportive for the sealift of plutonium despite of opposition against it. By solving the puzzle, this research will contribute to studies of Japan's plutonium policy and Japan-U.S. nuclear relations. Based on newspaper articles, memoirs and official documents, this paper examines backgrounds and features of controversy surrounding the transport. The analyses show the causes of U.S. cooperation to the transport, such as Japan's efforts toward nuclear nonproliferation. (author)

International cooperation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

In 1995, Nuclear Regulatory Authority of the Slovak Republic (NRA SR) ensured foreign cooperation particularly in the frame of the Slovak Republic is membership in the IAEA, as well as cooperation with the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD NEA), cooperation with European Union in the frame of PHARE programmes, and intergovernmental cooperation and cooperation among nuclear regulatory authorities. With respect to an international importance, prestige and a wide-scope possibilities of a technical assistance , either a direct one (expert assessments, technology supplies, work placement, scientific trips, training courses) or indirect one (participation at various conferences, seminars, technical committees, etc), the most important cooperation with the IAEA in Vienna. In 1994, the Slovak Republic, was elected to the Board Governors, the represent the group of Eastern European countries. The Slovak Government entrusted the NRA SR's Chairman with representing the Slovak Republic in the Board of Governors. Owing to a good name of Slovakia was elected to the one of two Vice-Chairmen of the Board of Governors at the 882-nd session on the Board. IAEA approved and developed 8 national projects for Slovakia in 1995. Generally, IAEA is contracting scientific contracts with research institutes, nuclear power plants and other organizations. Slovak organizations used these contracts as complementary funding of their tasks. In 1995, there were 12 scientific contracts in progress, or approved respectively. Other international activities of the NRA SR, international co-operations as well as foreign affairs are reported

Index of Effort: An Analytical Model for Evaluating and Re-Directing Student Recruitment Activities for a Local Community College.

Science.gov (United States)

Landini, Albert J.

This index of effort is proposed as a means by which those in charge of student recruitment activities at community colleges can be sure that their efforts are being directed toward all of the appropriate population. The index is an analytical model based on the concept of socio-economic profiles, using small area 1970 census data, and is the…

Inequity-aversion and relative kindness intention jointly determine the expenditure of effort in project teams.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiaojie Han

Full Text Available The literature on team cooperation has neglected the effects of relative kindness intention on cooperation, which we measure by comparing the kindness intentions of an agent to her group members to the kindness shown by other members to this same agent. We argue that the agent's emotional reaction to material payoff inequity is not constant, but rather affected by her relative kindness intention. Then, we apply the model to team projects with multiple partners and investigate how inequity-aversion and relative kindness intention jointly influence team cooperation. We first consider the case of homogeneous agents, where their marginal productivity levels and technical capacities are the same, and then consider the case of heterogeneous agents, where their marginal productivity levels and technical capacities are not the same. Our results show that inequity-aversion has no effect on effort expenditure in the former case, but does affect it in the latter case. The consideration of relative kindness intention may impact the agents' optimal cooperative effort expenditure when their technical capacities are different. In addition, it is beneficial for team cooperation, and might not only reduce the negative impact but also enhance the positive impact of inequity-aversion on the agents' effort expenditures.

An Overview of the Cooperative Effort between the United States Department of Energy and the China Atomic Energy Authority to Enhance MPC and A Inspections for Civil Nuclear Facilities in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahern, Keith; Daming, Liu; Hanley, Tim; Livingston, Linwood; McAninch, Connie; McGinnis, Brent R.; Ning, Shen; Qun, Yang; Roback, Jason William; Tuttle, Glenn; Xuemei, Gao; Galer, Regina; Peterson, Nancy; Jia, Jinlie

2011-01-01

The United States Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) and the China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA) are cooperating to enhance the domestic regulatory inspections capacity for special nuclear material protection, control and accounting (MPC and A) requirements for civil nuclear facilities in China. This cooperation is conducted under the auspices of the Agreement between the Department of Energy of the United States of America and the State Development and Planning Commission of the People s Republic of China on Cooperation Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Technology. This initial successful effort was conducted in three phases. Phase I focused on introducing CAEA personnel to DOE and U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspection methods for U. S. facilities. This phase was completed in January 2008 during meetings in Beijing. Phase II focused on developing physical protection and material control and accounting inspection exercises that enforced U. S. inspection methods identified during Phase 1. Hands on inspection activities were conducted in the United States over a two week period in July 2009. Simulated deficiencies were integrated into the inspection exercises. The U. S. and Chinese participants actively identified and discussed deficiencies noted during the two week training course. The material control and accounting inspection exercises were conducted at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP) in Paducah, KY. The physical protection inspection exercises were conducted at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Oak Ridge, TN. Phase III leveraged information provided under Phase I and experience gained under Phase II to develop a formal inspection guide that incorporates a systematic approach to training for Chinese MPC and A field inspectors. Additional hands on exercises that are applicable to Chinese regulations were incorporated into the Phase III training material. Phase III was completed in May 2010 at

Incentive Model Based on Cooperative Relationship in Sustainable Construction Projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guangdong Wu

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Considering the cooperative relationship between owners and contractors in sustainable construction projects, as well as the synergistic effects created by cooperative behaviors, a cooperative incentive model was developed using game theory. The model was formulated and analyzed under both non-moral hazard and moral hazard situations. Then, a numerical simulation and example were proposed to verify the conclusions derived from the model. The results showed that the synergistic effect increases the input intensity of one party’s resource transfer into the increase of marginal utility of the other party, thus the owner and contractor are willing to enhance their levels of effort. One party’s optimal benefit allocation coefficient is positively affected by its own output efficiency, and negatively affected by the other party’s output efficiency. The effort level and expected benefits of the owner and contractor can be improved by enhancing the cooperative relationship between the two parties, as well as enhancing the net benefits of a sustainable construction project. The synergistic effect cannot lower the negative effect of moral hazard behaviors during the implementation of sustainable construction projects. Conversely, the higher levels of the cooperative relationship, the wider the gaps amongst the optimal values under both non-moral hazard and moral hazard situations for the levels of effort, expected benefits and net project benefits. Since few studies to date have emphasized the effects of cooperative relationship on sustainable construction projects, this study constructed a game-based incentive model to bridge the gaps. This study contributes significant theoretical and practical insights into the management of cooperation amongst stakeholders, and into the enhancement of the overall benefits of sustainable construction projects.

Hierarchy is Detrimental for Human Cooperation

Science.gov (United States)

Cronin, Katherine A.; Acheson, Daniel J.; Hernández, Penélope; Sánchez, Angel

2015-01-01

Studies of animal behavior consistently demonstrate that the social environment impacts cooperation, yet the effect of social dynamics has been largely excluded from studies of human cooperation. Here, we introduce a novel approach inspired by nonhuman primate research to address how social hierarchies impact human cooperation. Participants competed to earn hierarchy positions and then could cooperate with another individual in the hierarchy by investing in a common effort. Cooperation was achieved if the combined investments exceeded a threshold, and the higher ranked individual distributed the spoils unless control was contested by the partner. Compared to a condition lacking hierarchy, cooperation declined in the presence of a hierarchy due to a decrease in investment by lower ranked individuals. Furthermore, hierarchy was detrimental to cooperation regardless of whether it was earned or arbitrary. These findings mirror results from nonhuman primates and demonstrate that hierarchies are detrimental to cooperation. However, these results deviate from nonhuman primate findings by demonstrating that human behavior is responsive to changing hierarchical structures and suggests partnership dynamics that may improve cooperation. This work introduces a controlled way to investigate the social influences on human behavior, and demonstrates the evolutionary continuity of human behavior with other primate species. PMID:26692287

The Effects of Hearing Aid Directional Microphone and Noise Reduction Processing on Listening Effort in Older Adults with Hearing Loss.

Science.gov (United States)

Desjardins, Jamie L

2016-01-01

Older listeners with hearing loss may exert more cognitive resources to maintain a level of listening performance similar to that of younger listeners with normal hearing. Unfortunately, this increase in cognitive load, which is often conceptualized as increased listening effort, may come at the cost of cognitive processing resources that might otherwise be available for other tasks. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the independent and combined effects of a hearing aid directional microphone and a noise reduction (NR) algorithm on reducing the listening effort older listeners with hearing loss expend on a speech-in-noise task. Participants were fitted with study worn commercially available behind-the-ear hearing aids. Listening effort on a sentence recognition in noise task was measured using an objective auditory-visual dual-task paradigm. The primary task required participants to repeat sentences presented in quiet and in a four-talker babble. The secondary task was a digital visual pursuit rotor-tracking test, for which participants were instructed to use a computer mouse to track a moving target around an ellipse that was displayed on a computer screen. Each of the two tasks was presented separately and concurrently at a fixed overall speech recognition performance level of 50% correct with and without the directional microphone and/or the NR algorithm activated in the hearing aids. In addition, participants reported how effortful it was to listen to the sentences in quiet and in background noise in the different hearing aid listening conditions. Fifteen older listeners with mild sloping to severe sensorineural hearing loss participated in this study. Listening effort in background noise was significantly reduced with the directional microphones activated in the hearing aids. However, there was no significant change in listening effort with the hearing aid NR algorithm compared to no noise processing. Correlation analysis between objective and self

Geysers advanced direct contact condenser research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Henderson, J.; Bahning, T.; Bharathan, D.

1997-12-31

The first geothermal application of the Advanced Direct Contact Condenser (ADCC) technology developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is now operational and is being tested at The Geysers Power Plant Unit 11. This major research effort is being supported through the combined efforts of NREL, The Department of Energy (DOE), and Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E). NREL and PG&E have entered into a Cooperative Research And Development Agreement (CRADA) for a project to improve the direct-contact condenser performance at The Geysers Power Plant. This project is the first geothermal adaptation of an advanced condenser design developed for the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) systems. PG&E expects this technology to improve power plant performance and to help extend the life of the steam field by using steam more efficiently. In accordance with the CRADA, no money is transferred between the contracting parties. In this case the Department of Energy is funding NREL for their efforts in this project and PG&E is contributing funds in kind. Successful application of this technology at The Geysers will provide a basis for NREL to continue to develop this technology for other geothermal and fossil power plant systems.

Modified Cooperative Access with Relay’s Data (MCARD based Directional Antenna for multi-rate WLANs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed Magdy

2014-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper, for multi-rate wireless local area networks (WLANs, a modified protocol in Medium Access Control (MAC, called Modified Cooperative Access with Relay’s Data (MCARD based Directional Antenna using half wave length dipole in Uniform Circular Array (UCA topology is proposed. MCARD gives remote stations chance to send their information by using intermediate stations (relays to Access Point (AP at a higher data rate based practical antenna. As can be seen under MCARD, a relay station transmits its information before forwarding information from the source station because it uses directional antenna. Analytical results and simulations show that MCARD can significantly improve system quality of service (QOS in terms of throughput under different channel conditions.

Cooperatives management evaluation of four Savings and Credit Cooperatives of Quito, Ecuador

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard Joel Alba Caluguillin

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The administrative management in cooperative enterprises develops in each of the stages of the administrative process of the traditional companies, which are planning, organization, direction and control, with the only difference that the savings and credit cooperatives comply with cooperative principles and values such as mutual aid, social responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. The objective of this research was to evaluate the process of administrative management in four selected savings and credit cooperatives from Quito city, Ecuador, were applied theoretical and empirical methods of research. From the empirical point of view, a survey was applied getting results from this process. In general, in the cooperatives evaluated, it was recognized the importance of comprehensive management, strategic planning, motivation as a key element for good job performance, the effectiveness of formal communication channels and other aspects inherent in administrative management, although there are certain deficiencies that limit the results of the cooperative activity.

The roles of incentives and voluntary cooperation for contractual compliance

OpenAIRE

Gächter, Simon; Kessler, Esther; Königstein, Manfred

2011-01-01

Efficiency under contractual incompleteness often requires voluntary cooperation in situations where self-regarding incentives for contractual compliance are present as well. Here we provide a comprehensive experimental analysis based on the gift-exchange game of how explicit and implicit incentives affect cooperation. We first show that there is substantial cooperation under non-incentive compatible contracts. Incentive-compatible contracts induce best-reply effort and crowd out any voluntar...

Foreign cooperative technology development and transfer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schassburger, R.J.; Robinson, R.A.

1988-01-01

It is the policy of the US Department of Energy (DOE) that, in pursuing the development of mined geologic repositories in the United States, the waste isolation program will continue to actively support international cooperation and exchange activities that are judged to be in the best interest of the program and in compliance with the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, Sec. 223. Because there are common technical issues and because technology development often requires large expenditures of funds and dedication of significant capital resources, it is advantageous to cooperate with foreign organizations carrying out similar activities. The DOE's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management is working on cooperative nuclear waste isolation technology development programs with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development/Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA), Canada's Atomic Energy of Canada, Limited (AECL), Sweden, Switzerland, and the Federal Republic of Germany. This paper describes recent technology results that have been obtained in DOE's foreign cooperative programs. Specific technology development studies are discussed for cooperative efforts with Canada, OECD/NEA, and a natural analog project in Brazil

Noradrenaline and dopamine neurons in the reward/effort trade-off: a direct electrophysiological comparison in behaving monkeys.

Science.gov (United States)

Varazzani, Chiara; San-Galli, Aurore; Gilardeau, Sophie; Bouret, Sebastien

2015-05-20

Motivation determines multiple aspects of behavior, including action selection and energization of behavior. Several components of the underlying neural systems have been examined closely, but the specific role of the different neuromodulatory systems in motivation remains unclear. Here, we compare directly the activity of dopaminergic neurons from the substantia nigra pars compacta and noradrenergic neurons from the locus coeruleus in monkeys performing a task manipulating the reward/effort trade-off. Consistent with previous reports, dopaminergic neurons encoded the expected reward, but we found that they also anticipated the upcoming effort cost in connection with its negative influence on action selection. Conversely, the firing of noradrenergic neurons increased with both pupil dilation and effort production in relation to the energization of behavior. Therefore, this work underlines the contribution of dopamine to effort-based decision making and uncovers a specific role of noradrenaline in energizing behavior to face challenges. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/357866-12$15.00/0.

STRATEGY OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC COOPERATION: METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aliona DANILIUC

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In the present article, the authors describe the essence of cooperation and those strategic problems that can be solved internationally only through cooperation efforts. In this context, the authors propose to understand cooperation as the actions of a few companies, corporations from one country or several countries that through their activities contribute to the achievement of goals of economic, ecological and social importance for a region, a country, many countries or for all humanity. Cooperation in such cases, contribute to realization of synergistic results and development of preconditions for each participant to carry out its activities according to its own optimization criteria. Cooperation generates productive systems based on principles and technologies, it can be multispectral, creates preconditions for demand increasing, solves some marketing problems, creates a comfortable space for the activities of all economic subjects.

Strategy of International Economic Cooperation: methodological aspects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maximilian Silvestru

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In the present article, the authors describe the essence of cooperation and those strategic problems that can be solved internationally only through cooperation efforts. In this context, the authors propose to understand cooperation as the actions of a few companies, corporations from one country or several countries that through their activities contribute to the achievement of goals of economic, ecological and social importance for a region, a country, many countries or for all humanity. Cooperation in such cases, contribute to realization of synergistic results and development of preconditions for each participant to carry out its activities according to its own optimization criteria. Cooperation generates productive systems based on principles and technologies, it can be multispectral, creates preconditions for demand increasing, solves some marketing problems, creates a comfortable space for the activities of all economic subjects.

Diabetes among Latinos in the Southwestern United States: border health and binational cooperation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ryan P. Casey

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This analysis reviews cooperation between the four border states of the United States of America (Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas and international partners in Mexico with regard to type 2 diabetes among Latinos. Binational cooperation, academic collaboration, preventative health initiatives, and efforts to improve health care access for the border population are highlighted. This meta-analysis of the literature points out causative factors of the increased type 2 diabetes prevalence among Latinos in the United States; an inverse correlation between diabetes and education and socioeconomic level; contributing factors, including barriers with language, health care payment, transportation, and underestimating diabetes implications; and a lack of social and environmental support for disease management. Medical and indirect costs in socioeconomic terms are also included. Cooperation between the United States and Mexico may be beneficial to promoting further collaborative efforts between these nations, and serve as a template for greater cooperative efforts to mitigate the substantial public health and socioeconomic implications of type 2 diabetes globally.

Effect of direct reciprocity and network structure on continuing prosperity of social networking services.

Science.gov (United States)

Osaka, Kengo; Toriumi, Fujio; Sugawara, Toshihauru

2017-01-01

Social networking services (SNSs) are widely used as communicative tools for a variety of purposes. SNSs rely on the users' individual activities associated with some cost and effort, and thus it is not known why users voluntarily continue to participate in SNSs. Because the structures of SNSs are similar to that of the public goods (PG) game, some studies have focused on why voluntary activities emerge as an optimal strategy by modifying the PG game. However, their models do not include direct reciprocity between users, even though reciprocity is a key mechanism that evolves and sustains cooperation in human society. We developed an abstract SNS model called the reciprocity rewards and meta-rewards games that include direct reciprocity by extending the existing models. Then, we investigated how direct reciprocity in an SNS facilitates cooperation that corresponds to participation in SNS by posting articles and comments and how the structure of the networks of users exerts an influence on the strategies of users using the reciprocity rewards game. We run reciprocity rewards games on various complex networks and an instance network of Facebook and found that two types of stable cooperation emerged. First, reciprocity slightly improves the rate of cooperation in complete graphs but the improvement is insignificant because of the instability of cooperation. However, this instability can be avoided by making two assumptions: high degree of fun, i.e. articles are read with high probability, and different attitudes to reciprocal and non-reciprocal agents. We then propose the concept of half free riders to explain what strategy sustains cooperation-dominant situations. Second, we indicate that a certain WS network structure affects users' optimal strategy and facilitates stable cooperation without any extra assumptions. We give a detailed analysis of the different characteristics of the two types of cooperation-dominant situations and the effect of the memory of

Five Rules for the Evolution of Cooperation

Science.gov (United States)

Nowak, Martin A.

2006-12-01

Cooperation is needed for evolution to construct new levels of organization. Genomes, cells, multicellular organisms, social insects, and human society are all based on cooperation. Cooperation means that selfish replicators forgo some of their reproductive potential to help one another. But natural selection implies competition and therefore opposes cooperation unless a specific mechanism is at work. Here I discuss five mechanisms for the evolution of cooperation: kin selection, direct reciprocity, indirect reciprocity, network reciprocity, and group selection. For each mechanism, a simple rule is derived that specifies whether natural selection can lead to cooperation.

Cooperative water network system to reduce carbon footprint.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Seong-Rin; Park, Jong Moon

2008-08-15

Much effort has been made in reducing the carbon footprint to mitigate climate change. However, water network synthesis has been focused on reducing the consumption and cost of freshwater within each industrial plant. The objective of this study is to illustrate the necessity of the cooperation of industrial plants to reduce the total carbon footprint of their water supply systems. A mathematical optimization model to minimize global warming potentials is developed to synthesize (1) a cooperative water network system (WNS) integrated over two plants and (2) an individual WNS consisting of two WNSs separated for each plant. The cooperative WNS is compared to the individual WNS. The cooperation reduces their carbon footprint and is economically feasible and profitable. A strategy for implementing the cooperation is suggested for the fair distribution of costs and benefits. As a consequence, industrial plants should cooperate with their neighbor plants to further reduce the carbon footprint.

Practicing What We Preach: Teacher Reflection Groups on Cooperative Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Farrell, Thomas S. C.; Jacobs, George M.

2016-01-01

This article discusses the use of teacher reflection groups to aid teachers in their efforts to facilitate cooperative learning among their students. It is argued that these teacher reflection groups function best when they are organized with reference to eight cooperative learning principles. Furthermore, it is suggested that these reflective…

Japanese citizens' attitude toward end-of-life care and advance directives: A qualitative study for members of medical cooperatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirayama, Yoko; Otani, Takashi; Matsushima, Masato

2017-12-01

Japanese citizens are interested in choosing their own end-of-life care, but few have created their own advance directive. This study examined changes among Japanese citizens' attitudes toward end-of-life care and advance directives and explored factors that affected these attitudes. We conducted five focus groups with 48 participants in 2009 and 2010. All participants were members of health cooperatives in Tokyo. We identified many barriers and reasons for creating and writing down advance directives. Experience caring for dying people and having a serious disease affected attitudes toward advance directives. Some participants changed their attitude toward end-of-life care by writing their own advance directive. When someone is writing advance directives, asking about his/her past experience of caring may be helpful. And learning about or filling out advance directives may help to break down resistance to using these documents.

Collective chasing behavior between cooperators and defectors in the spatial prisoner's dilemma.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Genki Ichinose

Full Text Available Cooperation is one of the essential factors for all biological organisms in major evolutionary transitions. Recent studies have investigated the effect of migration for the evolution of cooperation. However, little is known about whether and how an individuals' cooperativeness coevolves with mobility. One possibility is that mobility enhances cooperation by enabling cooperators to escape from defectors and form clusters; the other possibility is that mobility inhibits cooperation by helping the defectors to catch and exploit the groups of cooperators. In this study we investigate the coevolutionary dynamics by using the prisoner's dilemma game model on a lattice structure. The computer simulations demonstrate that natural selection maintains cooperation in the form of evolutionary chasing between the cooperators and defectors. First, cooperative groups grow and collectively move in the same direction. Then, mutant defectors emerge and invade the cooperative groups, after which the defectors exploit the cooperators. Then other cooperative groups emerge due to mutation and the cycle is repeated. Here, it is worth noting that, as a result of natural selection, the mobility evolves towards directional migration, but not to random or completely fixed migration. Furthermore, with directional migration, the rate of global population extinction is lower when compared with other cases without the evolution of mobility (i.e., when mobility is preset to random or fixed. These findings illustrate the coevolutionary dynamics of cooperation and mobility through the directional chasing between cooperators and defectors.

Cognitive Load and Cooperation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Døssing, Felix Sebastian; Piovesan, Marco; Wengström, Erik Roland

2017-01-01

We study the effect of intuitive and reflective processes on cooperation using cognitive load. Compared with time constraint, which has been used in the previous literature, cognitive load is a more direct way to block reflective processes, and thus a more suitable way to study the link between...... intuition and cooperation. Using a repeated public goods game, we study the effect of different levels of cognitive load on contributions. We show that a higher cognitive load increases the initial level of cooperation. In particular, subjects are significantly less likely to fully free ride under high...... cognitive load....

Co-operation and Self-Organization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christian Fuchs

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Co-operation has its specific meanings in physical (dissipative, biological (autopoietic and social (re-creative systems. On upper hierarchical systemic levels there are additional, emergent properties of co-operation, co-operation evolves dialectically. The focus of this paper is human cooperation. Social systems permanently reproduce themselves in a loop that mutually connects social structures and actors. Social structures enable and constrain actions, they are medium and outcome of social actions. This reflexive process is termed re-creation and describes the process of social selforganization. Co-operation in a very weak sense means coaction and takes place permanently in re-creative systems: two or more actors act together in a co-ordinated manner so that a new emergent property emerges. Co-action involves the formation of forces, environment and sense (dispositions, decisions, definitions. Mechanistic approaches conceive coaction in terms of rational planning, consciousness, intention, predictability, and necessity. Holistic approaches conceive coaction in terms of spontaneity, unconscious and unintended actions, non-predictability, chance. Dialectic approaches conceive co-action in terms of a unity of rational planning and spontaneous emergence, a unity of conscious and unconscious aspects and consequences, and a unity of necessity and chance. Co-operation in a strong sense that is employed in this paper means that actors work together, create a new emergent reality, have shared goals, all benefit from co-operating, can reach their goals in joint effort more quickly and more efficiently than on an individual basis, make concerted use of existing structures in order to produce new structures, learn from each other mutually, are interconnected in a social network, and are mutually dependent and responsible. There is a lack of cooperation, self-determination, inclusion and direct democracy in modern society due to its antagonistic

Diversity and Cooperation

OpenAIRE

Bruner, Justin Pearce

2014-01-01

The present dissertation is an exploration of the effect of diversity on social contract formation and the evolution of cooperation. This work stems from the pioneering efforts of economist Arthur Robson, who first explored the role of costless pre-game communication in strategic interactions. When communication is permitted, individuals playing a game can condition their behavior on the signal received from their counterpart. For my purposes, I interpret these signals as racial markers or cu...

Gender, trust and cooperation in environmental social dilemmas.

Science.gov (United States)

Irwin, Kyle; Edwards, Kimberly; Tamburello, Jeffrey A

2015-03-01

This research addresses gender differences in environmental protection efforts. Recent work indicates that, across a variety of domains, women are more generous, charitable, and prosocial than men. Despite above-average levels of these motivators for cooperation, considerable experimental research points to no difference in cooperation between genders. What can explain women's lower-than-expected cooperation levels? Prior research indicates that, compared to men, women are less trusting and respond to fear incentives in social dilemmas - they are concerned about being exploited. We test these arguments in the context of environmental behaviors and argue that lower trust and greater responses to fear incentives mean that women's cooperation is predicated on trust. For men, trust does not predict environmental cooperation. The current research represents the first empirical test of these arguments. Using data from the General Social Survey we focus on private sphere behaviors and political participation and predict an interaction between gender and trust on cooperation. Results support this prediction. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Participation in multilateral effort to develop high performance integrated CPC evacuated collectors

Science.gov (United States)

Winston, R.; Ogallagher, J. J.

1992-05-01

The University of Chicago Solar Energy Group has had a continuing program and commitment to develop an advanced evacuated solar collector integrating nonimaging concentration into its design. During the period from 1985-1987, some of our efforts were directed toward designing and prototyping a manufacturable version of an Integrated Compound Parabolic Concentrator (ICPC) evacuated collector tube as part of an international cooperative effort involving six organizations in four different countries. This 'multilateral' project made considerable progress towards a commercially practical collector. One of two basic designs considered employed a heat pipe and an internal metal reflector CPC. We fabricated and tested two large diameter (125 mm) borosilicate glass collector tubes to explore this concept. The other design also used a large diameter (125 mm) glass tube but with a specially configured internal shaped mirror CPC coupled to a U-tube absorber. Performance projections in a variety of systems applications using the computer design tools developed by the International Energy Agency (IEA) task on evacuated collectors were used to optimize the optical and thermal design. The long-term goal of this work continues to be the development of a high efficiency, low cost solar collector to supply solar thermal energy at temperatures up to 250 C. Some experience and perspectives based on our work are presented and reviewed. Despite substantial progress, the stability of research support and the market for commercial solar thermal collectors were such that the project could not be continued. A cooperative path involving university, government, and industrial collaboration remains the most attractive near term option for developing a commercial ICPC.

Development of nuclear technology through International Technical Cooperation programme: Malaysian experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ainul Hayati Daud

1997-01-01

In the advent of new technologies and knowledge, countries need to rely on one another for progress and development. At the same time, new challenges to development, which are beyond the competence of any country to approach individually, have emerged. These have led to greater need for international co-operation, particularly among the developing countries. In Malaysia, international technical co-operation has contributed significantly towards the development of nuclear technology. Malaysia has received technical assistance through the multilateral, regional and bilateral co-operation. This assistance complements the efforts of the government to meet the primary objectives of science and technology programme, which are; intensification of R and D capacity and applications of technologies, both acquired and developed, in national development. Over the last one and a half decade, more than 70 projects valued almost USD 15 millions, were implemented under the Technical Assistance Programme of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Bilateral Technical Assistance Programme of Japan and Australia. Malaysia also has benefited from the regional technical co-operation programme such Regional Co-operative Agreement for Asia and Pacific Region, United Nation Department Programme, International Nuclear Co-operation in Asia. While receiving assistance, Malaysia continues to assist other developing countries in their development efforts in the fields of nuclear technology, through the various international co-operation programmes. This report reviews the technical assistance received through the international co-operation and its contributions towards the development of nuclear technology in Malaysia for period 1980 - 1996

Compilation of piping benchmark problems - Cooperative international effort

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McAfee, W J [comp.

1979-06-01

This report is the culmination of an effort initiated in 1976 by the IWGFR to evaluate detailed and simplified analysis methods for piping systems with particular emphasis on piping bends. The procedure was to collect from participating member IWGFR countries descriptions of tests and test results for piping systems or bends, to compile, evaluate, and issue a selected number of these problems for analysis, and to compile and make a preliminary evaluation of the analysis results. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory agreed to coordinate this activity, including compilation of the original problems and the final analyses results. Of the problem descriptions submitted three were selected to be used. These were issued in December 1977. As a follow-on activity, addenda were issued that provided additional data or corrections to the original problem statement. A variety of both detailed and simplified analysis solutions were obtained. A brief comparative assessment of the analyses is contained in this report. All solutions submitted have also been included in order to provide users of this report the information necessary to make their own comparisons or evaluations.

Compilation of piping benchmark problems - Cooperative international effort

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McAfee, W.J.

1979-06-01

This report is the culmination of an effort initiated in 1976 by the IWGFR to evaluate detailed and simplified analysis methods for piping systems with particular emphasis on piping bends. The procedure was to collect from participating member IWGFR countries descriptions of tests and test results for piping systems or bends, to compile, evaluate, and issue a selected number of these problems for analysis, and to compile and make a preliminary evaluation of the analysis results. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory agreed to coordinate this activity, including compilation of the original problems and the final analyses results. Of the problem descriptions submitted three were selected to be used. These were issued in December 1977. As a follow-on activity, addenda were issued that provided additional data or corrections to the original problem statement. A variety of both detailed and simplified analysis solutions were obtained. A brief comparative assessment of the analyses is contained in this report. All solutions submitted have also been included in order to provide users of this report the information necessary to make their own comparisons or evaluations

ND-REAP/DOE cooperative project: final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1979-01-01

The impacts of energy-related developments in North Dakota are having profound effects on the state. Among the most significant of these effects are those on the state's economy and its population. Knowledge of the total environmental effects of development is a necessary prerequisite for effective planning and decision making. This final report addresses the conceptual design and functional evolution of the Regional Environmental Assessment Program, the results of the REAP/DOE Cooperative Effort, as well as evolution of the REAP/DOE effort and recommendations for future directions. The Economic Demographic (E-D) Model was developed to give North Dakota decision makers a tool with which to evaluate the impacts of coal development. It projects social, economic, and characteristics of North Dakota. Refinements and expansion of the model are discussed in Section 1. Section 2 provides an evaluation of the model as applied to other states. Section 3 identifies and evaluates the use of REAP data and capabilities to date. The REAP Resources Reference System R/sup 3/S was developed to provide access to information systems and to past research and present studies about aspects of North Dakota. It is a computer-based library reference system. Its status and expansion potential is covered in Section 4. Section 5 makes recommendations for future efforts.

Trust and Reciprocity: Are Effort and Money Equivalent?

Science.gov (United States)

Vilares, Iris; Dam, Gregory; Kording, Konrad

2011-01-01

Trust and reciprocity facilitate cooperation and are relevant to virtually all human interactions. They are typically studied using trust games: one subject gives (entrusts) money to another subject, which may return some of the proceeds (reciprocate). Currently, however, it is unclear whether trust and reciprocity in monetary transactions are similar in other settings, such as physical effort. Trust and reciprocity of physical effort are important as many everyday decisions imply an exchange of physical effort, and such exchange is central to labor relations. Here we studied a trust game based on physical effort and compared the results with those of a computationally equivalent monetary trust game. We found no significant difference between effort and money conditions in both the amount trusted and the quantity reciprocated. Moreover, there is a high positive correlation in subjects' behavior across conditions. This suggests that trust and reciprocity may be character traits: subjects that are trustful/trustworthy in monetary settings behave similarly during exchanges of physical effort. Our results validate the use of trust games to study exchanges in physical effort and to characterize inter-subject differences in trust and reciprocity, and also suggest a new behavioral paradigm to study these differences. PMID:21364931

75 FR 18505 - International Cooperation on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-12

...] International Cooperation on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Veterinary Medicinal... veterinary use by the International Cooperation on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration... promote the international harmonization of regulatory requirements. FDA has participated in efforts to...

75 FR 18508 - International Cooperation on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-12

...] International Cooperation on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Veterinary Medicinal... use by the International Cooperation on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of... promote the international harmonization of regulatory requirements. FDA has participated in efforts to...

An approach to establishing cooperative R ampersand D projects with Russian Institutes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hunter, T.; Albert, T.; Fryberger, T.; Romanovsky, V.

1993-01-01

An important part of technology exchange between the US and the former Soviet Union is the identification and implementation of cooperative projects that benefit both Russia and the US. The US Department of Energy and its laboratories have established an approach to identify potential technologies that can contribute to solving US environmental problems and to establish projects for enhancing technology development. This approach consists of screening technologies for US applications, conducting small-scale pilot projects with Russian scientists to evaluate the validity of mechanisms for larger projects, helping develop direct communication between US and Russian scientists who are developing these technologies, and implementing major projects in specific technology development areas. A recent example of this approach is the initiation of projects between the Khlopin Radium Institute and DOE through Sandia National Laboratories and SAIC. This effort has resulted in not only enhanced technology for the US but has also provided an example for future cooperative projects

Regional Cooperation Efforts in the Mekong River Basin: Mitigating river-related security threats and promoting regional development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susanne Schmeier

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The development of international rivers is often perceived as leading to conflicts or even water wars. However, as the development of the Mekong River shows, cooperation has not only prevailed in the last decades, but River Basin Organizations (RBOs, established to mitigate river-related conflicts and/or develop the river basin, have also contributed to the emergence of more general cooperation structures, mainly by creating spill-over effects in other issue-areas, bringing cooperation to policy fields beyond the river itself. This article assesses the contribution of the Mekong River Commission (MRC and the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS to the sustainable development of the Mekong Region as well as to the promotion of regional cooperation in mainland South-East Asia in general. --- Die Entwicklung grenzüberschreitender Flüsse wird oft mit Konflikten oder gar Kriegen um Wasser assoziiert. Wie jedoch die Entwicklung im Mekong-Becken zeigt, waren die vergangenen Jahrzehnte nicht nur von Kooperation gezeichnet, sondern Flussbeckenorganisationen konnten außerdem dazu beitragen, weitreichendere Kooperationsstrukturen zu entwickeln, die sich auf andere Politikfelder ausdehnen. Dieser Artikel beschäftigt sich mit dem Beitrag der Mekong River Commission (MRC und der Greater Mekong Sub-Region (GMS zur nachhaltigen Entwicklung in der Mekong Region sowie zur Förderung allgemeiner regionaler Kooperation im Festländischen Südostasien.

Collaborative hierarchy maintains cooperation in asymmetric games.

Science.gov (United States)

Antonioni, Alberto; Pereda, María; Cronin, Katherine A; Tomassini, Marco; Sánchez, Angel

2018-03-29

The interplay of social structure and cooperative behavior is under much scrutiny lately as behavior in social contexts becomes increasingly relevant for everyday life. Earlier experimental work showed that the existence of a social hierarchy, earned through competition, was detrimental for the evolution of cooperative behaviors. Here, we study the case in which individuals are ranked in a hierarchical structure based on their performance in a collective effort by having them play a Public Goods Game. In the first treatment, participants are ranked according to group earnings while, in the second treatment, their rankings are based on individual earnings. Subsequently, participants play asymmetric Prisoner's Dilemma games where higher-ranked players gain more than lower ones. Our experiments show that there are no detrimental effects of the hierarchy formed based on group performance, yet when ranking is assigned individually we observe a decrease in cooperation. Our results show that different levels of cooperation arise from the fact that subjects are interpreting rankings as a reputation which carries information about which subjects were cooperators in the previous phase. Our results demonstrate that noting the manner in which a hierarchy is established is essential for understanding its effects on cooperation.

Direct benefits and the evolution of female-biased cooperative breeding in Seychelles warblers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Richardson, David S.; Burke, Terry; Komdeur, Jan; Dunn, P.

2002-01-01

Inclusive fitness benefits have been suggested to be a major selective force behind the evolution of cooperative breeding. We investigated the fitness benefits selecting for cooperative breeding in the Seychelles warbler, Acroccphalus sechellensis. A microsatellite-based genotyping method was used

Strengthening of the Cooperative Framework for ANENT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, K. W.; Lee, E. J.; Min, B. J.

2007-01-01

The Asian Network for Education in Nuclear Technology (ANENT) was established in February 2004 to promote nuclear education and training in Asia. Initially ANENT member countries cooperated with 5 group activities encompassing broad areas. As of 2006, the cooperative framework was strengthened in a way to focus on web-based nuclear education and training for a period of several years to come. In this context, the Nuclear Training Center (NTC) of KAERI has contributed, in particular, to the development of the ANENT web-portal including a cyber platform, and making available relevant courses and materials on the web-portal. This paper discusses details of the strengthened cooperative framework in terms of NTC's effort for realizing web-based education and training through regional networking

Time pressure increases cooperation in competitively framed social dilemmas.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeremy Cone

Full Text Available What makes people willing to pay costs to benefit others? Does such cooperation require effortful self-control, or do automatic, intuitive processes favor cooperation? Time pressure has been shown to increase cooperative behavior in Public Goods Games, implying a predisposition towards cooperation. Consistent with the hypothesis that this predisposition results from the fact that cooperation is typically advantageous outside the lab, it has further been shown that the time pressure effect is undermined by prior experience playing lab games (where selfishness is the more advantageous strategy. Furthermore, a recent study found that time pressure increases cooperation even in a game framed as a competition, suggesting that the time pressure effect is not the result of social norm compliance. Here, we successfully replicate these findings, again observing a positive effect of time pressure on cooperation in a competitively framed game, but not when using the standard cooperative framing. These results suggest that participants' intuitions favor cooperation rather than norm compliance, and also that simply changing the framing of the Public Goods Game is enough to make it appear novel to participants and thus to restore the time pressure effect.

Time pressure increases cooperation in competitively framed social dilemmas.

Science.gov (United States)

Cone, Jeremy; Rand, David G

2014-01-01

What makes people willing to pay costs to benefit others? Does such cooperation require effortful self-control, or do automatic, intuitive processes favor cooperation? Time pressure has been shown to increase cooperative behavior in Public Goods Games, implying a predisposition towards cooperation. Consistent with the hypothesis that this predisposition results from the fact that cooperation is typically advantageous outside the lab, it has further been shown that the time pressure effect is undermined by prior experience playing lab games (where selfishness is the more advantageous strategy). Furthermore, a recent study found that time pressure increases cooperation even in a game framed as a competition, suggesting that the time pressure effect is not the result of social norm compliance. Here, we successfully replicate these findings, again observing a positive effect of time pressure on cooperation in a competitively framed game, but not when using the standard cooperative framing. These results suggest that participants' intuitions favor cooperation rather than norm compliance, and also that simply changing the framing of the Public Goods Game is enough to make it appear novel to participants and thus to restore the time pressure effect.

U.S.-China Radiological Source Security Project: Continuing And Expanding Bilateral Cooperation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, Zhixuan; Zhou, Qifu; Yang, Yaoyun; Huang, Chaoyun; Lloyd, James; Williams, Adam; Feldman, Alexander; Streeper, Charles; Pope, Noah G.; Hawk, Mark; Rawl, Rick; Howell, Randy A.; Kennedy, Catherine

2009-01-01

The successful radiological security cooperation between the U.S. and China to secure at-risk sites near venues of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics has led to an expanded bilateral nonproliferation cooperation scope. The U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, the Chinese Atomic Energy Authority and the China Ministry of Environmental Protection are continuing joint efforts to secure radiological sources throughout China under the U.S.-China Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Technology (PUNT) Agreement. Joint cooperation activities include physical security upgrades of sites with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Category 1 radiological sources, packaging, recovery, and storage of high activity transuranic and beta gamma sources, and secure transportation practices for the movement of recovered sources. Expansion of cooperation into numerous provinces within China includes the use of integrated training workshops that will demonstrate methodologies and best practices between U.S. and Chinese radiological source security and recovery experts. The fiscal year 2009 expanded scope of cooperation will be conducted similar to the 2008 Olympic cooperation with the Global Threat Reduction Initiative taking the lead for the U.S., PUNT being the umbrella agreement, and Los Alamos, Sandia, and Oak Ridge National Laboratories operating as technical working groups. This paper outlines the accomplishments of the joint implementation and training efforts to date and discusses the possible impact on future U.S./China cooperation.

U.S.-CHINA RADIOLOGICAL SOURCE SECURITY PROJECT: CONTINUING AND EXPANDING BILATERAL COOPERATION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhu, Zhixuan; Zhou, Qifu; Yang, Yaoyun; Huang, Chaoyun; Lloyd, James; Williams, Adam; Feldman, Alexander; Streeper, Charles; Pope, Noah G.; Hawk, Mark; Rawl, Rick; Howell, Randy A.; Kennedy, Catherine

2009-10-07

The successful radiological security cooperation between the U.S. and China to secure at-risk sites near venues of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics has led to an expanded bilateral nonproliferation cooperation scope. The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, the Chinese Atomic Energy Authority and the China Ministry of Environmental Protection are continuing joint efforts to secure radiological sources throughout China under the U.S.-China Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Technology (PUNT) Agreement. Joint cooperation activities include physical security upgrades of sites with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Category 1 radiological sources, packaging, recovery, and storage of high activity transuranic and beta gamma sources, and secure transportation practices for the movement of recovered sources. Expansion of cooperation into numerous provinces within China includes the use of integrated training workshops that will demonstrate methodologies and best practices between U.S. and Chinese radiological source security and recovery experts. The fiscal year 2009 expanded scope of cooperation will be conducted similar to the 2008 Olympic cooperation with the Global Threat Reduction Initiative taking the lead for the U.S., PUNT being the umbrella agreement, and Los Alamos, Sandia, and Oak Ridge National Laboratories operating as technical working groups. This paper outlines the accomplishments of the joint implementation and training efforts to date and discusses the possible impact on future U.S./China cooperation.

