The Reform of Employee Compensation in China’s Industrial Enterprises

Although employee compensation reform in Chinese industrial sector has been discussed in the literature, the real changes in compensation system and pay practices have received insufficient attention and warrant further examination. This paper briefly reviews the pre- and post-reform compensation system, and reports the results of a survey of pay practices in the four major types of industrial enterprises in China. The research findings indicate that the type of enterprise ownership has little influence on general compensation practices, adoption of profit-sharing plans, and subsidy and allowance packages. In general, pay is linked more to individual performance and has become an important incentive to Chinese employees. However, differences are found across the enterprise types with regard to performance-related pay. Current pay practices are positively correlated to overall effectiveness of the enterprise

Ag

"Ag" is a live, generative audiovisual performance, commissioned and premiered by the Animator International Animated Film Festival, Poznan, Poland. More information is available at http://BatHatMedia.com/Gallery/ag.htm

Aging as a consequence of misrepair -- A novel theory of aging

It is now increasingly realized that the underlying mechanisms which govern aging is a complex interplay of genetic regulation and damage accumulation. Aging as a result of accumulation of ‘faults’ on cellular and molecular levels, has been proposed in the damage (fault)-accumulation theory by Kirkwood 2006. However, this theory fails to explain some aging phenotypes such as fibrosis and premature aging, since terms such as ‘damage’ and ‘fault’ are not specified. Therefore we introduce here a specification of the underlying mechanism of aging and arrive at a novel theory: aging of the body is a result of the accumulation of Misrepair of tissue. It emphasizes: a) it is Misrepair, not the original damage, that accumulates and leads to aging; and b) aging can occur at different levels, however aging of the body takes place at least on the tissue level, but not necessarily on cellular/molecular level. The novel concept of Misrepair introduced here unifies the understanding of the roles of environmental damage, repair, gene regulation, and multicellular structure in the aging process. The Misrepair-accumulation theory introduced in the present paper gives explanations for the aging phenotypes, premature aging, and the difference of longevity in different species, and is consistent with the point of view of physical theory of complex systems

Systems Biology Graphical Notation: Process Description language Level 1

Standard graphical representations have played a crucial role in science and engineering throughout the last century. Without electrical symbolism, it is very likely that our industrial society would not have evolved at the same pace. Similarly, specialised notations such as the Feynmann notation or the process flow diagrams did a lot for the adoption of concepts in their own fields. With the advent of Systems Biology, and more recently of Synthetic Biology, the need for precise and unambiguous descriptions of biochemical interactions has become more pressing. While some ideas have been advanced over the last decade, with a few detailed proposals, no actual community standard has emerged. The Systems Biology Graphical Notation (SBGN) is a graphical representation crafted over several years by a community of biochemists, modellers and computer scientists. Three orthogonal and complementary languages have been created, the Process Diagrams, the Entity Relationship Diagrams and the Activity Flow Diagrams. Using these three idioms a scientist can represent any network of biochemical interactions, which can then be interpreted in an unambiguous way. The set of symbols used is limited, and the grammar quite simple, to allow its usage in textbooks and its teaching directly in high schools. The first level of the SBGN Process Diagram has been publicly released. Software support for SBGN Process Diagram was developed concurrently with its specification in order to speed-up public adoption. Shared by the communities of biochemists, genomicians, theoreticians and computational biologists, SBGN languages will foster efficient storage, exchange and reuse of information on signalling pathways, metabolic networks and gene regulatory maps

Isoglitter

Described herein is a novel crystalline pattern in space group Ammm, that is a model of a C allotrope. This so-called isoglitter structure-type is a model of a graphite-diamond hybrid. A DFT geometry optimization and band structure calculation indicates that the lattice is metallic in a C realization

Integrated building performance simulation

This paper justifies the need for an integrated approach to building performance assessment and provides examples of the technical appraisals that may then be enabled. The contention is that the use of design tools which focus on a single domain will result in sub-optimum design solutions in terms of indoor air quality, occupant comfort, energy use and environmental impact

Only connect: addressing the emotional needs of Scotland's children and young people

A report on the SNAP (Scottish Needs Assessment Programme) Child and Adolescent Mental Health Phase Two survey. It describes a survey of a wide range of professionals working with children and young people in Scotland, and deals with professional perspectives on emotional, behavioural and psychological problems. Conclusions and recommendations are presented

Merit - An evaluation tool for 100% renewable energy provision

Islands represent an interesting challenge in terms of energy supply. A great deal of work has been carried out to look at specific aspects of this issue on different islands. Unfortunately, results from one study cannot be easily applied to other islands due to island-specific resources and energy-use profiles. A quantitative evaluation tool (MERIT) is presented here, which is able to match half-hourly energy demands (heat, electricity, hot water and transport) with local supplies. The program examines the energy balance on any scale, from an individual building through to an entire country, thereby providing a powerful and generic aid to decision making. This paper demonstrates the generality and usefulness of MERIT by using it to analyse the options for creating an energy-autonomous community on a typical, small island off the west coast of Scotland. Results are presented showing the feasibility of accomplishing 100% renewable provision on this island using available local resources

On-line energy services for smart homes

The EC funded 'Smart Homes' project commenced in 2001 as a 3 year programme. The primary objective is to establish Internet-based energy services and test these within field trials in Sweden, Greece, the Czech Republic and the UK. The tasks include the prototyping and testing of energy services for citizens and professionals, and the establishment of cable and wireless approaches to Internet connection. The implementations are based on residential gateway, or 'e-box', technology. Users, for example utilities, citizens, local authority energy managers and health care providers, can access the information through standard Web browsers and, depending on the particular energy service, may transmit information or control requests back to the originating homes. This paper sets out the overall structure of the SmartHomes system and reports on progress to date