RICIS Symposium 1992: Mission and Safety Critical Systems Research and Applications

This conference deals with computer systems which control systems whose failure to operate correctly could produce the loss of life and or property, mission and safety critical systems. Topics covered are: the work of standards groups, computer systems design and architecture, software reliability, process control systems, knowledge based expert systems, and computer and telecommunication protocols

Kinship, friendship and gender relations in two east Aegean village communities (Lesbos, Greece)

This thesis is concerned with the ways in which kinship and friendship are informed by cultural notions of gender in two villages of Northern Lesbos (East Aegean region of Greece) and it falls into four parts. It begins with a discussion of marriage and the creation of the domestic group, it moves on to consider relations in the predominantly female realm of house and neighbourhood and concludes with an examination of the social and cultural configurations present in the exclusively male domain of the coffeeshop and the village community at large. In the introductory chapter I briefly discuss the socio-economic and demographic context in a historical perspective. The analysis of informal courtship, match-making and dowering and the process of marriage more generally forms the focus of part one. Here it is shown that the religiously sanctioned ideal of the bilateral household (which is based on gender complementarity) is administered primarily by women and exhibits a matrilateral emphasis. This point is fully explored in part two where it is demonstrated that while men, especially those of low status, are domestically marginal, their wives in their maternal role dominate kin-based and mutually antagonistic networks of women. A close examination of the fragmented nature of male kinship and the content of affinity and neighbourship further confirms the centrality of women to kinship. The third part begins with an extensive discussion of the code of commensality and the drinking patterns it supports, the cycle of participation in different categories of coffeeshop and the symbolism of drinks. An analysis of male commensal friendship and the more asymmetric ties that arise in competitive drinking and gambling gives us the clues to understanding notions of gender that are specific to the coffeeshop and opposed to corresponding notions that arise in the context of the household. Finally the concluding part examines the values of individual personhood and 'belonging' in local society and assesses the contrast between two notions of the village and their implications for political behaviour

Outcome predictors of co-operative R&D in Europe : organisational capabilities and cultures

This research investigates organisational capabilities and cultures of both partners as potential explanatory factors of co-operative R&D projects outcomes. Contributions to theory are (1) a justification for the existence of organisational capabilities and 'world views', (2) a parsimonious typology of 'world views' and (3) a method to measure organisational capabilities. The survey covers 514 projects in the electronics industry, in Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Finland. It obtains 120 full answers, each of which coupling responses from a matched pair of project managers having co-operated on the same R&D project. The survey refers to the organisation's capabilities, to those of the partner, to its 'world view', and to project outcomes. None of the traditional explanatory factors (geographic distance, difference in nationality, size or legal status, strategic compatibility) has any significant influence on any of the outcomes being studied (save one). The explanatory factors introduced by the research (organisational capabilities and 'world views') have a significant influence on almost all outcomes being considered of the co-operative R&D projects: attainment of concrete results, compliance with budget and schedule, creation and transfer of knowledge, learning (modification of capabilities). Cultural diversity, 'absorptive capacity', and teaching effects, selective according to the capability in question, are evidenced. Commonalities between partners are shown to be more important than distance. These results validate empirically organisational capabilities and 'world views' as descriptors of inter-organisational capabilities, and their operationalisation.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo