Panini: A Concurrent Programming Model for Solving Pervasive & Oblivious Interference

Modular reasoning about concurrent programs is complicated by the pervasiveness of interferences that do not give out any information about the behaviors of potentially interfering concurrent tasks, at the interference points. Reasoning about a concurrent program would be easier if a programmer, modularly and statically: (1) knows precisely the program points at which the interference may happen, and (2) has some insights into the behaviors of other potentially concurrent tasks at these points. In this work, we present a core concurrent calculus with these properties and their proofs. Using our calculus a programmer can design and implement concurrent modules of their software using capsules and modularly reason about properties of these concurrent modules using static types referred to in their code, and then automatically have these properties hold in the larger concurrent system formed by composing these capsules. We also illustrate how this concurrent calculus can be used in conjunction with standard Hoare style reasoning to modularly verify concurrent programs with interference

Panini: a concurrent programming model for solving pervasive and oblivious interference

Modular reasoning about concurrent programs is complicated by the possibility of interferences happening between any two instructions of a task (pervasive interference), and these interferences not giving out any information about the behaviors of potentially interfering concurrent tasks (oblivious interference). Reasoning about a concurrent program would be easier if a programmer modularly and statically (1) knows precisely the program points at which interferences may happen (sparse interference), and (2) has some insights into behaviors of potentially interfering tasks at these points (cognizant interference). In this work we present Panini, a core concurrent calculus which guarantees sparse interference, by controlling sharing among concurrent tasks, and cognizant interference, by controlling dynamic name bindings and accessibility of states of tasks. Panini promotes capsule-oriented programming whose concurrently running capsules own their states, communicate by asynchronous invocations of their procedures and dynamically transfer ownership. Panini limits sharing among two capsules to other capsules and futures, limits accessibility of a capsule states to only through its procedures and dispatches a procedure invocation on the static type of its receiver capsule. We formalize Panini, present its semantics and illustrate how its interference model, using behavioral contracts, enables Hoare-style modular reasoning about concurrent programs with interference

Managing in conflict: How actors distribute conflict in an industrial network

IMP researchers have examined conflict as a threat to established business relationships and commercial exchanges, drawing on theories and concepts developed in organization studies. We examine cases of conflict in relationships from the oil and gas industry's service sector, focusing on conflicts of interest and resources, and conflict as experienced by actors. Through a comparative case study design, we propose an explanation of how actors manage conflict and manage in conflict given that they tend to value and maintain relationships beyond episodes of exchange. We consider conflicts in relationships from a network perspective, showing that actors experienced these while adapting to changes in their business setting, modifying their roles in that network. By identifying conflict with the organizing forms of relationship and network, we show how actors formulate conflict through pursuing and combining a number of strategies, distributing the conflict across an enlarged network

Investigating the impact of networking capability on firm innovation performance:using the resource-action-performance framework

The author's final peer reviewed version can be found by following the URI link. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Purpose The experience of successful firms has proven that one of the most important ways to promote co-learning and create successful networked innovations is the proper application of inter-organizational knowledge mechanisms. This study aims to use a resource-action-performance framework to open the black box on the relationship between networking capability and innovation performance. The research population embraces companies in the Iranian automotive industry. Design/methodology/approach Due to the latent nature of the variables studied, the required data are collected through a web-based cross-sectional survey. First, the content validity of the measurement tool is evaluated by experts. Then, a pre-test is conducted to assess the reliability of the measurement tool. All data are gathered by the Iranian Vehicle Manufacturers Association (IVMA) and Iranian Auto Parts Manufacturers Association (IAPMA) samples. The power analysis method and G*Power software are used to determine the sample size. Moreover, SmartPLS 3 and IBM SPSS 25 software are used for data analysis of the conceptual model and relating hypotheses. Findings The results of this study indicated that the relationships between networking capability, inter-organizational knowledge mechanisms and inter-organizational learning result in a self-reinforcing loop, with a marked impact on firm innovation performance. Originality/value Since there is little understanding of the interdependencies of networking capability, inter-organizational knowledge mechanisms, co-learning and their effect on firm innovation performance, most previous research studies have focused on only one or two of the above-mentioned variables. Thus, their cumulative effect has not examined yet. Looking at inter-organizational relationships from a network perspective and knowledge-based view (KBV), and to consider the simultaneous effect of knowledge mechanisms and learning as intermediary actions alongside, to consider the performance effect of the capability-building process, are the main advantages of this research

Change in marital satisfaction among Chinese couples during the early years of marriage: the roles of individual characteristics, couple interactive processes, and social network factors

Understanding couple relationship well-being and its key determinants is paramount given the substantial costs of marital distress to individuals, families, as well as the society. However, some groups of couples have been historically underrepresented in prior marriage research (e.g., Non-Western couples). Without investigating these groups of couples systematically, the diversity inherent within marriage cannot be adequately acknowledged. Furthermore, from a cultural sensitivity perspective, empirical findings and theoretical perspectives derived from studies of one certain group of couples are likely to be poorly suited to or even irrelevant to the life experiences of another group of couples. To somewhat fill this gap, a series of empirical studies were conducted in the present body of work to particularly examine how the variation in Chinese couples’ marital well-being over time could be accounted for by the complex, dynamic interplay among factors of different levels (e.g., individual characteristics, couple dyadic adaptive processes, and external contextual factors) based on the data from a recent longitudinal research project named Chinese Newlyweds Longitudinal Study (CNLS). The first study in the present body of work focused on the associations between spouses’ personal characteristics (i.e., neuroticism) and marital satisfaction and the mechanisms explaining why such associations might occur. Specifically, based on three annual waves of data obtained from 268 Chinese couples during their early years of marriage, this study tested an actor-partner interdependence mediation model in which spouses’ neuroticism was linked to the changes in their own and their partners’ marital satisfaction through both intrapersonal (i.e., marital attribution) and interpersonal (i.e., marital aggression) processes. Considering both intra and interpersonal processes simultaneously in a single model, a series of indirect pathways were identified: Wave 1 Husbands’ Neuroticism ? Wave 2 Husbands’ Negative Marital Attribution ? Wave 1 to Wave 3 Changes in Husbands’ Marital Satisfaction; and Wave 1 Wives’ Neuroticism ? Wave 2 Wives’ Negative Marital Attribution or Aggression ? Wave 1 to Wave 3 Changes in Wives’ or Husbands’ Marital Satisfaction. As such, this study not only adds to a limited body of research examining why neuroticism affects conjugal well-being, but also extends prior research by focusing on Chinese couples, utilizing a longitudinal, dyadic mediation model, and testing intra and interpersonal processes simultaneously. The findings also have important practical implications. That is, couples involving highly neurotic partners may benefit the most from interventions based on the cognitive-behavioral approaches. When working with couples bothered by neuroticism, practitioners need to help them address both dysfunctional interactive patterns and distorted cognitive styles. The second study in the present body of work sought to understand the associations between couple dyadic interactive processes (i.e., marital hostility) and marital satisfaction and the conditions under which such associations might vary. Specifically, based on both observational and self-report survey data obtained from 106 Chinese couples during their early years of marriage, this study linked marital hostility observed from multiple couple interactions to both the concurrent levels of and the subsequent changes in spouses’ reports of relationship satisfaction, and also examined how intrapersonal traits (i.e., self-esteem), relationship features (i.e., commitment), external environment factors (i.e., life event stress), and spouses’ avoidance tendency in marital problem resolutions may contextualize such associations. Results indicated that both the concurrent and the longitudinal actor and/or partner effects of marital hostility on marital satisfaction were moderated by spouses’ own and/or their partner’s self-esteem, commitment, life event stress, and avoidance. Furthermore, in general, whereas spouses’ own factors as moderators explained under what circumstances hostility may be harmful for relationship satisfaction, spouses’ partner’s factors as moderators determined when hostility can be beneficial for relationship satisfaction. Such findings highlight the importance of approaching the association between marital hostility and conjugal well-being from a dyadic, multilevel, and contextual perspective. The third study in the present body of work examined the associations between external contextual factors (i.e., parents’ attitude and in-law relationship quality) and marital satisfaction and how different social network factors might operate in conjunction with each other to shape conjugal well-being over time in Chinese marriage. Based on three annual waves of data obtained from 265 Chinese couples during the early years of marriage and utilizing an actor-partner interdependence mediation model with latent difference scores, this study examined the associations among parental attitude toward their adult children’s marriage, in-law relationship quality, and adult children’s marital satisfaction. Results indicated that when both husbands’ and wives’ parents’ attitude and relationship quality with mothers-in-law and with fathers-in-law were considered simultaneously in a single model, only two indirect pathways were still significant: husbands’ parents’ satisfaction with their adult children’s marriage was positively associated with the changes in both husbands’ and wives’ marital satisfaction via wives’ relationship quality with their mothers-in-law. Such findings not only suggest the particularly salient roles of husbands’ parents’ attitude and the relationship between daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law in predicting Chinese adult children’s marital well-being, but also highlight the importance of conceptualizing families as configurations of interdependent relationships across multiple households and examining marital well-being from ecological and social network perspectives. Taken altogether, the present body of work represents one of the very first steps in systematically understanding marital well-being and its determinants among Chinese couples. Findings of the three aforementioned studies have clearly demonstrated that Chinese couples’ relationship development over time is a product of the complex, dynamic intersections of individual characteristics, relational dynamics, and external contextual factors. Furthermore, findings of the present body of work may promote cultural sensitivity in marriage research by yielding important insights for developing culturally relevant frameworks for understanding marital issues in Asian countries

Using Permuted States of Validated Simulation to Analyze Conflict Rates in Optimistic Replication

Optimistic replication provides high data availability in the presence of network outages. Although widely deployed, this relaxed consistency model introduces concurrent updates, whose behavior is poorly understood due to the vast state space. This paper introduces the notion of permuted states to eliminate system states that are redundant and unreachable, which can constitute the majority of states (4069 out of 4096 for four replicas). With the aid of permuted states, we are for the first time able to construct analytical models beyond the two-replica case. By examining the analysis for 2 to 4 replicas, we can demystify the process of forming identical conflicts—the most common conflict type at high replication factors. Additionally, we have automated and optimized the generation of permuted states, which allows us to explore higher replication factors (up to 10 replicas) using hybrid techniques. It also allows us to validate our results with existing simulations based on actual replication mechanisms, which previously were analytically validated with only one pair of replicas. Finally, we have discovered that update locality and bimodal access patterns are the primary factors contributing to the formation of identical conflicts

The influence of organizational culture on the outcome of an IS implementation

A number of information system (IS) studies have adopted organizational culture (OC) theory to investigate IS implementations. The studies highlight that members will reach consensus or agreement in the use of an IS but also experience inevitable tensions and ambiguities in the use of the IS. However, literature related to IS implementation/OC has rarely examined the influence that the saliency of specific cultural practices may have on the success or failure of IS implementations. Using a case study approach, we adopted the “soft positivism” research philosophy to collect data, underpinned by Martin’s (1992) integration and differentiation perspectives of OC to study organizational implementation of an IS. These perspectives served as interpretive lenses through which to explain how members’ salient behaviors towards an IS evolved during the implementation process. Our study augments the IS implementation/OC literature by demonstrating how salient cultural practices influence the outcome of IS implementatio