Using XML views to improve data-independence of distributed applications that share data

The development and maintenance of distributed software applications that support and make efficient use of heterogeneous networked systems is very challenging. One aspect of the complexity is that these distributed applications often need to access shared data, and different applications sharing the data may have different needs and may access different parts of the data. Maintenance and modification are especially difficult when the underlying structure of the data is changed for new requirements. The eXtensible Markup Language, or XML, has emerged as the universal standard for exchanging and externalizing data. It is also widely used for information modeling in an environment consisting of heterogeneous information sources. CORBA is a distributed object technology allowing applications on heterogeneous platforms to communicate through commonly defined services providing a scalable infrastructure for today\u27s distributed systems. To improve data independence, we propose an approach based on XML standards and the notion of views to develop and modify distributed applications which access shared data. In our approach, we model the shared data using XML, and generate different XML views of the data for different applications according to the DTDs of the XML views and the application logic. When the underlying data structure changes, new views are generated systematically. We adopt CORBA as the distributed architecture in our approach. Our thesis is that: views to support data-independence of distributed computing applications can be generated systematically from application logic, CORBA IDL and XML DTD.Dept. of Computer Science. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2002 .L86. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 41-04, page: 1113. Adviser: Richard Frost. Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2002

Managing Intercultural Encounters: Border Control at an Indian Airport

This case study shows that experiencing a new culture can be challenging. Through a detailed reconstruction of a cross-cultural encounter, the case depicts a wide range of issues one may face in this scenario. These issues include cultural differences, differences in values and norms, communication styles, stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination, which can all lead to tensions and conflicts. By addressing these topics in the case study, intercultural sensitivity and competencies, as well as problem-solving skills, can all be developed. Keywords: cultural differences, values and norms, stereotypes, intercultural competence, conflict managemen

Managing Intercultural Encounters: Border Control at an Indian Airport

This case study shows that experiencing a new culture can be challenging. Through a detailed reconstruction of a cross-cultural encounter, the case depicts a wide range of issues one may face in this scenario. These issues include cultural differences, differences in values and norms, communication styles, stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination, which can all lead to tensions and conflicts. By addressing these topics in the case study, intercultural sensitivity and competencies, as well as problem-solving skills, can all be developed. Keywords: cultural differences, values and norms, stereotypes, intercultural competence, conflict managemen

Guanxi competence as intercultural competence in business contexts: a Chinese perspective

Als eines der zentralen Themen in interkulturellen Studien wird interkulturelle Kompetenz in jüngster Zeit zunehmend untersucht. Die Untersuchung zeichnet sich insbesondere durch eine Dominanz von westlichen Perspektiven, die immer wieder eine universale Gültigkeit beanspruchen wollen, aus. Ziel dieses Artikels ist es zu erkunden, warum die Studien über interkulturelle Kompetenz vorwiegend von westlichen Perspektiven geprägt sind bzw. wie interkulturelle Kompetenz aus chinesischer Perspektive für den chinesischen Wirtschaftskontext zu konzipieren ist. Aufgrund des Guanxi-Konzeptes, welches einen grundlegenden Wert in der chinesischen Kultur bzw. ein Kernelement in deren Wirtschaftskontext darstellt, wird ein Modell von interkultureller Kompetenz entwickelt.As one of the central research questions within intercultural studies intercultural competence has been increasingly discussed in recent years. However, the study of intercultural competence is characterized by a dominance of Western perspectives that continually strives towards universal validity. Thus, the present study investigates why the research of intercultural competence is still largely derived from Western perspectives. Based on a literature review, this study attempts to argue from a non-Western perspective. Subsequently, the question as to how the intercultural competence could be conceived from a Chinese perspective in its business context is addressed. Based on the Guanxi concept, which is regarded as the core value in Chinese culture and the key component in its business context, a model of Intercultural competence will be proposed

Technical Progress and the Share of Labor Income

Changes in the labor share of national income affect inequality (Piketty 2014). This paper aims at investigating the relationship between the labor share and technical progress, based on provincial data of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from 1978 to 2012. Our main empirical results show that technical progress in the PRC had been mostly capital biased, contributing to the fast rises in income inequality in the PRC. However, the employment proportion of state-owned enterprises seems to have played a role in offsetting this negative effect, helping contain inequality. In recent years, both effects have become more significant and larger in absolute terms

Generalization of Benalcazar-Bernevig-Hughes model to arbitrary dimensions

The Benalcazar-Bernevig-Hughes (BBH) model [Science 357, 61 (2017)], featuring bulk quadrupole moment, edge dipole moments, and corner states, is a paradigm of both higher-order topological insulators and topological multipole insulators. In this work, we generalize the BBH model to arbitrary dimensions by utilizing the Clifford algebra. For the generalized BBH model, the analytical solution of corner states can be directly constructed in a unified way. Based on the solution of corner states and chiral symmetry analysis, we develop a general boundary projection method to extract the boundary Hamiltonians, which turns out to be the BBH models of lower dimension and reveals the dimensional hierarchy

THE EFFECTS OF RARE EARTHS ON ACTIVITY AND SURFACE PROPERTIES OF Ru/γ-AL2O3 CATALYST FOR WATER GAS SHIFT REACTION

A series of Ru-RE/γ-AL2O3 (RE = Ce, Pr, La, Sm, Tb or Gd) and Ru/γ-AL2O3 catalysts were prepared by impregnation method. The influence of rare earths on the catalytic performance of Ru/γ-AL2O3 catalyst for the water gas shift reaction was studied. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature programmed reduction (TPR), temperature programmed desorption (TPD), and CO chemisorption. The results show that the addition of rare earths increases the catalytic activity of Ru based catalyst. Among these cerium is the most remarkably. The addition of cerium increases the active surface area, improves the dispersion of ruthenium, and weakens the interaction between ruthenium and the support. Cerium also affects the adsorption and reduction properties of Ru/γ-AL2O3 catalyst. KEY WORDS: Rare earths, Ruthenium-based catalyst, Water gas shift reaction Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2007, 21(3), 389-395