Child Participation in Family-School Cooperation

Science.gov (United States)

Maleš, Dubravka; Kuševic, Barbara; Širanovic, Ana

2014-01-01

This paper discusses the cooperation between families and schools from the perspective of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). Given that the principal purpose of the cooperation between families and schools is children's well-being, it is reasonable to expect the child's participation in situations of direct parent-teacher…

Managing the evolution of cooperation

OpenAIRE

Dormann, Julian; Ehrmann, Thomas

2008-01-01

Management scholars have long stressed the importance of evolutionary processses for inter-firm cooperation but have mostly missed the promising opportunity to incorporate ideas from evolutionary theories into the analysis of collaborative arrangements. In this paper, we first present three rules for the evolution of cooperation - kinship selection, direct reciprocity, and indirect reciprocity. Second, we apply our theoretical considerations, enriched with ideas from cultural anthropology, to...

Establishment of International Cooperative Network and Cooperative Research Strategy Between Korea and USA on Nuclear Thermal Hydraulics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baek, Won Pil; Song, Chul Hwa; Jeong, Jae Jun; Choi, Ki Yong; Kang, Kyoung Ho

2004-07-01

1. Scope and Objectives of the Project - Successful holding of the NURETH-10 - Analysis of the international trends in technology development and applications for nuclear thermal-hydraulics - Establishment of the international cooperative network and cooperative research strategy between Korea and USA on nuclear thermal-hydraulics 2. Research Results - Successful holding of the NURETH-10 - Analysis of the international trends in technology development and applications for nuclear thermal-hydraulics: - Establishment of international cooperative network and cooperative research strategy focused between Korea and USA on nuclear thermal-hydraulics: 3. Application Plan of the Research Results - Utilization as the basic data/information in establishing the domestic R and D directions and the international cooperative research strategy, - Application of the relevant experiences and data bases of NURETH-10 for holding future international conferences, - Promote more effective and productive research cooperation between Korea and USA

Inequity aversion and the evolution of cooperation

OpenAIRE

Ahmed, Asrar; Karlapalem, Kamalakar

2014-01-01

Evolution of cooperation is a widely studied problem in biology, social science, economics, and artificial intelligence. Most of the existing approaches that explain cooperation rely on some notion of direct or indirect reciprocity. These reciprocity based models assume agents recognize their partner and know their previous interactions, which requires advanced cognitive abilities. In this paper we are interested in developing a model that produces cooperation without requiring any explicit m...

A strategy study on the effective participation in the IAEA technical cooperation programmes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chung, Joon Keuk; Choi, P. H.; Kim, K. P.; Hong, Y. D.; Lee, J. K.; Kim, Y. M.; Chung, H. S.; Han, B. O.; Seo, M. W.; Chung, J. M

1997-12-01

The objectives of this research are to seek the most effective means of participation in implementing IAEA technical cooperation programs, to seek and establish a desirable role for Korea in these program, to predict future opportunities among IAEA programs, to enhance the status of Korea within the international society and to keep up with rapidly changing international nuclear developments in effective and positive ways. Participation in IAEA programs are to coincide with our efforts to upgrade and achieve self-reliance in nuclear technology. Seven activities should be considered in Korea`s future directions regarding the IAEA. These include strengthening our diplomatic activities, expanding coordinated research programs (CRP`s), domestic personnel becoming IAEA staff members, encouraging domestic experts to participate as members of IAEA advisory groups, increasing participation in international meetings, implementing footnote a/ projects, strengthening cooperation with the IAEA-operational research laboratories and actively implementing technology transfer to developing countries and encouraging IAEA fellowships. (author). 57 refs., 74 tabs., 17 figs

A strategy study on the effective participation in the IAEA technical cooperation programmes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, Joon Keuk; Choi, P. H.; Kim, K. P.; Hong, Y. D.; Lee, J. K.; Kim, Y. M.; Chung, H. S.; Han, B. O.; Seo, M. W.; Chung, J. M.

1997-12-01

The objectives of this research are to seek the most effective means of participation in implementing IAEA technical cooperation programs, to seek and establish a desirable role for Korea in these program, to predict future opportunities among IAEA programs, to enhance the status of Korea within the international society and to keep up with rapidly changing international nuclear developments in effective and positive ways. Participation in IAEA programs are to coincide with our efforts to upgrade and achieve self-reliance in nuclear technology. Seven activities should be considered in Korea's future directions regarding the IAEA. These include strengthening our diplomatic activities, expanding coordinated research programs (CRP's), domestic personnel becoming IAEA staff members, encouraging domestic experts to participate as members of IAEA advisory groups, increasing participation in international meetings, implementing footnote a/ projects, strengthening cooperation with the IAEA-operational research laboratories and actively implementing technology transfer to developing countries and encouraging IAEA fellowships. (author). 57 refs., 74 tabs., 17 figs

Interlibrary cooperation: from ILL to IAIMS and beyond.

Science.gov (United States)

Riordan, M L; Perry, G J

1999-07-01

A recent solicitation over the MEDLIB-L e-mail discussion list revealed over thirty diverse examples of hospital library-based interlibrary cooperative initiatives currently underway. Many are familiar and have been featured in the professional literature. Most go unreported and unrecognized however, comprising invisible resource-sharing infrastructures that hospital librarians painstakingly piece together in order to provide their clients with expanded service options. This paper, drawing from the MEDLIB-L survey as well as descriptions in the published literature, provides a broad overview of such recent interlibrary cooperative efforts. Examples include interlibrary loan networks, collective purchasing initiatives, holder-of-record or union catalog access agreements, arrangements to provide e-mail and Internet access, and consortia to share electronic resources. Examples were chosen based on the initiatives' diversity of participants, and represent a wide range of locations across the United States. Such initiatives focus on local, statewide, or regional collaboration, and several involve partnerships between academic medical center libraries and regional hospital libraries. An early example of a hospital-based interlibrary cooperative IAIMS effort is described, pointing to future possibilities involving the Internet and regional hospital system intranets.

Role of international cooperation in treatment and disposal of radioactive wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ikeda, Kaname

1984-01-01

The necessity of international cooperation in the treatment and disposal or management of radioactive wastes has been recognized more strongly recently, and the IAEA held the international congress in May, 1983. The safety techniques for this problem are likely to be resolved, but the public acceptance has become the factor hindering the development of nuclear power. It is important to advance international cooperation, aiming at the early establishment of the internationally common guide line to obtain the international consensus. In Japan, effort has been exerted to device to limit the quantity of waste formation, and the treatment of volume reduction and solidifying stabilization has been applied to the wastes formed. Thus, 490,000 drums of 200 l were stored in respective nuclear facilities as of September, 1983. The high level radioactive wastes from the reprocessing of spent fuel reached only 154 m 3 and is stored in the reprocessing plant. The bilateral cooperation of Japan with USA, FRG, Australia and the People's Republic of China, and the multinaional cooperation in the NEA of OECD and IAEA regarding this problem are reported. Japan must exert efforts to obtain the understanding and cooperation of local society and international consensus to resolve the problem. (Kako, I.)

Heuristics for Cooperative Problem Solving

Science.gov (United States)

1989-02-01

behaviors of cooperating humans are not necessary for simple tasks. Those of cooperating wolves or wasps might perform more reliably and could be...observed in wolves (Mech 1970), lions (Schaller 1972), and coyotes (Robinson 1952, Hamlin 1979). In coyotes this behavior seems to be directed toward...predation in Yellowstone National Park. J. Mammal. 33:470-476. value - low Schaller, G. B. 1972. The Serengeti lion: a study of predator-prey relationships

Promoting regional energy co-operation in South Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srivastava, Leena; Misra, Neha

2007-01-01

Energy is a key ingredient of the socio-economic development of any region. South Asia is not only one of the fastest growing regions in the world; it is also one of the poorest, which thus puts energy at the very heart of the development process in the region. This paper looks at the challenges faced by the South Asia sub-region for economic co-operation (SASEC) comprised of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal, and also at the role of greater regional energy co-operation therein. The region is characterized by pressures of growing economies and increasing population. While the per capita energy consumption is one of the lowest in the world, energy intensity continues to be very high. A large portion of the population lacks access to modern sources of energy and depends on traditional sources that are not only inefficient but also have severe health and environmental problems associated with them. Increasing oil import dependency and huge investment needs for energy market development pose a further challenge. The region has a good resource potential and tremendous scope for energy co-operation, which can play a key role in addressing many of these energy security concerns and in putting it on the path of sustainable development. It is ironic that the record in the area has been so limited and that too in the most basic form of co-operation, i.e. bilateral arrangements between countries. This paper puts forth a multi-pronged strategy for sub-regional energy co-operation encompassing softer options aimed at confidence building to more substantial and larger scale co-operation efforts. Delays in decision making to ensure stronger and mutually beneficial co-operation efforts are associated with high costs not only to the energy sector but also for the entire development agenda. With the precarious energy situation in the region and unprecedented increases in international oil prices seen in recent times, it is high time for policy makers, financing institutions, NGOs

Cooper Pairs in Insulators?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valles, James

2008-01-01

Nearly 50 years elapsed between the discovery of superconductivity and the emergence of the microscopic theory describing this zero resistance state. The explanation required a novel phase of matter in which conduction electrons joined in weakly bound pairs and condensed with other pairs into a single quantum state. Surprisingly, this Cooper pair formation has also been invoked to account for recently uncovered high-resistance or insulating phases of matter. To address this possibility, we have used nanotechnology to create an insulating system that we can probe directly for Cooper pairs. I will present the evidence that Cooper pairs exist and dominate the electrical transport in these insulators and I will discuss how these findings provide new insight into superconductor to insulator quantum phase transitions.

A niche marketing guide for lamb cooperatives

OpenAIRE

Kazmierczak, Tamra Kirkpatrick; Bell, James B.

1995-01-01

The two types of niche markets targeted by lamb marketing cooperatives are described in this guide. The first type includes specialty middlemen outlets that cooperatives used to market lamb to specialized niches within the traditional meat marketing system of retail food stores, restaurants, food service outlets, and specialty distributors. The second type includes those outlets that cooperatives used to market lamb directly to the consumer, such as freezer markets, farmers' markets, mobile m...

Creating conditions for cooperative learning: Basic elements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ševkušić-Mandić Slavica G.

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Although a large number of research evidence speak out in favor of cooperative learning, its effectiveness in teaching does not depend only on teacher’s and students’ enthusiasm and willingness to work in such a manner. Creating cooperative situations in learning demands a serious preparation and engagement on the part of teacher who is structuring various aspects of work in the classroom. Although there exist a large number of models and techniques of cooperative learning, which vary in the way in which students work together, in the structure of learning tasks as well as in the degree to which cooperative efforts of students are coupled with competition among groups, some elements should be present in the structure of conditions irrespective of the type of group work in question. Potential effects of cooperation are not likely to emerge unless teachers apply five basic elements of cooperative structure: 1. structuring of the learning task and students’ positive interdependence, 2. individual responsibility, 3. upgrading of "face to face" interaction, 4. training of students’ social skills, and 5. evaluation of group processes. The paper discusses various strategies for establishing the mentioned elements and concrete examples for teaching practice are provided, which should be of assistance to teachers for as much successful cooperative learning application as possible in work with children.

Direct reciprocity in structured populations.

Science.gov (United States)

van Veelen, Matthijs; García, Julián; Rand, David G; Nowak, Martin A

2012-06-19

Reciprocity and repeated games have been at the center of attention when studying the evolution of human cooperation. Direct reciprocity is considered to be a powerful mechanism for the evolution of cooperation, and it is generally assumed that it can lead to high levels of cooperation. Here we explore an open-ended, infinite strategy space, where every strategy that can be encoded by a finite state automaton is a possible mutant. Surprisingly, we find that direct reciprocity alone does not lead to high levels of cooperation. Instead we observe perpetual oscillations between cooperation and defection, with defection being substantially more frequent than cooperation. The reason for this is that "indirect invasions" remove equilibrium strategies: every strategy has neutral mutants, which in turn can be invaded by other strategies. However, reciprocity is not the only way to promote cooperation. Another mechanism for the evolution of cooperation, which has received as much attention, is assortment because of population structure. Here we develop a theory that allows us to study the synergistic interaction between direct reciprocity and assortment. This framework is particularly well suited for understanding human interactions, which are typically repeated and occur in relatively fluid but not unstructured populations. We show that if repeated games are combined with only a small amount of assortment, then natural selection favors the behavior typically observed among humans: high levels of cooperation implemented using conditional strategies.

Direct labelling of the human P2X7 receptor and identification of positive and negative cooperativity of binding.

Science.gov (United States)

Michel, A D; Chambers, L J; Clay, W C; Condreay, J P; Walter, D S; Chessell, I P

2007-05-01

The P2X(7) receptor exhibits complex pharmacological properties. In this study, binding of a [(3)H]-labelled P2X(7) receptor antagonist to human P2X(7) receptors has been examined to further understand ligand interactions with this receptor. The P2X(7) receptor antagonist, N-[2-({2-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]ethyl}amino)-5-quinolinyl]-2-tricyclo[3.3.1.1(3,7)]dec-1-ylacetamide (compound-17), was radiolabelled with tritium and binding studies were performed using membranes prepared from U-2 OS or HEK293 cells expressing human recombinant P2X(7) receptors. Binding of [(3)H]-compound-17 was higher in membranes prepared from cells expressing P2X(7) receptors than from control cells and was inhibited by ATP suggesting labelled sites represented human P2X(7) receptors. Binding was reversible, saturable and modulated by P2X(7) receptor ligands (Brilliant Blue G, KN62, ATP, decavanadate). Furthermore, ATP potency was reduced in the presence of divalent cations or NaCl. Radioligand binding exhibited both positive and negative cooperativity. Positive cooperativity was evident from bell shaped Scatchard plots, reduction in radioligand dissociation rate by unlabelled compound-17 and enhancement of radioligand binding by KN62 and unlabelled compound-17. ATP and decavanadate inhibited binding in a negative cooperative manner as they enhanced radioligand dissociation. These data demonstrate that human P2X(7) receptors can be directly labelled and provide novel insights into receptor function. The positive cooperativity observed suggests that binding of compound-17 to one subunit in the P2X(7) receptor complex enhances subsequent binding to other P2X(7) subunits in the same complex. The negative cooperative effects of ATP suggest that ATP and compound-17 bind at separate, interacting, sites on the P2X(7) receptor.

Enresa International Cooperation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodriguez Beceiro, A.

1998-01-01

The Empresa Nacional de Residuos Radiactivos, S.A. (ENRESA) was set up in 1984 with the mandate to undertake responsibility for radioactive waste management in Spain. From the very beginning, ENRESA was fully aware of the fact that international cooperation plays a very important role in the development of national programmes. Aspects such as the setting up of international databases, the development and validation of models or site characterization technique such enormous efforts and amounts of resources that they could hardly be undertaken individually. Furthermore, joint participation in research, development and demonstration projects reinforces the level of confidence, not only in the decision-making process but also in the technologies, techniques and practices used. ENRESA's participation in the international contexts is largely defined, on the one hand, by the needs arising from its technical programme, as reflected in the General Radioactive Waste Plan and in the Research and Development Plan, and on the other by the need to support spanish governmental institutions in their participation in inter-governmental institutions in their participation in inter-governmental forums. The formula for cooperation varies according to needs, this cooperation generally being accomplished by means of bilateral agreements with other institutions having similar competence or by participating in the programmes of inter-governmental organizations. In particular, ENRESA has reached cooperation agreements with most of the agencies with similar responsibilities in other countries and participates very actively in the programmes of the European Union, the Nuclear energy Agency (NEA/OECD) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). (Author)

Chinalco Signed Framework Agreement for Strategic Cooperation with Harbin Municipal Government

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2014-01-01

<正>Last month,Chinalco signed framework agreement for strategic cooperation with Harbin Municipal Government in Harbin Xiong Weiping,Chairman of Chinalco,said that based on the strategic deployment to build world top-class mining company with the highest growth potential,Chinalco was now concentrating all efforts on making strategic transition and structural adjustment,strategic cooperation with the local governments where

International co-operation in nuclear data evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nordborg, C.

2003-01-01

The NEA Working Party on International Nuclear Data Evaluation Co-operation serves as a forum for the exchange of information on required improvements to evaluated nuclear data libraries used in all nuclear application areas. The main objective is to identify the major discrepancies in existing evaluated data libraries and to resolve these discrepancies in specifically established expert groups. The long-term goal is to have converging evaluated data libraries. This co-operative effort is very successful. It has resolved a number of outstanding nuclear data problems and has issued 15 reports in support of the studies undertaken jointly. (author)

Aid Distribution and Cooperation in Unequal Communities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Exelle, D' B.; Berg, van den M.M.

2014-01-01

We experimentally study aid distribution and cooperation in a field lab in rural Nicaragua. In the first stage of the experimental game, participants contribute to a collective effort that determines the amount of aid given to the group, which is distributed among the players in a second stage. We

US/Japan Cooperation in High Energy Physics. Review of activities, 1988--1993

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1993-11-16

The objective of the Implementing Arrangement was to further the energy programs of both countries by establishing a framework for cooperation in the field of high energy physics, including research, accelerator and detector instrumentation research and development, the fabrication and subsequent use of new experimental devices and facilities, and related joint efforts as may be mutually agreed. Over the years, this cooperation has been very effective and has strengthened the overall collaborative efforts and the understanding between our nations and their citizens. It has demonstrated to the world our ability to work together to attack difficult problems. High Energy Physics goes across national borders; the bond is clearly intellectual and common ground is shared for the benefit of all in a most effective manner. This review covers the activities conducted under the aegis of the US/Japan Committee for Cooperation in High Energy Physics during the past five years (1988--1993). This was the second such US review of the US/Japan cooperative activities; the first was held in 1987.

New insights from direct monitoring of turbidity currents; and a proposal for co-ordinating international efforts at a series of global "turbidity current test sites"

Science.gov (United States)

Talling, Peter

2015-04-01

Turbidity currents, and other types of submarine sediment density flow, arguably redistribute more sediment across the surface of the Earth than any other flow process. It is now over 60 years since the seminal publication of Kuenen and Migliorini (1950) in which they made the link between sequences of graded bedding and turbidity currents. The deposits of submarine sediment density flows have been described in numerous locations worldwide, and this might lead to the view that these flows are well understood. However, it is sobering to note quite how few direct measurements we have from these submarine flows in action. Sediment concentration is the critical parameter controlling such flows, yet it has never been measured directly for flows that reach and build submarine fans. How then do we know what type of flow to model in flume tanks, or which assumptions to use to formulate numerical simulations or analytical models? It is proposed here that international efforts are needed for an initiative to monitor active turbidity currents at a series of 'test sites' where flows occur frequently. The flows evolve significantly, such that source to sink data are needed. We also need to directly monitor flows in different settings with variable triggering factors and flow path morphologies because their character can vary significantly. Such work should integrate numerical and physical modelling with the collection of field observations in order to understand the significance of field observations. Such an international initiative also needs to include coring of deposits to link flow processes to deposit character, because in most global locations flow behaviour must be inferred from deposits alone. Collection of seismic datasets is also crucial for understanding the larger-scale evolution and resulting architecture of these systems, and to link with studies of subsurface reservoirs. Test site datasets should thus include a wide range of data types, not just from direct flow

How chimpanzees cooperate in a competitive world

Science.gov (United States)

Suchak, Malini; Eppley, Timothy M.; Campbell, Matthew W.; Feldman, Rebecca A.; Quarles, Luke F.; de Waal, Frans B. M.

2016-01-01

Our species is routinely depicted as unique in its ability to achieve cooperation, whereas our closest relative, the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), is often characterized as overly competitive. Human cooperation is assisted by the cost attached to competitive tendencies through enforcement mechanisms, such as punishment and partner choice. To examine if chimpanzees possess the same ability to mitigate competition, we set up a cooperative task in the presence of the entire group of 11 adults, which required two or three individuals to pull jointly to receive rewards. This open-group set-up provided ample opportunity for competition (e.g., freeloading, displacements) and aggression. Despite this unique set-up and initial competitiveness, cooperation prevailed in the end, being at least five times as common as competition. The chimpanzees performed 3,565 cooperative acts while using a variety of enforcement mechanisms to overcome competition and freeloading, as measured by (attempted) thefts of rewards. These mechanisms included direct protest by the target, third-party punishment in which dominant individuals intervened against freeloaders, and partner choice. There was a marked difference between freeloading and displacement; freeloading tended to elicit withdrawal and third-party interventions, whereas displacements were met with a higher rate of direct retaliation. Humans have shown similar responses in controlled experiments, suggesting shared mechanisms across the primates to mitigate competition for the sake of cooperation. PMID:27551075

Analysis on IAEA 2006-2007 Programme and Cooperation Directions between Korea and IAEA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, Keun Bae; Lee, H. M.; Yang, M. H.; Lee, B. W.; Ko, H. S.; Ryu, J. S.; Kim, H. J.; Kim, K. P.

2004-12-01

In this study, the structure of the IAEA programme and the major changes in 2004/2005 programme cycle are analyzed. Also renewed programming process and major issues in 2006/2007 programme and budget are analyzed. Based on the analyses, the detailed proposal to strengthen cooperation with IAEA is prepared in the fields of nuclear power, nuclear application, nuclear safety and nuclear cooperation. As a result, the following 9 themes are identified to strengthen the relation between Korea and the IAEA. - Nuclear Production of Hydrogen - Sea Water Desalination - Nuclear Knowledge Management - Application of Food Irradiation - Cancer Treatment using Cyclotron - Global Nuclear Safety Network; - Management of Radiation Source by Global Positioning System (GPS) - Global Network for Radiological Emergency Response - Enhanced relationship between Regional Cooperation Frameworks

Cooperation of a university with business practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sojkin Bogdan

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The article presents forms of cooperation and social benefits resulting from cooperation between universities and business practice. Basic kinds and directions of mutual relations arising from common areas of interest, possibilities, needs and conditions for the functioning of each side, have been presented. Solutions carried out by universities with the participation of business practice have been discussed. In case of business practice, potential areas of cooperation with schools and joint ventures in the area of R&D have been discussed.

Worker self-selection and the profits from cooperation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kosfeld, M.; von Siemens, F.A.

2009-01-01

We investigate a competitive labor market with team production. Workers differ in their motivation to exert team effort, and types are private information. We show that there can exist a separating equilibrium in which workers self-select into different firms and firms employing cooperative workers

Cooperation arrangements related to technology transfer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eysel, G.

1986-04-01

A developing country which considers to launch a nuclear program should put as much as possible efforts to elaborate a program which suits the country's needs as well as reflects its capabilities. It deems advantageous that a developing country makes use of the experience and knowledge in the nuclear field of a partner country already in the phase when exploring the technical and commercial aspects of a nuclear power program. For the different stages of cooperation between two countries a three-level concept appears advisable for establishing the basis for individual cooperation agreement. The first level are agreements between the governments of both countries on joint scientific research projects and technical development programs covering a broad spectrum of activities not limited to the energy sector. At the second level cooperation agreements can already concentrate on the energy sector and e.g. specifically investigate the energy structure of the developing country. If this investigation results in the decision of the developing country to establish a nuclear power program the next level will cover a broad based cooperation in the nuclear field including a large number of different cooperation contracts in various fields. In this stage of bilateral cooperation the main emphasis will be put on industrial cooperation. Cooperation agreements to be concluded between respective partners of both countries may cover fields related to research and development, engineering of a nuclear power plant, manufacturing of its components, erection and installation as well as operation of the plant. The most common agreements refer to technical cooperation, which covers not only the transfer of blueprints but also training of the recipient's personnel in the partner's country and delegation of experts to the recipient's country. The most comprehensive form of cooperation is the foundation of a joint venture company where the technology partner does not only transfer his know

Direct-to-Consumer Marketing: A Complementary Approach to Traditional Dissemination and implementation Efforts for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Interventions.

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Sara J

2015-03-01

The overall chasm between those who need treatment for mental health and substance abuse (M/SU) and those who receive effective treatment consists of two, interrelated gaps: the research-to-practice gap and the treatment gap. Prior efforts to disseminate evidence-based practice (EBP) for M/SU have predominantly targeted the research-to-practice gap, by focusing efforts toward treatment providers. This article introduces direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing that targets patients and caregivers as a complementary approach to existing dissemination efforts. Specific issues discussed include: rationale for DTC marketing based on the concept of push versus pull marketing; overview of key stakeholders involved in DTC marketing; and description of the Marketing Mix planning framework. The applicability of these issues to the dissemination of EBP for M/SU is discussed.

Direct-to-Consumer Marketing: A Complementary Approach to Traditional Dissemination and implementation Efforts for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Interventions

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Sara J.

2014-01-01

The overall chasm between those who need treatment for mental health and substance abuse (M/SU) and those who receive effective treatment consists of two, interrelated gaps: the research-to-practice gap and the treatment gap. Prior efforts to disseminate evidence-based practice (EBP) for M/SU have predominantly targeted the research-to-practice gap, by focusing efforts toward treatment providers. This article introduces direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing that targets patients and caregivers as a complementary approach to existing dissemination efforts. Specific issues discussed include: rationale for DTC marketing based on the concept of push versus pull marketing; overview of key stakeholders involved in DTC marketing; and description of the Marketing Mix planning framework. The applicability of these issues to the dissemination of EBP for M/SU is discussed. PMID:25937710

Comparison of cardiovascular response to combined static-dynamic effort, postprandial dynamic effort and dynamic effort alone in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hung, J.; McKillip, J.; Savin, W.; Magder, S.; Kraus, R.; Houston, N.; Goris, M.; Haskell, W.; DeBusk, R.

1982-01-01

The cardiovascular responses to combined static-dynamic effort, postprandial dynamic effort and dynamic effort alone were evaluated by upright bicycle ergometry during equilibrium-gated blood pool scintigraphy in 24 men, mean age 59 +/- 8 years, with chronic ischemic heart disease. Combined static-dynamic effort and the postprandial state elicited a peak cardiovascular response similar to that of dynamic effort alone. Heart rate, intraarterial systolic and diastolic pressures, rate-pressure product and ejection fraction were similar for the three test conditions at the onset of ischemia and at peak effort. The prevalence and extent of exercise-induced ischemic left ventricular dysfunction, ST-segment depression, angina pectoris and ventricular ectopic activity were also similar during the three test conditions. Direct and indirect measurements of systolic and diastolic blood pressure were highly correlated. The onset of ischemic ST-segment depression and angina pectoris correlated as strongly with heart rate alone as with the rate-pressure product during all three test conditions. The cardiovascular response to combined static-dynamic effort and to postprandial dynamic effort becomes more similar to that of dynamic effort alone as dynamic effort reaches a symptom limit. If significant ischemic and arrhythmic abnormalities are absent during symptom-limited dynamic exercise testing, they are unlikely to appear during combined static-dynamic or postprandial dynamic effort

International relations and co-operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

future UJD will make efforts to develop mutual confidence, favourable international co-operation, and by its activity UJD would like to contribute to a positive international position of the Slovak Republic in peaceful use of nuclear energy

Strengthening Clean Energy Technology Cooperation under the UNFCCC: Steps toward Implementation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Benioff, R.; de Coninck, H.; Dhar, S.; Hansen, U.; McLaren, J.; Painuly, J.

2010-08-01

Development of a comprehensive and effective global clean technology cooperation framework will require years of experimenting and evaluation with new instruments and institutional arrangements before it is clear what works on which scale and in which region or country. In presenting concrete examples, this paper aims to set the first step in that process by highlighting successful models and innovative approaches that can inform efforts to ramp up clean energy technology cooperation. This paper reviews current mechanisms and international frameworks for global cooperation on clean energy technologies, both within and outside of the UNFCCC, and provides selected concrete options for scaling up global cooperation on clean energy technology RD&D, enabling environment, and financing.

The glycocalyx promotes cooperative binding and clustering of adhesion receptors.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Guang-Kui; Qian, Jin; Hu, Jinglei

2016-05-18

Cell adhesion plays a pivotal role in various biological processes, e.g., immune responses, cancer metastasis, and stem cell differentiation. The adhesion behaviors depend subtly on the binding kinetics of receptors and ligands restricted at the cell-substrate interfaces. Although much effort has been directed toward investigating the kinetics of adhesion molecules, the role of the glycocalyx, anchored on cell surfaces as an exterior layer, is still unclear. In this paper, we propose a theoretical approach to study the collective binding kinetics of a few and a large number of binders in the presence of the glycocalyx, representing the cases of initial and mature adhesions of cells, respectively. The analytical results are validated by finding good agreement with our Monte Carlo simulations. In the force loading case, the on-rate and affinity increase as more bonds form, whereas this cooperative effect is not observed in the displacement loading case. The increased thickness and stiffness of the glycocalyx tend to decrease the affinity for a few bonds, while they have less influence on the affinity for a large number of bonds. Moreover, for a flexible membrane with thermally-excited shape fluctuations, the glycocalyx is exhibited to promote the formation of bond clusters, mainly due to the cooperative binding of binders. This study helps to understand the cooperative kinetics of adhesion receptors under physiologically relevant loading conditions and sheds light on the novel role of the glycocalyx in cell adhesion.

International Harmonization and Cooperation in the Validation of Alternative Methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Barroso, João; Ahn, Il Young; Caldeira, Cristiane; Carmichael, Paul L; Casey, Warren; Coecke, Sandra; Curren, Rodger; Desprez, Bertrand; Eskes, Chantra; Griesinger, Claudius; Guo, Jiabin; Hill, Erin; Roi, Annett Janusch; Kojima, Hajime; Li, Jin; Lim, Chae Hyung; Moura, Wlamir; Nishikawa, Akiyoshi; Park, HyeKyung; Peng, Shuangqing; Presgrave, Octavio; Singer, Tim; Sohn, Soo Jung; Westmoreland, Carl; Whelan, Maurice; Yang, Xingfen; Yang, Ying; Zuang, Valérie

The development and validation of scientific alternatives to animal testing is important not only from an ethical perspective (implementation of 3Rs), but also to improve safety assessment decision making with the use of mechanistic information of higher relevance to humans. To be effective in these efforts, it is however imperative that validation centres, industry, regulatory bodies, academia and other interested parties ensure a strong international cooperation, cross-sector collaboration and intense communication in the design, execution, and peer review of validation studies. Such an approach is critical to achieve harmonized and more transparent approaches to method validation, peer-review and recommendation, which will ultimately expedite the international acceptance of valid alternative methods or strategies by regulatory authorities and their implementation and use by stakeholders. It also allows achieving greater efficiency and effectiveness by avoiding duplication of effort and leveraging limited resources. In view of achieving these goals, the International Cooperation on Alternative Test Methods (ICATM) was established in 2009 by validation centres from Europe, USA, Canada and Japan. ICATM was later joined by Korea in 2011 and currently also counts with Brazil and China as observers. This chapter describes the existing differences across world regions and major efforts carried out for achieving consistent international cooperation and harmonization in the validation and adoption of alternative approaches to animal testing.

Cooperation of electrically stimulated muscle and pneumatic muscle to realize RUPERT bi-directional motion for grasping.

Science.gov (United States)

Xikai Tu; Jiping He; Yue Wen; Jian Huang; Xinhan Huang; Hailong Huang; Meng Guo; Yong Yuan

2014-01-01

Robot-assisted rehabilitation is an active area of research to meet the demand of repetitive therapy in stroke rehabilitation. Robotic upper-extremity repetitive trainer (RUPERT) with its unidirectional pneumatic muscle actuation (PMA) can be used by most stroke patients that have difficulty moving in one direction because of a weak agonist or hyperactive antagonist. In this research, to broaden the usage of RUPERT, we not only add grasping functionality to the rehabilitation robot with the help of surface Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) but also realize the robot joint bi-directional motion by using a PMA in cooperation with surface FES evoked paralyzed muscle force. This integrative rehabilitation strategy is explored for training patients to practice coordinated reaching and grasping functions. The effectiveness of this FES electrically evoked bio-actuator way is verified through a method that separates the mixed electromyogram (MEMG) into the electrically evoked electromyogram (EEMG) and voluntary electromyogram (VEMG). This is a promising approach to alleviate the size and mechanical complexity of the robot, thereby the cost of the joint bi-directional actuator rehabilitation robot by means of their own characteristics of stroke subjects.

Do Haphazard Reviews Provide Sound Directions for Dissemination Efforts?

Science.gov (United States)

Gambrill, Eileen; Littell, Julia H.

2010-01-01

Comments on The dissemination and implementation of evidence-based psychological treatments: A review of current efforts by Kathryn R. McHugh and David H. Barlow. The lead article in the February-March issue by McHugh and Barlow (2010) emphasized the need for "dissemination and implementation of evidence-based psychological treatments."…

The hard problem of cooperation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kimmo Eriksson

Full Text Available Based on individual variation in cooperative inclinations, we define the "hard problem of cooperation" as that of achieving high levels of cooperation in a group of non-cooperative types. Can the hard problem be solved by institutions with monitoring and sanctions? In a laboratory experiment we find that the answer is affirmative if the institution is imposed on the group but negative if development of the institution is left to the group to vote on. In the experiment, participants were divided into groups of either cooperative types or non-cooperative types depending on their behavior in a public goods game. In these homogeneous groups they repeatedly played a public goods game regulated by an institution that incorporated several of the key properties identified by Ostrom: operational rules, monitoring, rewards, punishments, and (in one condition change of rules. When change of rules was not possible and punishments were set to be high, groups of both types generally abided by operational rules demanding high contributions to the common good, and thereby achieved high levels of payoffs. Under less severe rules, both types of groups did worse but non-cooperative types did worst. Thus, non-cooperative groups profited the most from being governed by an institution demanding high contributions and employing high punishments. Nevertheless, in a condition where change of rules through voting was made possible, development of the institution in this direction was more often voted down in groups of non-cooperative types. We discuss the relevance of the hard problem and fit our results into a bigger picture of institutional and individual determinants of cooperative behavior.

The hard problem of cooperation.

Science.gov (United States)

Eriksson, Kimmo; Strimling, Pontus

2012-01-01

Based on individual variation in cooperative inclinations, we define the "hard problem of cooperation" as that of achieving high levels of cooperation in a group of non-cooperative types. Can the hard problem be solved by institutions with monitoring and sanctions? In a laboratory experiment we find that the answer is affirmative if the institution is imposed on the group but negative if development of the institution is left to the group to vote on. In the experiment, participants were divided into groups of either cooperative types or non-cooperative types depending on their behavior in a public goods game. In these homogeneous groups they repeatedly played a public goods game regulated by an institution that incorporated several of the key properties identified by Ostrom: operational rules, monitoring, rewards, punishments, and (in one condition) change of rules. When change of rules was not possible and punishments were set to be high, groups of both types generally abided by operational rules demanding high contributions to the common good, and thereby achieved high levels of payoffs. Under less severe rules, both types of groups did worse but non-cooperative types did worst. Thus, non-cooperative groups profited the most from being governed by an institution demanding high contributions and employing high punishments. Nevertheless, in a condition where change of rules through voting was made possible, development of the institution in this direction was more often voted down in groups of non-cooperative types. We discuss the relevance of the hard problem and fit our results into a bigger picture of institutional and individual determinants of cooperative behavior.

Benefits of cooperation with genetic kin in a subsocial spider

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schneider, J.M.; Bilde, T.

2008-01-01

also promote helping behavior in many cooperatively breeding taxa. Investigating transitional systems is therefore particularly suitable for understanding the influence of kin selection on the initial spread of cooperative behaviors. Here we investigated the role of kinship in cooperative feeding. We...... in prey capture and feed communally. We provide clear experimental evidence for net benefits of cooperating with kin. Genetic relatedness within groups and not association with familiar individuals directly improved feeding efficiency and growth rates, demonstrating a positive effect of kin cooperation...

Non-Cooperative Facial Recognition Video Dataset Collection Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kimura, Marcia L. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Erikson, Rebecca L. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Lombardo, Nicholas J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2013-08-31

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) will produce a non-cooperative (i.e. not posing for the camera) facial recognition video data set for research purposes to evaluate and enhance facial recognition systems technology. The aggregate data set consists of 1) videos capturing PNNL role players and public volunteers in three key operational settings, 2) photographs of the role players for enrolling in an evaluation database, and 3) ground truth data that documents when the role player is within various camera fields of view. PNNL will deliver the aggregate data set to DHS who may then choose to make it available to other government agencies interested in evaluating and enhancing facial recognition systems. The three operational settings that will be the focus of the video collection effort include: 1) unidirectional crowd flow 2) bi-directional crowd flow, and 3) linear and/or serpentine queues.

International co-operation in developing the GT-MHR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

La Bar, M.P.; Simon, W.A.

1997-01-01

In the Fall of 1995, driven by budget constraints and anti-nuclear sentiments, the US government decided to discontinue financial support of the Gas Turbine-Modular Helium Reactor (GT-MHR). At that time, significant work was underway with participation of several vendors with specialized expertise in various aspects of the GT-MHR. Fortunately the US government provided for documenting the design and development status through an orderly close-out program. Concurrent elimination of government restrictions opened the door for broader international cooperation. Discussion between General Atomics and the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy (MINATOM), in the summer of 1994, led to an agreement on a jointly funded design and development program for the GT-MHR. The program is initially focused on the burning of weapons plutonium that becomes available from dismantled nuclear weapons. The long term goal is to utilize the same design for commercial applications - using uranium fuel. This program took advantage of existing technologies and facilities in the US and Russia, but right from the beginning left the door open for broader international cooperation. Accordingly, in January 1996, FRAMATOME has joined the ongoing effort. Discussions are underway with other international entities to join this program. The program is proceeding well. Several Russian laboratories/design organizations are participating with GA and FRAMATOME. Significant improvements in the power conversion system design are a clear example of the benefit of the cooperative effort. Further work needs to be done to confirm fuel and components prior to full deployment, etc., providing ample opportunities for international cooperation in many areas

Formation, “Gold Rule” for the cooperative development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alcides López Labrada

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Before the arising of the cooperative movement in the world, cooperation already existed. So, it is logical to affirm that there can be cooperation without cooperative movement. But there cannot be cooperative movement without cooperation, because cooperation is an indispensable premise for the existence of cooperative movement. Both the precursors of the cooperative movement and the classics of Marxism agreed on the necessity of cooperative formation. Lenin called socialism “the regime of cultured cooperators” and the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA contemplated the following, among the seven universal principles of the cooperative movement: education, formation and training of cooperative members, as one of the most important and strategic principles. They have been recognized as the golden rule of the cooperative movement. The changes occurred in Cuba (the existence and evolution of different types of cooperatives, the updating of the economic model, the dynamics of the agrarian sector and the opening of the cooperative movement towards other sectors of the National Economy fully justify the achievement of a cooperative culture, not only of cooperative members but also the actors that perform around cooperatives, the decision- makers and all society. Among the most significant proposals for the achievement of a cooperative culture in Cuba the following can be found: to integrate the different actors that participate in the cooperative formation by means of a national network for cooperative formation by identifying the training demand and training the people that should really implement the change, while building capacities of all the individuals involved in the cooperative movement in a direct or indirect way.

Technical cooperation report for 2003. Report by the Director General

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-08-01

The Technical Cooperation Report for 2003 highlights activities, achievements, and challenges of the technical cooperation programme for the past year. In addition to implementing the technical cooperation programme for 2003-2004, the Secretariat devoted much effort and time to many initiatives to improve the programme, including evaluations, audits, and process reviews. These initiatives aimed at increasing both the efficiency and the effectiveness of the programme, not only for field implementation, but also for internal implementation issues, such as electronic workflow solutions and mapping out internal processes to identify human resource needs. Work to improve communication with Member States brought a greater level of detail to project information available on TC-PRIDE, the website that provides information on technical cooperation projects. More extensive upstream work with Member States by the regional Sections aimed at achieving better project proposals for the 2005-2006 technical cooperation programme. The project appraisal process was also reviewed and a new process has been put in place to formulate the proposed 2005-2006 technical cooperation programme. The Agency's continued efforts to increase the impact of the technical cooperation programme through the experience and financial support of other UN and non-governmental organizations garnered new partners such as the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the African AIDS Vaccine Programme. The commitment and support from Member States was clearly marked by the dramatic increase in extrabudgetary resources for the programme. The all-time high of $11.8 million in extrabudgetary resources reflects the commitment of the Member States to effect change for the improvement of socio-economic conditions through the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. Achievements were made through technical cooperation covering several thematic areas, involving the use of human resources from

Technical cooperation report for 2003. Report by the Director General

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2004-08-01

The Technical Cooperation Report for 2003 highlights activities, achievements, and challenges of the technical cooperation programme for the past year. In addition to implementing the technical cooperation programme for 2003-2004, the Secretariat devoted much effort and time to many initiatives to improve the programme, including evaluations, audits, and process reviews. These initiatives aimed at increasing both the efficiency and the effectiveness of the programme, not only for field implementation, but also for internal implementation issues, such as electronic workflow solutions and mapping out internal processes to identify human resource needs. Work to improve communication with Member States brought a greater level of detail to project information available on TC-PRIDE, the website that provides information on technical cooperation projects. More extensive upstream work with Member States by the regional Sections aimed at achieving better project proposals for the 2005-2006 technical cooperation programme. The project appraisal process was also reviewed and a new process has been put in place to formulate the proposed 2005-2006 technical cooperation programme. The Agency's continued efforts to increase the impact of the technical cooperation programme through the experience and financial support of other UN and non-governmental organizations garnered new partners such as the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the African AIDS Vaccine Programme. The commitment and support from Member States was clearly marked by the dramatic increase in extrabudgetary resources for the programme. The all-time high of $11.8 million in extrabudgetary resources reflects the commitment of the Member States to effect change for the improvement of socio-economic conditions through the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. Achievements were made through technical cooperation covering several thematic areas, involving the use of human resources from

Working dogs cooperate among one another by generalised reciprocity.

Science.gov (United States)

Gfrerer, Nastassja; Taborsky, Michael

2017-03-06

Cooperation by generalised reciprocity implies that individuals apply the decision rule "help anyone if helped by someone". This mechanism has been shown to generate evolutionarily stable levels of cooperation, but as yet it is unclear how widely this cooperation mechanism is applied among animals. Dogs (Canis familiaris) are highly social animals with considerable cognitive potential and the ability to differentiate between individual social partners. But although dogs can solve complex problems, they may use simple rules for behavioural decisions. Here we show that dogs trained in an instrumental cooperative task to provide food to a social partner help conspecifics more often after receiving help from a dog before. Remarkably, in so doing they show no distinction between partners that had helped them before and completely unfamiliar conspecifics. Apparently, dogs use the simple decision rule characterizing generalised reciprocity, although they are probably capable of using the more complex decision rule of direct reciprocity: "help someone who has helped you". However, generalized reciprocity involves lower information processing costs and is therefore a cheaper cooperation strategy. Our results imply that generalised reciprocity might be applied more commonly than direct reciprocity also in other mutually cooperating animals.

Direct fuel cell product design improvement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maru, H.C.; Farooque, M. [Energy Research Corp., Danbury, CT (United States)

1996-12-31

Significant milestones have been attained towards the technology development field testing and commercialization of direct fuel cell power plant since the 1994 Fuel Cell Seminar. Under a 5-year cooperative agreement with the Department of Energy signed in December 1994, Energy Research Corporation (ERC) has been developing the design for a MW-scale direct fuel cell power plant with input from previous technology efforts and the Santa Clara Demonstration Project. The effort encompasses product definition in consultation with the Fuel Cell Commercialization Group, potential customers, as well as extensive system design and packaging. Manufacturing process improvements, test facility construction, cell component scale up, performance and endurance improvements, stack engineering, and critical balance-of-plant development are also addressed. Major emphasis of this product design improvement project is on increased efficiency, compactness and cost reduction to establish a competitive place in the market. A 2.85 MW power plant with an efficiency of 58% and a footprint of 420 m{sup 2} has been designed. Component and subsystem testing is being conducted at various levels. Planning and preparation for verification of a full size prototype unit are in progress. This paper presents the results obtained since the last fuel cell seminar.

Cooperation between territorial communities: theory and practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

П. М. Любченко

2015-05-01

infrastructure. The fifth form – creations by cooperation parties joint body of management - complex, not properly regulated, so there is no example of this type of cooperation in Ukraine. The basic directions of improvement of legal regulation of relations in this area proposed by author. These are formation of associations (Union of Communities, public legal structures with significantly higher levels of integrated territorial cooperation to jointly address most or all local matters, however local communities united in an alliance should not lose their legal status. Conclusions. The inter-municipal cooperation relatively new direction of local government in Ukraine and therefore requires a broad coverage of positive practices and benefits of voluntary restrictions of their own local communities autonomy for improving the quality of life of citizens in the territory. Cooperation should be based on clear goals and desired by strengthening solidarity and partnership to achieve result.

International cooperative initiatives and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bakhtiari, Fatemeh

2017-01-01

International cooperative initiatives (ICIs) are multi-country, multi-actor non-state actions that have the potential to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The article summarizes the literature on estimates of emission reduction potentials attributed to ICIs. This summary highlights three key ...... efforts under the UNFCCC is uncertain, but believed to be quite large. •The UNFCCC is arguably ill suited to coordinate and strengthen the accountability of international cooperative initiatives.......International cooperative initiatives (ICIs) are multi-country, multi-actor non-state actions that have the potential to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The article summarizes the literature on estimates of emission reduction potentials attributed to ICIs. This summary highlights three key...... transparent performance monitoring and reporting mechanisms. The article concludes with two considerations. Firstly, it advocates for the United Nations Environment Programme as one entity that could bring much-needed coordination among ICIs, and between ICIs and national government-led efforts to mitigate...

Hotel Overbooking and Cooperation with Third-Party Websites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yufeng Dong

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Hotels cooperate with third-party websites to enhance their competitive position and attain sustainable development in the era of e-commerce. Furthermore, hotel managers overbook to hedge against last-minute cancellations and customer no-shows. This paper discusses pricing and overbooking strategies of a hotel in the context of cooperation with multiple third-party websites and analyzes how these strategies influence the cooperation process. The increase in profits resulting from the overbooking strategy is also examined. A model of a Stackelberg game between the hotel and third-party websites and a Nash game among the third-party websites are developed to analyze the process. Results indicate that the compensation coefficient has a slight influence on hotel pricing strategy, but causes a sharp decrease in overbooking level. As the hotel demands to lessen the probability of denying under higher compensation rate, the third-party websites would exert less sales effort to reduce the demand of online customers. Results also show that under a given market demand, hotel effort only serves to redistribute market shares among the hotel and third-party websites, without influencing hotel pricing and overbooking decisions. Specifically, the market shares of the third-party websites decrease in the effort level of the hotel resulting from an increase in the hotel market share. Finally, in the numerical example where one hotel and two websites are analyzed, hotel overbooking strategy improves hotel profit by 4.20%, whereas profit improvements for Websites 1 and 2 are as high as 5.26% and 5.21%, respectively. Managerial implications of the study are also provided.

Outline of new Japan-U.S. atomic energy cooperation agreement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oki, Naotaka

1988-01-01

The former agreement was revised into the new Agreement between the Japanese Government and the U.S. Government for Cooperation Relating to Peaceful Utilization of Atomic Energy (simply referred as the new Japan-U.S. Atomic Energy Cooperation Agreement). The Implementation Convention between the Japanese Government and the U.S. Government Based on Article 11 of the Agreement between the Japanese Government and the U.S. Government for Cooperation Relating to Peaceful Utilization of Atomic Energy was also concluded. The new Agreement is intended to serve for long-term stabilization of the cooperative relationship for atomic energy between Japan and the U.S., strengthening of nuclear non-proliferation efforts, and improvement in the parity, regulation rights and bilateralism between the two countries. The Agreement states that the countries should cooperate in exchanging experts and information and supplying radioactive substance, that the specified nuclear substances can be stored, reprocessed, etc. after an agreement is made between the governments, that proper protection activities should be performed for the specified substances, that the cooperation under the Agreement is limited to peaceful purposes, etc. (Nogami, K.)

National and international cooperation for public acceptance of nuclear power in the Republic of Korea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwon, I.Y.

1992-01-01

Current status of public acceptance of nuclear power and efforts for enhancing the acceptance are briefly reviewed. Discussion is made of the needs for, and ways of, cooperation among related national institutions and agencies. Need of inter-disciplinary approach is also stressed. Desirable participants in activities for gaining public acceptance of nuclear power are identified, where - in the participation of women in PA efforts receives particular importance. In dealing with the needs for and ways of international cooperation, roles of, and coordination among, international organizations/associations concerning public acceptance of nuclear power are discussed

Does intuition cause cooperation?

Science.gov (United States)

Verkoeijen, Peter P J L; Bouwmeester, Samantha

2014-01-01

Recently, researchers claimed that people are intuitively inclined to cooperate with reflection causing them to behave selfishly. Empirical support for this claim came from experiments using a 4-player public goods game with a marginal return of 0.5 showing that people contributed more money to a common project when they had to decide quickly (i.e., a decision based on intuition) than when they were instructed to reflect and decide slowly. This intuitive-cooperation effect is of high scientific and practical importance because it argues against a central assumption of traditional economic and evolutionary models. The first experiment of present study was set up to examine the generality of the intuitive-cooperation effect and to further validate the experimental task producing the effect. In Experiment 1, we investigated Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT) workers' contributions to a 4-player public goods game with a marginal return of 0.5 while we manipulated the knowledge about the other players' contribution to the public goods game (contribution known vs. contribution unknown), the identity of the other players (humans vs. computers randomly generating contributions) and the time constraint (time pressure/intuition vs. forced delay/reflection). However, the results of Experiment 1 failed to reveal an intuitive-cooperation effect. Furthermore, four subsequent direct replications attempts with AMT workers (Experiments 2a, 2b, 2c and Experiment 3, which was conducted with naïve/inexperienced participants) also failed to demonstrate intuitive-cooperation effects. Taken together, the results of the present study could not corroborate the idea that people are intuitively cooperative, hence suggesting that the theoretical relationship between intuition and cooperation should be further scrutinized.

Does intuition cause cooperation?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter P J L Verkoeijen

Full Text Available Recently, researchers claimed that people are intuitively inclined to cooperate with reflection causing them to behave selfishly. Empirical support for this claim came from experiments using a 4-player public goods game with a marginal return of 0.5 showing that people contributed more money to a common project when they had to decide quickly (i.e., a decision based on intuition than when they were instructed to reflect and decide slowly. This intuitive-cooperation effect is of high scientific and practical importance because it argues against a central assumption of traditional economic and evolutionary models. The first experiment of present study was set up to examine the generality of the intuitive-cooperation effect and to further validate the experimental task producing the effect. In Experiment 1, we investigated Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT workers' contributions to a 4-player public goods game with a marginal return of 0.5 while we manipulated the knowledge about the other players' contribution to the public goods game (contribution known vs. contribution unknown, the identity of the other players (humans vs. computers randomly generating contributions and the time constraint (time pressure/intuition vs. forced delay/reflection. However, the results of Experiment 1 failed to reveal an intuitive-cooperation effect. Furthermore, four subsequent direct replications attempts with AMT workers (Experiments 2a, 2b, 2c and Experiment 3, which was conducted with naïve/inexperienced participants also failed to demonstrate intuitive-cooperation effects. Taken together, the results of the present study could not corroborate the idea that people are intuitively cooperative, hence suggesting that the theoretical relationship between intuition and cooperation should be further scrutinized.

Cooperative and networking strategies in small business

CERN Document Server

Ferreira, João

2017-01-01

The book aims to collect the most recent research and best practices in the cooperative and networking small business field identifying new theoretical models and describing the relationship between cooperation and networks in the small business strategy context. It examines different concepts and analytical techniques better understand the links between cooperative strategies and networks in small business. It also studies the existing economic conditions of network and strategic implications to small business from the point of view of their internal and external consistency. Cooperation and networks is a fashionable topic. It is receiving increasing attention in popular management publications, as well as specialized academic journals. Cooperation between firms and industries is a means of leveraging and aggregating knowledge also generating direct benefits in terms of innovation, productivity and competitiveness. Various options and decisions made within the framework of strategic alliances may be identifi...

Mobility, fitness collection, and the breakdown of cooperation

Science.gov (United States)

Gelimson, Anatolij; Cremer, Jonas; Frey, Erwin

2013-04-01

The spatial arrangement of individuals is thought to overcome the dilemma of cooperation: When cooperators engage in clusters, they might share the benefit of cooperation while being more protected against noncooperating individuals, who benefit from cooperation but save the cost of cooperation. This is paradigmatically shown by the spatial prisoner's dilemma model. Here, we study this model in one and two spatial dimensions, but explicitly take into account that in biological setups, fitness collection and selection are separated processes occurring mostly on vastly different time scales. This separation is particularly important to understand the impact of mobility on the evolution of cooperation. We find that even small diffusive mobility strongly restricts cooperation since it enables noncooperative individuals to invade cooperative clusters. Thus, in most biological scenarios, where the mobility of competing individuals is an irrefutable fact, the spatial prisoner's dilemma alone cannot explain stable cooperation, but additional mechanisms are necessary for spatial structure to promote the evolution of cooperation. The breakdown of cooperation is analyzed in detail. We confirm the existence of a phase transition, here controlled by mobility and costs, which distinguishes between purely cooperative and noncooperative absorbing states. While in one dimension the model is in the class of the voter model, it belongs to the directed percolation universality class in two dimensions.

EURATOM Success Stories in Facilitating Pan-European E&T Collaborative Efforts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garbil, R.

2016-01-01

Full text: The European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) Research and Training framework programmes are benefiting from a consistent success in pursuing excellence in research and facilitating Pan-European collaborative efforts across a broad range of nuclear science and technologies, nuclear fission and radiation protection. To fulfil Euratom R&D programmes keys objectives of maintaining high levels of nuclear knowledge and building a more dynamic and competitive European industry, promotion of Pan-European mobility of researchers are implemented by co-financing transnational access to research infrastructures and joint research activities through to research and innovation and coordination and support actions funding schemes. Establishment by the research community of European technology platforms are being capitalized. Mapping of research infrastructures and E&T capabilities is allowing a closer cooperation within the European Union and beyond, benefiting from multilateral international agreements and from closer cooperation between Euratom, OECD/NEA and IAEA and international fora. “Euratom success stories” in facilitating Pan-European E&T collaborative efforts through research and training framework programmes show the benefits of research efforts in key fields, of building an effective “critical mass”, of promoting the creation of “centres of excellence” with an increased support for “open access to key research infrastructures”, exploitation of research results, management of knowledge, dissemination and sharing of learning outcomes. (author

Measuring Responsibility and Cooperation in Learning Teams in the University Setting: Validation of a Questionnaire

Science.gov (United States)

León-del-Barco, Benito; Mendo-Lázaro, Santiago; Felipe-Castaño, Elena; Fajardo-Bullón, Fernando; Iglesias-Gallego, Damián

2018-01-01

Cooperative learning are being used increasingly in the university classroom, in order to promote teamwork among students, improve performance and develop interpersonal competences. Responsibility and cooperation are two fundamental pillars of cooperative learning. Team members’ responsibility is a necessary condition for the team’s success in the assigned tasks. Students must be aware that they depend on each other and should make their maximum effort. On the other hand, in efficient groups, the members cooperate and pool their efforts to achieve the proposed goals. In this research, we propose to create a Questionnaire of Group Responsibility and Cooperation in Learning Teams (CRCG). Participants in this work were 375 students from the Faculty of Teacher Training of the University of Extremadura (Spain). The CRCG has very acceptable psychometric characteristics, good internal consistency, and temporal reliability. Moreover, structural equation analysis allowed us to verify that the latent variables in the two factors found are well defined and, therefore, their assessment is adequate. Besides, we found high significant correlations between the Learning Team Potency Questionnaire (CPEA) and the total score and the factors of the CRCG. This tool will evaluate cooperative skills and offer faculty information in order to prepare students for teamwork and conflict resolution. PMID:29593622

Measuring Responsibility and Cooperation in Learning Teams in the University Setting: Validation of a Questionnaire

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benito León-del-Barco

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Cooperative learning are being used increasingly in the university classroom, in order to promote teamwork among students, improve performance and develop interpersonal competences. Responsibility and cooperation are two fundamental pillars of cooperative learning. Team members’ responsibility is a necessary condition for the team’s success in the assigned tasks. Students must be aware that they depend on each other and should make their maximum effort. On the other hand, in efficient groups, the members cooperate and pool their efforts to achieve the proposed goals. In this research, we propose to create a Questionnaire of Group Responsibility and Cooperation in Learning Teams (CRCG. Participants in this work were 375 students from the Faculty of Teacher Training of the University of Extremadura (Spain. The CRCG has very acceptable psychometric characteristics, good internal consistency, and temporal reliability. Moreover, structural equation analysis allowed us to verify that the latent variables in the two factors found are well defined and, therefore, their assessment is adequate. Besides, we found high significant correlations between the Learning Team Potency Questionnaire (CPEA and the total score and the factors of the CRCG. This tool will evaluate cooperative skills and offer faculty information in order to prepare students for teamwork and conflict resolution.

Measuring Responsibility and Cooperation in Learning Teams in the University Setting: Validation of a Questionnaire.

Science.gov (United States)

León-Del-Barco, Benito; Mendo-Lázaro, Santiago; Felipe-Castaño, Elena; Fajardo-Bullón, Fernando; Iglesias-Gallego, Damián

2018-01-01

Cooperative learning are being used increasingly in the university classroom, in order to promote teamwork among students, improve performance and develop interpersonal competences. Responsibility and cooperation are two fundamental pillars of cooperative learning. Team members' responsibility is a necessary condition for the team's success in the assigned tasks. Students must be aware that they depend on each other and should make their maximum effort. On the other hand, in efficient groups, the members cooperate and pool their efforts to achieve the proposed goals. In this research, we propose to create a Questionnaire of Group Responsibility and Cooperation in Learning Teams (CRCG) . Participants in this work were 375 students from the Faculty of Teacher Training of the University of Extremadura (Spain). The CRCG has very acceptable psychometric characteristics, good internal consistency, and temporal reliability. Moreover, structural equation analysis allowed us to verify that the latent variables in the two factors found are well defined and, therefore, their assessment is adequate. Besides, we found high significant correlations between the Learning Team Potency Questionnaire (CPEA) and the total score and the factors of the CRCG. This tool will evaluate cooperative skills and offer faculty information in order to prepare students for teamwork and conflict resolution.

Cooperative Behavior in the Ultimatum Game and Prisoner’s Dilemma Depends on Players’ Contributions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amy R. Bland

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Economic games such as the Ultimatum Game (UG and Prisoner’s Dilemma (PD are widely used paradigms for studying fairness and cooperation. Monetary versions of these games involve two players splitting an arbitrary sum of money. In real life, however, people’s propensity to engage in cooperative behavior depends on their effort and contribution; factors that are well known to affect perceptions of fairness. We therefore sought to explore the impact of relative monetary contributions by players in the UG and PD. Adapted computerized UG and PD games, in which relative contributions from each player were manipulated, were administered to 200 participants aged 18–50 years old (50% female. We found that players’ contribution had large effects on cooperative behavior. Specifically, cooperation was greater amongst participants when their opponent had contributed more to joint earnings. This was manifested as higher acceptance rates and higher offers in the UG; and fewer defects in the PD compared to when the participant contributed more. Interestingly, equal contributions elicited the greatest sensitivity to fairness in the UG, and least frequent defection in the PD. Acceptance rates correlated positively with anxiety and sex differences were found in defection behavior. This study highlights the feasibility of computerized games to assess cooperative behavior and the importance of considering cooperation within the context of effortful contribution.

Technology certification and technology acceptance: Promoting interstate cooperation and market development for innovative technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brockbank, B.R.

1995-03-01

In the past two years, public and private efforts to promote development and deployment of innovative environmental technologies have shifted from the analysis of barriers to the implementation of a variety of initiatives aimed at surmounting those barriers. Particular attention has been directed at (1) streamlining fragmented technology acceptance processes within and among the states, and (2) alleviating disincentives, created by inadequate or unverified technology cost and performance data, for users and regulators to choose innovative technologies. Market fragmentation currently imposes significant cost burdens on technology developers and inhibits the investment of private capital in environmental technology companies. Among the responses to these problems are state and federal technology certification/validation programs, efforts to standardize cost/performance data reporting, and initiatives aimed at promoting interstate cooperation in technology testing and evaluation. This paper reviews the current status of these initiatives, identifies critical challenges to their success, and recommends strategies for addressing those challenges

Social penalty promotes cooperation in a cooperative society.

Science.gov (United States)

Ito, Hiromu; Yoshimura, Jin

2015-08-04

Why cooperation is well developed in human society is an unsolved question in biological and human sciences. Vast studies in game theory have revealed that in non-cooperative games selfish behavior generally dominates over cooperation and cooperation can be evolved only under very limited conditions. These studies ask the origin of cooperation; whether cooperation can evolve in a group of selfish individuals. In this paper, instead of asking the origin of cooperation, we consider the enhancement of cooperation in a small already cooperative society. We ask whether cooperative behavior is further promoted in a small cooperative society in which social penalty is devised. We analyze hawk-dove game and prisoner's dilemma introducing social penalty. We then expand it for non-cooperative games in general. The results indicate that cooperation is universally favored if penalty is further imposed. We discuss the current result in terms of the moral, laws, rules and regulations in a society, e.g., criminology and traffic violation.

Cooperative motion of intrinsic and actuated semiflexible swimmers

Science.gov (United States)

Llopis, I.; Pagonabarraga, I.; Cosentino Lagomarsino, M.; Lowe, C. P.

2013-03-01

We examine the phenomenon of hydrodynamic-induced cooperativity for pairs of flagellated micro-organism swimmers, of which spermatozoa cells are an example. We consider semiflexible swimmers, where inextensible filaments are driven by an internal intrinsic force and torque-free mechanism (intrinsic swimmers). The velocity gain for swimming cooperatively, which depends on both the geometry and the driving, develops as a result of the near-field coupling of bending and hydrodynamic stresses. We identify the regimes where hydrodynamic cooperativity is advantageous and quantify the change in efficiency. When the filaments' axes are parallel, hydrodynamic interaction induces a directional instability that causes semiflexible swimmers that profit from swimming together to move apart from each other. Biologically, this implies that flagella need to select different synchronized collective states and to compensate for directional instabilities (e.g., by binding) in order to profit from swimming together. By analyzing the cooperative motion of pairs of externally actuated filaments, we assess the impact that stress distribution along the filaments has on their collective displacements.

Interdepartmental Cooperation in Defence Issues and Strategic Intelligence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nebojsa Nikolic

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The motivation for this paper comes from one successfully conducted empirical research about motivation of potential candidates to serve in the active reserve as a kind of military service which is recently introduced in the Serbian Army. The research team was faced with a set of problems related to the deadlines, resources and mandate issues. A solution was found in agile interdepartmental cooperation. Firstly, we started with identification of missing resources and mandates of our research team. Then, we investigated where we could find the missing issues. After that, we established lines for cooperation with other departments in the MoD. The clarity of interdepartmental communication and concretisation of demands and expectations were crucial for success. In the end we realized the full potential of interdepartmental cooperation and started to think about that phenomenon in the wider context of defence and security issues. We found some other examples of interdepartmental cooperation in earlier efforts of the defence sector reform, as well as some results in other armies. The paper presents strengths and opportunities of interdepartmental cooperation through temporary engaged working groups in the specific defence sector environment, as well as potential obstacles. In a wider aspect, interdepartmental cooperation in defence and security issues becomes more and more important because of new security challenges we are facing today.

Inequity aversion and the evolution of cooperation

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Asrar; Karlapalem, Kamalakar

2014-02-01

Evolution of cooperation is a widely studied problem in biology, social science, economics, and artificial intelligence. Most of the existing approaches that explain cooperation rely on some notion of direct or indirect reciprocity. These reciprocity based models assume agents recognize their partner and know their previous interactions, which requires advanced cognitive abilities. In this paper we are interested in developing a model that produces cooperation without requiring any explicit memory of previous game plays. Our model is based on the notion of inequity aversion, a concept introduced within behavioral economics, whereby individuals care about payoff equality in outcomes. Here we explore the effect of using income inequality to guide partner selection and interaction. We study our model by considering both the well-mixed and the spatially structured population and present the conditions under which cooperation becomes dominant. Our results support the hypothesis that inequity aversion promotes cooperative relationship among nonkin.

Duke Power's liquid radwaste processing improvement efforts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baker, R.E. Jr.; Bramblett, J.W.

1995-01-01

The rising cost of processing liquid radwaste and industry efforts to reduce offsite isotopic contributions has drawn greater attention to the liquid radwaste area. Because of economic pressures to reduce cost and simultaneously improve performance, Duke Power has undertaken a wide ranging effort to cost effectively achieve improvements in the liquid radwaste processing area. Duke Power has achieved significant reductions over recent years in the release of curies to the environment from the Liquid Radwaste Treatmentt systems at its Catawba, McGuire, and Oconee stations. System wide site curie reductions of 78% have been achieved in a 3 year period. These curie reductions have been achieved while simultaneously reducing the amount of media used to accomplish treatment. The curie and media usage reductions have been achieved at low capital cost expenditures. A large number of approaches and projects have been used to achieve these curie and media usage reductions. This paper will describe the various projects and the associated results for Duke Power's processing improvement efforts. The subjects/projects which will be described include: (1) Cooperative philosophy between stations (2) Source Control (3) Processing Improvements (4) Technology Testing

Intelligent Cooperative MAC Protocol for Balancing Energy Consumption

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, S.; Liu, K.; Huang, B.; Liu, F.

To extend the lifetime of wireless sensor networks, we proposed an intelligent balanced energy consumption cooperative MAC protocol (IBEC-CMAC) based on the multi-node cooperative transmission model. The protocol has priority to access high-quality channels for reducing energy consumption of each transmission. It can also balance the energy consumption among cooperative nodes by using high residual energy nodes instead of excessively consuming some node's energy. Simulation results show that IBEC-CMAC can obtain longer network lifetime and higher energy utilization than direct transmission.

Energy efficiency advocacy groups: A study of selected interactive efforts and independent initiatives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schweitzer, M. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States); English, M.; Schexnayder, S.; Altman, J. [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Energy, Environment, and Resources Center

1994-03-01

Non-utility groups participate in a myriad of activities--initiated by themselves and others--aimed at influencing the policies and actions of utilities and their regulators related to Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) and Demand-Side Management (DSM). Some of these activities are not directed toward a particular regulatory body or utility but are designed to influence public knowledge and acceptance of IRP and DSM. Other activities involve interaction with a particular utility or regulatory body. The traditional forum for this interaction is an adversarial debate (i.e., litigation or regulatory intervention) over the merits of a utility`s plan or proposed action. However, an increasingly common forum is one in which non-utility groups and utilities cooperatively develop plans, policies, and/or programs. Arrangements of this type are referred to in this report as ``interactive efforts``. This report presents the findings derived from ten case studies of energy efficiency advocacy groups (EEAG) activities to influence the use of cost-effective DSM and to promote IRP; nine of these ten cases involve some form of interactive effort and all of them also include other EEAG activities. The goal of this research is not to measure the success of individual activities of the various groups, but to glean from a collective examination of their activities an understanding of the efficacy of various types of interactive efforts and other EEAG activities and of the contextual and procedural factors that influence their outcomes.

A study on strategies for effective participation in the Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, Joon Keuk; Lee, Eui Jin; Jun, Byung Jin; Chung, Yong Sam; Lee, Chang Hee; Shim, Jae Sun; Noh, In Young; Lee, Jeong Kong; Han, Bong O

2001-02-01

In an effort to achieve the objectives, the following scopes were categorized for in-depth study. First of all, a general overview of FNCA, the including background and strategic plans of the forum, structure and activities of the forum, and the FNCA framework was reviewed. Secondly, major activities and implemented achievements in the 7 cooperation projects were also reviewed. Thirdly, the trends and prospects of nuclear power development programs in the participating countries in the FNCA were studied. Finally, proper strategies and recommendations for effective participation in FNCA were presented. This study can be utilized as basic reference material in the efficient implementation of FNCA in the future and for personnel involved in the FNCA affairs as the fundamental elements for implementing FNCA cooperation are presented. Strategies for strengthening Korea's participation in FNCA can be utilized as basic reference for the effective planning and implementation of FNCA activities in the future. Strategies for contributing to promoting nuclear cooperation in the region, for example, cash or in-kind contributions, should be established to effectively participate in the FNCA. It is hoped that this study will be widely utilized for encouraging Korea's participation in the FNCA and for establishing a future direction for FNCA by governments, industries, academic circles and research institutions

Special Section--Industry-University Cooperation: Getting beyond the Barriers.

Science.gov (United States)

Engineering Education, 1989

1989-01-01

This special section includes 15 articles which examine trends in cooperative research, compare Japanese practices to see what the U.S. can learn from economic competition, and review an innovative trans-national continuing education effort in Europe. Several model programs involving companies, universities, and government agencies are discussed.…

The Spanish Nuclear Group for Cooperation: A Story of Success

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Palacios, C.

2013-01-01

The SNGC (Spanish Nuclear Group for Cooperation) is an alliance founded in 2006 for commercial cooperation between Spanish nuclear companies in order to joint efforts for the commercial promotion in the chinese market. This alliance was originally formed by ENUSA Industrial Avanzadas S. A. (ENUSA). Tecnatom S. A. and Equipos Nucleares, S. A. (ENSA). In 2008 Ringo Valvulas S. L. Joined the alliance, and July 2008 the Nuclear Group for China AIE was incorporated with each of the four companies holding a 25% share. Subsequently, as explained below, the legal name was changed to Spanish Nuclear Group for Cooperation AIE and the trade name of Spanish Nuclear Group/China was maintained as a brand for activities in this country. (Author)

International Business : cooperation within networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Anne van Delft

2011-01-01

Internationalisation is the expansion of a firms operations to foreign markets and includes not only import and export but also foreign direct investments and international cooperation. Today’s globalising economy has resulted in a growing number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) undertaking

The role of cooperatives in the Georgian wine industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kvariani Levani

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The potential of the Georgian wine industry is not fully utilized. High fragmentation of agricultural land leads to limited production that restricts farmers' access to capital resources, finances, and markets, and prevents further development of the Georgian wine industry. Grape collectors and wine makers need help to join their capital and efforts, to gain economies of scale in production and marketing by jointly accessing agricultural inputs. This study aims to identify the importance of farmer cooperatives for grape producers in the Georgian wine industry in order to overcome inefficiency in the sector. Furthermore, this research project investigates the barriers and driving forces of smallholder grape farmers or wine makers to join cooperatives. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders of the Georgian wine industry in order to assess different perspectives on the importance and benefits of farmer cooperatives in the local context. The interview results permit economic analysis of transaction costs, agency theory and property rights in the context of the nascent cooperative movement in the Georgian wine industry. The interviews revealed that development of agriculture cooperatives in the Georgian wine industry is strongly dependent on both farmer enthusiasm and governmental support.1

Coordination vs. voluntarism and enforcement in sustaining international environmental cooperation.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrett, Scott

2016-12-20

The fates of "transboundary" environmental systems depend on how nation states interact with one another. In the absence of a hegemon willing and able to coerce other states into avoiding a "tragedy of the commons," shared environments will be safeguarded if international cooperation succeeds and degraded or even destroyed if it fails. Treaties and related institutions of international law give form to these efforts to cooperate. Often, they implore states to act in their collective (as opposed to their national) interests. Sometimes, they impel cooperating states to punish free riders. A few agreements coordinate states' behavior. Here, I present simple game-theoretic models showing whether and how treaties and related institutions can change incentives, aligning states' self-interests with their collective interests. I show that, as a general matter, states struggle to cooperate voluntarily and enforce agreements to cooperate but that they find it relatively easy to coordinate actions. In some cases, the need for coordination is manifest. In other cases, it requires strategic thinking. Coordination may fall short of supporting an ideal outcome, but it nearly always works better than the alternatives.

An example of successful international cooperation in rocket motor technology

Science.gov (United States)

Ellis, Russell A.; Berdoyes, Michel

2002-07-01

The history of over 25 years of cooperation between Pratt & Whitney, San Jose, CA, USA and Snecma Moteurs, Le Haillan, France in solid rocket motor and, in one case, liquid rocket engine technology is presented. Cooperative efforts resulted in achievements that likely would not have been realized individually. The combination of resources and technologies resulted in synergistic benefits and advancement of the state of the art in rocket motors and components. Discussions begun between the two companies in the early 1970's led to the first cooperative project, demonstration of an advanced apogee motor nozzle, during the mid 1970's. Shortly thereafter advanced carboncarbon (CC) throat materials from Snecma were comparatively tested with other materials in a P&W program funded by the USAF. Use of Snecma throat materials in CSD Tomahawk boosters followed. Advanced space motors were jointly demonstrated in company-funded joint programs in the late 1970's and early 1980's: an advanced space motor with an extendible exit cone and an all-composite advanced space motor that included a composite chamber polar adapter. Eight integral-throat entrances (ITEs) of 4D and 6D construction were tested by P&W for Snecma in 1982. Other joint programs in the 1980's included test firing of a "membrane" CC exit cone, and integral throat and exit cone (ITEC) nozzle incorporating NOVOLTEX® SEPCARB® material. A variation of this same material was demonstrated as a chamber aft polar boss in motor firings that included demonstration of composite material hot gas valve thrust vector control (TVC). In the 1990's a supersonic splitline flexseal nozzle was successfully demonstrated by the two companies as part of a US Integrated High Payoff Rocket Propulsion Technology (IHPRPT) program effort. Also in the mid-1990s the NOVOLTEX® SEPCARB® material, so successful in solid rocket motor application, was successfully applied to a liquid engine nozzle extension. The first cooperative

Problems of technical cooperation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noramli, M.

1987-01-01

The main principles of the IAEA technical co-operation program, which intends to answer the requirements of the member states as regards technical assistance, are presented. IAEA offers its assistance in the supervision and financial support of the projects, which promise direct and quick profit to the member states. Projects related to the satisfaction of the main demands of humanity, industrial use, energy generation, radiation protection and other fields, which can promote the contribution of nuclear power generation to the course of peace, protection of health and thriving of states, are among them. 35 million dollars (USA) was allocated for the IAEA technical assistance and realization of the co-operation program in 1987

Facial Likability and Smiling Enhance Cooperation, but Have No Direct Effect on Moralistic Punishment.

Science.gov (United States)

Mieth, Laura; Bell, Raoul; Buchner, Axel

2016-09-01

The present study serves to test how positive and negative appearance-based expectations affect cooperation and punishment. Participants played a prisoner's dilemma game with partners who either cooperated or defected. Then they were given a costly punishment option: They could spend money to decrease the payoffs of their partners. Aggregated over trials, participants spent more money for punishing the defection of likable-looking and smiling partners compared to punishing the defection of unlikable-looking and nonsmiling partners, but only because participants were more likely to cooperate with likable-looking and smiling partners, which provided the participants with more opportunities for moralistic punishment. When expressed as a conditional probability, moralistic punishment did not differ as a function of the partners' facial likability. Smiling had no effect on the probability of moralistic punishment, but punishment was milder for smiling in comparison to nonsmiling partners.

Some aspects of international cooperation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aguilera A, V.E.

1984-01-01

The present work deals with some aspects of International cooperation which are directly related with Science and Technology in general, but which have total validity in Nuclear Science and Technology. It is meant particularly for Latin-American countries as a whole. Some ideas meant to review the factors that act on the development of Science and Technology are briefly developed; the number of positive achievements reached in Sc. and T.; is recounted; the problems to be overcome in Sc. and T. are numbered and, finally, some propositions for increasing international cooperation in Science and Technology are exposed. (Author)

A Trust-Based Model for Security Cooperating in Vehicular Cloud Computing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhipeng Tang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available VCC is a computing paradigm which consists of vehicles cooperating with each other to realize a lot of practical applications, such as delivering packages. Security cooperation is a fundamental research topic in Vehicular Cloud Computing (VCC. Because of the existence of malicious vehicles, the security cooperation has become a challenging issue in VCC. In this paper, a trust-based model for security cooperating, named DBTEC, is proposed to promote vehicles’ security cooperation in VCC. DBTEC combines the indirect trust estimation in Public board and the direct trust estimation in Private board to compute the trust value of vehicles when choosing cooperative partners; a trustworthy cooperation path generating scheme is proposed to ensure the safety of cooperation and increase the cooperation completion rates in VCC. Extensive experiments show that our scheme improves the overall cooperation completion rates by 6~7%.

Cooperation and deception in primates.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Katie; Brosnan, Sarah F

2017-08-01

Though competition and cooperation are often considered opposing forces in an arms race driving natural selection, many animals, including humans, cooperate in order to mitigate competition with others. Understanding others' psychological states, such as seeing and knowing, others' goals and intentions, and coordinating actions are all important for complex cooperation-as well as for predicting behavior in order to take advantage of others through tactical deception, a form of competition. We outline evidence of primates' understanding of how others perceive the world, and then consider how the evidence from both deception and cooperation fits this framework to give us a more complete understanding of the evolution of complex social cognition in primates. In experimental food competitions, primates flexibly manipulate group-mates' behavior to tactically deceive them. Deception can infiltrate cooperative interactions, such as when one takes an unfair share of meat after a coordinated hunt. In order to counter competition of this sort, primates maintain cooperation through partner choice, partner control, and third party punishment. Yet humans appear to stand alone in their ability to understand others' beliefs, which allows us not only to deceive others with the explicit intent to create a false belief, but it also allows us to put ourselves in others' shoes to determine when cheaters need to be punished, even if we are not directly disadvantaged by the cheater. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The international cooperation using the example of the reactor accident in Chernobyl

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Molitor, Norbert

2017-01-01

The explosion of the reactor unit 4 of the NPP Chernobyl and the subsequent fire was up to now the most severe accident in the civil nuclear industry. The consequences of the accident far outside the Ukraine and the former Soviet Union demonstrated that nuclear safety is a trans-border challenge. The mitigation of the accident consequences and the recovery of safety for the public, the workers and the environment required outstanding efforts and the international cooperation was of significant importance. The contribution discusses experiences and practical aspects of the international cooperation and implications for future cooperation options for the long-term removal of accident consequences.

The role of stigma and uncertainty in moderating the effect of procedural justice on cooperation and resistance in police encounters with persons with mental illnesses.

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Amy C; Angell, Beth

2013-01-01

Within social psychology, procedural justice theory has been used to understand variations in compliance with legal authorities such as police. Thus, it may help explain variation in cooperation and compliance in encounters between police officers and people with serious mental illness (SMI), which are often fraught with difficulty and risk. In this paper, we examine the extent to which perceptions of procedural justice among persons with SMI are associated with self-reported levels of cooperation and resistance in encounters with police. We also examine stigma and encounter type as potential moderators of the procedural justice effect. 154 persons with serious mental illness who reported a police contact within the past year were interviewed using the newly developed Police Contact Experience Survey (PCES), which includes questions about the characteristics of the contact, perceived procedural justice (PPJ) and degree of cooperation and resistance. Participants also completed the Link Perceived Devaluation and Discrimination Scale (PDS). Findings suggest that greater PPJ is associated with more cooperation and less resistance. The effect on cooperation, however, is moderated by both perceived stigma and the type of encounter. The direct effect of perceived stigma (PDS) on cooperation was unexpected, with higher perceived stigma associated with greater cooperation. Findings underline the importance of both procedurally just treatment in police interactions with vulnerable individuals and further efforts to reduce the stigma of mental illness.

Unfair allocation of gains under equal price in cooperative purchasing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schotanus, Fredo; Calvi, R.; Merminod, N.

2005-01-01

Cooperative purchasing is becoming more and more common practice. However, many cooperative initiatives end prematurely or do not flourish. Important reasons indi-cated for these problems are directly or indirectly related to the unfair allocation of gains. The purpose of this paper is to analyse

A User Cooperation Stimulating Strategy Based on Cooperative Game Theory in Cooperative Relay Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ping Zhang

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a user cooperation stimulating strategy among rational users. The strategy is based on cooperative game theory and enacted in the context of cooperative relay networks. Using the pricing-based mechanism, the system is modeled initially with two nodes and a Base Station (BS. Within this framework, each node is treated as a rational decision maker. To this end, each node can decide whether to cooperate and how to cooperate. Cooperative game theory assists in providing an optimal system utility and provides fairness among users. Under different cooperative forwarding modes, certain questions are carefully investigated, including “what is each node's best reaction to maximize its utility?” and “what is the optimal reimbursement to encourage cooperation?” Simulation results show that the nodes benefit from the proposed cooperation stimulating strategy in terms of utility and thus justify the fairness between each user.

A User Cooperation Stimulating Strategy Based on Cooperative Game Theory in Cooperative Relay Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiang Fan

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a user cooperation stimulating strategy among rational users. The strategy is based on cooperative game theory and enacted in the context of cooperative relay networks. Using the pricing-based mechanism, the system is modeled initially with two nodes and a Base Station (BS. Within this framework, each node is treated as a rational decision maker. To this end, each node can decide whether to cooperate and how to cooperate. Cooperative game theory assists in providing an optimal system utility and provides fairness among users. Under different cooperative forwarding modes, certain questions are carefully investigated, including "what is each node's best reaction to maximize its utility?" and "what is the optimal reimbursement to encourage cooperation?" Simulation results show that the nodes benefit from the proposed cooperation stimulating strategy in terms of utility and thus justify the fairness between each user.

Status report on US-Russian laboratory-to-laboratory cooperation in nuclear materials protection, control and accounting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mullen, M.

1996-01-01

In April 1994, a new program of cooperation on nuclear materials protection, control, and accounting (MPC and A) was initiated between (1) the US Department of Energy and its laboratories and (2) nuclear institutes and enterprises of the Russian Federation. The program is called the Laboratory-to-Laboratory Nuclear Materials Protection, Control, and Accounting Program (Lab-to-Lab MPC and A Program); it is one of several, complementary US-Russian MPC and A programs. The purpose of the Lab-to-Lab MPC and A Program is to accelerate progress toward a goal that is vital to the national security interests of both countries: reducing the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation by strengthening MPC and A systems. In its first two years, the program has made significant progress and has expanded to include many additional Russian participants. It has also fostered a spirit of mutual understanding, partnership, and respect between US and Russian nuclear specialists, which has paved the way for advances in other MPC and A and nuclear security cooperative efforts. This paper reviews the current status of the program. In addition to summarizing the background and objectives of the program, the paper describes highlights of recent work and outlines future directions for Lab-to-Lab MPC and A cooperation

The Effect of Cooperative Teaching on the Development of Reading Skills among Students with Reading Disorders

Science.gov (United States)

Ghanaat Pisheh, Etrat Alzahra; Sadeghpour, Narges; Nejatyjahromy, Yaser; Mir Nasab, Mir Mahmoud

2017-01-01

Cooperative teaching is the result of efforts made by two educators for teaching a heterogeneous group of students, especially one including those with specific needs, due to reading disorders for instance. The present study serves as an experimental investigation focusing on the effect of cooperative teaching on the development of reading skills…

The One Plan Project: A cooperative effort of the National Response Team and the Region 6 Regional Response Team to simplify facility emergency response planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Staves, J.; McCormick, K.

