Optical designers often insert or split lenses in existing designs. Here, we present, with examples from Deep and Extreme UV lithography, an alternative method that consists of constructing saddle points and obtaining new local minima from them. The method is remarkable simple and can therefore be easily integrated with the traditional design techniques. It has significantly improved the produc...

This paper explores a hitherto largely ignored dimension to norms in multi-agent systems: the normative role played by optimization objectives. We introduce the notion of optimization norms which constrain agent behaviour in a manner that is significantly distinct from norms in the traditional sense. We argue that optimization norms underpin most other norms, and offer a richer representation o...

People find themselves confronted with ever starker tradeoffs in the allocation of resources to competing uses and users. At the local level, for instance, allocation of land or water to agricultural, industrial, municipal, recreational, and conservation activities often involves a zero sum game. This is apparent in the widespread loss of water and land from native habitat to farms and increasi...

It has become increasingly desirable for companies worldwide to outsource their complex e-business infrastructure under the utility computing paradigm by means of service level agreements (SLAs). A successful utility computing provider must be able not only to satisfy its customers’ demand for high service-quality standards, but also to fulfill its service-quality commitments based upon busines...

Ecological impairment and flooding caused by urbanization can be expressed numerically by calculating the risks throughout the watershed (floodplain) and along the main stems of the streams. The risks can be evaluated in terms of the present and/or future. This article describes the methodologies for ascertaining the risks in the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) environment. The objective...

To help practitioners effectively implement security programs, we explored the interrelationship between security objectives and practices by conducting a canonical analysis based on the data from 354 certified security professionals. We found that for moderately information-sensitive organizations, “Confidentiality” had the highest correlation with information security practices. In these orga...