The automated performance monitoring of contracts, in terms of tracking contract state, is an important issue investigated in this work. We define contract state to be the sum of the normative relations that hold between contract parties. In order to facilitate state tracking, we define an XML formalisation of the Event Calculus, ecXML. This language is used to describe how a contract’s state e...

In this paper we investigate the behaviour of credit default in start-up companies. Using a logit regression technique on a panel data of 1430 start-ups and considering a tracking period of three years, we tested the impact on the probability of occurrence of the first credit event in financing agreements due to variables grouped into three categories: financial capital, human capital and indus...

In this paper, originally presented at an event held by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States, the author analyzes the repercussions of globalization on various health aspects: the spread of infectious and parasitic diseases, bioterrorism, and new behavioral patterns in health, among others. He goes on to examine the positive and negative effects of international agreemen...

Cost-efficient operation while satisfying performance and availability guarantees in Service Level Agreements (SLAs) is a challenge for Cloud Computing, as these are potentially conflicting objectives. We present a framework for SLA management based on multi-objective optimizations. The framework features a forecasting model for determining the best virtual machine-to-host allocation given the ...

Abstract Ceasefires play a role in almost all civil war peace processes. Yet existing studies undertheorize the ways which different logics drive design of ceasefire agreements, and effect this has on violence suspension. Building bargaining theory literature, we identify problems conflict parties face over course conflict, three classes they use to address these problems. We argue that ceasefi...

While the debate on whether countries should or should not sign trade agreements with selected partners continues, governments have significantly stepped up the rate at which they enter into such agreements. A number of such agreements have been signed lately and many more are under negotiation. Multinational firms get impacted by these agreements irrespective of whether these are beneficial to...