1997-01-01

The National Response Team (NRT) in coordination with the Region 6 Response Team (RRT) have developed a facility contingency plan format which would integrate all existing regulatory requirements for contingency planning. This format was developed by a multi-agency team, chaired by the USEPA Region 6, in conjunction with various industry, labor, and public interest groups. The impetus for this project came through the USEPA Office of Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention (CEPPO). The current national oil and hazardous material emergency preparedness and response system is an amalgam of federal, state, local, and industrial programs which are often poorly coordinated. In a cooperative effort with the NRT, the CEPPO conducted a Presidential Review of federal agency authorities and coordination responsibilities regarding release prevention, mitigation, and response. Review recommendations led to a Pilot Project in USEPA Region 6. The Region 6 Pilot Project targeted end users in the intensely industrialized Houston Ship Channel (HSC) area, which is comprised of petroleum and petrochemical companies

Using Cooperative Small Groups in Introductory Accounting Classes: A Practical Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Miglietti, Cynthia

2002-01-01

Effective use of cooperative learning groups requires the following: attention to group formation, orientation that sets clear expectations and guidelines, activities to develop teamwork skills, peer evaluation, and other assessments that recognize and measure individual effort on group projects. (SK)

Interorganizational Knowledge Division Decision Model Based on Cooperative Innovation of Supply Chain System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Zhang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Within interorganizational cooperative innovation of construction supply chain system, the achievement of project value-adding could be reflected by several factors, such as project-based organizational effect level, and the relationship between project cooperative innovation objectives. In this paper, based on the assumption of equal cooperation between project-based organizations, we selected the knowledge cooperation between the owner and contractor in construction supply chain system as research object. From the perspective of maximizing project value-adding and the relationship of effort cost between knowledge input and innovation stage in consideration, we established the knowledge collaborative incentive model for interorganizational cooperative innovation of construction supply chain system and proposed the first-order and second-order approaches. Then we conducted the digital simulation and example analysis, its results showed that if the owner has the capability to achieve project value-adding in knowledge cooperation, he would adopt a part commissioned way. Otherwise, a fully commissioned way would be better.

A cooperative effort to pass tobacco control ordinances in Wichita, Kansas.

Science.gov (United States)

Pippert, K; Jecha, L; Coen, S; MacDonald, P; Francisco, J; Pickard, S

1995-01-01

In October 1993, the Tobacco-Free Wichita Coalition proposed ordinances to the Wichita City Council that would tightly control access of minors to tobacco and prohibit smoking in public places. The subsequent successful change in local health policy required the collaborative efforts of local and state organizations and health agencies. A simple random telephone survey commissioned and financed by the coalition demonstrated that 76 percent (95 percent CI = 72 percent to 80 percent) of adult Wichita-Sedgwick County residents favored enforced penalties for merchants selling tobacco to minors, and 62 percent (95 percent CI = 58 percent to 66 percent) favored a ban on tobacco vending machines. Fifty-four percent (95 percent CI = 50 percent to 58 percent) favored a smoking ban in all public places.

Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the United States to enhance the existing nuclear-material protection, control, and accounting systems at Mayak Production Association

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Starodubtsev, G.S.; Prishchepov, A.I.; Zatorsky, Y.M.; James, L.T.

1997-01-01

The Ministry of the Russian Federation for Atomic Energy (MINATOM) and the US Department of Energy (DOE) are engaged in joint, cooperative efforts to reduce the likelihood of nuclear proliferation by enhancing Material Protection, Control and Accounting (MPC ampersand A) systems in both countries. Mayak Production Association (MPA) is a major Russian nuclear enterprise within the nuclear complex that is operated by MINATOM. This paper describes the nature, scope, and status of the joint, cooperative efforts to enhance existing MPC ampersand A systems at MPA. Current cooperative efforts are focused on enhancements to the existing MPC ampersand A systems at four plants that are operated by MPA and that produce, process, handle and/or store proliferation-sensitive nuclear materials

Cooperation Between the Russian Federation and the United States to Enhance the Existing Nuclear-Material Protection, Control, and Accounting Systems at Mayak Production Association

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cahalane, P.T.; Ehinger, M.H.; James, L.T.; Jarrett, J.H.; Lundgren, R.A.; Manatt, D.R.; Niederauer, G.F.; Olivos, J.D.; Prishchepov, A.I.; Starodubtsev, G.S.; Suda, S.C.; Tittemore, G.W.; Zatorsky, Y.M.

1999-01-01

The Ministry of the Russian Federation for Atomic Energy (MINATOM) and the US Department of Energy (DOE) are engaged in joint, cooperative efforts to reduce the likelihood of nuclear proliferation by enhancing Material Protection, Control and Accounting (MPC and A) systems in both countries. Mayak Production Association (Mayak) is a major Russian nuclear enterprise within the nuclear complex that is operated by lylINATOM. This paper describes the nature, scope, and status of the joint, cooperative efforts to enhance existing MPC and A systems at Mayak. Current cooperative efforts are focused on enhancements to the existing MPC and A systems at two of the plants operated by Mayak that work with proliferation-sensitive nuclear materials

Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the United States to enhance the existing nuclear-material protection, control, and accounting systems at Mayak Production Association

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Starodubtsev, G.S.; Prishchepov, A.I.; Zatorsky, Y.M.; James, L.T. [and others

1997-11-01

The Ministry of the Russian Federation for Atomic Energy (MINATOM) and the US Department of Energy (DOE) are engaged in joint, cooperative efforts to reduce the likelihood of nuclear proliferation by enhancing Material Protection, Control and Accounting (MPC&A) systems in both countries. Mayak Production Association (MPA) is a major Russian nuclear enterprise within the nuclear complex that is operated by MINATOM. This paper describes the nature, scope, and status of the joint, cooperative efforts to enhance existing MPC&A systems at MPA. Current cooperative efforts are focused on enhancements to the existing MPC&A systems at four plants that are operated by MPA and that produce, process, handle and/or store proliferation-sensitive nuclear materials.

The Evolution of Power and the Divergence of Cooperative Norms

OpenAIRE

Makowsky, Michael; Smaldino, Paul

2015-01-01

We consider a model of multilevel selection and the evolution of institutions that distribute power in the form of influence in a group's collective interactions with other groups. In the absence of direct group-level interactions, groups with the most cooperative members will outcompete less cooperative groups, while within any group the least cooperative members will be the most successful. Introducing group-level interactions, however, such as raiding or warfare, changes the selective land...

[International development cooperation from the D. Orem self-care theory].

Science.gov (United States)

Velo Higueras, María; Fajardo Galván, Darío; Cruces González, Marta; Sánchez Merino, Begoña; Santos Muñiz, Ana

2013-05-01

This article aim is to analyze the performance of Spanish cooperation from the perspective of Orem self-care theory, from the next hypothesis: the Spanish international cooperation programs works as total compensation systems. cross sectional and descriptive study in which qualitative analysis was performed 3 African countries: Mozambique, Angola and Namibia. The variables were management, focused area and resources used. All countries have a shared management of the cooperation. Mozambique has developed training activities (72%), management support (38%) and direct health care (27%), focused on the area of the fight against infection and tropical diseases. In Angola, the activities are based in training (37%), management support (37%) and health care (75%) in the area of basic health services (25%), fighting against tropical diseases (50%) and improving maternal and child health (25%). Namibia focuses on the health care area (100%) through direct assistance activities and management support. Health cooperation programs developed by the Spanish state have probed to work as partial compensation system.

Strengthening the infrastructure for RI applications in cooperation with the IAEA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Kyung Bae; Hong, Young Don; Kim, Seung Yun; Kim, Kyoung Pyo; Lee, Jeong Kong

2000-12-01

The future direction for nuclear cooperation should be implemented with the aim of enhancing the status of Korea within the international society as well as carrying out the established national nuclear policy goal. Strategies for implementing cooperation with the IAEA were described into four separate parts; 'strategies for strengthening cooperation in general areas', 'strategies for implementing IAEA technical cooperation programs', 'strategies for implementing IAEA CRP programs' and 'Strategies for effective participation in the area of radiation and RI application'. As for strategies for implementing IAEA technical cooperation programs, i) expanding domestic personnel's entering into the IAEA ii) establishment of a liaison office for support of IAEA technical cooperation iii) expanding domestic experts entering into member of consultation group for a director-general of the IAEA and more participation in the international meetings iv) cooperation with IAEA's Seibersdorf Laboratories. For the strengthening of IAEA technical cooperation, strategies for effective implementation of technical cooperation programs such as i) strengthening role of national TC liaison officer ii) strengthening application of Model Project concept iii) Implementing End-user oriented programs iv) Establishment of measure to increase the TC implementation rate v) hosting of fellowship, scientific visitors, support for expert mission, were presented. Strategies for expanding domestic participation in the IAEA technical cooperation programs were also described for producing the benefits from implementing the IAEA technical cooperation programs. As for strategies for implementing the IAEA CRP programs, i) measures for active participation in the IAEA CRP programs and ii) measures for gradual participation in the IAEA CRP programs were separately described. To maximize the utilization of HANARO, a multi-purpose research reactor, the on

Strengthening the infrastructure for RI applications in cooperation with the IAEA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Kyung Bae; Hong, Young Don; Kim, Seung Yun; Kim, Kyoung Pyo; Lee, Jeong Kong

2000-12-01

The future direction for nuclear cooperation should be implemented with the aim of enhancing the status of Korea within the international society as well as carrying out the established national nuclear policy goal. Strategies for implementing cooperation with the IAEA were described into four separate parts; 'strategies for strengthening cooperation in general areas', 'strategies for implementing IAEA technical cooperation programs', 'strategies for implementing IAEA CRP programs' and 'Strategies for effective participation in the area of radiation and RI application'. As for strategies for implementing IAEA technical cooperation programs, i) expanding domestic personnel's entering into the IAEA ii) establishment of a liaison office for support of IAEA technical cooperation iii) expanding domestic experts entering into member of consultation group for a director-general of the IAEA and more participation in the international meetings iv) cooperation with IAEA's Seibersdorf Laboratories. For the strengthening of IAEA technical cooperation, strategies for effective implementation of technical cooperation programs such as i) strengthening role of national TC liaison officer ii) strengthening application of Model Project concept iii) Implementing End-user oriented programs iv) Establishment of measure to increase the TC implementation rate v) hosting of fellowship, scientific visitors, support for expert mission, were presented. Strategies for expanding domestic participation in the IAEA technical cooperation programs were also described for producing the benefits from implementing the IAEA technical cooperation programs. As for strategies for implementing the IAEA CRP programs, i) measures for active participation in the IAEA CRP programs and ii) measures for gradual participation in the IAEA CRP programs were separately described. To maximize the utilization of HANARO, a multi-purpose research reactor, the on-going development and development project are actively

Cross-sectorial cooperation and supportive care in general practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lundstrøm, Louise Hyldborg; Johnsen, Anna Thit; Ross, Lone

2011-01-01

Background. Cancer care usually involves several health professionals from different parts of the health care system. Often, the GP has an important role. Patients’ experiences of continuity and support may be related to characteristics of health care, disease or patients. Objectives. To investig......Background. Cancer care usually involves several health professionals from different parts of the health care system. Often, the GP has an important role. Patients’ experiences of continuity and support may be related to characteristics of health care, disease or patients. Objectives...... patients experienced suboptimal cross-sectorial cooperation and supportive care. Efforts to improve cancer care cooperation may focus on the possible supportive role of the...

A theory of leadership in human cooperative groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Hooper, Paul L; Kaplan, Hillard S; Boone, James L

2010-08-21

Two types of models aim to account the origins of rank differentiation and social hierarchy in human societies. Conflict models suggest that the formation of social hierarchies is synonymous with the establishment of relationships of coercive social dominance and exploitation. Voluntary or 'integrative' models, on the other hand, suggest that rank differentiation--the differentiation of leader from follower, ruler from ruled, or state from subject--may sometimes be preferred over more egalitarian social arrangements as a solution to the challenges of life in social groups, such as conflict over resources, coordination failures, and free-riding in cooperative relationships. Little formal theoretical work, however, has established whether and under what conditions individuals would indeed prefer the establishment of more hierarchical relationships over more egalitarian alternatives. This paper provides an evolutionary game theoretical model for the acceptance of leadership in cooperative groups. We propose that the effort of a leader can reduce the likelihood that cooperation fails due to free-riding or coordination errors, and that under some circumstances, individuals would prefer to cooperate in a group under the supervision of a leader who receives a share of the group's productivity than to work in an unsupervised group. We suggest, in particular, that this becomes an optimal solution for individual decision makers when the number of group members required for collective action exceeds the maximum group size at which leaderless cooperation is viable.

Assessing Transition Service for Handicapped Youth: A Cooperative Interagency Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Stodden, Robert A.; Boone, Rosalie

1987-01-01

The article presents a cooperative interagency approach for assessing effectiveness of programs and services to facilitate the transition of handicapped students from school to adult community living. Features of the model include cooperative planning at the policy level, implementation level, and direct service level; and collaboration by state…

Risk and Cooperation: Managing Hazardous Fuel in Mixed Ownership Landscapes

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, A. Paige; Charnley, Susan

2012-06-01

Managing natural processes at the landscape scale to promote forest health is important, especially in the case of wildfire, where the ability of a landowner to protect his or her individual parcel is constrained by conditions on neighboring ownerships. However, management at a landscape scale is also challenging because it requires cooperation on plans and actions that cross ownership boundaries. Cooperation depends on people's beliefs and norms about reciprocity and perceptions of the risks and benefits of interacting with others. Using logistic regression tests on mail survey data and qualitative analysis of interviews with landowners, we examined the relationship between perceived wildfire risk and cooperation in the management of hazardous fuel by nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) owners in fire-prone landscapes of eastern Oregon. We found that NIPF owners who perceived a risk of wildfire to their properties, and perceived that conditions on nearby public forestlands contributed to this risk, were more likely to have cooperated with public agencies in the past to reduce fire risk than owners who did not perceive a risk of wildfire to their properties. Wildfire risk perception was not associated with past cooperation among NIPF owners. The greater social barriers to private-private cooperation than to private-public cooperation, and perceptions of more hazardous conditions on public compared with private forestlands may explain this difference. Owners expressed a strong willingness to cooperate with others in future cross-boundary efforts to reduce fire risk, however. We explore barriers to cooperative forest management across ownerships, and identify models of cooperation that hold potential for future collective action to reduce wildfire risk.

Planning for Interagency Cooperation in Rural Development. CARD Report 45.

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, David L.; Glick, Edward L.

With a major emphasis on cooperative planning in rural development, three elements of development process were identified: (1) integration of units involved, occurring when several organizations contribute to a larger collective effort; (2) decentralized planning and local initiative, occurring when planning initiative is at the local level; (3)…

Instruments for the Administration of the Responsibility Social Cooperative

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yamira Mirabal González

2016-07-01

Full Text Available In the context of our national economy and their process of bring up to date starting from the implementation of the Economic and Social Politics's Limits, the cooperative companies, like form of non state administration they constitute a component more than the Economic Pattern - Cuban of high contribution to the sostenibilidad of the economic and social development of the nation; starting from economic and social, efficient and effective administration processes. On the other hand, the cooperative companies, for derived reasons of their nature and essence, they will design and to implement tools and technical that guarantee the effective execution of their economic and social objectives. However, in a particular way, the administration in these entities, it has been guided, mainly, to the attainment of goals and programs that you/they respond to the economic interest - financial in their development, relegating their social end to spontaneous processes that emanate of the will of their directive ones and they are not part or they are integrated to the socioeconomic administration of the cooperatives. In correspondence with him previously planned, the objective of the present work is directed to endow to the Cuban cooperative companies (or not of a technological package for the administration of the Responsibility Social Cooperative that considers also, a System of Social Accounting and a methodology for the Audit of Administration Social Cooperative; that it pays to the execution of their social objectives and the consolidation of their identity.

Study on the strategy of negotiation for Korea-Euratom Nuclear Cooperation Agreement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soo, Ryu Jae; Lee, Gwang Seok; Lee, Hanmyung; Jun, Eunju; Lee, Dong Hoon

2012-09-15

We suggested the draft of Korea-EURATOM nuclear cooperation agreement that is expected to conclude in the near future by analyzing status and policy on the nuclear development and nuclear cooperation agreement in EURATOM. We expect that results of this study will propose basic strategy and direction of negotiations for Korea-EURATOM nuclear cooperation agreement in the near future.

Cooperative efforts for the removal of high-enriched fresh fuel from the Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hopwood, W.; Moses, S.; Pesic, M.; Sotic, O.; Wander, T.

2003-01-01

In August 2002, the inventory of high-enriched uranium (HEU) fresh fuel at the Vinca Institute in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, was repackaged and shipped to the Russian Federation (R.F.), its country of origin under the former Soviet Union. Several thousand small fuel elements were repackaged by the Vinca Institute into approved shipping containers provided by the RF and loaded onto the approved ground transportation vehicle. The transportation from the Vinca Institute to the Belgrade Airport was done under the planning and protection of Yugoslavian and Serbian military and police organizations, with technical oversight being provided by the Vinca staff that escorted the convoy. Under constant security protection, the Russian crew loaded the fuel containers onto the cargo plane, and later it departed for an airport near Dimitrovgrad, Russia. In addition to the domestic control and accounting provided during this operation, this inventory was under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards, and its inspectors appropriately confirmed, sealed and documented the inventory. The United States (U.S.) observers were also present, and appropriate data were collected because of nonproliferation interests and contractual support for all phases of the operation. Since this event, the Vinca staff has generated several papers describing the technical background and detailed activities of this operation. This paper describes the removal from the U.S. observers perspectives and recognizes the significant cooperation among the supporting countries and the achievements of the organizations directly involved. (author)

To cooperate or not to cooperate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wessels, Josepha Ivanka

To Cooperate or not to Cooperate...? discusses results of a research project to study the rehabilitation of 1500-year old water tunnels, so called "qanats", in Syria. Communities all over the world are using traditional technologies to extract drinkingwater, irrigate their lands and feed...... their livestock. But these often sustainable and ancient ways to make use of groundwater are in rapid decline worldwide. A research project started in 1999 to study the rehabilitation of 1500-year old water tunnels called "qanats"in Syria. To Cooperate or not to Cooperate...? discusses results and outcomes...

Cooperative activity and its potential for learning in tertiary education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cirila Peklaj

2007-01-01

Full Text Available A learning situation can be structured in different ways, as an individual, competitive, or cooperative activity. Each of these structures can be used for different purposes and can lead to different learning outcomes. This paper focuses on cooperative activity and its potential for learning in tertiary education. After defining cooperative activity (or, in a broader sense, learning in interaction and introducing the CAMS theoretical framework to analyse cooperative activity, the main discussion focuses on the theoretical reasons for the usefulness of group learning and on the research of effects of cooperative learning on cognitive (metacognitive, affective-motivational and social processes in university students. The key elements that should be established for successful cooperation are also discussed. At the end, a new direction in using cooperative activity in learning—computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL, which emerged with rapid technology development in the last two decades—is presented and discussed.

Prof. Bernard R. Cooper (1936 - 2013)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lederman, David

2014-01-01

Bernard (Barry) R. Cooper, Claude W. Benedum professor emeritus at West Virginia University, passed away at age 77 on June 10, 2013 in Morgantown, West Virginia. A fellow of the American Physical Society, Barry was a theoretical condensed matter physicist best known for his contributions to the fundamental understanding of the magnetic and electronic properties of transition, rare earth, and actinide metals. He also contributed to early efforts to accurately calculate and predict the properties of materials using first-principles methods

Cooperation and Development: a study of case in network cooperation

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June Alisson Westarb Cruz

2009-03-01

Full Text Available The need to develop new surviving strategies and competitive advantage by individuals and organizations make cooperation to obtain complementary competences and potentialities very important, through the insertion of social actors in multiple networks of relationships and interactions.  This research was made in an Association Network of Carrinheiros[1] located in Curitiba and in the coast of Paraná.  The objective of the study was to analyze the structural characteristics of the network and its implications to develop collective actions. The data was collected through questionnaires, interviews, document analysis, and the daily direct observation of the network.  An interaction system between individuals and organizations from various sectors in society could be verified. This interaction stimulates the structured work connected to associations and cooperatives.  Between the actors of the network, concepts and realities are different, as well as individual objectives are distinct.  However, they converge to a common general objective that establish a common base for collaborative work.

A Road Map for Success: How Northwest Manufactured Housing Conservation Efforts Revolutionized an Industry.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gilbertson, William L.

1993-04-01

The evolution of an ongoing Bonneville Power Administration effort to improve the energy efficiency of manufactured homes is chronicled in this informal history. Over the past nine years, Bonneville`s manufactured housing project has undertaken many activities, including technical studies, cooperative ventures, design studies, and information dissemination. These activities are covered.

The Index of Asia-Pacific Regional Integration Effort

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victor Yifan Ye

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The Asia-Pacific region is not typically seen as one geographic or socio-economic space. Yet, 58 regional economies occupying the space of 28 million square kilometers from Turkey in the West, Russian Federation in the North, French Polynesia in the East and New Zealand in the South belong to the Economic and Social Commission of Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP. This commission provides a forum for member states that "promotes regional cooperation and collective action, assisting countries in building and sustaining shared economic growth and social equity". In 2013, ESCAP's members adopted the Bangkok Declaration to enhance efforts towards deeper regional economic integration. Yet this document neither proposes a concrete modality or modalities of achieving deeper integration, nor provides a sense of distance of individual countries to a "perceived" integrated Asia-Pacific.This paper aims to comprehensively quantify recent integration efforts of economies in the Asia-Pacific region. We provide an "index of integration effort" based on twelve metrics that measure the relative distance of a given economy to the region as an economic entity. Generally, we find that while the region has trended towards becoming integrated in general, both the level of integration and integration effort are inconsistent among Asia-Pacific economies. We discuss potential applications and extensions of the index in developing our perspective of the region's economic and social dynamics.

Leveraging International Cooperation Acquisition Opportunities for the Department of Defense

Science.gov (United States)

2014-09-01

Comparative and cost/ benefit and risk analysis and SWOT  Research Needed: Examples of U.S. DOD domestic projects and programs that have included...for International Cooperation and how that will benefit or deter the domestic program offices system acquisition efforts. Our research and analysis ...38 2. SWOT Analysis ..................................................................................39

Role of Cooperatives in Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The paper examined the contributions of cooperatives to small and medium scale enterprises (SME) development, identified the challenges and to suggested ways of strengthening this role. The paper argued that SMEs are the key to Nigeria‟s prosperity, but that past efforts by the government to promote SMEs has not ...

75 FR 10319 - Cooper Tools-Sumter, Cooper Tools Divisions, a Subsidiary of Cooper Industries, Inc., Including...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-05

... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Employment and Training Administration [TA-W-71,602] Cooper Tools--Sumter, Cooper Tools Divisions, a Subsidiary of Cooper Industries, Inc., Including On-Site Leased Workers From... January 26, 2010, applicable to workers of Cooper Tools--Sumter, Cooper Tools Division, a subsidiary of...

Evolution of cooperation driven by social-welfare-based migration

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yan; Ye, Hang; Zhang, Hong

2016-03-01

Individuals' migration behavior may play a significant role in the evolution of cooperation. In reality, individuals' migration behavior may depend on their perceptions of social welfare. To study the relationship between social-welfare-based migration and the evolution of cooperation, we consider an evolutionary prisoner's dilemma game (PDG) in which an individual's migration depends on social welfare but not on the individual's own payoff. By introducing three important social welfare functions (SWFs) that are commonly studied in social science, we find that social-welfare-based migration can promote cooperation under a wide range of parameter values. In addition, these three SWFs have different effects on cooperation, especially through the different spatial patterns formed by migration. Because the relative efficiency of the three SWFs will change if the parameter values are changed, we cannot determine which SWF is optimal for supporting cooperation. We also show that memory capacity, which is needed to evaluate individual welfare, may affect cooperation levels in opposite directions under different SWFs. Our work should be helpful for understanding the evolution of human cooperation and bridging the chasm between studies of social preferences and studies of social cooperation.

Bargaining babblers: vocal negotiation of cooperative behaviour in a social bird

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, M. B. V.; Radford, A. N.; Smith, R. A.; Thompson, A. M.; Ridley, A. R.

2010-01-01

Wherever individuals perform cooperative behaviours, each should be selected to adjust their own current contributions in relation to the likely future contributions of their collaborators. Here, we use the sentinel system of pied babblers (Turdoides bicolor) to show that individuals anticipate contributions by group mates, adjusting their own contribution in response to information about internal state broadcast by others. Specifically, we show that (i) short-term changes in state influence contributions to a cooperative behaviour, (ii) individuals communicate short-term changes in state, and (iii) individuals use information about the state of group mates to adjust their own investment in sentinel behaviour. Our results demonstrate that individual decisions about contributions to a cooperative effort can be influenced by information about the likely future contribution of others. We suggest that similar pre-emptive adjustments based on information obtained from collaborators will be a common feature of cooperative behaviour, and may play an important role in the development of complex communication in social species. PMID:20519221

Bateman's principle is reversed in a cooperatively breeding bird.

Science.gov (United States)

Apakupakul, Kathleen; Rubenstein, Dustin R

2015-04-01

Bateman's principle is not only used to explain sex differences in mating behaviour, but also to determine which sex has the greater opportunity for sexual selection. It predicts that the relationship between the number of mates and the number of offspring produced should be stronger for males than for females. Yet, it is unclear whether Bateman's principle holds in cooperatively breeding systems where the strength of selection on traits used in intrasexual competition is high in both sexes. We tested Bateman's principle in the cooperatively breeding superb starling (Lamprotornis superbus), finding that only females showed a significant, positive Bateman gradient. We also found that the opportunity for selection was on average higher in females, but that its strength and direction oscillated through time. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that sexual selection underlies the female trait elaboration observed in superb starlings and other cooperative breeders. Even though the Bateman gradient was steeper for females than for males, the year-to-year oscillation in the strength and direction of the opportunity for selection likely explains why cooperative breeders do not exhibit sexual role reversal. Thus, Bateman's principle may not hold in cooperative breeders where both sexes appear to be under mutually strong sexual selection. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

A Scale Development for Teacher Competencies on Cooperative Learning Method

Science.gov (United States)

Kocabas, Ayfer; Erbil, Deniz Gokce

2017-01-01

Cooperative learning method is a learning method studied both in Turkey and in the world for long years as an active learning method. Although cooperative learning method takes place in training programs, it cannot be implemented completely in the direction of its principles. The results of the researches point out that teachers have problems with…

Research on Cooperation Strategy of Enterprises’ Quality and Safety in Food Supply Chain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jining Wang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In order to prevent and control risk factors which harm the quality and safety of the food supply chain effectively and reduce the probability of food safety incidents, this paper investigated on some problems of the upstream and downstream enterprises of the food supply chain under the three different forms of cooperation based on the neoclassic economics and game theory method. These problems include the effectiveness of the quality and safety efforts, the profits, the effect of the losses that the food safety incidents caused on the quality efforts’ efficacy, and the social welfare comparison. Meanwhile, we constructed evolutionary game model to analyze the macro and micro factors that influenced the cooperation strategy and demonstrated the effect of diversity of decision-making parameters on evolution results based on numerical simulation. By the theoretical and simulation analysis, we found that (1 the quality efforts’ efficacy, the profits, the sensitivity coefficient of the quality efforts efficiency to the losses, and the social welfare without thinking about the externality all met their maximum under the full cooperation situation; (2 strengthening supervision over the source of the food supply chain can reduce the probability of food safety incidents; (3 macro and micro environment will be the important basis for companies’ decision-making on cooperation strategy in the food supply chain.

Special Agents Can Promote Cooperation in the Population

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xin; Han, Jing; Han, Huawei

2011-01-01

Cooperation is ubiquitous in our real life but everyone would like to maximize her own profits. How does cooperation occur in the group of self-interested agents without centralized control? Furthermore, in a hostile scenario, for example, cooperation is unlikely to emerge. Is there any mechanism to promote cooperation if populations are given and play rules are not allowed to change? In this paper, numerical experiments show that complete population interaction is unfriendly to cooperation in the finite but end-unknown Repeated Prisoner's Dilemma (RPD). Then a mechanism called soft control is proposed to promote cooperation. According to the basic idea of soft control, a number of special agents are introduced to intervene in the evolution of cooperation. They comply with play rules in the original group so that they are always treated as normal agents. For our purpose, these special agents have their own strategies and share knowledge. The capability of the mechanism is studied under different settings. We find that soft control can promote cooperation and is robust to noise. Meanwhile simulation results demonstrate the applicability of the mechanism in other scenarios. Besides, the analytical proof also illustrates the effectiveness of soft control and validates simulation results. As a way of intervention in collective behaviors, soft control provides a possible direction for the study of reciprocal behaviors. PMID:22216202

Evolution of EPA/DOE technical cooperation in remediation of radiation/mixed waste contaminated sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dyer, Robert S.; Garcia-Frias, Beverly; Wolbarst, Anthony B.; Coe, Larry J.

1992-01-01

The EPA Office of Radiation Programs (ORP) and the DOE Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (EM) are cooperating in efforts related to restoration of radioactive and mixed waste sites. The impetus for these efforts derived from DOE's need to perform restoration activities according to CERCLA/RCRA requirements, and from ORP's role as a supplier of radiation expertise to federal agencies. These activities include: assessing remediation technology, developing radioanalytical protocols; matching cleanup technologies to soil characteristics; developing a process for the evaluation, selection, and appropriate use of groundwater models; reviewing incinerator practices; and addressing technical issues associated with the WIPP. Cooperative projects planned for the future include: evaluation of methodologies for streamlining the restoration process; assessment of the applicability of process knowledge for waste characterization; evaluation of recycling of radioactive metals; and expansion of selected environmental protection initiatives at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Public acceptance is a crucial component of the remediation process. An underlying objective of these cooperative initiatives is to address issues of concern to the public in an open and honest fashion. (author)

Ideological leaning and praxis of housing co-operatives in South Africa: Matters arising

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard Jimoh

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Social movements came about as a result of dissatisfaction felt by society from the status quo. They present their grievances through demonstrations, strikes, riots, occupation of land, boycott of business or by the development of social and economic alternatives such as self-help schemes or saving clubs. In South Africa, people join housing co-operatives because it takes a long time to wait for the Reconstruction Development Project (RDP houses promised by the Government. The leaning of 5 housing co-operatives was examined within the context of ideology and praxis that are components of triad model. This was done through multi-case study whereby the chairpersons of the housing co-operatives were interviewed using structured interview format. Findings from the study indicated that all the housing co-operatives were not open and voluntary; also, the housing co-operatives were not administered the same way. In all, efforts were put in by the housing co-operatives in engendering the ideology of co-operatives on one hand and the government on the other hand in providing the necessary subsidy so that the gap in the housing deficit could be bridged since this fitted its policy on housing. 

Ideological leaning and praxis of housing co-operatives in South Africa: Matters arising

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard Jimoh

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Social movements came about as a result of dissatisfaction felt by society from the status quo. They present their grievances through demonstrations, strikes, riots, occupation of land, boycott of business or by the development of social and economic alternatives such as self-help schemes or saving clubs. In South Africa, people join housing co-operatives because it takes a long time to wait for the Reconstruction Development Project (RDP houses promised by the Government. The leaning of 5 housing co-operatives was examined within the context of ideology and praxis that are components of triad model. This was done through multi-case study whereby the chairpersons of the housing co-operatives were interviewed using structured interview format. Findings from the study indicated that all the housing co-operatives were not open and voluntary; also, the housing co-operatives were not administered the same way. In all, efforts were put in by the housing co-operatives in engendering the ideology of co-operatives on one hand and the government on the other hand in providing the necessary subsidy so that the gap in the housing deficit could be bridged since this fitted its policy on housing.

A new low threshold bi-directional wind vane and its potential impact on unplanned atmospheric release prediction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parker, M.J.

1996-01-01

At the Savannah River Site, the Environmental Transport Group (ETG) maintains and develops a comprehensive meteorological monitoring program which employs bi-directional wind vanes (bivanes) for the measurement of horizontal and vertical wind direction and turbulence. Wind data collected near and below instrument starting thresholds under stable nighttime conditions with these bivanes can result in artificially large standard deviations of horizontal wind direction (σA). In one hypothetical case, downwind concentrations could be underestimated by a factor of 40 by using artificially high σA data in a Gaussian dispersion model. In an effort to improve low wind speed measurements of wind direction, a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between Met One Instruments and the Westinghouse Savannah River Company (WSRC) has been created to improve the dynamic performance of the Met One Model 1585 Bi-Directional Wind Vane

IAEA Technical Cooperation and the NPT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barretto, Paulo M.C.; Cetto, Ana Maria

2005-01-01

The NPT rests on three interlinked pillars: cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy, verified nuclear non-proliferation, and nuclear disarmament. This article looks specifically at the first pillar and its linkage with the second one. Non-nuclear weapon States are the vast majority of NPT Parties. The right of NPT Parties to have access to information, exchange of equipment and materials is explicitly recognized in Article IV of the Treaty. This Article stipulates that all Parties of the Treaty undertake to facilitate and have the right to participate in the fullest possible exchange of equipment, materials and scientific and technological information for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. A successful campaign after the 1995 NPT Review Conference increased the NPT membership from 178 to near universality, and today 189 States are Parties to the Treaty. In the same period the IAEA's membership increased from 127 to 138. Today all IAEA Member States are participating in the Agency's Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) in varying mixed capacities of donors or recipients. The IAEA, although not referred to in Article IV of the NPT, plays a major role in planning and implementing multilateral cooperation stipulated in the Treaty. It encourages and assists research, development and application of atomic energy; it provides technical advice, training, materials, services and equipment; fosters exchange of scientific and technical information; develops standards and guidelines for the appropriate utilization of nuclear technology and materials, and builds strategic partnerships to increase the leverage of the limited resources available. At all times, the Agency seeks to support the use of nuclear technology in a way that is safe for humans and the environment. All these activities are related to key statutory functions of the IAEA. Efforts to assist Member States are impressive. Since its inception in 1957, the Agency has provided direct assistance valued at

Cooperative particle motion in complex (dusty) plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Zhdanov, Sergey; Morfill, Gregor

2014-05-01

Strongly coupled complex (dusty) plasmas give us a unique opportunity to go beyond the limits of continuous media and study various generic processes occurring in liquids or solids at the kinetic level. A particularly interesting and challenging topic is to study dynamic cooperativity at local and intermediate scales. As an important element of self-organization, cooperative particle motion is present in many physical, astrophysical and biological systems. As a rule, cooperative dynamics, bringing to life 'abnormal' effects like enhanced diffusion, self-dragging, or self-propelling of particles, hold aspects of 'strange' kinetics. The synergy effects are also important. Such kind of cooperative behavior was evidenced for string-like formations of colloidal rods, dynamics of mono- and di-vacancies in 2d colloidal crystals. Externally manipulated 'dust molecules' and self-assembled strings in driven 3d particle clusters were other noticeable examples. There is a certain advantage to experiment with complex plasmas merely because these systems are easy to manipulate in a controllable way. We report on the first direct observation of microparticle cooperative movements occurring under natural conditions in a 2d complex plasma.

Russian-Chinese Humanitarian Cooperation in 1990-s

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E I Ganshina

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to Russian-Chinese humanitarian cooperation in the 90-ies of XX century. The author emphasizes the special importance of humanitarian cooperation between Russia and China for the promotion of national interests and the expansion of Russia's presence in China after the collapse of the USSR, as well as creating a positive image of the Russian state in China by applying the mechanism of “soft power”. The author notes that the 90-ies of XX century were the starting point of cooperation between Russia and China in the humanitarian sphere, it laid the legal foundation of Russian-Chinese humanitarian cooperation, moreover, the main directions and priorities of cooperation between the two countries in the humanitarian field have been identified. However, the author stresses that the practical realization of the objectives of the signed intergovernmental documents was carried out in an insufficiently wide format. And the main reason is the deep socio-economic crisis, which Russia had faced after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and, as a consequence, the lack of funding for joint Russian-Chinese projects in the humanitarian field.

Cooperative Evolutionary Game and Applications in Construction Supplier Tendency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qianqian Shi

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Major construction projects have a great influence on the national economy and society, wherein cooperative relationship between construction suppliers plays an increasingly significant role in the overall supply chain system. However, the relationships between suppliers are noncontractual, multistage, dynamic, and complicated. To gain a deeper insight into the suppliers’ cooperative relationships, an evolutionary game model is developed to explore the cooperation tendency of multisuppliers. A replicator dynamic system is further formulated to investigate the evolutionary stable strategies of multisuppliers. Then, fourteen “when-then” type scenarios are concluded and classified into six different evolutionary tracks. Meanwhile, the critical influencing factors are identified. The results show that the suppliers’ production capacity, owner-supplier contract, and the owner’s incentive mechanism influence the cooperation tendency of suppliers directly. The managerial implications contribute to insightful references for a more stable cooperative relationship between the owner and suppliers.

Benefits of improved environmental cooperation on a joint DoD/DOE facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pratt, G.K.; Gibson, J.D.

1995-01-01

Numerous Federal facilities within the US involve multiple government agencies that face overlapping environmental concerns. This paper highlights the benefits of looking beyond the strict letter of environmental regulations that might affect a single tenant or environmental site to cooperative environmental efforts that focus on the entire facility, consistent with the missions of participating agencies. Using Kirtland Air Force Base (AFB) as a model, seven areas of Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Energy (DOE) environmental cooperation are discussed that span technical, regulatory compliance, and administrative issues

Supporting the initiative. Cooperation in radioactive waste management with the Russian Federation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bonne, A.; Semenov, B.

2000-01-01

An important objective of the IAEA activities is to facilitate and strengthen international co-operation for the sound and safe management of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. The Russian Federation has been facing a number of complicated environmental problems in this field. This article gives a brief overview of the activities of the Contact Expert Group (CEG) which was established in 1996 with the objectives to promote international co-operative efforts aimed at resolving radioactive waste management issues, including radiation safety, environmental, technical, legal, organizational and financial matters

Challenges of technical cooperation in the petroleum industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Athel, S.A.

1992-01-01

The need and prospects for international technical cooperation in the petroleum industry are reviewed. Since it directly affects the survival of the inhabitants of the planet, environmental protection is a field that could enjoy maximum international cooperation; oil spills, product environmental hazards, waste minimization and disposal and oil field fires are the main areas identified. Technical cooperation in other areas of the industry, namely exploration, production, oil field development, refining and petrochemicals, may involve some controversy. Attention is drawn to the conflicting interests of multinational companies, who almost completely control the technology of these activities, and host developing countries. It is advocated that arrangements involving technology transfer should make provision for the growth of indigenous technology. (UK)

Recovery Act:Rural Cooperative Geothermal development Electric & Agriculture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Culp, Elzie Lynn [Surprise Valley Electrification Corp., Alturas, CA (United States)

2016-01-12

Surprise Valley Electric, a small rural electric cooperative serving northeast California and southern Oregon, developed a 3mw binary geothermal electric generating plant on a cooperative member's ranch. The geothermal resource had been discovered in 1980 when the ranch was developing supplemental irrigation water wells. The 240°F resource was used for irrigation until developed through this project for generation of electricity. A portion of the spent geothermal fluid is now used for irrigation in season and is available for other purposes, such as greenhouse agriculture, aquaculture and direct heating of community buildings. Surprise Valley Electric describes many of the challenges a small rural electric cooperative encountered and managed to develop a geothermal generating plant.

Strengthening Dairy Cooperative through National Development of Livestock Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Priyono

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Establishment of dairy cattle development region needs to be conducted in accordance with the national dairy industry development plan. Dairy cattle regions have been designed and equipped with infrastructure supplies, supporting facilities, technologies, finance, processing, marketing, institutional and human resources. Dairy cooperative is one of the marketing channels of milk and milk products which have strategic roles to support the national dairy industry. Collaborations between dairy cooperatives and smallholder farmers within a district region have to be done based on agricultural ecosystems, agribusiness system, integrated farming and participatory approach. This may improve dairy cooperatives as an independent and competitive institution. Strengthening dairy cooperatives in national region dairy cattle was carried out through institutional inventory and dairy cooperatives performance; requirement of capital access, market and networks as well as education and managerial training; certification and accreditation feasibility analysis and information and technology utilization. Establishment of emerging dairy cooperatives towards small and micro enterprises is carried out by directing them to establish cooperatives which have legal certainty and business development opportunities. The impact of strengthening dairy cooperative may support dairy cattle development through increase population and milk production. Sustainable dairy cattle development needs to be supported by regional and national government policies.

A Study of Sino-Russian Energy Cooperation from the Perspective of Theories of International Relations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chaoyue Yang

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Energy cooperation is an important component in the Sino-Russia relationship. After more than a decade of efforts, China and Russia have made great progress in their cooperation in the area of oil and natural gas, which has not only promoted the economic developments in both countries, but also expanded their common interests to a large extent, resulting in a tremendous improvement of the two countries’ international strategies towards each other. Nevertheless, constrained and influenced by the evolution of contemporary international politics and economies, the Sino-Russia energy cooperation is facing some problems and barriers. Therefore, the aim of this article is to analyze the multiple elements affecting the Sino-Russia energy cooperation through the prism of Neo-realism, Neo-liberalism and Social Constructivism, hence a clear account of the opportunities and challenges that constitute this cooperation will be gained.

On a User-Centric Base Station Cooperation Scheme for Reliable Communications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kim, Dong Min; Thomsen, Henning; Popovski, Petar

2017-01-01

In this paper, we describe CoMP2flex, a user-centric base station (BS) cooperation scheme that provides improvements in reliability of both uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) communications of wireless cellular networks. CoMP2flex supports not only cooperation of two BSs with same direction of traffic...

