Deciding Disputes: Factors That Guide Chinese Courts in the Adjudication of Rural Responsibility Contract Disputes

Post-silicon validation and debug, or ensuring that software executes correctly on the silicon of a multi-processor system-on-chip (MPSOC) is complicated, as it involves checking global properties that are distributed on the chip. In this paper we define an architecture to non-intrusively observe global properties at run time using distributed monitors. The architecture enables to perform actions when a property holds, such as stopping (part of) the system for inspection. We apply this architecture to the problem of software races that result in incorrect communication between concurrent tasks on different processors. In a case study, where we implemented monitors, event distribution, and instruments to stop communication between intellectual property (IP) blocks, we demonstrate that these races can be detected and classified as timing violations or as FIFO protocol violations.©2010 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the IEEE. Erik Larsson, Bart Vermeulen and Kees Goossens, A Distributed Architecture to Check Global Properties for Post-Silicon Debug, 2010, IEEE European Test Symposium (ETS'10), Prague, Czech Republic, May 24-28, 2010.</p

Dynamic Competition with Consumer Inertia

We study a framework where two duopolists compete repeatedly in prices and where cho-sen prices potentially affect future market shares, but certainly do not affect current sales.This assumption of consumer inertia causes (noncooperative) coordination on high pricesonly to be possible as an equilibrium for low values of the discount factor. In particular,high discount factors increase opportunism and aggressiveness of competition to such anextent that high prices are no longer sustainable as an equilibrium outcome (not even intrigger strategies). In addition, we find that both monopolization and enduring marketshare and price fluctuations (price wars) can be equilibrium path phenomena withoutrequiring exogenous shocks in market or firm characteristics.microeconomics ;

Noncooperative Collusion and Price Wars with Individual Demand Fluctuations

We analyze whether noncooperative collusive equilibria are harder to sustain when individual demand levels are not fixed but are able to fluctuate. To do this, we extend a Bertrand type model of price competition to allow for fluctuating market shares when prices are equal. We find that, the larger the market share fluctuations may be, the higher the discount factor should be to sustain a collusive equilibrium in trigger strategies. The intuition behind this is fairly straightforward. When individual demand in the collusive state is suddenly low, the gains from collusion go down. Moreover, the firm with the low demand can capture a larger share of the market by deviating from the collusive strategy. The incentive to deviate therefore becomes larger when the individual market share decreases. We also look at the existence of a specific type of semi-collusive equilibrium when individual market shares are either common knowledge or private knowledge. We find that there exist equilibria in which competitive periods (price wars) occur with probability 1 and on the equilibrium path.mathematical economics;

Intentional Price Wars on the Equilibrium Path

In this paper we study the effect of information on the occurrence of intentional price wars on the equilibrium path. An episode of low prices is an intentional price war if it follows a period of high prices which was ended intentionally by one of the firms in the market (the price war leader). We show that for intentional price wars to exist on the equilibrium path, two elements are necessary regarding the information on which the firms base their decisions: (1) interperiod dynamics and (2) informational asymmetries. We illustrate this by means of a repeated price-setting game in which market shares fluctuate. Firms learn about the market share realizations at the beginning of each period. We show that intentional price wars on the equilibrium path are possible when firms have private information about their market share. When market shares are public information, we either see collusive price adjustment or episodes of low prices that do not classify as an intentional price war.microeconomics ;

Functional health state description and valuation by people aged 65 and over:a pilot study

Abstract Background Assessing quality of life among the elderly is a complex and multifaceted issue. Elderly people might find valuing and describing their personal experience of quality of life (QoL) demanding and cumbersome. This study therefore sought to determine the feasibility of administering two questionnaires in two samples of elderly people. Methods A preference-based instrument (EQ-5D + C) and a currently achieved functioning questionnaire (CAF) were utilized. Two pilot studies were performed. The first was performed in South Africa (n = 30), designed to test whether elderly respondents could complete and understand the two questionnaires and also to indicate which valuation method, visual analogue scale or time trade off they preferred. A second pilot study was performed in the Netherlands (n = 30), designed to investigate the use of both questionnaires in determining quality of life and health state valuations in a Dutch sample of elderly. Results Seventy percent of the South African respondents indicated that they preferred the visual analogue scale (VAS) method, when compared to the time trade-off (TTO). In both the South African and the Dutch pilot studies, the respondents, with different dependency levels, were able to use both questionnaires to determine health state descriptions and valuations. When ranking the profiles from fewer to more problems, the EQ-5D + C exhibits a gradual downwards trend, with a maximum of 100 and minimum VAS value of 41. The CAF also exhibits a gradual downwards trend, with a maximum of 1.00 and minimum VAS value of 36. Conclusions The results indicate that individuals from different parts of the world are able to complete, describe, and value the questionnaires. It is our recommendation that a comprehensive study should be done, which includes both the EQ-5D + C questionnaire and the CAF questionnaire, since the two questionnaires have proven to be feasible in providing information on quality of life and well-being of elderly people

Analyzing Risk and Performance Using the Multi-Factor Concept

In this paper, we present a new model to analyze the risk and the expected level of firm performance. This model is based on the multi-factor approach to risk, in which unexpected performance is explained through sensitivities to unexpected changes of risk factors. Instead of using the multi-factor approach for the analysis of security portfolios, it is used to analyze performance measures of firms. In this paper the multi-factor approach is not only used to analyze risk, but also to analyze the expected level of performance. Furthermore, it is analyzed how instruments, as for instance projects, can be used to change the risk and the expected level of performance. An illustrative application in the field of finance is presented, although the model can also be applied in other areas

Integrating law, technology, and design : teaching data protection and privacy law in a digital age

Key Points The data protection lawyer of the future will be a key intermediary of innovation—or ‘transaction engineer’—who facilitates and coordinates new forms of business and other social relationships in rapidly evolving multi-disciplinary settings. The effective performance of this function requires legal professionals to develop a different mindset, along with new skills and capacities, specifically a better understanding of the underlying technologies and the value and techniques of legal design, as well as a knowledge of relevant data protection law. Transferable principles for teaching data protection law and privacy law in a digital age are identified. The article proposes a task-oriented, gamified, and sandbox approach to data protection education that delivers a more relevant student experience that cultivates meaningful capacities and skills that are more closely aligned with the needs and values of a digital age.©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed