In this article, we analyze the application of options contract in the special commodity supply chain such as fresh agricultural products. This problem is discussed from the point of the retailer. When spot market and future market are both available, we discuss how the retailer chooses the optimal production. Furthermore, overconfidence is introduced to the supply chain of the fresh agricultur...

Lamport’s Happened-before relation is fundamental to coordinating actions in asynchronous systems. Its role is less dominant in synchronous systems, in which bounds are available on transmission times over channels. This paper initiates a study of the role that time bounds play in synchronous systems by focusing on two classes of problems: Ordered Response, in which a triggering event must be f...

INTRODUCTION The chemical industry is a much safer place to work than many industries with fewer inherent hazards. Nevertheless, almost all the accidents that have occurred need not have occurred. Most of them have happened before and have been described in published reports. Someone knew how to prevent them even if the people on the job at the time did not. There is something seriously wrong w...

1 Surface Radar, Thales Nederland B.V. Haaksbergerstraat 49, 7554 PA Hengelo, The Netherlands 2NURC, NATO Research Centre, Viale S. Bartolomeo 400, 19126 La Spezia, Italy 3German Defence Establishment (FGAN-FKIE), Neuenahrer Strasse 20, 53343 Wachtberg, Germany 4Naval Undersea Warfare Center, 1176 Howell Street, Newport, RI 02841-1708, USA 5Metron Inc., 11911 Freedom Drive, Suite 800, Reston, V...

Studies on experts' understanding of the public have mainly focused on the views of scientists. We add to the literature on constructions of the public by analyzing the views of decision-makers, professional science communicators and scientists involved in 'space' communication on the public and public participation in policy. Findings show that contextual situations and roles determine the way...

The localization accuracy of a track-before-detect search for a target moving across a distributed sensor field is examined in this paper. The localization accuracy of the search is defined in terms of the area of intersection of the spatial-temporal sensor coverage regions, as seen from the perspective of the target. The expected value and variance of this area are derived for sensors distribu...

RESULTS: Fifty-five participants (31 patients and 24 parents) completed all questionnaires, 98.2% preferred active involvement in therapeutic decision-making. The SDM-Q-9 scores, assessed by patients and physicians, were acceptable (mean 68 out of 100). However, the independently assessed OPTION-5 scores were significantly lower (mean 31 out of 100). In the consultations, physicians rarely aske...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate wellness program participation before and after retirement. METHODS This retrospective cohort design compares 3 groups of employees: 1998-1999 retirees (N=6065), 1994-1995 retirees (N=5862), and 21,176 employees who were still active as of 2002. Participation was compared over 2 time periods for high-intensity and low-intensity programs. RESULTS Significantly differen...