A hypothesis of coevolution between cooperation and responses to inequity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah F Brosnan

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Recent evidence demonstrates that humans are not the only species to respond negatively to inequitable outcomes which are to their disadvantage. Several species respond negatively if they subsequently receive a less good reward than a social partner for completing the same task. While these studies suggest that the negative response to inequity is not a uniquely human behavior, they do not provide a functional explanation for the emergence of these responses due to similar characteristics among these species. Emerging data support the hypothesis that an aversion to inequity is a mechanism to promote successful long-term cooperative relationships amongst non-kin. In this paper, I discuss several converging lines of evidence which illustrate the need to further evaluate this relationship. First, cooperation can survive modest inequity; in explicitly cooperative interactions, individuals are willing to continue to cooperate despite inequitable outcomes as long as the partner’s overall behavior is equitable. Second, the context of inequity affects reactions to it in ways which support the idea that joint efforts lead to an expectation of joint payoffs. Finally, comparative studies indicate a link between the degree and extent of cooperation between unrelated individuals in a species and that species’ response to inequitable outcomes. This latter line of evidence indicates that this behavior evolved in conjunction with cooperation and may represent an adaptation to increase the payoffs associated with cooperative interactions. Together these data inform a testable working hypothesis for understanding decision-making in the context of inequity and provide a new, comparative framework for evaluating decision-making behavior.

Sniffing the mood for cooperation: Personality and odor induced affective states effects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marchlewska Marta

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The paper explores situational and dispositional underpinnings of cooperative behavior. According to psychological research, cooperation is strongly related to affective states (Forgas, 1998 and personality dimensions (Volk, Thöni, & Ruigrok, 2011. In an experimental study we examined the conditions under which people cooperate with each other. The dispositional traits of co-workers (personality, the contribution to a collaborative effort, and a situational factor – ambient odor condition were taken into consideration. A one-way ANOVA revealed that compared to a malodorous condition, both the pleasant odor condition and the natural odor condition showed higher rates of cooperation. Further analysis indicated that only malodors influenced affective states which in turn determined social decisions. Although we found effects for the participants’ agreeableness and the coworker’s contribution to a joint work, they appeared to play a less critical role than affective states induced by the experimental odor conditions tested here.

Repeated thinking promotes cooperation in spatial prisoner's dilemma game

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Jun; Cai Kaiquan; Du Wenbo; Cao Xianbin

2012-01-01

Inspired by the realistic process of taking decisions in social life, we have proposed a repeated thinking mechanism in the evolutionary spatial prisoner's dilemma game where players are denoted by the vertices and play games with their direct neighbors. Under our mechanism, a player i will randomly select a neighbor j and then deliberate for M times before strategy updating. It will remain unchanged if not all M considerations suggest it to learn the strategy of j. We mainly focus on the evolution of cooperation in the systems. Interestingly, we find that the cooperation level f C is remarkably promoted and f C has a monotonic dependence on the caution parameter M, indicating that being cautious facilitates the emergence and persistence of cooperation. We give a simple but clear explanation for this cooperation promotion via detecting the cooperator-defector transition process. Moreover, the robustness of this mechanism is also examined on different noise levels and game models. (paper)

The influence of stress hormones and aggression on cooperative behaviour in subordinate meerkats.

Science.gov (United States)

Dantzer, Ben; Goncalves, Ines Braga; Spence-Jones, Helen C; Bennett, Nigel C; Heistermann, Michael; Ganswindt, Andre; Dubuc, Constance; Gaynor, David; Manser, Marta B; Clutton-Brock, Tim H

2017-09-27

In cooperative breeders, aggression from dominant breeders directed at subordinates may raise subordinate stress hormone (glucocorticoid) concentrations. This may benefit dominants by suppressing subordinate reproduction but it is uncertain whether aggression from dominants can elevate subordinate cooperative behaviour, or how resulting changes in subordinate glucocorticoid concentrations affect their cooperative behaviour. We show here that the effects of manipulating glucocorticoid concentrations in wild meerkats ( Suricata suricatta ) on cooperative behaviour varied between cooperative activities as well as between the sexes. Subordinates of both sexes treated with a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist (mifepristone) exhibited significantly more pup protection behaviour (babysitting) compared to those treated with glucocorticoids (cortisol) or controls. Females treated with mifepristone had a higher probability of exhibiting pup food provisioning (pup-feeding) compared to those treated with cortisol. In males, there were no treatment effects on the probability of pup-feeding, but those treated with cortisol gave a higher proportion of the food they found to pups than those treated with mifepristone. Using 19 years of behavioural data, we also show that dominant females did not increase the frequency with which they directed aggression at subordinates at times when the need for assistance was highest. Our results suggest that it is unlikely that dominant females manipulate the cooperative behaviour of subordinates through the effects of aggression on their glucocorticoid levels and that the function of aggression directed at subordinates is probably to reduce the probability they will breed. © 2017 The Author(s).

Regional cooperative agreement for the Asia and Pacific region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1981-01-01

Among the means available to the International Atomic Energy Agency to promote cooperative efforts in the nuclear field is the Regional Cooperative Agreement (RCA) for Research, Development, and Training related to Nuclear Science and Technology for the Asia and Pacific Region. Under the terms of this agreement, which came into force on June 12, 1972, participating countries aim to promote and coordinate research, development, and training projects in nuclear fields through collaborative efforts among relevant national institutions in the region. The Agency's role is to provide organizational, administrative, advisory, technical, and financial assistance when needed to secure successful execution of the projects undertaken within the framework of the RCA. Although this presentation deals primarily with the benefits of regional cooperation under the agreement, a review of the RCA would be somewhat imbalanced without a mention of its shortcomings. One of the principal impediments to more rapid progress, as is the case in many other areas, is financing. There is no stable source of funding outside the research contract program and, the likelihood of large-scale UNDP support notwithstanding, a greater willingness on the part of participating Member States to support the program along with the development of a greater sense of common purpose are called for. In this connection serious consideration is being given to the possibility of establishing an Asian Centre for Research and Training, an institute that would bring together scientists from the region to collaborate on problems common to the RCA countries. A study group has already been convened to investigate the feasibility of this proposal

The oil industry experience. Technology cooperation and capacity building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

Technology cooperation is defined as a process of constructive interaction with local, national and international partners to select and apply appropriate technology systems to achieve environmentally sound forms of economic development. Capacity building is the process of constructive interaction between countries and the private sector designed to develop the capability and skills to achieve environmentally sound forms of economic development through the use of modern technologies and management systems, a competent workforce and appropriate laws and regulations. Twelve case histories are presented which demonstrate the efforts of the oil industry to work in partnership with governments, contractors, suppliers and communities in technology cooperation and capacity building to achieve the goals of Agenda 21 which emerged as an action plan from the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. (UK)

International cooperation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

In this chapter international cooperation of the Division for Radiation Safety, NPP Decommissioning and Radwaste Management of the VUJE, a. s. is presented. Very important is cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. This cooperation has various forms - national and regional projects of technical cooperation, coordinated research activities, participation of our experts in preparation of the IAEA documentation etc.

Kazakhstan's economic soft balancing policy vis-à-vis Russia: From the Eurasian Union to the economic cooperation with Turkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lyailya Nurgaliyeva

2016-01-01

When Russia started asserting its economic and political power over the Central Asian and Caspian regions, Nazarbayev once again resorted to the economic soft balancing policy, but this time by relying on outside players. Part 2 of this article discusses two cases of such external economic soft balancing efforts: participation in the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC pipeline project, and the economic cooperation with Turkey as part of a free trade zone. The BTC pipeline project and the close economic cooperation with Turkey ended up being a more productive soft balancing effort than the earlier Eurasian Union initiative.

NetCooperate: a network-based tool for inferring host-microbe and microbe-microbe cooperation.

Science.gov (United States)

Levy, Roie; Carr, Rogan; Kreimer, Anat; Freilich, Shiri; Borenstein, Elhanan

2015-05-17

Host-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions are often governed by the complex exchange of metabolites. Such interactions play a key role in determining the way pathogenic and commensal species impact their host and in the assembly of complex microbial communities. Recently, several studies have demonstrated how such interactions are reflected in the organization of the metabolic networks of the interacting species, and introduced various graph theory-based methods to predict host-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions directly from network topology. Using these methods, such studies have revealed evolutionary and ecological processes that shape species interactions and community assembly, highlighting the potential of this reverse-ecology research paradigm. NetCooperate is a web-based tool and a software package for determining host-microbe and microbe-microbe cooperative potential. It specifically calculates two previously developed and validated metrics for species interaction: the Biosynthetic Support Score which quantifies the ability of a host species to supply the nutritional requirements of a parasitic or a commensal species, and the Metabolic Complementarity Index which quantifies the complementarity of a pair of microbial organisms' niches. NetCooperate takes as input a pair of metabolic networks, and returns the pairwise metrics as well as a list of potential syntrophic metabolic compounds. The Biosynthetic Support Score and Metabolic Complementarity Index provide insight into host-microbe and microbe-microbe metabolic interactions. NetCooperate determines these interaction indices from metabolic network topology, and can be used for small- or large-scale analyses. NetCooperate is provided as both a web-based tool and an open-source Python module; both are freely available online at http://elbo.gs.washington.edu/software_netcooperate.html.

Monetary Cooperation in East Asia: Major Issues and Future Prospects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jai-Won Ryou

2004-06-01

Full Text Available The Asian currency crisis in 1997 and the launch of the euro in 1999 made the possibility and desirability of introducing a regional currency union in East Asia a point of debate. At present, the empirical findings and policy implications of previous studies are mixed. We are still in need of theoretical and empirical studies that capture the salient features of East Asia, and give us reliable recommendations for incentive structures, configurations and policy instruments in monetary cooperation in its various stages. This paper aims to review major conceptual and empirical issues relevant to monetary cooperation in East Asia, including proposals for a regional cooperative framework for exchange rate stability or forming a currency union in the region. East Asian countries have no experience with any type of monetary cooperation and all we have are hypothetical predictions. Nevertheless, East Asian countries may be on the brink of an historical evolution to economic and monetary integration, as Europe was half a century ago. The progressive integration of markets in East Asia has conferred a commonality of economic interest upon the countries in the region. As the economic structures of East Asian countries converge with one another through closer ties of trade, investment and finance, the necessity for monetary cooperation will be more likely to emerge in the future. Monetary cooperation in East Asia will be a long process. East Asian countries should make efforts to build collective institutions in the beginning.

Coevolution of honest signaling and cooperative norms by cultural group selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheuring, István

2010-08-01

Evolution of cooperative norms is studied in a population where individual and group level selection are both in operation. Individuals play indirect reciprocity game within their group and follow second order norms. Individuals are norm-followers, and imitate their successful group mates. Aside from direct observation individuals can be informed about the previous actions and reputations by information transferred by others. A potential donor estimates the reputation of a potential receiver either by her own observation or by the opinion of the majority of others (indirect observation). Following a previous study (Scheuring, 2009) we assume that norms determine only the probabilities of actions, and mutants can differ in these probabilities. Similarly, we assume that individuals follow a stochastic information transfer strategy. The central question is whether cooperative norm and honest social information transfer can emerge in a population where initially only non-cooperative norms were present, and the transferred information was not sufficiently honest. It is shown that evolution can lead to a cooperative state where information transferred in a reliable manner, where generous cooperative strategies are dominant. This cooperative state emerges along a sharp transition of norms. We studied the characteristics of actions and strategies in this transition by classifying the stochastic norms, and found that a series of more and more judging strategies invade each other before the stabilization of the so-called generous judging strategy. Numerical experiments on the coevolution of social parameters (e.g. probability of direct observation and the number of indirect observers) reveal that it is advantageous to lean on indirect observation even if information transfer is much noisier than for direct observation, which is because to follow the majorities' opinion suppresses information noise meaningfully.

Technical co-operation report for 2002. Report by the Director General

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2003-08-01

General Conference resolution GC(46)/RES/10 reiterated the need to strengthen the technical co- operation programme and requested the Director General to report to the Board of Governors periodically and to the General Conference at its forty-seventh (2003) session on the implementation of resolution GC(46)/RES/10. Part A of this report responds to the General Conference resolution by providing an overview of the progress achieved in technical co-operation policies, strategies, working relations, and internal management during the period 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003, as well as the major new challenges facing the technical co-operation programme. Part B reports on operational activities and programme performance at the country and regional levels during the calendar year 2002, and Part C reviews the use of financial and human resources in the programme at an aggregate level. As part of its efforts to refine policies for improving programme development, the Agency reviewed the Technical Co-operation Strategy in 2002. The resulting document, The Technical Co-operation Strategy: the 2002 Review (document GOV/INF/2002/8/Mod.1), states that the strategic goal originally identified in the Strategy in 1997 remains valid, and defines four objectives to guide the technical co-operation programme: applying the central criterion (strong government commitment), developing strategic partnerships, increasing the level of funding for technical co-operation, and promoting greater sustainability and self-reliance of nuclear institutions. In line with the Technical Co-operation Strategy, one of the key features of the Agency.s work in 2002 was continuing consultations with Member States at both the policy and operational levels on the management of the ongoing technical co-operation programme and on planning for future activities. The dialogue with Member States aimed at clarifying the strategic objectives and key tools for the utilization of resources to achieve maximum

The role of international cooperation regarding safety assessment development in the SKB research program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eng, T.; Ahlstrom, P.

1989-01-01

Cooperation and exchange of information with organizations in foreign countries regarding nuclear waste management constitutes an important part of the overall research and development activities of SKB. In the safety assessment of a repository for spent nuclear fuel natural phenomena have to be described with different kinds of models based on both general and site specific data. The international cooperation efforts to achieve models and methods for this type of descriptions, and where SKB are largely part, is summarized in this paper

Monopolizing sanctioning power under noise eliminates perverse punishment but does not increase cooperation

OpenAIRE

Sven Fischer; Kristoffel Grechenig; Nicolas Meier

2016-01-01

We run several experiments which allow us to compare cooperation under perfect and imperfect information in a centralized and decentralized punishment regime. Under perfect and extremely noisy information, aggregate behavior does not differ between institutions. Under intermediate noise, punishment escalates in the decentralized peer-to-peer punishment regime which badly affects efficiency while sustaining cooperation for longer. Only decentralized punishment is often directed at cooperators ...

Think Globally, Act Locally -- Global Maritime Partnership Initiative and the Necessity for Cooperation and Coalition

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Reller, Jason S

2008-01-01

... to "police the global commons and suppress common threats." The Global Maritime Partnership Initiative, or GMPI, is intended to play a major role in this effort as one embodiment of the cooperation envisioned...

Multidisciplinary Cooperation in Crisis Management Teams: a Tool to Improve Team Situation Awareness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koning, L. de; Kuijt-Evers, L.; Theunissen, N.; Rijk, R. van; Huis in 't Veld, M.

2011-01-01

When a crisis occurs, people from different organizations, on different hierarchical levels have to deal with unexpected situations that require coordinated effort. The goal of this research is to improve multidisciplinary cooperation for crisis management teams. We developed a tool, the Multi-mono

International cooperation and competition in space - A current perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Pedersen, K. S.

1983-01-01

International cooperative efforts undertaken by NASA are evaluated and consideration is given to the proposed space station. The Shuttle RMS and Spacelab were constructed through efforts of Canadian and European companies and the ESA. Landsat, with its widely dispersed technology and data, has encouraged international access to its capabilities and start-up of follow-on programs in other countries. Space station planning is proceeding with a view to worldwide utilization of space and to the commitment and resources other nations are willing to place in the station. It is conceded that administrative difficulties will arise if the space station is a completely international effort guided by NASA. Additionally, concern will be present for technology leaks, national security implications on the space station, and reasonably fulfilling the benefits expected by those who become partners in the construction and operation of the station.

Cooperation, cheating, and collapse in biological populations

Science.gov (United States)

Gore, Jeff

2014-03-01

Natural populations can collapse suddenly in response to small changes in environmental conditions, and recovery from such a collapse can be difficult. We have used laboratory microbial ecosystems to directly measure theoretically proposed early warning signals of impending population collapse. Yeast cooperatively break down the sugar sucrose, meaning that below a critical size the population cannot sustain itself. We have demonstrated experimentally that changes in the fluctuations of the population size can serve as an early warning signal that the population is close to collapse. The cooperative nature of yeast growth on sucrose suggests that the population may be susceptible to ``cheater'' cells, which do not contribute to the public good and instead merely take advantage of the cooperative cells. We confirm this possibility experimentally and find that such social parasitism decreases the resilience of the population.

Research and development at ORNL/CESAR towards cooperating robotic systems for hazardous environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mann, R.C.; Fujimura, K.; Unseren, M.A.

1991-01-01

One of the frontiers in intelligent machine research is the understanding of how constructive cooperation among multiple autonomous agents can be effected. The effort at the Center for Engineering Systems Advanced Research (CESAR)at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) focuses on two problem areas: (1) cooperation by multiple mobile robots in dynamic, incompletely known environments; and (2) cooperating robotic manipulators. Particular emphasis is placed on experimental evaluation of research and developments using the CESAR robot system testbeds, including three mobile robots, and a seven-axis, kinematically redundant mobile manipulator. This paper summarizes initial results of research addressing the decoupling of position and force control for two manipulators holding a common object, and the path planning for multiple robots in a common workspace. 15 refs., 3 figs

Reactor safety in Eastern Europe has been improved by international cooperation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reponen, H.

1996-01-01

The need to improve the safety of the Soviet-made nuclear power plants in Eastern Europe motivated the Western countries to take concrete measure in the early 1990s. Cooperation with the Eastern European nuclear power states was launched as both bilateral and multinational projects. Programmes coordinated by the European Union and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development are the most comprehensive ones. Among the bilateral projects, the most centralized - and most visible from the Nordic viewpoint - is Sweden's assistance to Lithuania and to Ignalina nuclear power plant. Finland's cooperation efforts focus on two Russian power plants that are the closest to Finland: Leningrad and Kola. (3 figs.)

Non-cooperative game theory in biology and cooperative reasoning in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Kabalak, Alihan; Smirnova, Elena; Jost, Jürgen

2015-06-01

The readiness for spontaneous cooperation together with the assumptions that others share this cooperativity has been identified as a fundamental feature that distinguishes humans from other animals, including the great apes. At the same time, cooperativity presents an evolutionary puzzle because non-cooperators do better in a group of cooperators. We develop here an analysis of the process leading to cooperation in terms of rationality concepts, game theory and epistemic logic. We are, however, not attempting to reconstruct the actual evolutionary process. We rather want to provide the logical structure underlying cooperation in order to understand why cooperation is possible and what kind of reasoning and beliefs would lead to cooperative decision-making. Game theory depends on an underlying common belief in non-cooperative rationality of the players, and cooperativity similarly can utilize a common belief in cooperative rationality as its basis. We suggest a weaker concept of rational decision-making in games that encompasses both types of decision-making. We build this up in stages, starting from simple optimization, then using anticipation of the reaction of others, to finally arrive at reflexive and cooperative reasoning. While each stage is more difficult than the preceding, importantly, we also identify a reduction of complexity achieved by the consistent application of higher stage reasoning.

[International cooperation at Public Health: proposals to a debate].

Science.gov (United States)

Loyola, Maria Andréa; Corrêa, Marilena Cordeiro Dias Villela; Guimarães, Eduardo Ribas De Biase

2010-07-01

In the available literature, there is no study devoted to international cooperation in public health. This paper aims to partly fill this gap, raising and examining the state of art in this area as well as how it interferes in the evaluation of post-graduate programs. The study used secondary data available at CAPES "Indicators Journals", during the years of 1998 to 2006. It also analyzes foreign scholarships and special programs of cooperation of CAPES from 2005 to 2009 through a quantitative descriptive methodology. It shows that international cooperation in the area is relatively developed in a variety of themes and diverse partnerships, focusing in the United States. It is observed a positive correlation between the number of international cooperation and a high-concept program into the evaluation of CAPES, the last triennium of evaluation. The sub-areas where there is more cooperation are, in order: epidemiology; planning, and others. There is a variety of institutions, themes and subareas involved in international cooperation that could be a positive indicator in the evaluation, but as far as was possible to infer, no significant correlation in this direction was found.

A Short Study on Cooperative Sector in Iran. Challenges and Issues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hassan Danaee Fard

2010-10-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to study the issues of cooperative sector in Iran. According to the theories,among the three sectors i.e. Public, private and cooperative sector probably cooperative sectorbecause of participating people directly in its process, can work better for economic development andcan be considered as a country economic developer example by job creation and others, Prior Workbecause Islam religion has invited people for having cooperation and also Iranian is a Muslim countrythen there have been a lot work on cooperative sector and this work is among the others who looks forthe challenges and issues in this sector, Approach this paper looks for the challenges and issues ofthe cooperative sector in Iran to run effective cooperation, Results Cooperative sector in alldeveloped and undeveloped and developing countries has its own challenges and in Iran as a fastdeveloping country which want to speed the developing process then needs to consider thecooperative sector challenges in Iran and other countries as well, Implications Practitioners,academician and others who want to work on challenges and issues of cooperative sector in Iran andothers . Value among the other important variables in economic development, cooperative has thepriority because of its fast returned effects in economic development then this paper aims to study thechallenges of this sector.

A questionnaire survey of medical cooperation by the Iwaki medical association

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Midorikawa, Yasuhiko

2013-01-01

It has been pointed out that currently, Iwaki City faces an insufficiency of doctors working at hospitals, compared with before. Such an insufficiency became more remarkable after the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, as about 30,000 people relocated to Iwaki City from the evacuation areas. In this regard, the Iwaki Medical Association conducted a questionnaire survey to investigate the problems of medical cooperation and utilize the data to improve medical cooperation within hospitals and clinics. A total of 159 doctors answered the questionnaires: 64% were community physicians, 36% were doctors working at hospitals, and 42% were physicians. About 60% of the doctors were satisfied with the present medical cooperation. Home health care was performed by 25% of the doctors working at hospitals and 45% of the community physicians. Approximately 80% of the doctors felt the need for additional physicians to perform home health care, although more than half of the doctors answered that they do not perform it. Various problems exist in the context of medical cooperation, but many doctors still hope for its improvement, according to the answers in the questionnaires. Efforts have to be exerted further in order to enhance medical cooperation among the health care team. (author)

[A questionnaire survey of medical cooperation by the Iwaki Medical Association].

Science.gov (United States)

Midorikawa, Yasuhiko

2013-12-01

It has been pointed out that currently, Iwaki City faces an insufficiency of doctors working at hospitals, compared with before. Such an insufficiency became more remarkable after the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, as about 30,000 people relocated to Iwaki City from the evacuation areas. In this regard, the Iwaki Medical Association conducted a questionnaire survey to investigate the problems of medical cooperation and utilize the data to improve medical cooperation within hospitals and clinics. A total of 159 doctors answered the questionnaires: 64% were community physicians, 36% were doctors working at hospitals, and 42% were physicians. About 60% of the doctors were satisfied with the present medical cooperation. Home health care was performed by 25% of the doctors working at hospitals and 45% of the community physicians. Approximately 80% of the doctors felt the need for additional physicians to perform home health care, although more than half of the doctors answered that they do not perform it. Various problems exist in the context of medical cooperation, but many doctors still hope for its improvement, according to the answers in the questionnaires. Efforts have to be exerted further in order to enhance medical cooperation among the health care team.

A Case Study of the Global Group for Sharing Knowledge and Efforts in Human Resources within the Nuclear Industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, C.

2016-01-01

Full text: One of the main conclusions from the IAEA’s HRD Conference in 2014 was that people and organisations in the global nuclear industry could cooperate more in sharing information and efforts. This was an inspiring conclusion, and there seemed an especially great opportunity for such sharing of information and efforts related to the attraction, recruitment, development and retention of people within the nuclear workforce. Founding members include people from the IAEA, WNA, WANO, EDF and OPG amongst others, the global working group for Human Resource matters aimed at “Building and Sustaining a Competent Nuclear Workforce” was established. This global working group is free to join and is open to anyone concerned with Building and Sustaining a Competent NuclearWorkforce. The objectives of the group are to share useful information, find others with similar objectives to cooperate with, ask questions, share opinions and crucially to avoid unnecessary duplication of efforts. The group already has 160 members from more than 15 countries and is currently hosted as a group on the LinkedIn website. The vision for the group is that it will become an invaluable resource for people across the world in the nuclear industry for sharing information and efforts. (author

Crowded orbits conflict and cooperation in space

CERN Document Server

James

2014-01-01

Written for all readers, this expert analysis details the basics of space technology, diplomacy, commerce, exploration, and military applications from the mid-twentieth century to today. Space has become increasingly crowded since the end of the Cold War, and this book pays particular attention to the politics and economics of space and recent debates over national security, focusing on the competing themes of international competition and cooperation and the effort to avoid dangerous conflicts. Unfortunately, the growth of human space activity and challenges to existing international tools of management, such as rules, laws, and treaties, have increased the likelihood of conflict over a diminishing pool of space resources close to Earth. Drawing on more than twenty years of experience in international space debates and policy, James Clay Moltz points to the logic of cooperation and collaboration among the expanding number of space actors, considering their shared challenges regarding space traffic, orbital d...

What drives the formation of technological cooperation between university and industry in less-developed innovation systems?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Burcharth, Ana Luiza Lara de Araújo

2011-01-01

such as the Brazilian one and little is known about why or how they are established. Drawing upon a comparative case study, this paper investigates in which context technological cooperation between university and industry emerges in Brazil. The findings indicate that the formation of technological cooperation is a co......-evolutionary process, which emergences from the practice of knowledge sharing with external partners, as well from the connecting effort of ‘linked scientists’....

Molecular cooperativity and compatibility via full atomistic simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Kwan Yang, Kenny

Civil engineering has customarily focused on problems from a large-scale perspective, encompassing structures such as bridges, dams, and infrastructure. However, present day challenges in conjunction with advances in nanotechnology have forced a re-focusing of expertise. The use of atomistic and molecular approaches to study material systems opens the door to significantly improve material properties. The understanding that material systems themselves are structures, where their assemblies can dictate design capacities and failure modes makes this problem well suited for those who possess expertise in structural engineering. At the same time, a focus has been given to the performance metrics of materials at the nanoscale, including strength, toughness, and transport properties (e.g., electrical, thermal). Little effort has been made in the systematic characterization of system compatibility -- e.g., how to make disparate material building blocks behave in unison. This research attempts to develop bottom-up molecular scale understanding of material behavior, with the global objective being the application of this understanding into material design/characterization at an ultimate functional scale. In particular, it addresses the subject of cooperativity at the nano-scale. This research aims to define the conditions which dictate when discrete molecules may behave as a single, functional unit, thereby facilitating homogenization and up-scaling approaches, setting bounds for assembly, and providing a transferable assessment tool across molecular systems. Following a macro-scale pattern where the compatibility of deformation plays a vital role in the structural design, novel geometrical cooperativity metrics based on the gyration tensor are derived with the intention to define nano-cooperativity in a generalized way. The metrics objectively describe the general size, shape and orientation of the structure. To validate the derived measures, a pair of ideal macromolecules

Co-operation for weapon technology transfers and technological/economic development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ebata, K.

1995-01-01

This report proposes the basic philosophy of security export controls and future directions thereof, taking into account global changes in the security environment. We hope that appropriate policies based on the proposals will be implemented expeditiously. When the government implements security export control policy, it is most essential to obtain the understanding and co-operation of the general public, as well as exporters. It is also important to closely co-ordinate efforts within the government, including information sharing among the ministries and agencies concerned. Moreover, the government should make efforts to raise the effectiveness of policy measures by fully explaining Japanese security export control policy to other countries, and taking a leading role in international efforts for co-ordination. The proposals in this report provide an overview of future security export controls. Needless to say, there is the need for further and more detailed consideration of individual policy measures. Especially in introducing new controls to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and missiles, it is necessary to conduct deliberations taking into full consideration the actual situation surrounding transactions, and to provide a sufficient lead-time. Moreover, it is expected that there will be further, major changes in the international security environment, including the countries of concern. It will be necessary to reexamine security export control policy, recognizing that those changes will alter the premises of such policy. Finally, we wish to state the hope that this report, the first attempt, by the Industrial Structure Council, to focus Japanese thinking on security export controls will act as a catalyst in deepening public understanding of security export controls, and enhancing Japanese security export controls

A Global Review of Sustainable Construction Project Financing: Policies, Practices, and Research Efforts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ming Shan

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Despite the increasing investment in sustainable development over the past decade, a systematic review of sustainable construction project financing is lacking. The objectives of this paper are to conduct a systematic review to examine the policies, practices, and research efforts in the area of sustainable construction project financing, and to explore the potential opportunities for the future research. To achieve these goals, this paper first reviewed the sustainable construction project financing practices implemented by four representative developed economies including the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, and Australia. Then, this paper reviewed the efforts and initiatives launched by three international organizations including the United Nations, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and International Finance Corporation. After that, this paper reviewed the research efforts of sustainable construction project financing published in peer-review journals and books. This paper identified four major research themes within this area, which are the review of financial stakeholders and market of sustainable construction, benefits and barriers to sustainable construction project financing, financial vehicles for sustainable construction projects, innovative models and mechanisms for sustainable construction project financing. Additionally, this paper revealed five directions for the future research of sustainable construction project financing, which are the identification of financial issues in sustainable construction projects, the investigation of financial vehicles for sustainable construction projects in terms of their strengths, limitations, and performances, the examination of critical drivers for implementing sustainable construction project financing, the development of a knowledge-based decision support system for implementing sustainable construction financing, and the development of best practices for

Optimizing and joining future safeguards efforts by 'remote inspections'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zendel, M.; Khlebnikov, N.

2009-01-01

Full-text: Remote inspections have a large potential to save inspection effort in future routine safeguards implementation. Such inspections involve remote activities based on the analysis of data acquired in the field without the physical presence of an inspector, shifting the inspectors' priorities further toward unannounced inspections, complementary access activities and data evaluation. Large, automated and complex facilities require facility resident and specific safeguards equipment systems with features for unattended and remotely controlled operation as well as being integrated in the nuclear process. In many instances the use of such equipment jointly with the SSAC/RSAC and the operator is foreseen to achieve affordable effectiveness with a minimum level of intrusiveness to the facility operation. Where it becomes possible to achieve independent conclusions by this approach, the IAEA would make full use of the SSAC/RSAC, involving State inspectors and/or facility operators to operate inspection systems under remotely controlled IAEA mechanisms. These mechanisms would include documented procedures for routine joint-use, defining arrangements for data sharing, physical security and authentication mechanisms, recalibration and use of standards and software, maintenance, repair, storage and transportation. The level of cooperation and willingness of a State to implement such measures requested and properly justified by the IAEA will demonstrate its commitment to full transparency in its nuclear activities. Examples of existing remote inspection activities, including joint-use activities will be discussed. The future potential of remote inspections will be assessed considering technical developments and increased needs for process monitoring. Enhanced cooperation with SSAC/RSAC within the framework of remote inspections could further optimize the IAEA's inspection efforts while at the same time maintaining effective safeguards implementation. (author)

A project for the strengthening of cooperative relations between Korea and Vietnam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, M. H.; Kim, H. S.; Chung, W. S.; Kim, H. J.; Yun, S. W.; Ko, H. S.; Nho, I. Y.

2002-03-01

This study was carried out in order to review the cooperation with Vietnam and strengthening of cooperative relations with Vietnam. During the study, the current status and prospect of electricity, use and development of nuclear energy in vietnam, were investigated including nuclear power plant and cooperative relations between two nations were also established. It was agreed through exchanges of visits of cooperation delegation; 1) exchange of visits of cooperation delegation, 2) holding of policy seminar for high level decision makers of Vietnam 3) cooperaton between MOST/MOSTE, 4) joint feasibility study for the construction of KSNP into Vietnam and technical presentation of KSNP. It is recommended that cooperaion with Vietnam be implemented systematically through the long term based basic directions and integrated national strategies

Nuclear exports and international cooperation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCardle, J.J.

1981-06-01

Canada's nuclear export policy together with its non-proliferation and safeguards policy embrace both the country's desire to promote international cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and its effort to minimize the risk of further proliferation of nuclear weapons. This policy reflects the belief that only if Canadian parliamentary and public opinion can be convinced that Canada's nuclear exports will not contribute to nuclear proliferation will the long-term health of the country's nuclear industry be assured. Canada requires a political commitment to non-proliferation from its nuclear partners, and looks to the IAEA to administer safeguards on nuclear material of Canadian origin to guarantee that commitment. Agreements reached with its nuclear partners are in accordance with provisions of the non-proliferation treaty and include a contingency provision for fall-back safeguards if the other state should withdraw from the NPT. Provision is made for mutual agreement on reprocessing and enrichment of nuclear material. Agreements have been reached with some twenty nuclear partners, and efforts are continuing to come to new international understanding on reprocessing, enrichment, and plutonium storage

Thirty years together: A chronology of U.S.-Soviet space cooperation

Science.gov (United States)

Portree, David S. F.

1993-01-01

The chronology covers 30 years of cooperation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union (and its successor, the Commonwealth of Independent States, of which the Russian Federation is the leading space power). It tracks successful cooperative projects and failed attempts at space cooperation. Included are the Dryden-Blagonravov talks; the UN Space Treaties; the Apollo Soyuz Test Project; COSPAS-SARSAT; the abortive Shuttle-Salyut discussions; widespread calls for joint manned and unmanned exploration of Mars; conjectural plans to use Energia and other Russian space hardware in ambitious future joint missions; and contemporary plans involving the U.S. Shuttle, Russian Mir, and Soyuz-TM. The chronology also includes events not directly related to space cooperation to provide context. A bibliography lists works and individuals consulted in compiling the chronology, plus works not used but relevant to the topic of space cooperation.

The global threat reduction initiative's radiological security cooperation with Russia - 59361

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blanchard, Tiffany A.; Abramson, William J.; Russell, James W. Jr.; Roberts, Catherine K.

2012-01-01

The United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) / National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) supports both U.S. and international threat reduction goals by securing vulnerable nuclear and radiological material located at civilian sites throughout the world. GTRI's approach to reducing the threat posed by vulnerable, high-activity radioactive sources includes removing and disposing of orphan or disused radioactive sources; implementing physical security upgrades at civilian sites containing radioactive sources; and establishing a cooperative sustainability program at sites to ensure that upgrades are maintained. For many years GTRI has collaborated successfully with the Russian Federation and international partners to improve radiological security in Russia. This paper provides a synopsis of GTRI's accomplishments and cooperation with Russia in the following areas: 1.) recovering and disposing of orphan and disused radioactive sources, 2.) recovering and disposing of radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), and 3.) providing physical security upgrades at civilian sites that contain vulnerable radiological material. The success of GTRI's program to secure radiological material in the Russian Federation over the past decade is due largely to the hard work, technical expertise, and tenacity of the U.S. laboratory teams and the Russian partner organizations with whom GTRI has worked. GTRI plans to continue building on this history of cooperation in order to recover and secure additional, vulnerable radioactive sources in locations throughout Russia. GTRI also is committed to sustainability efforts so that facilities in Russia receiving physical protection equipment and training are prepared to eventually assume responsibility for those security upgrades. In the years to come, GTRI will combine financial support with capacity building to enhance Russia's domestic programs to address these challenges. Through

7 CFR 1484.57 - Will FAS make advance payments to a Cooperator?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Will FAS make advance payments to a Cooperator? 1484... large cost item. FAS will provide this type of advance expense payment in lieu of direct payments by FAS... to protect FAS' financial interests. FAS will not make any special advance payment to a Cooperator...

Future strategies on IAEA activities and technical cooperation programmes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Kyoung Pyo; Hong, Young Don

1998-10-01

This study provides basic background information about the establishment of the IAEA, its mission, major activities, General Conference , and Board of Governors, structure and functions of the Secretariat. The IAEA Mid-term plan, to be implemented in the years 1998 - 2003, includes the enhancement of its functional effectiveness, analysis of the changing developments, adjustment of its priorities, and evaluation of its programmes, are describes in full detail. This plan is divided into 6 major areas ; nuclear power and the fuel cycle, nuclear applications, nuclear, radiation and radwaste safety, verification and security of nuclear material, management of technical cooperation for development, policy making, coordination and support. It is also expected that the IAEA plan provides an opportunity to understand the future directions of IAEA programmes and its operational philosophy, thus greatly contributing to Koreas establishment of its own future directions for expanded cooperation with the IAEA, and urges to device effective domestic strategies. This plan will also contribute to the evaluation of Koreas responsibility as a member of the Board of Governors as well as enhance Koreas role as an Advisory Group Member. It is expected that this study is useful for nuclear-related organizations wishing to establish basic directions for the efficient implementation of IAEA technical cooperation programs in the future. (author). 16 refs., 6 tabs., 16 figs

[Child health and international cooperation: A paediatric approach].

Science.gov (United States)

Sobrino Toro, M; Riaño Galan, I; Bassat, Q; Perez-Lescure Picarzo, J; de Aranzabal Agudo, M; Krauel Vidal, X; Rivera Cuello, M

2015-05-01

The international development cooperation in child health arouses special interest in paediatric settings. In the last 10 10 years or so, new evidence has been presented on factors associated with morbidity and mortality in the first years of life in the least developed countries. This greater knowledge on the causes of health problems and possible responses in the form of interventions with impact, leads to the need to disseminate this information among concerned professional pediatricians. Serious efforts are needed to get a deeper insight into matters related to global child health and encourage pediatricians to be aware and participate in these processes. This article aims to provide a social pediatric approach towards international cooperation and child health-related matters. Copyright © 2014 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

A project in support of Nuclear Technology Cooperation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jung, Ki Jung; Choi, Pyong Hoon; Yi, Ji Ho [and others

2005-12-15

Establish the integrated management system of information resources and to automate business flow and to improve business productivity through efficient information sharing. - Promotion of domestic nuclear energy technology by utilizing nuclear energy informations and computer software developed in the advanced countries. - Establish strategies of international cooperation in an effort to promote our nation's Leading role in international society, to form the foundation for the effective transfer of nuclear technology to developing countries, and to cope with the rapidly changing international nuclear climate.

A project in support of Nuclear Technology Cooperation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Ki Jung; Choi, Pyong Hoon; Yi, Ji Ho

2005-12-01

Establish the integrated management system of information resources and to automate business flow and to improve business productivity through efficient information sharing. - Promotion of domestic nuclear energy technology by utilizing nuclear energy informations and computer software developed in the advanced countries. - Establish strategies of international cooperation in an effort to promote our nation's Leading role in international society, to form the foundation for the effective transfer of nuclear technology to developing countries, and to cope with the rapidly changing international nuclear climate

World-wide cooperation in nuclear power: a canadian perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whelan, D.

2000-01-01

This paper presents the point of view of Canadian Authorities about the future of nuclear activities. Generally speaking, OECD countries will be focusing their efforts on plant refurbishment, maintenance and life extension while non-OECD countries will be facing capacity expansion needs. This duality will favour collaboration in the nuclear field between OECD and other countries. Key areas for enhanced cooperation will be: nuclear technology, nuclear safety, regulations, waste management, non-proliferation and financing

Direct and Indirect Effects of IQ, Parental Help, Effort, and Mathematics Self-Concept on Mathematics Achievement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maher Abu-Hilal

2012-11-01

Full Text Available This study examined the structural relationships among cognitive constructs (intelligence and achievement and affective constructs (perceived parental help, effort and self-concept. It was proposed that the relationships are not invariant across gender. The sample consisted of 219 boys and 133 girls from elementary and preparatory public schools in Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates. Intelligence (IQ was measured by the Test of Non-verbal Intelligence (TONI and parental help was measured by 4-Likert-type items. Effort was measured by 4-Likert-type items. Self-concept (SC was measured by 8-Likert-type items taken from the SDQ I (Abu-Hilal, 2000. Mathematic Achievement was the scores of students in mathematics from school records. The structural model assumed that IQ would have an effect on parental help, effort, SC and achievement. Parental help would have an effect on effort, SC and achievement. Also, effort would have an effect on SC and achievement. Finally, SC would have an effect on achievement. The structural model was tested for invariance across gender. The measurement model proved to be invariant across gender and so was the structural model. The non-constrained model indicated that the structural relationships among the variables do vary according to gender. For example, boys benefited from parental help by exerting more effort while girls did not. Boys with high IQ exerted more effort than boys with low IQ; but girls with high IQ exerted the same amount of effort as girls with low IQ. The model explained 45% and 39% of the variance in math scores for boys and girls, respectively.

Towards Efficient Wireless Body Area Network Using Two-Way Relay Cooperation.

Science.gov (United States)

Waheed, Maham; Ahmad, Rizwan; Ahmed, Waqas; Drieberg, Micheal; Alam, Muhammad Mahtab

2018-02-13

The fabrication of lightweight, ultra-thin, low power and intelligent body-borne sensors leads to novel advances in wireless body area networks (WBANs). Depending on the placement of the nodes, it is characterized as in/on body WBAN; thus, the channel is largely affected by body posture, clothing, muscle movement, body temperature and climatic conditions. The energy resources are limited and it is not feasible to replace the sensor's battery frequently. In order to keep the sensor in working condition, the channel resources should be reserved. The lifetime of the sensor is very crucial and it highly depends on transmission among sensor nodes and energy consumption. The reliability and energy efficiency in WBAN applications play a vital role. In this paper, the analytical expressions for energy efficiency (EE) and packet error rate (PER) are formulated for two-way relay cooperative communication. The results depict better reliability and efficiency compared to direct and one-way relay communication. The effective performance range of direct vs. cooperative communication is separated by a threshold distance. Based on EE calculations, an optimal packet size is observed that provides maximum efficiency over a certain link length. A smart and energy efficient system is articulated that utilizes all three communication modes, namely direct, one-way relay and two-way relay, as the direct link performs better for a certain range, but the cooperative communication gives better results for increased distance in terms of EE. The efficacy of the proposed hybrid scheme is also demonstrated over a practical quasi-static channel. Furthermore, link length extension and diversity is achieved by joint network-channel (JNC) coding the cooperative link.

Towards Efficient Wireless Body Area Network Using Two-Way Relay Cooperation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maham Waheed

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The fabrication of lightweight, ultra-thin, low power and intelligent body-borne sensors leads to novel advances in wireless body area networks (WBANs. Depending on the placement of the nodes, it is characterized as in/on body WBAN; thus, the channel is largely affected by body posture, clothing, muscle movement, body temperature and climatic conditions. The energy resources are limited and it is not feasible to replace the sensor’s battery frequently. In order to keep the sensor in working condition, the channel resources should be reserved. The lifetime of the sensor is very crucial and it highly depends on transmission among sensor nodes and energy consumption. The reliability and energy efficiency in WBAN applications play a vital role. In this paper, the analytical expressions for energy efficiency (EE and packet error rate (PER are formulated for two-way relay cooperative communication. The results depict better reliability and efficiency compared to direct and one-way relay communication. The effective performance range of direct vs. cooperative communication is separated by a threshold distance. Based on EE calculations, an optimal packet size is observed that provides maximum efficiency over a certain link length. A smart and energy efficient system is articulated that utilizes all three communication modes, namely direct, one-way relay and two-way relay, as the direct link performs better for a certain range, but the cooperative communication gives better results for increased distance in terms of EE. The efficacy of the proposed hybrid scheme is also demonstrated over a practical quasi-static channel. Furthermore, link length extension and diversity is achieved by joint network-channel (JNC coding the cooperative link.

Advocating mindset for cooperative partnership for better future of construction industry

Science.gov (United States)

Omar, Datuk Wahid

2017-11-01

Construction industry players are known for their low acceptance on the changes. Hence, it is identified that the biggest challenge in the industry is changing the mindset. This paper highlights the importance of transformation in shaping for better future of the industry. Transformation favors innovation and progressive development in the industry and specifically in managing a project. Thus changes in mindset of players with an eye to the future and focus on what is coming are paramount in inculcating the transformation culture in construction eco-system. The key to the success of transformation is the collaborative and cooperative partnering which ensuring the performance of every stage of project delivery. The collaborative, cooperative and concerted effort of all parties involved in the project creates mutual understanding on mission and vision of project. Adopting healthy and harmonious project culture, implementing innovative procurement that emphasis on fair risk sharing should be a working culture. This cooperative partnership should be the future of the project undertaking in the construction industry.

COOPERATION AND TRUST IN THE CONTEXT OF DECENTRALIZATION REFORMS IN RURAL TANZANIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zacharia S. Masanyiwa

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the impact of decentralization reforms on cooperation andtrust at the village level in Tanzania, using a gender perspective. The paper drawson survey and qualitative data from ten villages intwo rural districts. The findingsshow that the reforms have revitalized 'formal’ cooperative efforts and socialnetworks and groups aimed at improving public services and poverty reduction.Citizen’s participation in decision-making processes and users’ satisfaction withpublic services are significantly related to socialand political trust, in whichgender plays a role as well. There is a two-way interface between trust and decent-ralization reforms. ‘Good’ decentralization outcomes generate trust while ‘bad’outcomes decrease trust.

An Analysis of the Priority Needs of Cooperative Extension at the County Level

Science.gov (United States)

Harder, Amy; Lamm, Alexa; Strong, Robert

2009-01-01

Cooperative Extension's role as a relevant provider of nonformal education is dependent upon its ability to improve and adjust in response to internal and external pressures. Periodically conducting needs assessments focused on the Extension organization can aid in Extension's efforts to deliver quality educational programs by pinpointing priority…

Stochastic cooperative advertising in a manufacturer-retailer decentralized supply channel

Science.gov (United States)

Ezimadu, Peter E.; Nwozo, Chukwuma R.

2017-03-01

This work considers cooperative advertising in a manufacturer-retailer supply chain. While the manufacturer is the Stackelberg leader, the retailer is the follower. Using Sethi model it models the dynamic effect of the manufacturer and retailer's advertising efforts on sale. It uses optimal control technique and stochastic differential game theory to obtain the players' advertising strategies and the long-run value of the awareness share. Further, it models the relationship between the payoffs of both players and the awareness share. The work shows that with the provision of subsidy the retail advertising effort increases while the manufacturer's advertising effort reduces. It further shows that the total channel payoff is higher for subsidised retail advertising. However, the subsidy can only be possible if the rate of growth of the manufacturer's payoff is twice higher than that of the retailer.

Technical co-operation report for 2002. Report by the Director General

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-08-01

General Conference resolution GC(46)/RES/10 reiterated the need to strengthen the technical co- operation programme and requested the Director General to report to the Board of Governors periodically and to the General Conference at its forty-seventh (2003) session on the implementation of resolution GC(46)/RES/10. Part A of this report responds to the General Conference resolution by providing an overview of the progress achieved in technical co-operation policies, strategies, working relations, and internal management during the period 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003, as well as the major new challenges facing the technical co-operation programme. Part B reports on operational activities and programme performance at the country and regional levels during the calendar year 2002, and Part C reviews the use of financial and human resources in the programme at an aggregate level. As part of its efforts to refine policies for improving programme development, the Agency reviewed the Technical Co-operation Strategy in 2002. The resulting document, The Technical Co-operation Strategy: the 2002 Review (document GOV/INF/2002/8/Mod.1), states that the strategic goal originally identified in the Strategy in 1997 remains valid, and defines four objectives to guide the technical co-operation programme: applying the central criterion (strong government commitment), developing strategic partnerships, increasing the level of funding for technical co-operation, and promoting greater sustainability and self-reliance of nuclear institutions. In line with the Technical Co-operation Strategy, one of the key features of the Agency.s work in 2002 was continuing consultations with Member States at both the policy and operational levels on the management of the ongoing technical co-operation programme and on planning for future activities. The dialogue with Member States aimed at clarifying the strategic objectives and key tools for the utilization of resources to achieve maximum

Innovative remote monitoring of plant health for environmental applications: A joint effort between EPCOT{reg_sign} and the DOE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Robitaille, H. [Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, FL (United States); Capelle, G.; Di Benedetto, J. [Special Technologies Lab., Santa Barbara, CA (United States)] [and others

1996-12-31

In September of 1994, the US Department of Energy (DOE), Environmental Management, Office of Science and Technology for (OST) and Epcot{reg_sign} in the WALT DISNEY WORLD{reg_sign} Resort (Epcot) signed an agreement to cooperate on the research, development, and public communication and display of environmental technologies. Although Epcot and OST have distinctive missions, certain areas of their respective research and development efforts are common, including the integration of remote sensors with robotics platforms, airborne surveys for environmental characterization and monitoring, and ground based measurements of vegetation stress. The first area of cooperative R&D pursued under the agreement is the evaluation of laser-induced fluorescence imaging (LIFI), a technology developed by OST and proven effective for uranium detection. This paper describes the efforts being conducted under the Epcot-OST agreement and presents initial results. An appendix describing LIFI technology is also included.

Technical Cooperation Report for 2014. Report by the Director General

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-06-01

The Technical Cooperation Report for 2014 is set out in three parts: A — Strengthening the Agency’s Technical Cooperation Activities; B — TC Programme Resources and Delivery; and C — Programme Activities and Achievements in 2014: Regional Overview. Annex 1 describes examples of project activities and achievements in specific thematic areas, and Annex 2 describes the activities of the Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy. Annex 3 presents the TC programme Fields of Activity, grouped for reporting purposes. Part A is composed of two sections. Part A.1 provides an overview of the Agency’s technical cooperation (TC) activities in 2014. The first section is devoted to the global development context, and highlights the importance of the post-2015 development agenda, and the value of the Sustainable Development Goals’ programmatic framework for the Agency’s technical cooperation activities. The section then describes how the programme is tailored to respond to the specific needs and priorities of each region, focusing on efforts to develop human resources and build capacities in the peaceful application of nuclear science and technology, including through postgraduate training courses, assistance in drafting legislation, distance learning initiatives and technical cooperation among developing countries. The section also presents a snapshot of TC projects that address radioactive waste management, reflecting the topic of the 2014 Scientific Forum. Part A.2 focuses on efforts to build a more efficient and effective TC programme, in particular on efforts to strengthen the Country Programme Framework template. The section reviews progress made in 2014 in establishing and operationalizing partnerships with the United Nations and other relevant international and regional organizations. This section closes with an overview of actions undertaken in 2014 to continually improve the TC programme, notably through training in the Logical Framework Approach, and

Energy sector integration for low carbon development in Greater Mekong sub-region: Towards a model of South-South cooperation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhai, Yongping

2010-09-15

The Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) in Southeast Asia has embarked on a roadmap of power interconnection and expanded energy sector cooperation. An Asian development bank committed study using Model of Energy Supply Systems Alternatives and their General Environmental Impacts (MESSAGE) assessed the impacts of various scenarios, the results indicate that GMS integration will help these countries to achieve low carbon and sustainable development. The article suggests that the experience of GMS cooperation be made a model for South-South cooperation in the global effort to fight climate change.

Dopamine, behavioral economics, and effort

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John D Salamone

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract. There are numerous problems with the hypothesis that brain dopamine (DA systems, particularly in the nucleus accumbens, directly mediate the rewarding or primary motivational characteristics of natural stimuli such as food. Research and theory related to the functions of mesolimbic DA are undergoing a substantial conceptual restructuring, with the traditional emphasis on hedonia and primary reward yielding to other concepts and lines of inquiry. The present review is focused upon the involvement of nucleus accumbens DA in behavioral activation and effort-related processes. Viewed from the framework of behavioral economics, the effects of accumbens DA depletions and antagonism on food-reinforced behavior are highly dependent upon the work requirements of the instrumental task, and DA depleted rats are more sensitive to increases in response costs (i.e., ratio requirements. Moreover, interference with accumbens DA transmission exerts a powerful influence over effort-related choice behavior. Rats with accumbens DA depletions or antagonism reallocate their instrumental behavior away from food-reinforced tasks that have high response requirements, and instead these rats select a less-effortful type of food-seeking behavior. Nucleus accumbens DA and adenosine interact in the regulation of effort-related functions, and other brain structures (anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala, ventral pallidum also are involved. Studies of the brain systems regulating effort-based processes may have implications for understanding drug abuse, as well as energy-related disorders such as psychomotor slowing, fatigue or anergia in depression and other neurological disorders.

Direct reciprocity in spatial populations enhances R-reciprocity as well as ST-reciprocity.

Science.gov (United States)

Miyaji, Kohei; Tanimoto, Jun; Wang, Zhen; Hagishima, Aya; Ikegaya, Naoki

2013-01-01

As is well-known, spatial reciprocity plays an important role in facilitating the emergence of cooperative traits, and the effect of direct reciprocity is also obvious for explaining the cooperation dynamics. However, how the combination of these two scenarios influences cooperation is still unclear. In the present work, we study the evolution of cooperation in 2 × 2 games via considering both spatial structured populations and direct reciprocity driven by the strategy with 1-memory length. Our results show that cooperation can be significantly facilitated on the whole parameter plane. For prisoner's dilemma game, cooperation dominates the system even at strong dilemma, where maximal social payoff is still realized. In this sense, R-reciprocity forms and it is robust to the extremely strong dilemma. Interestingly, when turning to chicken game, we find that ST-reciprocity is also guaranteed, through which social average payoff and cooperation is greatly enhanced. This reciprocity mechanism is supported by mean-field analysis and different interaction topologies. Thus, our study indicates that direct reciprocity in structured populations can be regarded as a more powerful factor for the sustainability of cooperation.

Matching times of leading and following suggest cooperation through direct reciprocity during V-formation flight in ibis.

Science.gov (United States)

Voelkl, Bernhard; Portugal, Steven J; Unsöld, Markus; Usherwood, James R; Wilson, Alan M; Fritz, Johannes

2015-02-17

One conspicuous feature of several larger bird species is their annual migration in V-shaped or echelon formation. When birds are flying in these formations, energy savings can be achieved by using the aerodynamic up-wash produced by the preceding bird. As the leading bird in a formation cannot profit from this up-wash, a social dilemma arises around the question of who is going to fly in front? To investigate how this dilemma is solved, we studied the flight behavior of a flock of juvenile Northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita) during a human-guided autumn migration. We could show that the amount of time a bird is leading a formation is strongly correlated with the time it can itself profit from flying in the wake of another bird. On the dyadic level, birds match the time they spend in the wake of each other by frequent pairwise switches of the leading position. Taken together, these results suggest that bald ibis cooperate by directly taking turns in leading a formation. On the proximate level, we propose that it is mainly the high number of iterations and the immediacy of reciprocation opportunities that favor direct reciprocation. Finally, we found evidence that the animals' propensity to reciprocate in leading has a substantial influence on the size and cohesion of the flight formations.

International Conference on Nuclear Security: Enhancing Global Efforts. Summary of an International Conference

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-01-01

The International Conference on Nuclear Security: Enhancing Global Efforts was organized by the IAEA and held in Vienna on 1-5 July 2013. The conference was organized in cooperation with the following organizations and initiatives: the European Union; the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT); the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL); the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM); the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI); the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE); the Partnership for Global Security; the Police Community of the Americas (AMERIPOL); the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI); the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC); the World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS); the World Nuclear Association (WNA); and the World Nuclear Transport Institute (WNTI). A total of 34 ministers participated in the ministerial session of the conference. Altogether, the conference attracted more than 1300 registered participants from 125 IAEA Member States and 21 organizations. The aim of the conference was to review the international community's experience and achievements to date in strengthening nuclear security, to enhance the understanding of current approaches to nuclear security worldwide and identify trends, and to provide a global forum for ministers, policymakers and senior officials to formulate views on future directions and priorities for nuclear security. This book contains the President's Summary of the conference and a summary of the ministerial session, the full text of the ministerial declaration adopted by the conference and summaries of the main conference sessions. The attached CD-ROM contains the full conference programme, the list of conference participants, the national statements from the ministerial session and a selection of papers

Direct Mail Marketing for Cooperative Education. Cooperative Education Marketing Digest Series 5.

Science.gov (United States)

McGookey, Kathy

Seven guidelines for enhancing direct mail marketing are as follows: target the most promising audience; frame the right message for the audience; state the benefits of making a positive response; send the message at an appropriate time; tell the reader what response is desired; plan follow-up mailings or other contact; and measure results.…

Does cooperation increase helpers' later success as breeders? A test of the skills hypothesis in the cooperatively displaying lance-tailed manakin.

Science.gov (United States)

DuVal, Emily H

2013-07-01

Experience improves individual performance in many tasks. Pre-breeding cooperation may provide important experience that improves later success as a breeder, offering one compelling explanation for why some individuals delay reproduction to help others breed (the 'skills hypothesis'). However, confounding effects of age, quality and alternative selective benefits have complicated rigorous tests of this hypothesis. Male lance-tailed manakins perform cooperative courtship displays involving partnerships between unrelated alpha and beta males, and alphas monopolize resulting copulations. Beta males therefore do not receive immediate direct or indirect fitness benefits, but may gain skills during cooperation that increase their later success as an alpha. To date, however, the effect of cooperative experience on later success as a breeder has never been tested in any cooperatively displaying taxon. The effects of prior cooperative experience on reproductive success of alpha lance-tailed manakins were analysed in a mixed model framework using 12 years of information on cooperative experience and annual and lifetime genetic reproductive success for 57 alpha males. Models included previously identified effects of age and alpha tenure. Individual-level random effects controlled for quality differences to test for an independent influence of beta experience on success. Males accumulated up to 5 years of beta experience before becoming alphas, but 42·1% of alphas had no prior beta experience. Betas became alphas later in life, and experienced significantly lower reproductive success in their final year as alpha than males that were never beta, but did not have higher lifetime success or longer alpha tenures. Differences in patterns of annual siring success were best explained by age-dependent patterns of reproductive improvement and senescence among alphas, not beta experience. Cooperative experience does not increase relative breeding success for male lance-tailed manakins

Northeast Cooperative Research Study Fleet (SF) Program Combined GPS, Temperature/Depth, and Effort Fishery Dependent Data

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Temperature, depth(TD), GPS and haul by haul effort and catch data are collected during normal fishing activity of commercial fishing vessels participating in the...

International cooperation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prieto, F.E.

1984-01-01

It looks doubtless that the need for an international cooperation to solve the worldwide energy problems is already a concern of individuals, institutions, and governments. This is an improvement. But there is something lacking. The author refers to the Atoms for Peace speech, the origin of the IAEA and of the subsequent spreading of the nuclear option. He also refers back to the call made by the Mexican government for a worldwide energy cooperation. He stresses the need for governments to cooperate, so that this international cooperation on energy can be put into operation for the benefit of mankind

Reinforcement Learning Explains Conditional Cooperation and Its Moody Cousin.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takahiro Ezaki

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Direct reciprocity, or repeated interaction, is a main mechanism to sustain cooperation under social dilemmas involving two individuals. For larger groups and networks, which are probably more relevant to understanding and engineering our society, experiments employing repeated multiplayer social dilemma games have suggested that humans often show conditional cooperation behavior and its moody variant. Mechanisms underlying these behaviors largely remain unclear. Here we provide a proximate account for this behavior by showing that individuals adopting a type of reinforcement learning, called aspiration learning, phenomenologically behave as conditional cooperator. By definition, individuals are satisfied if and only if the obtained payoff is larger than a fixed aspiration level. They reinforce actions that have resulted in satisfactory outcomes and anti-reinforce those yielding unsatisfactory outcomes. The results obtained in the present study are general in that they explain extant experimental results obtained for both so-called moody and non-moody conditional cooperation, prisoner's dilemma and public goods games, and well-mixed groups and networks. Different from the previous theory, individuals are assumed to have no access to information about what other individuals are doing such that they cannot explicitly use conditional cooperation rules. In this sense, myopic aspiration learning in which the unconditional propensity of cooperation is modulated in every discrete time step explains conditional behavior of humans. Aspiration learners showing (moody conditional cooperation obeyed a noisy GRIM-like strategy. This is different from the Pavlov, a reinforcement learning strategy promoting mutual cooperation in two-player situations.

Measuring listening effort: driving simulator versus simple dual-task paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yu-Hsiang; Aksan, Nazan; Rizzo, Matthew; Stangl, Elizabeth; Zhang, Xuyang; Bentler, Ruth

2014-01-01

The dual-task paradigm has been widely used to measure listening effort. The primary objectives of the study were to (1) investigate the effect of hearing aid amplification and a hearing aid directional technology on listening effort measured by a complicated, more real world dual-task paradigm and (2) compare the results obtained with this paradigm to a simpler laboratory-style dual-task paradigm. The listening effort of adults with hearing impairment was measured using two dual-task paradigms, wherein participants performed a speech recognition task simultaneously with either a driving task in a simulator or a visual reaction-time task in a sound-treated booth. The speech materials and road noises for the speech recognition task were recorded in a van traveling on the highway in three hearing aid conditions: unaided, aided with omnidirectional processing (OMNI), and aided with directional processing (DIR). The change in the driving task or the visual reaction-time task performance across the conditions quantified the change in listening effort. Compared to the driving-only condition, driving performance declined significantly with the addition of the speech recognition task. Although the speech recognition score was higher in the OMNI and DIR conditions than in the unaided condition, driving performance was similar across these three conditions, suggesting that listening effort was not affected by amplification and directional processing. Results from the simple dual-task paradigm showed a similar trend: hearing aid technologies improved speech recognition performance, but did not affect performance in the visual reaction-time task (i.e., reduce listening effort). The correlation between listening effort measured using the driving paradigm and the visual reaction-time task paradigm was significant. The finding showing that our older (56 to 85 years old) participants' better speech recognition performance did not result in reduced listening effort was not

Scientific Meetings Database: A New Tool for CTBT-Related International Cooperation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Knapik, Jerzy F.; Girven, Mary L.

1999-08-20

The mission of international cooperation is defined in the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Ways and means of implementation were the subject of discussion during the International Cooperation Workshop held in Vienna in November 1998, and during the Regional Workshop for CTBTO International Cooperation held in Cairo, Egypt in June 1999. In particular, a database of ''Scientific and Technical Meetings Directly or Indirectly Related to CTBT Verification-Related Technologies'' was developed by the CTBTO PrepCom/PTS/International Cooperation section and integrated into the organization's various web sites in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy CTBT Research and Development Program. This database, the structure and use of which is described in this paper/presentation is meant to assist the CTBT-related scientific community in identifying worldwide expertise in the CTBT verification-related technologies and should help experts, particularly those of less technologically advanced States Signatories, to strengthen contacts and to pursue international cooperation under the Tredy regime. Specific opportunities for international cooperation, in particular those provided by active participation in the use and further development of this database, are presented in this paper and/or presentation.

Danish environmental support fund for Eastern Europe. Co-operation development 1991-1996 and programme priority areas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-08-01

The publication gives an account of environmental co-operation between Denmark and 12 countries in Eastern Europe. The basis of co-operation is a country programme, describing present and future priority areas in the recipient countries, as an expression of common understanding between the Danish Environmental Protection Agency and the Ministry of Environment in the recipient countries. The publication also describe the environmental efforts made in 1991-1996 under the Danish Environmental Support Fund for Eastern Europe (DESF) administered by the DEPA. (au)

A project in support of Nuclear Technology Cooperation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jung, Ki Jung; Choi, Pyong Hoon; Yi, Ji Ho (and others)

2005-12-15

Establish the integrated management system of information resources and to automate business flow and to improve business productivity through efficient information sharing. - Promotion of domestic nuclear energy technology by utilizing nuclear energy informations and computer software developed in the advanced countries. - Establish strategies of international cooperation in an effort to promote our nation's Leading role in international society, to form the foundation for the effective transfer of nuclear technology to developing countries, and to cope with the rapidly changing international nuclear climate.

CO2 for refrigeration. Co-operation with Indonesia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bredesen, Arne M.

2000-01-01

NTNU and SINTEF Energy Research, Norway, have co-operated closely with universities in Indonesia on the use of CO2 as a working fluid in refrigeration systems. The Asian market is the largest in the world and so it is very important to use environmentally friendly working fluids. In Indonesia, Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) plays a leading role in the efforts to meet the national emission goals. For economical reasons, Indonesia considers natural working fluids such as CO2 rather than the new expensive synthetic ones

Choosing the cooperative option

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

English, G. (National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (United States))

1999-06-01

Cooperatives do not ask to be exempted from the law. They do ask that laws and regulations be designed to allow them to meet the needs of their consumer-owners in accordance with cooperative principles, at a time that the marginal consumers being abandoned by for-profit utilities may be ready to gravitate toward cooperatives. The cooperative principles are worth reviewing because they explain the focus on the consumer and the cooperative concept of service: cooperatives are voluntary organizations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership; cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions, the elected representatives are accountable to the membership; members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their cooperative; cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organizations controlled by their members, if they enter into agreements with other organizations, including governments, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their cooperative autonomy; cooperatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers, and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their cooperatives, they inform the general public, particularly young people and opinion leaders, about the nature and benefits of cooperation; cooperatives serve their members most effectively and strength the cooperative movement by working together through local, national, regional, and international structures; and while focusing on member needs, cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies accepted by their members.

Multistage Effort and the Equity Structure of Venture Investment Based on Reciprocity Motivation

OpenAIRE

Ding, Chuan; Chen, Jiacheng; Liu, Xin; Zheng, Junjun

2015-01-01

For venture capitals, it is a long process from an entry to its exit. In this paper, the activity of venture investment will be divided into multistages. And, according to the effort level entrepreneurs will choose, the venture capitalists will provide an equity structure at the very beginning. As a benchmark for comparison, we will establish two game models on multistage investment under perfect rationality: a cooperative game model and a noncooperative one. Further, as a cause of pervasive ...

International cooperation and amateur meteor work

Science.gov (United States)

Roggemans, P.

Today, the existing framework for international cooperation among amateur meteor workers offers numerous advantages. However, this is a rather recent situation. Meteor astronomy, although popular among amateurs, was the very last topic within astronomy to benefit from a truly international approach. Anyone attempting long term studies of, for instance, meteor stream structures will be confronted with the systematic lack of usable observations due to the absence of any standards in observing, recording and reporting, any archiving or publishing policy. Visual meteor observations represent the overall majority of amateur efforts, while photographic and radio observing were developed only in recent decades as technological specialties of rather few meteor observing teams.

Monopolizing sanctioning power under noise eliminates perverse punishment but does not increase cooperation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sven Fischer

2016-09-01

Full Text Available We run several experiments which allow us to compare cooperation under perfect and imperfect information in a centralized and decentralized punishment regime. Under perfect and extremely noisy information, aggregate behavior does not differ between institutions. Under intermediate noise, punishment escalates in the decentralized peer-to-peer punishment regime which badly affects efficiency while sustaining cooperation for longer. Only decentralized punishment is often directed at cooperators (perverse punishment. We report several, sometimes subtle, differences in punishment behavior, and how contributions react.

Monopolizing Sanctioning Power under Noise Eliminates Perverse Punishment But Does Not Increase Cooperation

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Sven; Grechenig, Kristoffel; Meier, Nicolas

2016-01-01

We run several experiments which allow us to compare cooperation under perfect and imperfect information in a centralized and decentralized punishment regime. Under perfect and extremely noisy information, aggregate behavior does not differ between institutions. Under intermediate noise, punishment escalates in the decentralized peer-to-peer punishment regime which badly affects efficiency while sustaining cooperation for longer. Only decentralized punishment is often directed at cooperators (perverse punishment). We report several, sometimes subtle, differences in punishment behavior, and how contributions react. PMID:27746725

International co-operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

In this part the are reviewed: Co-operation with IAEA; Participation of the Slovakia on the 41 st session of the General Conference; The comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization; Co-operation with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development; co-operation with the European Commission; Fulfillment of obligations resulting from the international contracting documents

A study on the enhancement of nuclear cooperation with African countries including utilization of radioisotope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Maeng Ho; Oh, K. B; Lee, H. M. and others

2005-05-01

In this study, potential countries for nuclear cooperation in African region and possible cooperation areas were investigated between Korea and African countries including radioisotopes and more fields were also analysed in depth in order to suggest the recommendations for future cooperation to be considered as follows; First, current status and perspectives of demand and supply of energy and electricity in the African countries, use and development of nuclear energy and international nuclear cooperation were analyzed. Second, current status of nuclear cooperation between Korea and African countries were investigated as well as analysis of future cooperation potential and countries having potential for nuclear cooperation and possible cooperative activities were suggested considering potential of nuclear market in mid- and long term base and step by step. Third, desirable strategies and directions for the establishment and promotion of nuclear cooperation relations between Korea and African developing countries were suggested in order to develope cooperative relations in efficient and effective manners with African developing countries

A study on the enhancement of nuclear cooperation with African countries including utilization of radioisotope

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Maeng Ho; Oh, K. B; Lee, H. M. and others

2005-05-15

In this study, potential countries for nuclear cooperation in African region and possible cooperation areas were investigated between Korea and African countries including radioisotopes and more fields were also analysed in depth in order to suggest the recommendations for future cooperation to be considered as follows; First, current status and perspectives of demand and supply of energy and electricity in the African countries, use and development of nuclear energy and international nuclear cooperation were analyzed. Second, current status of nuclear cooperation between Korea and African countries were investigated as well as analysis of future cooperation potential and countries having potential for nuclear cooperation and possible cooperative activities were suggested considering potential of nuclear market in mid- and long term base and step by step. Third, desirable strategies and directions for the establishment and promotion of nuclear cooperation relations between Korea and African developing countries were suggested in order to develope cooperative relations in efficient and effective manners with African developing countries.

Safety management in multiemployer worksites in the manufacturing industry: opinions on co-operation and problems encountered.

Science.gov (United States)

Nenonen, Sanna; Vasara, Juha

2013-01-01

Co-operation between different parties and effective safety management play an important role in ensuring safety in multiemployer worksites. This article reviews safety co-operation and factors complicating safety management in Finnish multiemployer manufacturing worksites. The paper focuses on the service providers' opinions; however, a comparison of the customers' views is also presented. The results show that safety-related co-operation between providers and customers is generally considered as successful but strongly dependent on the partner. Safety co-operation is provided through, e.g., training, orientation and risk analysis. Problems encountered include ensuring adequate communication, identifying hazards, co-ordinating work tasks and determining responsibilities. The providers and the customers encounter similar safety management problems. The results presented in this article can help companies to focus their efforts on the most problematic points of safety management and to avoid common pitfalls.

Third-party punishment increases cooperation in children through (misaligned) expectations and conditional cooperation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lergetporer, Philipp; Angerer, Silvia; Glätzle-Rützler, Daniela; Sutter, Matthias

2014-05-13

The human ability to establish cooperation, even in large groups of genetically unrelated strangers, depends upon the enforcement of cooperation norms. Third-party punishment is one important factor to explain high levels of cooperation among humans, although it is still somewhat disputed whether other animal species also use this mechanism for promoting cooperation. We study the effectiveness of third-party punishment to increase children's cooperative behavior in a large-scale cooperation game. Based on an experiment with 1,120 children, aged 7 to 11 y, we find that the threat of third-party punishment more than doubles cooperation rates, despite the fact that children are rarely willing to execute costly punishment. We can show that the higher cooperation levels with third-party punishment are driven by two components. First, cooperation is a rational (expected payoff-maximizing) response to incorrect beliefs about the punishment behavior of third parties. Second, cooperation is a conditionally cooperative reaction to correct beliefs that third party punishment will increase a partner's level of cooperation.

Prosocial preferences do not explain human cooperation in public-goods games.

Science.gov (United States)

Burton-Chellew, Maxwell N; West, Stuart A

2013-01-02

It has become an accepted paradigm that humans have "prosocial preferences" that lead to higher levels of cooperation than those that would maximize their personal financial gain. However, the existence of prosocial preferences has been inferred post hoc from the results of economic games, rather than with direct experimental tests. Here, we test how behavior in a public-goods game is influenced by knowledge of the consequences of actions for other players. We found that (i) individuals cooperate at similar levels, even when they are not informed that their behavior benefits others; (ii) an increased awareness of how cooperation benefits others leads to a reduction, rather than an increase, in the level of cooperation; and (iii) cooperation can be either lower or higher than expected, depending on experimental design. Overall, these results contradict the suggested role of the prosocial preferences hypothesis and show how the complexity of human behavior can lead to misleading conclusions from controlled laboratory experiments.

The Effort Paradox: Effort Is Both Costly and Valued.

Science.gov (United States)

Inzlicht, Michael; Shenhav, Amitai; Olivola, Christopher Y

2018-04-01

According to prominent models in cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and economics, effort (be it physical or mental) is costly: when given a choice, humans and non-human animals alike tend to avoid effort. Here, we suggest that the opposite is also true and review extensive evidence that effort can also add value. Not only can the same outcomes be more rewarding if we apply more (not less) effort, sometimes we select options precisely because they require effort. Given the increasing recognition of effort's role in motivation, cognitive control, and value-based decision-making, considering this neglected side of effort will not only improve formal computational models, but also provide clues about how to promote sustained mental effort across time. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Practices on nuclear security and international cooperation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen Ning

2009-01-01

Full text: Nuclear terrorism has been a great threat against the safety and security of the world. It has been reached the consensus by international community to strengthen the nuclear security regime to protect the nuclear and other radiological materials and related facilities. Protection of the security of nuclear and other radiological materials in use, storage and transport and related facilities is always a important issue faced by each country and it depends on the technologies, funds and human resources can be utilized. As nuclear technology has been widely used in different area, China competent authorities have issued a series of regulations, implementation rules and guidelines on security of nuclear and radioactive materials and related facilities. China supports and has taken an active part in the international efforts to strengthen the international nuclear security regime to combat nuclear terrorism. China has paid great importance on international cooperations on nuclear security with IAEA and other countries. More than 10 various national workshops and training courses on nuclear security and physical protection were delivered per year, which provided a communication platform for Chinese facility operators and managers to know the international technology-development and share the research achievements. In cooperation with the IAEA, China has held a great number of regional and national training courses on physical protection and nuclear security since 1998. Different types of training, such as training on awareness, Design Basis Threat (DBT), physical security system design, equipments operation and vulnerability analysis, benefited the administrators, facility operators, engineers and technical staff in charge of physical security system design, operation and maintenance from China and regional countries. Under the framework of the bilateral agreement on Peaceful Use of Nuclear Technology (PUNT), China and U.S. jointly conducted a Technical Demo

Sixteen Years of International Co-operation. The OECD/NEA Co-operative Programme on Decommissioning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Menon, S.; Valencia, L.

2002-01-01

The Co-operative Programme on Decommissioning under the administration of the Radioactive Waste Management Committee of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) has recently completed sixteen years of operation. The Programme, which is essentially an information exchange programme between decommissioning projects, came into being in 1985. It has grown from an initial 10 decommissioning projects from 7 countries to 39 projects from 14 countries today. From purely information exchange to start with, the Programme has, in later years, been functioning as a voice for the collective expression of views of the implementers of nuclear decommissioning. During the first sixteen years of the operation of the Co-operative Programme, nuclear decommissioning has grown from local specialist activities within projects to a competitive commercial industry. By the dismantling and release from regulatory control of over a dozen diverse nuclear facilities, the Programme has been able to demonstrate in practice, that nuclear decommissioning can be performed safely both for the workers and the public, and that this can be done at reasonable costs in an environmentally friendly fashion. During the recent years, discussions and work within the Co-operative Programme, specially within some of the Task Groups, have had/are having effects and repercussions not just in the field of nuclear decommissioning, but can possibly affect activities and regulations in other industries. This paper describes how the Programme and its activities and procedures have evolved over the years and indicate the directions of developments in the organization and execution of decommissioning projects. Finally, it gives a brief overview of the achievements of the Cooperative Programme and visualizes future developments in the field of nuclear decommissioning

Cutthroat cooperation : The effects of team role decisions on adaptation to alternative reward structures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beersma, Bianca; Hollenbeck, John R.; Conlon, Donald E.; Humphrey, Stephen E.; Moon, Henry; Ilgen, Daniel R.

Structural Adaptation Theory proposes that it is more difficult for teams to change from competitive to cooperative reward conditions than it is for them to change in the opposite direction, and this has been labeled the cutthroat cooperation effect [Johnson, M. D., Hollenbeck, J. R., Ilgen, D. R.,

Cutthroat cooperation: the effects of team role decisions on adaptation to alternative reward structures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beersma, B.; Hollenbeck, J.R.; Conlon, D.E.; Humphrey, S.E.; Moon, H.; Ilgen, D.R.

2009-01-01

Structural Adaptation Theory proposes that it is more difficult for teams to change from competitive to cooperative reward conditions than it is for them to change in the opposite direction, and this has been labeled the cutthroat cooperation effect [Johnson, M. D., Hollenbeck, J. R., Ilgen, D. R.,

[International cooperation in combatting illicit drugs in Mozambique].

Science.gov (United States)

Buvana, Flávia; Ventura, Carla Aparecida Arena

2011-06-01

Countries from Southern Africa have formed a Development Community (SADC) to stimulate common actions in several areas, among them illicit drugs combat. In this context, the goal of this qualitative study was to identify information and perception about the cooperation set up between Mozambique and other SADC members in combatting illicit drugs. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with public employees developing actions directed at the implementation of the Protocol to Combat Drugs in SADC. After transcriptions, the interviews were analyzed by content analysis and resulted in the categories: "Mozambique as a drugs corridor", "Cooperation Initiatives on Drugs among African countries", "Cooperation Difficulties in Africa", "Problems in Protocol Implementation" and "Difficulties to implement a control policy". As a consequence, there is a need to review and update the policies and strategies in the drugs area, as they are not contextualized in the country's current reality.

Cooperation and contagion in web-based, networked public goods experiments.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siddharth Suri

Full Text Available A longstanding idea in the literature on human cooperation is that cooperation should be reinforced when conditional cooperators are more likely to interact. In the context of social networks, this idea implies that cooperation should fare better in highly clustered networks such as cliques than in networks with low clustering such as random networks. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a series of web-based experiments, in which 24 individuals played a local public goods game arranged on one of five network topologies that varied between disconnected cliques and a random regular graph. In contrast with previous theoretical work, we found that network topology had no significant effect on average contributions. This result implies either that individuals are not conditional cooperators, or else that cooperation does not benefit from positive reinforcement between connected neighbors. We then tested both of these possibilities in two subsequent series of experiments in which artificial seed players were introduced, making either full or zero contributions. First, we found that although players did generally behave like conditional cooperators, they were as likely to decrease their contributions in response to low contributing neighbors as they were to increase their contributions in response to high contributing neighbors. Second, we found that positive effects of cooperation were contagious only to direct neighbors in the network. In total we report on 113 human subjects experiments, highlighting the speed, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness of web-based experiments over those conducted in physical labs.

Genetic architecture promotes the evolution and maintenance of cooperation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antoine Frénoy

Full Text Available When cooperation has a direct cost and an indirect benefit, a selfish behavior is more likely to be selected for than an altruistic one. Kin and group selection do provide evolutionary explanations for the stability of cooperation in nature, but we still lack the full understanding of the genomic mechanisms that can prevent cheater invasion. In our study we used Aevol, an agent-based, in silico genomic platform to evolve populations of digital organisms that compete, reproduce, and cooperate by secreting a public good for tens of thousands of generations. We found that cooperating individuals may share a phenotype, defined as the amount of public good produced, but have very different abilities to resist cheater invasion. To understand the underlying genetic differences between cooperator types, we performed bio-inspired genomics analyses of our digital organisms by recording and comparing the locations of metabolic and secretion genes, as well as the relevant promoters and terminators. Association between metabolic and secretion genes (promoter sharing, overlap via frame shift or sense-antisense encoding was characteristic for populations with robust cooperation and was more likely to evolve when secretion was costly. In mutational analysis experiments, we demonstrated the potential evolutionary consequences of the genetic association by performing a large number of mutations and measuring their phenotypic and fitness effects. The non-cooperating mutants arising from the individuals with genetic association were more likely to have metabolic deleterious mutations that eventually lead to selection eliminating such mutants from the population due to the accompanying fitness decrease. Effectively, cooperation evolved to be protected and robust to mutations through entangled genetic architecture. Our results confirm the importance of second-order selection on evolutionary outcomes, uncover an important genetic mechanism for the evolution and

Technical cooperation on government base with developing countries in the field of atomic energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamabe, Yutaka

1984-01-01

Since the summer of the last year, the problems in the relation with developing countries have been actively discussed in the Atomic Energy Commission, Japan Atomic Industrial Forum Inc., and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. As the background of this tendency, it is pointed out that Japanese nuclear industry has grown up to the level comparable with European and American counterparts and capable of advancing into the world market as the exporter of nuclear facilities, on the other hand, that Asian countries expect Japanese technical and economical power also in the field of atomic energy. In this report, the technical cooperation of the IAEA on funds, the dispatch of specialists, the supply of materials and training, the technical cooperation of Japanese International Cooperation Agency on the acceptance of trainees, the dispatch of specialists and others, and the fundamental way of thinking about the technical cooperation on government base are reported. It is very important to grasp the true needs of a partner country when a project is selected. In the cooperation, the effort of self-help by a developing country must be the major premise. (Kako, I.)

Reaching a consensus. "Global issues, including environmental ones, are things to be solved with the cooperation of developed and developing countries".

Science.gov (United States)

Hiraiwa, G

1998-01-01

This article is an excerpt of a speech given by the Honorary Chairman of the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations at the Common Agenda Roundtable meeting in February 1996. The Common Agenda is a bilateral cooperative effort between the US and Japan, which was established in July 1993, to address common concerns through a public-private partnership. The roundtable membership includes about 50 persons who have a range of expertise and professions including scholars, journalists, civil society organizations, and businesses. There have been about 10 Roundtable meetings over the past 2 years. Each meeting includes a report by the deputy minister of foreign affairs on progress made under the Common Agenda. Members exchange views in lively debate and meet with senior government officials. The US-Japan Partnerships on Environmental Awareness and Education were held in April 1997, in Tokyo. The February 1998 meeting with 60 participants was held in Washington, DC, on the Global Context of Civil Society. The workshops focused on the ways that cooperation with civil society organizations, businesses, and governments can be reinforced in the areas of population, health, and the environment. The workshop resulted in effective proposals. This speaker urges that the US and Japan reach as many agreements as possible; that some of the agreements result quickly in Common Agenda projects; and that each country will produce a private sector organization to support the Common Agenda. This effort is moving in new directions and offers a consensus of concerns for the environment.

