Investigation of automated task learning, decomposition and scheduling

The details and results of research conducted in the application of neural networks to task planning and decomposition are presented. Task planning and decomposition are operations that humans perform in a reasonably efficient manner. Without the use of good heuristics and usually much human interaction, automatic planners and decomposers generally do not perform well due to the intractable nature of the problems under consideration. The human-like performance of neural networks has shown promise for generating acceptable solutions to intractable problems such as planning and decomposition. This was the primary reasoning behind attempting the study. The basis for the work is the use of state machines to model tasks. State machine models provide a useful means for examining the structure of tasks since many formal techniques have been developed for their analysis and synthesis. It is the approach to integrate the strong algebraic foundations of state machines with the heretofore trial-and-error approach to neural network synthesis

"Europe in Transformation: How to Reconstitute Democracy?"

Europeanization and globalization are frequently held to undermine national democracy; hence raising the democracy in the multi-level constellation that makes up the European Union? We present three models for how democracy can be reconstituted: (a) it can be reconstituted at the national level, as delegated democracy with a concomitant reframing of the EU as a functional regulatory regime; (b) through establishing the EU as a multi-national state based on a common identity(ies) and solidaristic allegiance strong enough to undertake collective action; or (c) through the development of a post-national Union with an explicit cosmopolitan imprint. These are the only viable models of European democracy, as they are the only ones that can ensure equal membership in a self-governing polity. They differ however with regard to both applicability and robustness

Management Control and "Coherence" : Some Unresolved Questions

Clothed in various formulations, the question of “coherence” is central to management control. Thus it is widely accepted that different forms of control “cannot be used effectively in every situation” (Merchant, 1998: 32, 69) – a statement referring to the contingency framework. It is also argued that “congruence [is] one of the prime determinants of the effectiveness of management” (Merchant, 1998: 159-160), congruence here being defined both in terms of the managers’ adequate understanding of organisational objectives, and in terms of appropriate mirroring of the objectives by the measured performance dimension. Finally, there is general agreement on the idea that the dominant form of control (i.e. action-, result- or personnel-orientated) is “likely to change (…) as (…) needs and capabilities change” (Merchant, 1998: 259), this involving again the idea of an effective fit between modes of control and the organizational situation. These different statements refer to various aspects of “coherence” in organizations, and the issues mentioned are not specific to management control: coherence issues also concern strategy, marketing, information systems and human resource management. The objective of this article is to reveal the diversity of content that the concept of "coherence" possesses. This “inventory” reveals that, whilst most management control claims on coherence refer to various forms of what call be termed “strategic coherence”, there are many other meanings of the concept, which can be gathered around the notion of “psychological coherence”. This review enables us to reconsider coherence-related questions, which, we suggest, are incompletely answered within the usual frameworks of coherence deployed. In Part One we examine the different terms which are used to designate the concept of coherence. We show that in the French and English languages we cannot strictly “align” the meanings of the different words which are used in association with the concept. This semantic inventory also shows that "coherence" can be understood either in reference to the idea of a totality, or not. Part Two considers the variety of theories of “coherence” which, either in the management sciences or in associated fields (such as organization theory, industrial and occupational psychology, etc.) provide the conceptual supports for management discourse, including those in the management control domain. This section reveals both the diversity and sometimes the incompatibility of these theories. In Part Three we re-examine different coherence-related questions. We show that in some cases, the usual perspectives on coherence lead to a reductionist view of management as a human activity, which can be detrimental both to organisations and their participants. We also disclose some missing points in common claims on coherence and finally suggest that, beyond a rationalistic façade, appeals to coherence might have rhetorical aspects participating in legitimisation processes. The Conclusion proposes news ideas and directions of research on “coherence”.Coherence; Management control; Organisational change Coherence; Management control; Organisational change Coherence; Management control; Organisational change

'Whither the Service Class Re-investigating the middle layers of employment in the 21st Century

The purpose of this working paper is to contribute towards the continuing debate on the nature of class structure in the West, recognising that occupation has constituted the central device in the construction of theoretical approaches in this area. The paper is critical of the notion that there can be a simple congruence between occupation and class, but is nevertheless committed to the view that the workplace remains a key site wherein class antagonisms are played out. Using primary data the paper explores workplace relations between research scientists and their employing organisation, a major pharmaceutical firm. It considers theoretical approaches to locating these middle layers and in particular the suggestion that they form a new service class. The paper concludes that there are weaknesses in the notion of a service class both theoretically and in practice and argues that Marxist theories of class, and labour process theories concerned with management control, have significant explanatory power when applied to the interview data presented here. Rather than witnessing the growth of a service class and the death of the working class, the paper argues, we are seeing it transformed and re-generated

International Order, Political Community, and the Search for a Eurpoean Public Philosophy

The shaping of international order, and the place of concepts such as law and community within that order, has emerged as one of the most pressing issues in contemporary legal and political thought. This Essay examines three recent theses, each of which attempts to locate a public philosophy appropriate to the emerging new world order. Part I of this Essay takes a look at these theses: the orthodox Kantian theory of international relations, as recently articulated by Fernando Teson in A Philosophy of International Law, the liberal communitarian theory, which has been eloquently restated by Martha Nussbaum in Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defense of Reform in Liberal Education, and the institutional rationalism of Jurgen Habermas, as described in Between Facts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy.\u27 Part II of this Essay suggests that the disparity between these alternative theses can be situated within the post-Kantian attempt to determine the moral self within modern political communities. There are, in effect, two Kants: one, which we can term the formalist, and which has enjoyed dominion in Kantian theories of international law, and another, the communitarian, which has gained increasing currency in radical liberal political theory. The final part of this Essay then takes these theses and situates them within the specific context of the new European order

Industrial Restructuring and Innovation Policy in Central and Eastern Europe since 1990

The paper aims to show that, first, innovation policies deployed in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries since 1990s have been a double-edged sword: on the one hand enabling fast and furious industrial restructuring while, on the other hand, locking CEE economies into economic activities with low value added/productivity growth and thus undermining future sustainable growth. However, the impact of accession into the European Union (EU) has been equally pivotal for industrial restructuring and innovation policy making in CEE countries in the 2000s and this process can be summed up as a strong Europeanization of innovation policy in CEE. The paper proceeds to show, second, that also Europeanization has been largely a double-edged sword for CEE countries. Since joining the EU in 2004 or 2007, and already during the accession process, there is a strong change in innovation policies in many CEE countries towards a much more active role of the state. In this change there is a clear and strong role of EUÿs structural funding, particularly the negotiations and planning that comes with it. However, these changes come with specific problems: first, there is an over-emphasis in emerging CEE innovation policies on a linear understanding of innovation (from lab to market) that is based on the assumption that there is a growing demand from industry for R&D (which is not the case because of the structural changes that took place in the 1990s via the Washington Consensus policies); and, second, increasing usage of independent implementation agencies in an already weak administrative capacity environment lacking policy skills for networking and long-term planning.

Workshop on Community Perspectives on Land and Agrarian Reform (CPLAR) in South Africa

Documents from the Community Perspectives on Land and Agrarian Reform (CPLAR) in South Africa Workshop, which took place in Johannesburg from March 11-13, 1994. Materials include workshop program, notes, and the workshop final project. Robert and Ann Seidman were contributors in this workshop and submitted an executive summary: Transfonning Agricultural Institutions: A Theory and Methodology for Drafting the Required Legislation. This research project was funded by the MacArthur Foundation

Systems of Innovation

We review the literature on national innovation systems. We first focus on the emergence of the concept of innovation systems, reviewing its historical origins and three main flavours (associated to three "founding fathers" of the concept). After this, we discuss how the notion of innovation systems filled a need for providing a broader basis for innovation policy. We conclude with some perspectives on the future of the innovation systems literature.national innovation systems, innovation policy