HUMAN MACHINE COOPERATIVE TELEROBOTICS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

William R. Hamel; Spivey Douglass; Sewoong Kim; Pamela Murray; Yang Shou; Sriram Sridharan; Ge Zhang; Scott Thayer; Rajiv V. Dubey

2003-01-01

The remediation and deactivation and decommissioning (D and D) of nuclear waste storage tanks using telerobotics is one of the most challenging tasks faced in environmental cleanup. Since a number of tanks have reached the end of their design life and some of them have leaks, the unstructured, uncertain and radioactive environment makes the work inefficient and expensive. However, the execution time of teleoperation consumes ten to hundred times that of direct contact with an associated loss in quality. Thus, a considerable effort has been expended to improve the quality and efficiency of telerobotics by incorporating into teleoperation and robotic control functions such as planning, trajectory generation, vision, and 3-D modeling. One example is the Robot Task Space Analyzer (RTSA), which has been developed at the Robotics and Electromechanical Systems Laboratory (REMSL) at the University of Tennessee in support of the D and D robotic work at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the National Energy Technology Laboratory. This system builds 3-D models of the area of interest in task space through automatic image processing and/or human interactive manual modeling. The RTSA generates a task plan file, which describes the execution of a task including manipulator and tooling motions. The high level controller of the manipulator interprets the task plan file and executes the task automatically. Thus, if the environment is not highly unstructured, a tooling task, which interacts with environment, will be executed in the autonomous mode. Therefore, the RTSA not only increases the system efficiency, but also improves the system reliability because the operator will act as backstop for safe operation after the 3-D models and task plan files are generated. However, unstructured conditions of environment and tasks necessitate that the telerobot operates in the teleoperation mode for successful execution of task. The inefficiency in the teleoperation mode led to the

HUMAN MACHINE COOPERATIVE TELEROBOTICS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

William R. Hamel; Spivey Douglass; Sewoong Kim; Pamela Murray; Yang Shou; Sriram Sridharan; Ge Zhang; Scott Thayer; Rajiv V. Dubey

2003-06-30

The remediation and deactivation and decommissioning (D&D) of nuclear waste storage tanks using telerobotics is one of the most challenging tasks faced in environmental cleanup. Since a number of tanks have reached the end of their design life and some of them have leaks, the unstructured, uncertain and radioactive environment makes the work inefficient and expensive. However, the execution time of teleoperation consumes ten to hundred times that of direct contact with an associated loss in quality. Thus, a considerable effort has been expended to improve the quality and efficiency of telerobotics by incorporating into teleoperation and robotic control functions such as planning, trajectory generation, vision, and 3-D modeling. One example is the Robot Task Space Analyzer (RTSA), which has been developed at the Robotics and Electromechanical Systems Laboratory (REMSL) at the University of Tennessee in support of the D&D robotic work at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the National Energy Technology Laboratory. This system builds 3-D models of the area of interest in task space through automatic image processing and/or human interactive manual modeling. The RTSA generates a task plan file, which describes the execution of a task including manipulator and tooling motions. The high level controller of the manipulator interprets the task plan file and executes the task automatically. Thus, if the environment is not highly unstructured, a tooling task, which interacts with environment, will be executed in the autonomous mode. Therefore, the RTSA not only increases the system efficiency, but also improves the system reliability because the operator will act as backstop for safe operation after the 3-D models and task plan files are generated. However, unstructured conditions of environment and tasks necessitate that the telerobot operates in the teleoperation mode for successful execution of task. The inefficiency in the teleoperation mode led to the research

Sorting and sustaining cooperation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vikander, Nick

2013-01-01

This paper looks at cooperation in teams where some people are selfish and others are conditional cooperators, and where lay-offs will occur at a fixed future date. I show that the best way to sustain cooperation prior to the lay-offs is often in a sorting equilibrium, where conditional cooperators...... can identify and then work with one another. Changes to parameters that would seem to make cooperation more attractive, such as an increase in the discount factor or the fraction of conditional cooperators, can reduce equilibrium cooperation if they decrease a selfish player's incentive to sort....

Economic Cooperation Between The European Union And Japan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Drzymała Agnieszka

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to show the history of economic relations between the European Union and Japan. This economy is very important to the EU and the countries of the EU are interested in further deepening areas of cooperation. Therefore it seems important to indicate the political will to continue mutual economic relations through the signing of contracts and bilateral agreements, as well as meetings at various levels, including SPA and EPA negotiations and summits. The course of the current economic cooperation will be shown through trade volume and foreign direct investment outflows from the European Union to Japan.

Neurodynamic evaluation of hearing aid features using EEG correlates of listening effort.

Science.gov (United States)

Bernarding, Corinna; Strauss, Daniel J; Hannemann, Ronny; Seidler, Harald; Corona-Strauss, Farah I

2017-06-01

In this study, we propose a novel estimate of listening effort using electroencephalographic data. This method is a translation of our past findings, gained from the evoked electroencephalographic activity, to the oscillatory EEG activity. To test this technique, electroencephalographic data from experienced hearing aid users with moderate hearing loss were recorded, wearing hearing aids. The investigated hearing aid settings were: a directional microphone combined with a noise reduction algorithm in a medium and a strong setting, the noise reduction setting turned off, and a setting using omnidirectional microphones without any noise reduction. The results suggest that the electroencephalographic estimate of listening effort seems to be a useful tool to map the exerted effort of the participants. In addition, the results indicate that a directional processing mode can reduce the listening effort in multitalker listening situations.

Technical Cooperation Report for 2014. Report by the Director General [Spanish Version

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-06-01

The Technical Cooperation Report for 2014 is set out in three parts: A — Strengthening the Agency’s Technical Cooperation Activities; B — TC Programme Resources and Delivery; and C — Programme Activities and Achievements in 2014: Regional Overview. Annex 1 describes examples of project activities and achievements in specific thematic areas, and Annex 2 describes the activities of the Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy. Annex 3 presents the TC programme Fields of Activity, grouped for reporting purposes. Part A is composed of two sections. Part A.1 provides an overview of the Agency’s technical cooperation (TC) activities in 2014. The first section is devoted to the global development context, and highlights the importance of the post-2015 development agenda, and the value of the Sustainable Development Goals’ programmatic framework for the Agency’s technical cooperation activities. The section then describes how the programme is tailored to respond to the specific needs and priorities of each region, focusing on efforts to develop human resources and build capacities in the peaceful application of nuclear science and technology, including through postgraduate training courses, assistance in drafting legislation, distance learning initiatives and technical cooperation among developing countries. The section also presents a snapshot of TC projects that address radioactive waste management, reflecting the topic of the 2014 Scientific Forum. Part A.2 focuses on efforts to build a more efficient and effective TC programme, in particular on efforts to strengthen the Country Programme Framework template. The section reviews progress made in 2014 in establishing and operationalizing partnerships with the United Nations and other relevant international and regional organizations. This section closes with an overview of actions undertaken in 2014 to continually improve the TC programme, notably through training in the Logical Framework Approach, and

Semiautomatic and Automatic Cooperative Inversion of Seismic and Magnetotelluric Data

Science.gov (United States)

Le, Cuong V. A.; Harris, Brett D.; Pethick, Andrew M.; Takam Takougang, Eric M.; Howe, Brendan

2016-09-01

Natural source electromagnetic methods have the potential to recover rock property distributions from the surface to great depths. Unfortunately, results in complex 3D geo-electrical settings can be disappointing, especially where significant near-surface conductivity variations exist. In such settings, unconstrained inversion of magnetotelluric data is inexorably non-unique. We believe that: (1) correctly introduced information from seismic reflection can substantially improve MT inversion, (2) a cooperative inversion approach can be automated, and (3) massively parallel computing can make such a process viable. Nine inversion strategies including baseline unconstrained inversion and new automated/semiautomated cooperative inversion approaches are applied to industry-scale co-located 3D seismic and magnetotelluric data sets. These data sets were acquired in one of the Carlin gold deposit districts in north-central Nevada, USA. In our approach, seismic information feeds directly into the creation of sets of prior conductivity model and covariance coefficient distributions. We demonstrate how statistical analysis of the distribution of selected seismic attributes can be used to automatically extract subvolumes that form the framework for prior model 3D conductivity distribution. Our cooperative inversion strategies result in detailed subsurface conductivity distributions that are consistent with seismic, electrical logs and geochemical analysis of cores. Such 3D conductivity distributions would be expected to provide clues to 3D velocity structures that could feed back into full seismic inversion for an iterative practical and truly cooperative inversion process. We anticipate that, with the aid of parallel computing, cooperative inversion of seismic and magnetotelluric data can be fully automated, and we hold confidence that significant and practical advances in this direction have been accomplished.

Ukraine’s trade and economic priorities in the Black sea economic cooperation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andriy Goncharuk

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the substantiation of trade and economic priorities of Ukraine’s integration into the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC. The country’s integration options have been analyzed including the Western European vs. pro-Russian integration vector, the bidirectional gravity model, and an alte — native subregional cooperation direction. Ukraine’s sectoral priorities for deepening economic cooperation with the BSEC member countries in the context of implementation of the national interests have been identified, in particular in the field of goods, transport and tourism services, and energy trading. The ways of and instruments for improving Ukraine’s trade activities within the framework of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation have been offered for the various working groups of the Organization that are focused on such areas of cooperation as macroeconomics, policy and law, finance and economics, science and technology, culture and society, infrastructure, and institutional renewal.

Helper contributions in the cooperatively breeding laughing kookaburra: feeding young is no laughing matter.

Science.gov (United States)

Legge

2000-05-01

I studied the contributions of individuals to incubation and nestling feeding in a population of cooperatively breeding laughing kookaburras, Dacelo novaeguineae. In most cooperatively breeding birds where nest success is limited by nestling starvation, related helpers increase the overall level of provisioning to the nest, thus boosting the production of nondescendent kin. However, although partial brood loss is the largest cause of lost productivity in kookaburra nests, additional helpers failed to increase overall provisioning. Instead, all group members, but especially helpers, reduced their feeding contributions as group size increased. Breeders and helpers reduced the size of prey delivered, and helpers also reduced the number of feeding visits. An important benefit of helping in kookaburras may be to allow all group members to reduce their effort. Within groups, contributions to care depended on status, sex, group size and the brood size. Breeding males delivered the most food. Breeding females provisioned less than their partner, but their effort was comparable to that of male helpers. Female helpers contributed the least food. Incubation effort followed similar patterns. The relatedness of helpers to the brood had no impact on their provisioning. Across all group sizes, helpers generally brought larger items to the nest than breeders. Copyright 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Making a difference: Ten case studies of DSM/IRP interactive efforts and related advocacy group activities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

English, M.; Schexnayder, S.; Altman, J. [Tennessee Univ., Knoxville, TN (United States). Energy, Environment and Resources Center; Schweitzer, M. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

1994-03-01

This report discusses the activities of organizations that seek to promote integrated resource planning and aggressive, cost-effective demand-side management by utilities. The activities of such groups -- here called energy efficiency advocacy groups (EEAGs) -- are examined in ten detailed am studies. Nine of the cases involve some form of interactive effort between investor-owned electric utilities and non-utility to develop policies, plans, or programs cooperatively. Many but not all of the interactive efforts examined are formal collaboratives. In addition, all ten cases include discussion of other EEAG activities, such as coalition-building, research, participation in statewide energy planning, and intervention in regulatory proceedings.

Cooperatives as Entrants

OpenAIRE

Richard J. Sexton; Terri A. Sexton

1987-01-01

A potential shortcoming of game-theoretic models in industrial organization is their failure to consider consumers as players. We introduce a customer coalition --- a cooperative -- as a potential entrant and compare the cooperative entry threat with that posed by the usual for-profit entrant. We identify four fundamental distinctions between cooperative and for-profit entrants and demonstrate that the strategic interplay between a cooperative and an incumbent firm may differ markedly from th...

Need for cooperation among IRPA associate societies in African

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mustapha, A.O.

2010-01-01

Radiation is an inescapable part of the natural environment, and it is also produced artificially for a variety of unique applications in health, environmental studies, industry, etc. Our present and future lifestyles are unsustainable without peaceful applications of radiation technologies. Events around the world continue to indicate an increasing need for nuclear energy. Africa: A high level African Regional Conference on the contribution of Nuclear Energy to Peace and Sustainable Development (January 2007, Algiers), recommended that African countries should promote the acquisition of scientific know-how and the necessary infrastructure for the peaceful use of nuclear energy. This recommendation was adopted by the Executive council of Ministers during the 8th African Union (AU) summit of January 2007. 6 Many countries in Africa have established nuclear energy and radiation facilities for research and applications in many fields, including Agriculture, Medicine, Security, Industry, etc. There is now a new Nuclear power renaissance in Africa. However, in order to derive the full benefits of nuclear energy and radiation technologies, certain protective measures must be established and used correctly Radiation Protection. Radiation Protection in Africa .. At various stages of development, but generally: While the use of ionizing radiation is advancing in many countries in Africa, this is not accompanied by a corresponding effort to ensure radiation protection Constraints: Inadequacies in government support e.g. legislation, training and education; radiation protection infrastructures; Lack of radiation protection professionalism e.g. network and cooperation among RP Professionals and between them and other stakeholders; etc. Some of the pressing needs Strengthening RP infrastructures in Africa; Establishing effective and sustainable cooperation and networks among RP professionals (flow of RP information); Interacting with other stakeholders (governmental

Tumour cell heterogeneity maintained by cooperating subclones in Wnt-driven mammary cancers.

Science.gov (United States)

Cleary, Allison S; Leonard, Travis L; Gestl, Shelley A; Gunther, Edward J

2014-04-03

Cancer genome sequencing studies indicate that a single breast cancer typically harbours multiple genetically distinct subclones. As carcinogenesis involves a breakdown in the cell-cell cooperation that normally maintains epithelial tissue architecture, individual subclones within a malignant microenvironment are commonly depicted as self-interested competitors. Alternatively, breast cancer subclones might interact cooperatively to gain a selective growth advantage in some cases. Although interclonal cooperation has been shown to drive tumorigenesis in fruitfly models, definitive evidence for functional cooperation between epithelial tumour cell subclones in mammals is lacking. Here we use mouse models of breast cancer to show that interclonal cooperation can be essential for tumour maintenance. Aberrant expression of the secreted signalling molecule Wnt1 generates mixed-lineage mammary tumours composed of basal and luminal tumour cell subtypes, which purportedly derive from a bipotent malignant progenitor cell residing atop a tumour cell hierarchy. Using somatic Hras mutations as clonal markers, we show that some Wnt tumours indeed conform to a hierarchical configuration, but that others unexpectedly harbour genetically distinct basal Hras mutant and luminal Hras wild-type subclones. Both subclones are required for efficient tumour propagation, which strictly depends on luminally produced Wnt1. When biclonal tumours were challenged with Wnt withdrawal to simulate targeted therapy, analysis of tumour regression and relapse revealed that basal subclones recruit heterologous Wnt-producing cells to restore tumour growth. Alternatively, in the absence of a substitute Wnt source, the original subclones often evolve to rescue Wnt pathway activation and drive relapse, either by restoring cooperation or by switching to a defector strategy. Uncovering similar modes of interclonal cooperation in human cancers may inform efforts aimed at eradicating tumour cell communities.

Networks of recyclable material waste-picker's cooperatives: an alternative for the solid waste management in the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Science.gov (United States)

Tirado-Soto, Magda Martina; Zamberlan, Fabio Luiz

2013-04-01

The objective of this study is to discuss the role of networks formed of waste-picker cooperatives in ameliorating problems of final disposal of solid waste in the city of Rio de Janeiro, since the city's main landfill will soon have to close because of exhausted capacity. However, it is estimated that in the city of Rio de Janeiro there are around five thousand waste-pickers working in poor conditions, with lack of physical infrastructure and training, but contributing significantly by diverting solid waste from landfills. According to the Sustainable Development Indicators (IBGE, 2010a,b) in Brazil, recycling rates hover between 45% and 55%. In the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, only 1% of the waste produced is collected selectively by the government (COMLURB, 2010), demonstrating that recycling is mainly performed by waste-pickers. Furthermore, since the recycling market is an oligopsony that requires economies of scale to negotiate directly with industries, the idea of working in networks of cooperatives meets the demands for joint marketing of recyclable materials. Thus, this work presents a method for creating and structuring a network of recycling cooperatives, with prior training for working in networks, so that the expected synergies and joint efforts can lead to concrete results. We intend to demonstrate that it is first essential to strengthen the waste-pickers' cooperatives in terms of infrastructure, governance and training so that solid waste management can be environmentally, socially and economically sustainable in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Power-Optimized Cooperative MAC Protocol for Lifetime Extension in Wireless Sensor Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Kai; Wu, Shan; Huang, Bo; Liu, Feng; Xu, Zhen

2016-10-01

In wireless sensor networks, in order to satisfy the requirement of long working time of energy-limited nodes, we need to design an energy-efficient and lifetime-extended medium access control (MAC) protocol. In this paper, a node cooperation mechanism that one or multiple nodes with higher channel gain and sufficient residual energy help a sender relay its data packets to its recipient is employed to achieve this objective. We first propose a transmission power optimization algorithm to prolong network lifetime by optimizing the transmission powers of the sender and its cooperative nodes to maximize their minimum residual energy after their data packet transmissions. Based on it, we propose a corresponding power-optimized cooperative MAC protocol. A cooperative node contention mechanism is designed to ensure that the sender can effectively select a group of cooperative nodes with the lowest energy consumption and the best channel quality for cooperative transmissions, thus further improving the energy efficiency. Simulation results show that compared to typical MAC protocol with direct transmissions and energy-efficient cooperative MAC protocol, the proposed cooperative MAC protocol can efficiently improve the energy efficiency and extend the network lifetime.

Cooperation schemes for rate enhancement in detect-and-forward relay channels

KAUST Repository

Benjillali, Mustapha

2010-05-01

To improve the spectral efficiency of "Detect-and-Forward" (DetF) half-duplex relaying in fading channels, we propose a cooperation scheme where the relay uses a modulation whose order is higher than the one at the source. In a new common framework, we show that the proposed scheme offers considerable gains - in terms of achievable information rates - compared to the conventional DetF relaying schemes for both orthogonal and non-orthogonal source/relay cooperation. This allows us to propose an adaptive cooperation scheme based on the maximization of the information rate at the destination which needs to observe only the average signal-to-noise ratios of direct and relaying links. ©2010 IEEE.

Co-operation and Phase Behavior under the Mixed Updating Rules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Wen; Li Yao-Sheng; Xu Chen

2015-01-01

We present a model by considering two updating rules when the agents play prisoner's dilemma on a square lattice. Agents can update their strategies by referencing one of his neighbors of higher payoffs under the imitation updating rule or directly replaced by one of his neighbors according to the death-birth updating rule. The frequency of co-operation is related to the probability q of occurrence of the imitation updating or the death-birth updating and the game parameter b. The death-birth updating rule favors the co-operation while the imitation updating rule favors the defection on the lattice, although both rules suppress the co-operation in the well-mixed population. Therefore a totally co-operative state may emerge when the death-birth updating is involved in the evolution when b is relatively small. We also obtain a phase diagram on the q-b plane. There are three phases on the plane with two pure phases of a totally co-operative state and a totally defective state and a mixing phase of mixed strategies. Based on the pair approximation, we theoretically analyze the phase behavior and obtain a quantitative agreement with the simulation results. (paper)

Development of an International Electric Cooperative Initiative on Energy Efficiency

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paul Clark; David South

2004-05-01

NRECA conceived of the International Electric Cooperative Initiative on Energy Efficiency (IECIEE) in order to provide an ongoing means of contributing voluntary actions on greenhouse gas emissions mitigation as an integral component of its international programs and projects. This required designing the IECIEE to be integrated directly with the core interests and attributes of participating cooperatives in the U.S. and Latin America, which was the initial focus area selected for the IECIEE. In the case of NRECA International, the core interests related to promoting and strengthening the electric cooperative model, which has proved highly successful in maximizing operational efficiencies in electric power generation, distribution and retailing, as compared to government-owned entities. The approach involved three basic components: (i) establishing the IECIEE mechanism, which involved setting up a functioning organizational vehicle providing for investment, management, and emissions credit accounting; (ii) developing a portfolio of projects in countries where NRECA International could effectively implement the broader mandate of cooperative development as energy efficient suppliers and distributors of electrical energy; and (iii) conducting outreach to obtain the commitment of participants and resources from U.S. and Latin American cooperatives and partnering agencies in the development financing community.

Efforts to perform safe and efficient decommissioning for Tsuruga Power Station Unit 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saito, Shiro; Yamauchi, Toyoaki; Austin, Colin R.

2017-01-01

Tsuruga Power Station Unit-1 (Tsuruga-1) started commercial operation in March 1970, and the decision to terminate operation was made in 2015. In April 2016, JAPC signed an agreement with Energy Solutions (ES) on strategic cooperation for domestic D and D projects for introduction of successful international experiences. As a first step in this cooperation, D and D know-how developed by ES in the US is being applied to Tsuruga-1 with verifying its applicability to domestic D and D projects. One of the efforts is human resource development. JAPC has also started introduction of ES's project management method to the Tsuruga-1 project for solid project management and the base line is currently being prepared. Regarding the waste disposal paths, application document of approval for measurement and evaluation of clearance material was submitted in September 2016. However the disposal paths for waste are not established in Japan. It is necessary to cooperate with the government, utilities and local stakeholders to establish waste disposal paths. Because it is also important to obtain the understanding from local communities, JAPC and ES will try positively to utilize local companies for D and D works. JAPC and ES believe that their relationship will ensure success of the Tsuruga-1 NPP decommissioning project. (author)

Effect of initial fraction of cooperators on cooperative behavior in evolutionary prisoner's dilemma game.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Keizo Shigaki

Full Text Available We investigate the influence of initial fraction of cooperators on the evolution of cooperation in spatial prisoner's dilemma games. Compared with the results of heterogeneous networks, we find that there is a relatively low initial fraction of cooperators to guarantee higher equilibrium cooperative level. While this interesting phenomenon is contrary to the commonly shared knowledge that higher initial fraction of cooperators can provide better environment for the evolution of cooperation. To support our outcome, we explore the time courses of cooperation and find that the whole course can be divided into two sequent stages: enduring (END and expanding (EXP periods. At the end of END period, thought there is a limited number of cooperator clusters left for the case of low initial setup, these clusters can smoothly expand to hold the whole system in the EXP period. However, for high initial fraction of cooperators, superfluous cooperator clusters hinder their effective expansion, which induces many remaining defectors surrounding the cooperator clusters. Moreover, through intensive analysis, we also demonstrate that when the tendency of three cooperation cluster characteristics (cluster size, cluster number and cluster shape are consistent within END and EXP periods, the state that maximizes cooperation can be favored.

NREL Quickens its Tech Transfer Efforts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lammers, H.

2012-02-01

Innovations and 'aha' movements in renewable energy and energy efficiency, while exciting in the lab, only truly live up to their promise once they find a place in homes or business. Late last year President Obama issued a directive to all federal agencies to increase their efforts to transfer technologies to the private sector in order to achieve greater societal and economic impacts of federal research investments. The president's call to action includes efforts to establish technology transfer goals and to measure progress, to engage in efforts to increase the speed of technology transfer and to enhance local and regional innovation partnerships. But, even before the White House began its initiative to restructure the commercialization process, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory had a major effort underway designed to increase the speed and impact of technology transfer activities and had already made sure its innovations had a streamlined path to the private sector. For the last three years, NREL has been actively setting commercialization goals and tracking progress against those goals. For example, NREL sought to triple the number of innovations over a five-year period that began in 2009. Through best practices associated with inventor engagement, education and collaboration, NREL quadrupled the number of innovations in just three years. Similar progress has been made in patenting, licensing transactions, income generation and rewards to inventors. 'NREL is known nationally for our cutting-edge research and companies know to call us when they are ready to collaborate,' William Farris, vice president for commercialization and technology transfer, said. 'Once a team is ready to dive in, they don't want be mired in paperwork. We've worked to make our process for licensing NREL technology faster; it now takes less than 60 days for us to come to an agreement and start work with a company interested in our research

IAEA and EC to Strengthen Cooperation in Nuclear Safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-01-01

organisations to coordinate and avoid duplication of effort, benefit from each other's work, and further contribute to strengthening nuclear safety worldwide, while enhancing IAEA-EU cooperation in general. (IAEA)

Sexual selection of human cooperative behaviour: an experimental study in rural Senegal.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arnaud Tognetti

Full Text Available Human cooperation in large groups and between non-kin individuals remains a Darwinian puzzle. Investigations into whether and how sexual selection is involved in the evolution of cooperation represent a new and important research direction. Here, 69 groups of four men or four women recruited from a rural population in Senegal played a sequential public-good game in the presence of out-group observers, either of the same sex or of the opposite sex. At the end of the game, participants could donate part of their gain to the village school in the presence of the same observers. Both contributions to the public good and donations to the school, which reflect different components of cooperativeness, were influenced by the sex of the observers. The results suggest that in this non-Western population, sexual selection acts mainly on men's cooperative behaviour with non-kin, whereas women's cooperativeness is mainly influenced by nonsexual social selection.

Multi-Source Cooperative Data Collection with a Mobile Sink for the Wireless Sensor Network.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Changcai; Yang, Jinsheng

2017-10-30

The multi-source cooperation integrating distributed low-density parity-check codes is investigated to jointly collect data from multiple sensor nodes to the mobile sink in the wireless sensor network. The one-round and two-round cooperative data collection schemes are proposed according to the moving trajectories of the sink node. Specifically, two sparse cooperation models are firstly formed based on geographical locations of sensor source nodes, the impairment of inter-node wireless channels and moving trajectories of the mobile sink. Then, distributed low-density parity-check codes are devised to match the directed graphs and cooperation matrices related with the cooperation models. In the proposed schemes, each source node has quite low complexity attributed to the sparse cooperation and the distributed processing. Simulation results reveal that the proposed cooperative data collection schemes obtain significant bit error rate performance and the two-round cooperation exhibits better performance compared with the one-round scheme. The performance can be further improved when more source nodes participate in the sparse cooperation. For the two-round data collection schemes, the performance is evaluated for the wireless sensor networks with different moving trajectories and the variant data sizes.

Cooperative Agreements to Support Communities Affected by the BP Oil Spill

Science.gov (United States)

The environmental justice cooperative agreements are designed to support communities in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas that are directly affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The international cooperation using the example of the reactor accident in Chernobyl; Die internationale Zusammenarbeit am Beispiel des Tschernobylunfalls

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Molitor, Norbert [PLEJADES GmbH - Independent Experts, Griesheim (Germany)

2017-10-01

The explosion of the reactor unit 4 of the NPP Chernobyl and the subsequent fire was up to now the most severe accident in the civil nuclear industry. The consequences of the accident far outside the Ukraine and the former Soviet Union demonstrated that nuclear safety is a trans-border challenge. The mitigation of the accident consequences and the recovery of safety for the public, the workers and the environment required outstanding efforts and the international cooperation was of significant importance. The contribution discusses experiences and practical aspects of the international cooperation and implications for future cooperation options for the long-term removal of accident consequences.

Managing European Cross Border Cooperation Projects on Sustainability: A Focus on MESP Project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Corrado Schenone

2017-01-01

Full Text Available International cooperation is a must to achieve the goal of sustainable development, since only through cross border actions’ complex issues like environmental degradation can be faced. Supranational initiatives and shared objectives are the only path for getting a durable and effective green strategy, which transcends boundaries or governments and fosters a common effort for sustainability through networking. The European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI aims at reinforcing cooperation between the European Union (EU and partner countries’ regions placed along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. To this extent, MESP (Managing the Environmental Sustainability of Ports for a durable development can be considered as a typical cross border cooperation project, willing to create a sustainable environmental management of port in northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean basin. This has been achieved through the development of specific guidelines towards environmental sustainability and the collection of common tools, methodologies, good practices and innovations focused on pollution reduction that can be replicated in Mediterranean ports and further. This was possible through the creation of a strong cooperation network and long-lasting collaborations among partners and stakeholders such as harbour cities, port authorities, universities, research centres and scientific skills.

Pricing, Carbon Emission Reduction, Low-Carbon Promotion and Returning Decision in a Closed-Loop Supply Chain under Vertical and Horizontal Cooperation.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Hui; Wang, Chuanxu; Shang, Meng; Ou, Wei

2017-11-01

In this paper, we examine the influences of vertical and horizontal cooperation models on the optimal decisions and performance of a low-carbon closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) with a manufacturer and two retailers, and study optimal operation in the competitive pricing, competitive the low-carbon promotion, the carbon emission reduction, the used-products collection and the profits. We consider the completely decentralized model, M-R vertical cooperation model, R-R horizontal cooperation model, M-R-R vertical and horizontal cooperation model and completely centralized model, and also identify the optimal decision results and profits. It can be observed from a systematic comparison and numerical analysis that the completely centralized model is best in all optimal decision results among all models. In semi-cooperation, the M-R vertical cooperation model is positive, the R-R horizontal cooperation model is passive, and the positivity of the M-R-R vertical and horizontal cooperation model decreases with competitive intensity increasing in the used-products returning, carbon emissions reduction level, low-carbon promotion effort and the profits of the manufacturer and the entire supply chain.

International co-operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klinda, J.; Lieskovska, Z.

1998-01-01

Within the Union Nations (UN) framework, the Slovak Republic participated in following activities on environment protection co-operation: UN European Economic Commission, UN Industrial Development Organization, UN Development Programme, UN Human Habitat Organization, UN Environment Programme, and UN Commission on Sustainable Development. Relevant activities of the Slovak Republic in these co-operations as well as in European Union and OECD activities are reviewed. International conventions and other forms of multilateral co-operation, bilateral co-operation, and international programmes and projects in which the Slovak Republic took participate are presented

A Cross-Layer Cooperation Mechanism of Wireless Networks Based on Game Theory

OpenAIRE

Chunsheng, Cui; Yongjian, Yang; Liping, Huang

2014-01-01

To meet the wireless network congestion control problem, we give a definition of congestion degree classification and propose a mechanism of directed cooperative path net, guided by the wireless network’s cross-layer design methods and node cooperation principles. Considering the virtual collision and “starved” phenomenon in congested networks, the QRD mechanism and channel competition mechanism QPCG are proposed, with introducing the game theory into the cross-layer design. Simulation result...

Integration is not enough: gender inequality and empowerment in Nicaraguan agricultural co-operatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Mayoux, L

1993-03-01

Cooperatives have been seen as a means of increasing the productivity of the poor, increasing their income, and providing them with more political power. The aim of this article is to discuss the experiences of women in agricultural cooperatives in Matagalpa and Esteli Regions in Nicaragua under the Sandinistas at the end of 1988. Since the Revolution in 1979, women had been encouraged to participate in agricultural cooperatives, although gender issues were ignored in the wider cooperative policy. Discussion is directed to gender conflicts of interest, the effects of policy change on women's participation, the limits of integration, 4 case studies of integration, some problems, inadequate policy and the implications for feminist participatory strategy. The Nicaraguan experience suggests that the nature of empowerment of women is an important consideration; the extent of empowerment or whether all eligible women can be reached is debatable. Women and men have different needs and priorities in cooperatives because of the division of labor and power structures, both within the family and within society. Cooperative structures need to change in a way that deals with inequalities within and between families and with reproductive issues. Cooperatives were formed in the context of competing interests. There is dispute over whether current structures empower rural producers or are an imposition by the state in order to control production. The history of policy changes affecting the formation and extent of formation of different types of cooperatives are described. The Cooperative Law of 1981 formed the basis for women's right to equal involvement in cooperative organization and management. The Agrarian Reform Act of 1981 gave women equal access to land; land was not redistributed until 1983. The Labor Law of 1979 meant wages were paid directly to workers. Practices, however, changed little. The case studies show the extent of discrimination against women members. Women

Research 0n Incentive Mechanism of General Contractor and Subcontractors Dynamic Alliance in Construction Project Based on Team Cooperation

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Honglian; Sun, Aihua; Liu, Quanru; Chen, Zhiyi

2018-03-01

It is the key of motivating sub-contractors working hard and mutual cooperation, ensuring implementation overall goal of the project that to design rational incentive mechanism for general contractor. Based on the principal-agency theory, the subcontractor efforts is divided into two parts, one for individual efforts, another helping other subcontractors, team Cooperation incentive models of multiple subcontractors are set up, incentive schemes and intensities are also given. The results show that the general contractor may provide individual and team motivation incentives when subcontractors working independently, not affecting each other in time and space; otherwise, the general contractor may only provide individual incentive to entice teams collaboration between subcontractors and helping each other. The conclusions can provide a reference for the subcontract design of general and sub-contractor dynamic alliances.

Directed polymers versus directed percolation

Science.gov (United States)

Halpin-Healy, Timothy

1998-10-01

Universality plays a central role within the rubric of modern statistical mechanics, wherein an insightful continuum formulation rises above irrelevant microscopic details, capturing essential scaling behaviors. Nevertheless, occasions do arise where the lattice or another discrete aspect can constitute a formidable legacy. Directed polymers in random media, along with its close sibling, directed percolation, provide an intriguing case in point. Indeed, the deep blood relation between these two models may have sabotaged past efforts to fully characterize the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang universality class, to which the directed polymer belongs.

Historical Review of Uncommanded Lateral-Directional Motions at Transonic Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Chambers, Joseph R.; Hall, Robert M.

2003-01-01

This paper presents the results of a survey of past experiences with uncommanded lateral-directional motions at transonic speeds during specific military aircraft programs. The effort was undertaken to provide qualitative and quantitative information on past airplane programs that might be of use to the participants in the joint NASA/Navy/Air Force Abrupt Wing Stall (AWS) Program. The AWS Program was initiated because of the experiences of the F/A-l8E/F development program, during which unexpected, severe wing-drop motions were encountered by preproduction aircraft at transonic conditions. These motions were judged to be significantly degrading to the primary mission requirements of the aircraft. Although the problem was subsequently solved for the production version of the F/A-l8E/F, a high-level review panel emphasized the poor understanding of such phenomena and issued a strong recommendation to: "Initiate a national research effort to thoroughly and systematically study the wing drop phenomena." A comprehensive, cooperative NASA/Navy/Air Force AWS Program was designed to respond to provide the required technology requirements. As part of the AWS Program, a work element was directed at a historical review of wing-drop experiences in past aircraft development programs at high subsonic and transonic speeds. In particular, information was requested regarding: specific aircraft configurations that exhibited uncommanded motions and the nature of the motions; geometric characteristics of the air- planes; flight conditions involved in occurrences; relevant data, including wind-tunnel, computational, and flight sources; figures of merit used for analyses; and approaches used to alleviate the problem. An attempt was also made to summarize some of the more important lessons learned from past experiences, and to recommend specific research efforts. In addition to providing technical information to assist the AWS research objectives, the study produced fundamental

"Facebook"--It's Not Just for Pictures Anymore: The Impact of Social Media on Cooperative Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Daniels, Kisha N.; Billingsley, K. Y.

2014-01-01

This paper will share the research on the use of social media (specifically Facebook) in an effort to promote critical thinking and reflection. It purports that although often overlooked as a teaching, learning and assessment strategy, social media is a viable method that supports cooperative learning through the encouragement of thoughtful…

Competition or cooperation in transboundary fish stocks management: Insight from a dynamical model.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Trong Hieu; Brochier, Timothée; Auger, Pierre; Trinh, Viet Duoc; Brehmer, Patrice

2018-06-14

An idealized system of a shared fish stock associated with different exclusive economic zones (EEZ) is modelled. Parameters were estimated for the case of the small pelagic fisheries shared between Southern Morocco, Mauritania and the Senegambia. Two models of fishing effort distribution were explored. The first one considers independent national fisheries in each EEZ, with a cost per unit of fishing effort that depends on local fishery policy. The second one considers the case of a fully cooperative fishery performed by an international fleet freely moving across the borders. Both models are based on a set of six ordinary differential equations describing the time evolution of the fish biomass and the fishing effort. We take advantage of the two time scales to obtain a reduced model governing the total fish biomass of the system and fishing efforts in each zone. At the fast equilibrium, the fish distribution follows the ideal free distribution according to the carrying capacity in each area. Different equilibria can be reached according to management choices. When fishing fleets are independent and national fishery policies are not harmonized, in the general case, competition leads after a few decades to a scenario where only one fishery remains sustainable. In the case of sub-regional agreement acting on the adjustment of cost per unit of fishing effort in each EEZ, we found that a large number of equilibria exists. In this last case the initial distribution of fishing effort strongly impact the optimal equilibrium that can be reached. Lastly, the country with the highest carrying capacity density may get less landings when collaborating with other countries than if it minimises its fishing costs. The second fully cooperative model shows that a single international fishing fleet moving freely in the fishing areas leads to a sustainable equilibrium. Such findings should foster regional fisheries organizations to get potential new ways for neighbouring fish stock

Cooperatives between truth and validity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guilherme Krueger

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The current declaration of the International Cooperative Alliance on cooperative identity since its 1995 Centennial Conference (which was held in Manchester makes no distinction between cooperation and cooperative. The lack of distinction between cooperation and cooperative has caused the Decennial Cooperative Action Plan to define cooperatives as a form, while their materiality is regarded as managerial: a business (activity under a cooperative form. An identity that is close to us cannot be reduced to form, without this being a problem. Therefore, the value underlying this identity —cooperation— must have a substantial basis, even if it is idealised, if it is to affect us.Received: 27.03.2014Accepted: 12.05.2014

Incentives for cooperation in quality improvement among hospitals--the impact of the reimbursement system.

Science.gov (United States)

Kesteloot, K; Voet, N

1998-12-01

Up to now, few analytical models have studied the incentives for cooperation in quality improvements among hospitals. Only those dealing with reimbursement systems have shown that, from the point of view of individual or competing hospitals, retrospective reimbursement is more likely to encourage quality improvements than prospective financing, while the reverse holds for efficiency improvements. This paper studies the incentives to improve the quality of hospital care, in an analytical model, taking into account the possibility of cooperative agreements, price besides non-price (quality) competition and quality improvements that may simultaneously increase demand, increase or reduce costs and spill over to rival hospitals. In this setting quality improvement efforts rise with the rate of prospective reimbursement, while the impact of the rate of retrospective reimbursement is ambiguous, but likely to be negative for quality improvements that are highly cost-reducting and create large spillovers. Cooperation may lead to more or less quality improvement than non-cooperative conduct, depending on the magnitude of spillovers and the degree of product market competition, relative to the net effect of quality on profits and the share of costs that is reimbursed retrospectively. Finally, the stability of cooperative agreements, supported by grim trigger strategies, is shown to depend upon exactly the opposite interaction between these factors.

Cooperative spin decoherence and population transfer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Genes, C.; Berman, P. R.

2006-01-01

An ensemble of multilevel atoms is a good candidate for a quantum information storage device. The information is encrypted in the collective ground state atomic coherence, which, in the absence of external excitation, is decoupled from the vacuum and therefore decoherence free. However, in the process of manipulation of atoms with light pulses (writing, reading), one inadvertently introduces a coupling to the environment, i.e., a source of decoherence. The dissipation process is often treated as an independent process for each atom in the ensemble, an approach which fails at large atomic optical depths where cooperative effects must be taken into account. In this paper, the cooperative behavior of spin decoherence and population transfer for a system of two, driven multilevel atoms is studied. Not surprisingly, an enhancement in the decoherence rate is found, when the atoms are separated by a distance that is small compared to an optical wavelength; however, it is found that this rate increases even further for somewhat larger separations for atoms aligned along the direction of the driving field's propagation vector. A treatment of the cooperative modification of optical pumping rates and an effect of polarization swapping between atoms is also discussed, lending additional insight into the origin of the collective decay

Social identity and cooperation in cultural evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Smaldino, Paul E

2017-12-06

I discuss the function of social identity signaling in facilitating cooperative group formation, and how the nature of that function changes with the structure of social organization. I propose that signals of social identity facilitate assortment for successful coordination in large-scale societies, and that the multidimensional, context-dependent nature of social identity is crucial for successful coordination when individuals have to cooperate in different contexts. Furthermore, the structure of social identity is tied to the structure of society, so that as societies grow larger and more interconnected, the landscape of social identities grows more heterogeneous. This discussion bears directly on the need to articulate the dynamics of emergent, ephemeral groups as a major factor in human cultural evolution. Copyright © 2017 The Author. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cooperative Spatial Retreat for Resilient Drone Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Jin-Hyeok; Kwon, Young-Min; Park, Kyung-Joon

2017-05-03

Drones are broadening their scope to various applications such as networking, package delivery, agriculture, rescue, and many more. For proper operation of drones, reliable communication should be guaranteed because drones are remotely controlled. When drones experience communication failure due to bad channel condition, interference, or jamming in a certain area, one existing solution is to exploit mobility or so-called spatial retreat to evacuate them from the communication failure area. However, the conventional spatial retreat scheme moves drones in random directions, which results in inefficient movement with significant evacuation time and waste of battery lifetime. In this paper, we propose a novel spatial retreat technique that takes advantage of cooperation between drones for resilient networking, which is called cooperative spatial retreat (CSR). Our performance evaluation shows that the proposed CSR significantly outperforms existing schemes.

Conflictual cooperation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Axel, Erik

2011-01-01

, cooperation appeared as the continuous reworking of contradictions in the local arrangement of societal con- ditions. Subjects were distributed and distributed themselves according to social privileges, resources, and dilemmas in cooperation. Here, the subjects’ activities and understandings took form from...

The Right to a Fair Trial and International Cooperation in Criminal Matters: Article 6 ECHR and the Recovery of Assets in Grand Corruption Cases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radha Dawn Ivory

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Are fair trial rights general principles of transnational criminal law (TCL? If so, how do they protect individuals who are affected by transnational proceedings? Posing these questions in the context of international cooperation efforts aimed at ‘asset recovery’, this contribution asks whether State Parties to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR are likely to violate the right to a fair trial in Article 6 ECHR when they directly enforce confiscation orders that are issued abroad with respect to the proceeds, objects or instrumentalities of high-value, high-level political corruption offences or substitute assets. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR considers that ECHR State Parties might exceptionally violate Article 6 ECHR in cooperative cases if the alleged victim ‘has suffered or risks suffering a flagrant denial of a fair trial in the requesting country’. Surveying its case law, I argue that the ‘flagrant denial of justice’ standard greatly attenuates the right to a fair trial in cases of international cooperation in criminal matters. In practice, the Court appears unwilling to find violations of Article 6 ECHR in such cases when the foreign proceedings do not involve allegations of treatment contrary to Articles 2 or 3 ECHR. This, it is submitted, reflects the difficulty of assessing ‘fairness’ in globalised law enforcement situations, a factor that also complicates efforts to deduce a general principle of a right to a fair trial from ‘justice’ as an objective of TCL. If those principles are formulated inductively and comparatively, the ECtHR’s case law nevertheless goes some way towards showing that a weak transnational fair trial right may be a general principle of TCL within the ‘legal space’ of the ECHR.

The Ways of Using Foreign Experience of Intermunicipal Investment Cooperation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siryk Zenoviy O.

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The content and nature of intermunicipal investment cooperation (IMIC are disclosed in the article. The aim of the article is to study the foreign experience of intermunicipal investment cooperation with a view to further introduction of local self-government into domestic practice. By analyzing and summarizing the scientific works of many scientists, in which the general experience and mechanism of intermunicipal cooperation is considered, the main features of the reasons for the existence and promotion of intermunicipal investment cooperation are revealed. Some foreign practices of the existence of intermunicipal investment cooperation are analyzed. There made a critical analysis regarding the forms of implementation of such cooperation. Features of the mechanism of functioning of various models of such cooperation are revealed. It is substantiated that the intermunicipal investment IMIC is not a fairly common practice and direction of cooperation between territorial communities and their government bodies. The legislation of most of the analyzed countries does not establish clear rules that would administer or regulate IMIC to an extent required by the practice of territorial management and development of territories. It is determined that a large number of forms, models and methods of implementing IMIC, despite even a certain rarity of their application, attests to the most important characteristic feature of it. It is stated that the following forms of IMIC should be considered as the most effective with regard to domestic practice of organization of local self-government and financial flows: establishment of a separate intermunicipal institution (body authorized to manage or regulate the implementation of investment processes and administration of investment processes by concluding an administrative agreement.

Cooperative Convex Optimization in Networked Systems: Augmented Lagrangian Algorithms With Directed Gossip Communication

Science.gov (United States)

Jakovetic, Dusan; Xavier, João; Moura, José M. F.

2011-08-01

We study distributed optimization in networked systems, where nodes cooperate to find the optimal quantity of common interest, x=x^\\star. The objective function of the corresponding optimization problem is the sum of private (known only by a node,) convex, nodes' objectives and each node imposes a private convex constraint on the allowed values of x. We solve this problem for generic connected network topologies with asymmetric random link failures with a novel distributed, decentralized algorithm. We refer to this algorithm as AL-G (augmented Lagrangian gossiping,) and to its variants as AL-MG (augmented Lagrangian multi neighbor gossiping) and AL-BG (augmented Lagrangian broadcast gossiping.) The AL-G algorithm is based on the augmented Lagrangian dual function. Dual variables are updated by the standard method of multipliers, at a slow time scale. To update the primal variables, we propose a novel, Gauss-Seidel type, randomized algorithm, at a fast time scale. AL-G uses unidirectional gossip communication, only between immediate neighbors in the network and is resilient to random link failures. For networks with reliable communication (i.e., no failures,) the simplified, AL-BG (augmented Lagrangian broadcast gossiping) algorithm reduces communication, computation and data storage cost. We prove convergence for all proposed algorithms and demonstrate by simulations the effectiveness on two applications: l_1-regularized logistic regression for classification and cooperative spectrum sensing for cognitive radio networks.

Technical Cooperation Report for 2014. Report by the Director General [Chinese Version

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-06-01

The Technical Cooperation Report for 2014 is set out in three parts: A — Strengthening the Agency’s Technical Cooperation Activities; B — TC Programme Resources and Delivery; and C — Programme Activities and Achievements in 2014: Regional Overview. Annex 1 describes examples of project activities and achievements in specific thematic areas, and Annex 2 describes the activities of the Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy. Annex 3 presents the TC programme Fields of Activity, grouped for reporting purposes. Part A is composed of two sections. Part A.1 provides an overview of the Agency’s technical cooperation (TC) activities in 2014. The first section is devoted to the global development context, and highlights the importance of the post-2015 development agenda, and the value of the Sustainable Development Goals’ programmatic framework for the Agency’s technical cooperation activities. The section then describes how the programme is tailored to respond to the specific needs and priorities of each region, focusing on efforts to develop human resources and build capacities in the peaceful application of nuclear science and technology, including through postgraduate training courses, assistance in drafting legislation, distance learning initiatives and technical cooperation among developing countries. The section also presents a snapshot of TC projects that address radioactive waste management, reflecting the topic of the 2014 Scientific Forum. Part A.2 focuses on efforts to build a more efficient and effective TC programme, in particular on efforts to strengthen the Country Programme Framework template. The section reviews progress made in 2014 in establishing and operationalizing partnerships with the United Nations and other relevant international and regional organizations. This section closes with an overview of actions undertaken in 2014 to continually improve the TC programme, notably through training in the Logical Framework Approach, and

Technical Cooperation Report for 2014. Report by the Director General [Arabic Version

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-06-01

The Technical Cooperation Report for 2014 is set out in three parts: A — Strengthening the Agency’s Technical Cooperation Activities; B — TC Programme Resources and Delivery; and C — Programme Activities and Achievements in 2014: Regional Overview. Annex 1 describes examples of project activities and achievements in specific thematic areas, and Annex 2 describes the activities of the Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy. Annex 3 presents the TC programme Fields of Activity, grouped for reporting purposes. Part A is composed of two sections. Part A.1 provides an overview of the Agency’s technical cooperation (TC) activities in 2014. The first section is devoted to the global development context, and highlights the importance of the post-2015 development agenda, and the value of the Sustainable Development Goals’ programmatic framework for the Agency’s technical cooperation activities. The section then describes how the programme is tailored to respond to the specific needs and priorities of each region, focusing on efforts to develop human resources and build capacities in the peaceful application of nuclear science and technology, including through postgraduate training courses, assistance in drafting legislation, distance learning initiatives and technical cooperation among developing countries. The section also presents a snapshot of TC projects that address radioactive waste management, reflecting the topic of the 2014 Scientific Forum. Part A.2 focuses on efforts to build a more efficient and effective TC programme, in particular on efforts to strengthen the Country Programme Framework template. The section reviews progress made in 2014 in establishing and operationalizing partnerships with the United Nations and other relevant international and regional organizations. This section closes with an overview of actions undertaken in 2014 to continually improve the TC programme, notably through training in the Logical Framework Approach, and

Joseph A. Burton Forum Award Lecture: Managing Nuclear and Biological Risks: Building Resilience through International Cooperation

Science.gov (United States)

Pregenzer, Arian

2012-03-01

International technical cooperation has long been an important nonproliferation strategy, especially since the 1990s when cooperative threat reduction (CTR) to prevent theft or illicit transfer of nuclear weapons, material and expertise in the former Soviet Union became a keystone of U.S. policy. The CTR approach expanded to include engagement with scientists and engineers with expertise relevant to biological and chemical weapons, and continued in the 2000s with efforts in Iraq and Libya, and cooperation with a wide range of countries on export control and nuclear and biological security. In general, the goal of such efforts has been to prevent proliferation or WMD terrorism. In most cases, the United States (or the West) defines the threat, and then funds partner countries to implement solutions. This presentation will argue that the future requires a new approach. Nuclear capabilities are more widely available than ever before, repercussions of the A.Q. Khan network continue to unfurl, and countries such as the DPRK engage in illicit cooperation. In addition, there has been a global boom in biotechnology with many nations, particularly across South and East Asia, investing in the biotech industry as a source of fuels, food, and materials for their rapidly expanding populations. Compared to the 1990s, today's threat is more diffuse, and the line between legitimate and illegitimate technical capability is no longer so clear. In addition, the West has many fewer resources to invest due to the global economic downturn. In this environment, full commitment of all countries that benefit from nuclear and biological advances will be required to assure the safety and security of all. Technical cooperation can continue to play an important role, but with some significant changes: First, challenges should be defined from a local perspective to ensure full commitment and participation. Second, the goal of cooperation should shift from preventing specific threats to building

Cooperation schemes for rate enhancement in detect-and-forward relay channels

KAUST Repository

Benjillali, Mustapha; Szczeciński, Leszek L.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2010-01-01

an adaptive cooperation scheme based on the maximization of the information rate at the destination which needs to observe only the average signal-to-noise ratios of direct and relaying links. ©2010 IEEE.

Opportunistic Energy-Aware Amplify-and-Forward Cooperative Systems with Imperfect CSI

KAUST Repository

Amin, Osama; Bedeer, Ebrahim; Ahmed, Mohamed Hossam; Dobre, Octavia; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2015-01-01

an energyefficient relay assisted communication system based on estimated channel state information (CSI). It employs amplify-andforward relaying and switches between different communication schemes, which are known as direct-transmission, two-hop and cooperative

Space orbits of collaboration. [international cooperation and the U.S.S.R. space program

Science.gov (United States)

Petrov, B.

1978-01-01

The U.S.S.R. cooperative space efforts with other Socialist countries dating back to 1957 are reviewed. The Interkosmos program, which is divided into three series of satellites (solar, ionospheric and magnetospheric), is discussed as well as the Prognoz, Kosmos, Soyuz, and Molniya spacecraft. Collaboration with France, India, Sweden, and the United States is mentioned.

Assessing ESA on What It Is Designed For: A Reply to Cooper and Glaesser

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, Carsten Q.; Wagemann, Claudius

2016-01-01

We appreciate Barry Cooper and Judith Glaesser's (henceforth CG) energy and effort put into reflecting on parts of our proposals laid out in "Set-theoretic Methods for the Social Sciences" (2012). We use our response to explain what enhanced standard analysis (ESA) is meant to achieve and what not, an issue about which CG hold erroneous…

Overview of NASA/OAST efforts related to manufacturing technology

Science.gov (United States)

Saunders, N. T.

1976-01-01

An overview of some of NASA's current efforts related to manufacturing technology and some possible directions for the future are presented. The topics discussed are: computer-aided design, composite structures, and turbine engine components.

Networks of recyclable material waste-picker’s cooperatives: An alternative for the solid waste management in the city of Rio de Janeiro

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tirado-Soto, Magda Martina; Zamberlan, Fabio Luiz

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► In the marketing of recyclable materials, the waste-pickers are the least wins. ► It is proposed creating a network of recycling cooperatives to achieve viability. ► The waste-pickers contribute to waste management to the city. - Abstract: The objective of this study is to discuss the role of networks formed of waste-picker cooperatives in ameliorating problems of final disposal of solid waste in the city of Rio de Janeiro, since the city’s main landfill will soon have to close because of exhausted capacity. However, it is estimated that in the city of Rio de Janeiro there are around five thousand waste-pickers working in poor conditions, with lack of physical infrastructure and training, but contributing significantly by diverting solid waste from landfills. According to the Sustainable Development Indicators (IBGE, 2010a,b) in Brazil, recycling rates hover between 45% and 55%. In the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, only 1% of the waste produced is collected selectively by the government (COMLURB, 2010), demonstrating that recycling is mainly performed by waste-pickers. Furthermore, since the recycling market is an oligopsony that requires economies of scale to negotiate directly with industries, the idea of working in networks of cooperatives meets the demands for joint marketing of recyclable materials. Thus, this work presents a method for creating and structuring a network of recycling cooperatives, with prior training for working in networks, so that the expected synergies and joint efforts can lead to concrete results. We intend to demonstrate that it is first essential to strengthen the waste-pickers’ cooperatives in terms of infrastructure, governance and training so that solid waste management can be environmentally, socially and economically sustainable in the city of Rio de Janeiro

Networks of recyclable material waste-picker’s cooperatives: An alternative for the solid waste management in the city of Rio de Janeiro

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tirado-Soto, Magda Martina, E-mail: magda@pep.ufrj.br [Program of Production Engineering, School and Research in Engineering, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Zamberlan, Fabio Luiz, E-mail: fabio@pep.ufrj.br [Program of Production Engineering, School and Research in Engineering, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

2013-04-15

Highlights: ► In the marketing of recyclable materials, the waste-pickers are the least wins. ► It is proposed creating a network of recycling cooperatives to achieve viability. ► The waste-pickers contribute to waste management to the city. - Abstract: The objective of this study is to discuss the role of networks formed of waste-picker cooperatives in ameliorating problems of final disposal of solid waste in the city of Rio de Janeiro, since the city’s main landfill will soon have to close because of exhausted capacity. However, it is estimated that in the city of Rio de Janeiro there are around five thousand waste-pickers working in poor conditions, with lack of physical infrastructure and training, but contributing significantly by diverting solid waste from landfills. According to the Sustainable Development Indicators (IBGE, 2010a,b) in Brazil, recycling rates hover between 45% and 55%. In the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, only 1% of the waste produced is collected selectively by the government (COMLURB, 2010), demonstrating that recycling is mainly performed by waste-pickers. Furthermore, since the recycling market is an oligopsony that requires economies of scale to negotiate directly with industries, the idea of working in networks of cooperatives meets the demands for joint marketing of recyclable materials. Thus, this work presents a method for creating and structuring a network of recycling cooperatives, with prior training for working in networks, so that the expected synergies and joint efforts can lead to concrete results. We intend to demonstrate that it is first essential to strengthen the waste-pickers’ cooperatives in terms of infrastructure, governance and training so that solid waste management can be environmentally, socially and economically sustainable in the city of Rio de Janeiro.

When cooperation begets cooperation: the role of key individuals in galvanizing support.

Science.gov (United States)

McAuliffe, Katherine; Wrangham, Richard; Glowacki, Luke; Russell, Andrew F

2015-12-05

Life abounds with examples of conspecifics actively cooperating to a common end, despite conflicts of interest being expected concerning how much each individual should contribute. Mathematical models typically find that such conflict can be resolved by partial-response strategies, leading investors to contribute relatively equitably. Using a case study approach, we show that such model expectations can be contradicted in at least four disparate contexts: (i) bi-parental care; (ii) cooperative breeding; (iii) cooperative hunting; and (iv) human cooperation. We highlight that: (a) marked variation in contributions is commonplace; and (b) individuals can often respond positively rather than negatively to the contributions of others. Existing models have surprisingly limited power in explaining these phenomena. Here, we propose that, although among-individual variation in cooperative contributions will be influenced by differential costs and benefits, there is likely to be a strong genetic or epigenetic component. We then suggest that selection can maintain high investors (key individuals) when their contributions promote support by increasing the benefits and/or reducing the costs for others. Our intentions are to raise awareness in--and provide testable hypotheses of--two of the most poorly understood, yet integral, questions regarding cooperative ventures: why do individuals vary in their contributions and when does cooperation beget cooperation? © 2015 The Author(s).

Status and strategy for technical cooperation between Korea and nuclear advanced countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Kyoung Pyo; Noh, In Young

1998-12-01

As part of its efforts to promote peaceful used of nuclear energy as well as achieve self-reliance in nuclear technology on a national level, 7 nuclear joint coordination committees and consultation meeting are in operation. These committees include. The R.O.K./U.K. Nuclear Energy Consultation Meeting, the Korea-France Joint Coordination Committee, the Korea-Russia coordination committee and the Korea/Australia nuclear policy consultation. As a means not only to enhance the status of Korea in the international community, but also to effectively and positively cope with rapidly changing international nuclear developments, the current status of nuclear power programs in nuclear advanced countries, including United Kingdom, France and Russia and of technical cooperation with Australia, were covered in this report. This report can be also help in setting up our position and discussion plans for each item to be discussed in bilateral cooperation meetings through an understanding background and results of technical cooperation implemented so far with KAERI and reviewing the agreed items. (author). 9 tabs., 6 figs

Reciprocity, culture and human cooperation: previous insights and a new cross-cultural experiment.

Science.gov (United States)

Gächter, Simon; Herrmann, Benedikt

2009-03-27

Understanding the proximate and ultimate sources of human cooperation is a fundamental issue in all behavioural sciences. In this paper, we review the experimental evidence on how people solve cooperation problems. Existing studies show without doubt that direct and indirect reciprocity are important determinants of successful cooperation. We also discuss the insights from a large literature on the role of peer punishment in sustaining cooperation. The experiments demonstrate that many people are 'strong reciprocators' who are willing to cooperate and punish others even if there are no gains from future cooperation or any other reputational gains. We document this in new one-shot experiments, which we conducted in four cities in Russia and Switzerland. Our cross-cultural approach allows us furthermore to investigate how the cultural background influences strong reciprocity. Our results show that culture has a strong influence on positive and in especially strong negative reciprocity. In particular, we find large cross-cultural differences in 'antisocial punishment' of pro-social cooperators. Further cross-cultural research and experiments involving different socio-demographic groups document that the antisocial punishment is much more widespread than previously assumed. Understanding antisocial punishment is an important task for future research because antisocial punishment is a strong inhibitor of cooperation.

Direct and indirect punishment among strangers in the field.

Science.gov (United States)

Balafoutas, Loukas; Nikiforakis, Nikos; Rockenbach, Bettina

2014-11-11

Many interactions in modern human societies are among strangers. Explaining cooperation in such interactions is challenging. The two most prominent explanations critically depend on individuals' willingness to punish defectors: In models of direct punishment, individuals punish antisocial behavior at a personal cost, whereas in models of indirect reciprocity, they punish indirectly by withholding rewards. We investigate these competing explanations in a field experiment with real-life interactions among strangers. We find clear evidence of both direct and indirect punishment. Direct punishment is not rewarded by strangers and, in line with models of indirect reciprocity, is crowded out by indirect punishment opportunities. The existence of direct and indirect punishment in daily life indicates the importance of both means for understanding the evolution of cooperation.

Cooperative Robot Localization Using Event-Triggered Estimation

Science.gov (United States)

Iglesias Echevarria, David I.

It is known that multiple robot systems that need to cooperate to perform certain activities or tasks incur in high energy costs that hinder their autonomous functioning and limit the benefits provided to humans by these kinds of platforms. This work presents a communications-based method for cooperative robot localization. Implementing concepts from event-triggered estimation, used with success in the field of wireless sensor networks but rarely to do robot localization, agents are able to only send measurements to their neighbors when the expected novelty in this information is high. Since all agents know the condition that triggers a measurement to be sent or not, the lack of a measurement is therefore informative and fused into state estimates. In the case agents do not receive either direct nor indirect measurements of all others, the agents employ a covariance intersection fusion rule in order to keep the local covariance error metric bounded. A comprehensive analysis of the proposed algorithm and its estimation performance in a variety of scenarios is performed, and the algorithm is compared to similar cooperative localization approaches. Extensive simulations are performed that illustrate the effectiveness of this method.

Why do health and social care providers co-operate?

Science.gov (United States)

van Raak, Arno; Paulus, Aggie; Mur-Veeman, Ingrid

2005-09-28

Within Europe, although there are numerous examples of poor co-ordination in the delivery of integrated care, many providers do co-operate. We wanted to know why providers are moved to co-operate. In terms of systematic research, this is a new field; researchers have only begun to theorise about the rationales for co-operation. Practically, the issue of achieving co-operation attracts much attention from policymakers. Understanding the reasons for co-operation is a prerequisite for developing effective policy in support of integrated care. Our aim is to explore the comparative validity of different theoretical perspectives on the reasons for co-operation, to indicate directions for further study and for policy making. We used data from three successive studies to perform pattern matching with six established theoretical perspectives: transaction costs economics, strategic choice theory, resource dependence theory, learning theory, stakeholder theory and institutional theory. Insights from the studies were compared for validating purposes (triangulation). The first study concerned the evaluation of the Dutch 'National Home Health Care Programme' according to the case study methodology. The second and third studies were surveys among project directors: questionnaires were based on the concepts derived from the first study. Researchers should combine normative institutional theory, resource dependence theory and stakeholder theory into one perspective, in order to study relationship formation in health and social care. The concept of institutions (rules) is the linchpin between the theories. Policy makers must map the institutions of stakeholders and enable integrated care policy to correspond with these institutions as much as possible.

Eighty years of cooperative water science

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, Mandy L.

2017-05-09

The Equus Beds aquifer in south-central Kansas is a primary water source for the city of Wichita. The Equus Beds aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) project was developed to help the city of Wichita meet increasing current and future demands. The Equus Beds ASR project is a recent part of an 80-year cooperative water science effort with the city of Wichita. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Kansas Water Science Center characterizes river and aquifer water-quality and quantity and evaluates changes that may or may not be related to ASR. The USGS data are used by the city of Wichita to make informed management decisions, satisfy regulatory requirements, and serve as a baseline to detect any subsequent changes that may be related to ASR.

Effect of playing violent video games cooperatively or competitively on subsequent cooperative behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Ewoldsen, David R; Eno, Cassie A; Okdie, Bradley M; Velez, John A; Guadagno, Rosanna E; DeCoster, Jamie

2012-05-01

Research on video games has yielded consistent findings that violent video games increase aggression and decrease prosocial behavior. However, these studies typically examined single-player games. Of interest is the effect of cooperative play in a violent video game on subsequent cooperative or competitive behavior. Participants played Halo II (a first-person shooter game) cooperatively or competitively and then completed a modified prisoner's dilemma task to assess competitive and cooperative behavior. Compared with the competitive play conditions, players in the cooperative condition engaged in more tit-for-tat behaviors-a pattern of behavior that typically precedes cooperative behavior. The social context of game play influenced subsequent behavior more than the content of the game that was played.

Province/Ministry-Coordinated Industry-University-Institute Cooperation and University Development: Based on the Experiences of Guangdong Province

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Liu

2016-01-01

The industry S&T missioners, industry-university-institute innovation alliances, industry-university-institute regional model bases, and other provincial-level industry-university-institute cooperation mechanisms that Guangdong Province has formed through its practical efforts play an important role in training a large batch of practical…

Proto-cooperation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herbert-Read, James E; Romanczuk, Pawel; Krause, Stefan

2016-01-01

beneficial if the cost of attacking is high, and only then when waiting times are short. Our findings provide evidence that cooperative benefits can be realized through the facilitative effects of individuals' hunting actions without spatial coordination of attacks. Such 'proto-cooperation' may be the pre...

Cooperating to learn teaching to cooperate: adviser processes for program implement CA/AC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Ramón LAGO

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is present some results of advise strategy to introduce cooperative learning from the «Cooperating to Learn/ Learning to Cooperate» CL/LC Programme. The first part situates the research project and the research objective focused on how introduction of CL/LC program through a process of advice facilitates permanent improvements to the inclusion of students. In the second we analyzed the phases and tasks of an adviser process for the introduction of cooperative learning and three stages to build on cooperative learning in school: the introduction, generalization and consolidation. The third part is the central part. We describe five process of adviser to implement cooperative learning which we can observe different degrees and modalities of collaboration between teachers and counselors and between teachers. Is possible the first step of a network centers to work cooperatively.

Securing cooperation from persons supplying statistical data.

Science.gov (United States)

AUBENQUE, M J; BLAIKLEY, R M; HARRIS, F F; LAL, R B; NEURDENBURG, M G; DE SHELLY HERNANDEZ, R

1954-01-01

Securing the co-operation of persons supplying information required for medical statistics is essentially a problem in human relations, and an understanding of the motivations, attitudes, and behaviour of the respondents is necessary.Before any new statistical survey is undertaken, it is suggested by Aubenque and Harris that a preliminary review be made so that the maximum use is made of existing information. Care should also be taken not to burden respondents with an overloaded questionnaire. Aubenque and Harris recommend simplified reporting. Complete population coverage is not necessary.Neurdenburg suggests that the co-operation and support of such organizations as medical associations and social security boards are important and that propaganda should be directed specifically to the groups whose co-operation is sought. Informal personal contacts are valuable and desirable, according to Blaikley, but may have adverse effects if the right kind of approach is not made.Financial payments as an incentive in securing co-operation are opposed by Neurdenburg, who proposes that only postage-free envelopes or similar small favours be granted. Blaikley and Harris, on the other hand, express the view that financial incentives may do much to gain the support of those required to furnish data; there are, however, other incentives, and full use should be made of the natural inclinations of respondents. Compulsion may be necessary in certain instances, but administrative rather than statutory measures should be adopted. Penalties, according to Aubenque, should be inflicted only when justified by imperative health requirements.The results of surveys should be made available as soon as possible to those who co-operated, and Aubenque and Harris point out that they should also be of practical value to the suppliers of the information.Greater co-operation can be secured from medical persons who have an understanding of the statistical principles involved; Aubenque and Neurdenburg

Keynote address: International nuclear cooperation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kennedy, R.T.

1989-01-01

These meetings provide an important opportunity for the nuclear community to assess the scope and direction of its wide-ranging activities. Nuclear technology has given us the tools to understand and shape our physical environment in ways which can solve ancient problems of health, food supply, energy, and many others which affect the quality of our lives. International cooperation is necessary to secure the peaceful benefits of nuclear technology. Meeting global energy needs must be high on any priority list of issues for the coming decade and the 21st century. The satisfaction of energy needs is today and will increasingly be a crucial factor in international stability. Hand in hand with the need to assure energy sufficiency is the need to assure the long-term protection of the environment. Three key elements that give a useful framework for approaching the future of nuclear cooperation are technological factors, economic issues, and political acceptability. Technological avenues to greater safety must be vigorously pursued. Economic alternatives must be identified and objectively weighed. Most important of all, the framework of public confidence must be strengthened

Effect of social influence on effort-allocation for monetary rewards.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilman, Jodi M; Treadway, Michael T; Curran, Max T; Calderon, Vanessa; Evins, A Eden

2015-01-01

Though decades of research have shown that people are highly influenced by peers, few studies have directly assessed how the value of social conformity is weighed against other types of costs and benefits. Using an effort-based decision-making paradigm with a novel social influence manipulation, we measured how social influence affected individuals' decisions to allocate effort for monetary rewards during trials with either high or low probability of receiving a reward. We found that information about the effort-allocation of peers modulated participant choices, specifically during conditions of low probability of obtaining a reward. This suggests that peer influence affects effort-based choices to obtain rewards especially under conditions of risk. This study provides evidence that people value social conformity in addition to other costs and benefits when allocating effort, and suggests that neuroeconomic studies that assess trade-offs between effort and reward should consider social environment as a factor that can influence decision-making.

Effect of social influence on effort-allocation for monetary rewards.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jodi M Gilman

Full Text Available Though decades of research have shown that people are highly influenced by peers, few studies have directly assessed how the value of social conformity is weighed against other types of costs and benefits. Using an effort-based decision-making paradigm with a novel social influence manipulation, we measured how social influence affected individuals' decisions to allocate effort for monetary rewards during trials with either high or low probability of receiving a reward. We found that information about the effort-allocation of peers modulated participant choices, specifically during conditions of low probability of obtaining a reward. This suggests that peer influence affects effort-based choices to obtain rewards especially under conditions of risk. This study provides evidence that people value social conformity in addition to other costs and benefits when allocating effort, and suggests that neuroeconomic studies that assess trade-offs between effort and reward should consider social environment as a factor that can influence decision-making.

Franco-German nuclear cooperation: from the 'common product' to the first European pressurized water reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vignon, D.

1999-01-01

It has now been 10 years since Framatome and Siemens decided to collaborate on the design and sales of an advanced nuclear power plant (NPP) model based on pressurized water reactor (PWR) technology. Originally called the 'common product', this model was renamed the European pressurized water reactor when Electricite de France (EDF) and the German electric utilities joined this cooperative development effort in 1992. Since the beginning, this cooperation has been formalized in the framework of an agreement that led to the founding of a joint and equally owned subsidiary, Nucler Power International (NPI), which is reponsible for leading the development of the new model and later handling its export sales

Cooperation of Ukraine and Republic of Poland: Economic and Diplomatic Aspects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. V.

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Poland in viewed by Ukraine as a reliable economic and political partner supporting Ukraine’s intention to integrate in Europe. Therefore, facts, documents and statistical data reflecting qualitative and quantitative aspects of relations between Ukraine and Poland need to be subject to non-stop monitoring and analysis, to help in finding timely solutions for problematic issues that may occur in these countries’ relations. The article’s objective is to analyze the performance and perspectives of economic and diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Republic of Poland. The analysis of documents on diplomatic and economic cooperation of the two countries after they gained political independence, and statistical data on trade in goods and services (by category and investment flows (by data on direct investment from Ukraine to Poland and from Poland to Ukraine shows that both countries have immense potentials for cooperation in various fields. As regards diplomatic dimension, Republic of Poland is the strongest promoter and lobbyist of the Euro-integration and Euro-Atlantic course of Ukraine. Regarding the economic cooperation, while mutual trade in goods declined in 2014 due to the economic and political crisis in Ukraine, it grew in 2016 with the recovery processes in the Ukrainian economy. Mutual trade in services is less intensive than trade in goods. Analysis of the investment cooperation shows the large asymmetry in favor of Polish investors in Ukraine and the reducing investment in both directions in the latest years.

Cooperative Trust Games

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

the more widely recognized competitive (non-cooperative) game theory. Cooperative game theory focuses on what groups of self-interested agents can...provides immediate justification for using non-cooperative game theory as the basis for modeling the purely competitive agents. 2.4. Superadditive...the competitive and altruistic contributions of the subset team. Definition: Given a payoff function ( ) in a subset team game , the total marginal

Asymptotic Analysis of Large Cooperative Relay Networks Using Random Matrix Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Poor

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Cooperative transmission is an emerging communication technology that takes advantage of the broadcast nature of wireless channels. In cooperative transmission, the use of relays can create a virtual antenna array so that multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO techniques can be employed. Most existing work in this area has focused on the situation in which there are a small number of sources and relays and a destination. In this paper, cooperative relay networks with large numbers of nodes are analyzed, and in particular the asymptotic performance improvement of cooperative transmission over direction transmission and relay transmission is analyzed using random matrix theory. The key idea is to investigate the eigenvalue distributions related to channel capacity and to analyze the moments of this distribution in large wireless networks. A performance upper bound is derived, the performance in the low signal-to-noise-ratio regime is analyzed, and two approximations are obtained for high and low relay-to-destination link qualities, respectively. Finally, simulations are provided to validate the accuracy of the analytical results. The analysis in this paper provides important tools for the understanding and the design of large cooperative wireless networks.

Cooperative strategies European perspectives

CERN Document Server

Killing, J Peter

1997-01-01

Cooperative Strategies: European Perspectives is one of three geographically targeted volumes in which the contributors present the most current research on topics such as advances in theories of cooperative strategies, the formation of cooperative alliances, the dynamics of partner relationships, and the role of information and knowledge in cooperative alliances. Blending conceptual insights with empirical analyses, the contributors highlight commonalities and differences across national, cultural, and trade zones. The chapters in this volume are anchored in a wide set of theoretical approaches, conceptual frameworks, and models, illustrating how rich the area of cooperative strategies is for scholarly inquiry.

PCTFPeval: a web tool for benchmarking newly developed algorithms for predicting cooperative transcription factor pairs in yeast.

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Fu-Jou; Chang, Hong-Tsun; Wu, Wei-Sheng

2015-01-01

Computational identification of cooperative transcription factor (TF) pairs helps understand the combinatorial regulation of gene expression in eukaryotic cells. Many advanced algorithms have been proposed to predict cooperative TF pairs in yeast. However, it is still difficult to conduct a comprehensive and objective performance comparison of different algorithms because of lacking sufficient performance indices and adequate overall performance scores. To solve this problem, in our previous study (published in BMC Systems Biology 2014), we adopted/proposed eight performance indices and designed two overall performance scores to compare the performance of 14 existing algorithms for predicting cooperative TF pairs in yeast. Most importantly, our performance comparison framework can be applied to comprehensively and objectively evaluate the performance of a newly developed algorithm. However, to use our framework, researchers have to put a lot of effort to construct it first. To save researchers time and effort, here we develop a web tool to implement our performance comparison framework, featuring fast data processing, a comprehensive performance comparison and an easy-to-use web interface. The developed tool is called PCTFPeval (Predicted Cooperative TF Pair evaluator), written in PHP and Python programming languages. The friendly web interface allows users to input a list of predicted cooperative TF pairs from their algorithm and select (i) the compared algorithms among the 15 existing algorithms, (ii) the performance indices among the eight existing indices, and (iii) the overall performance scores from two possible choices. The comprehensive performance comparison results are then generated in tens of seconds and shown as both bar charts and tables. The original comparison results of each compared algorithm and each selected performance index can be downloaded as text files for further analyses. Allowing users to select eight existing performance indices and 15

Nuclear data standards - International Evaluation Co-operation volume 7

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carlson, A.D.; Shibata, K.; Vonach, H.; Hambsch, F.J.; Chen, Z.; Hofmann, H.M.; Oh, S.Y.; Badikov, S.A.; Gai, E.V.; Pronyaev, V.G.; Smith, D.L.; Hale, G.M.; Kawano, T.; Larson, N.M.

2006-01-01

A Working Party on International Evaluation Co-operation was established under the sponsorship of the OECD/NEA Nuclear Science Committee (NSC) to promote the exchange of information on nuclear data evaluations, validation and related topics. Its aim is also to provide a framework for co-operative activities between members of the major nuclear data evaluation projects. This includes the possible exchange of scientists in order to encourage co-operation. Requirements for experimental data resulting from this activity are compiled. The working party determines common criteria for evaluated nuclear data files with a view to assessing and improving the quality and completeness of evaluated data. The parties to the project are: ENDF (United States), JEFF/EFF (NEA Data Bank member countries) and JENDL (Japan). Co-operation with evaluation projects of non-OECD countries is organised through the Nuclear Data Section of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This report was issued by Subgroup 7, which was in charge of producing new evaluated neutron cross-section standards. When starting the project, there was a general consensus on the need to update these standards, as significant improvements had been made to the experimental database since 1991 when the last evaluation of these standards was performed. The present work was accomplished through efficient collaboration between a task force of the US Cross-section Evaluation Working Group (CSEWG), a Co-ordinated Research Project (CRP) of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Subgroup 7 of the Working Party on International Evaluation Co-operation (WPEC) of the NEA Nuclear Science Committee. Work is reported on the results of an international effort to evaluate the neutron cross-section standards. The evaluations include the H(n,n), 6 Li(n,t), 10 B(n,α), 10 B(n,α1γ), 197 Au(n,γ), 235 U(n,f) and 238 U(n,f) standard reactions. Evaluations were also produced for the non-standard 238 U(n,γ) and 239 Pu

Cooperation in research in the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marka, Philippe.

1977-01-01

This work studies the legal instruments for cooperative research granted to Euratom under the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and the conditions whereby concrete use was made of these instruments. This assessment of Euratom's efforts to launch a community nuclear industry is accompanied by an analysis of the respective roles of the bodies of the Community, the Council and the Commission, as well as of the circumstances which, according to the author, have led to a paralysis of this institution. (NEA) [fr

Effects of Cooperative Learning STAD on Mathematical Communication Ability of Elementary School Student

Science.gov (United States)

Maelasari, E.; Wahyudin

2017-09-01

The aim of this study is to describe the increasing of mathematical communications capability, and difference between students who get STAD cooperative learning and students who receive Direct Instruction. This study is a quasi-experimental study with pretest posttest study design. Subjects in this study in one of the fifth grade elementary school located in Cibeureum District, Kuningan. The research instrument used was a written test mathematical communication skills. The results showed that the improvement of mathematical communication capabilities Direct Instruction students who scored significantly better than students who learned with STAD cooperative learning. By grouping according to the ability of students will show a positive impact on student achievement in the classroom.

Pillars of peace: The evolution of nuclear technical cooperation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cetto, A.M.

2003-01-01

The twentieth century witnessed unprecedented scientific and technological progress, unfortunately paralleled by the development of weapons of mass destruction. And with this progress came an incredible amount of responsibility for scientists and governments. The creation of the IAEA and its technical cooperation programme brought together scientists and governments to use nuclear technology for the 'peaceful pursuits of mankind'. The programme supports application of nuclear techniques to solve socio-economic and human development problems in areas as diverse as agriculture, health, natural resource management, and radiation protection. Fifty years after President Eisenhower's famous 'Atoms for Peace' speech, the IAEA technical cooperation programme provides more than $70 million worth of experts, training, and procurement services each year to approximately 75% of its 137 Member States. But as development budgets shrink, the programme is seeking to make more meaningful use of resources at hand (national capacities, regional resources, development partners and the voluntary Technical Cooperation Fund), targeting specific problems of Member States and partnering with other sustainable development organizations. At the same time, efforts continue to overcome the past legacy that necessitated the 'Atoms for Peace' proposal in the first place. Even as development challenges are addressed, the IAEA, its partners and governments face other challenges along the way, including public opinion for a technology that had a devastating global introduction

Cooperative DNA Recognition Modulated by an Interplay between Protein-Protein Interactions and DNA-Mediated Allostery.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felipe Merino

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Highly specific transcriptional regulation depends on the cooperative association of transcription factors into enhanceosomes. Usually, their DNA-binding cooperativity originates from either direct interactions or DNA-mediated allostery. Here, we performed unbiased molecular simulations followed by simulations of protein-DNA unbinding and free energy profiling to study the cooperative DNA recognition by OCT4 and SOX2, key components of enhanceosomes in pluripotent cells. We found that SOX2 influences the orientation and dynamics of the DNA-bound configuration of OCT4. In addition SOX2 modifies the unbinding free energy profiles of both DNA-binding domains of OCT4, the POU specific and POU homeodomain, despite interacting directly only with the first. Thus, we demonstrate that the OCT4-SOX2 cooperativity is modulated by an interplay between protein-protein interactions and DNA-mediated allostery. Further, we estimated the change in OCT4-DNA binding free energy due to the cooperativity with SOX2, observed a good agreement with experimental measurements, and found that SOX2 affects the relative DNA-binding strength of the two OCT4 domains. Based on these findings, we propose that available interaction partners in different biological contexts modulate the DNA exploration routes of multi-domain transcription factors such as OCT4. We consider the OCT4-SOX2 cooperativity as a paradigm of how specificity of transcriptional regulation is achieved through concerted modulation of protein-DNA recognition by different types of interactions.

Inertia in Cooperative Remodeling

OpenAIRE

Nilsson, Jerker

1997-01-01

Which organization model is appropriate for a cooperative enterprise depends on the prerequisites in its business environment. When conditions are changing, the firm must adapt itself. The entry of Sweden, Finland, and Austria into the European Union led to radical changes for agricultural cooperation, especially for Swedish cooperatives since agricultural policy was not allowed a transitional period. After two years, Swedish cooperatives have still not adapted their organization model despit...

Sexual Selection of Human Cooperative Behaviour: An Experimental Study in Rural Senegal

OpenAIRE

Tognetti, Arnaud; Berticat, Claire; Raymond, Michel; Faurie, Charlotte

2012-01-01

Human cooperation in large groups and between non-kin individuals remains a Darwinian puzzle. Investigations into whether and how sexual selection is involved in the evolution of cooperation represent a new and important research direction. Here, 69 groups of four men or four women recruited from a rural population in Senegal played a sequential public-good game in the presence of out-group observers, either of the same sex or of the opposite sex. At the end of the game, participants could do...

Historical Review of Uncommanded Lateral-Directional Motions At Transonic Conditions (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Chambers, Joseph R.; Hall, Robert M.

2003-01-01

This paper presents the results of a survey of past experiences with uncommanded lateral-directional motions at transonic speeds during specific military aircraft programs. The effort was undertaken to provide qualitative and quantitative information on past airplane programs that might be of use to the participants in the joint NASA/Navy/Air Force Abrupt Wing Stall (AWS) Program. The AWS Program was initiated because of the experiences of the F/A-18E/F development program, during which unexpected, severe wing-drop motions were encountered by preproduction aircraft at transonic conditions. These motions were judged to be significantly degrading to the primary mission requirements of the aircraft. Although the problem was subsequently solved for the production version of the F/A-l8E/F, a high-level review panel emphasized the poor understanding of such phenomena and issued a strong recommendation to: Initiate a national research effort to thoroughly and systematically study the wing drop phenomena. A comprehensive, cooperative NASA/Navy/Air Force AWS Program was designed to respond to provide the required technology requirements. As part of the AWS Program, a work element was directed at a historical review of wing-drop experiences in past aircraft development programs at high subsonic and transonic speeds. In particular, information was requested regarding: specific aircraft configurations that exhibited uncommanded motions and the nature of the motions; geometric characteristics of the air- planes; flight conditions involved in occurrences; relevant data, including wind-tunnel, computational, and flight sources; figures of merit used for analyses; and approaches used to alleviate the problem. An attempt was also made to summarize some of the more important lessons learned from past experiences, and to recommend specific research efforts. In addition to providing technical information to assist the AWS research objectives, the study produced fundamental information

Cooperation and cheating in microbes

Science.gov (United States)

Gore, Jeff

2011-03-01

Understanding the cooperative and competitive dynamics within and between species is a central challenge in evolutionary biology. Microbial model systems represent a unique opportunity to experimentally test fundamental theories regarding the evolution of cooperative behaviors. In this talk I will describe our experiments probing cooperation in microbes. In particular, I will compare the cooperative growth of yeast in sucrose and the cooperative inactivation of antibiotics by bacteria. In both cases we find that cheater strains---which don't contribute to the public welfare---are able to take advantage of the cooperator strains. However, this ability of cheaters to out-compete cooperators occurs only when cheaters are present at low frequency, thus leading to steady-state coexistence. These microbial experiments provide fresh insight into the evolutionary origin of cooperation.

Pricing, Carbon Emission Reduction, Low-Carbon Promotion and Returning Decision in a Closed-Loop Supply Chain under Vertical and Horizontal Cooperation

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Hui; Wang, Chuanxu; Shang, Meng; Ou, Wei

2017-01-01

In this paper, we examine the influences of vertical and horizontal cooperation models on the optimal decisions and performance of a low-carbon closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) with a manufacturer and two retailers, and study optimal operation in the competitive pricing, competitive the low-carbon promotion, the carbon emission reduction, the used-products collection and the profits. We consider the completely decentralized model, M-R vertical cooperation model, R-R horizontal cooperation model, M-R-R vertical and horizontal cooperation model and completely centralized model, and also identify the optimal decision results and profits. It can be observed from a systematic comparison and numerical analysis that the completely centralized model is best in all optimal decision results among all models. In semi-cooperation, the M-R vertical cooperation model is positive, the R-R horizontal cooperation model is passive, and the positivity of the M-R-R vertical and horizontal cooperation model decreases with competitive intensity increasing in the used-products returning, carbon emissions reduction level, low-carbon promotion effort and the profits of the manufacturer and the entire supply chain. PMID:29104268