Determining the Trustworthiness of New Electronic Contracts

Expressing contractual agreements electronically potentially allows agents to automatically perform functions surrounding contract use: establishment, fulfilment, renegotiation etc. For such automation to be used for real business concerns, there needs to be a high level of trust in the agent-based system. While there has been much research on simulating trust between agents, there are areas where such trust is harder to establish. In particular, contract proposals may come from parties that an agent has had no prior interaction with and, in competitive business-to-business environments, little reputation information may be available. In human practice, trust in a proposed contract is determined in part from the content of the proposal itself, and the similarity of the content to that of prior contracts, executed to varying degrees of success. In this paper, we argue that such analysis is also appropriate in automated systems, and to provide it we need systems to record salient details of prior contract use and algorithms for assessing proposals on their content. We use provenance technology to provide the former and detail algorithms for measuring contract success and similarity for the latter, applying them to an aerospace case study.

The Anatomy of the Thoracic Spinal Canal Investigated with Magnetic Resonance Imaging

BACKGROUND: We investigated, with magnetic resonance imaging, the distance of the dura mater to the spinal cord in patients without spinal or medullar disease at the 2nd, 5th, and 10th thoracic segments.METHODS: Fifty patients in the supine position underwent magnetic resonance imaging. Medial sagittal slices of the 2nd, 5th, and 10th thoracic segments were measured for the relative distances using the 1.5-T superconducting system (Gyroscan Intera, Philips Medical Systems, Best, the Netherlands). In 10 patients, the angles relative to the tangent at the insertion point on the skin were measured.RESULTS: The posterior dural-spinal cord distance is significantly greater at the midthoracic region (5th thoracic = 5.8 +/- 0.8 mm) than at the upper (2nd thoracic = 3.9 +/- 0.8 mm) and lower thoracic levels (10th thoracic = 4.1 +/- 1.0 mm) (P < 0.015). There were no differences between interspaces T2 and 110. There was no correlation between age and the measured distance between the dura mater and the spinal cord. The entry angle of the needle at T2 was 9.0 degrees +/- 2.5 degrees; at T5, 45.0 degrees +/- 7.4 degrees; and at T10, 9.50 degrees +/- 4.2 degrees.CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that there is greater depth of the posterior subarachnoid space at the T2, T5, and T10 levels. The greater distance was found at T5. (Anesth Analg 2010;110:1494-5)

Economic reforms, growth and employment: labour markets in Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

The income distribution problem in Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

Women's political participation and gender parity in decision-making at all levels in the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

Mating in the pseudogamic apomictic Anemopaegma acutifolium DC: Another case of pseudo-self-compatibility in Bignoniaceae?

Self-compatibility in apomictic pseudogamic species is considered fundamental to assure reproduction by seeds in extreme situations, making apomictic species more advantageous than sexual ones in these scenarios. Anemopaegma acutifolium is a polyploidy, apomictic sporophytic species with no endosperm development in ovules of unpollinated pistils, which indicates obligate pseudogamy. Thus, the aim of the present work is to study the breeding system and post-pollination events to test if there is similar pseudogamous development irrespective of pollination treatment. We analysed fruit and seed set obtained in controlled experimental pollinations, as well as embryo number per seed, and the progress of ovule penetration, fertilisation and early endosperm development between self- and cross-pollinated pistils. We found that the species is self-fertile and that spontaneous selfing fruit set is also possible, although emasculated flowers never form fruits. Selfed pistils were as efficient as crossed ones for all parameters analysed, except for a delay in endosperm development observed in the former that may be an effect of the late-acting self-incompatibility. Therefore, the avoidance of selfed pistil abortion seems to be promoted by the presence of adventitious embryos and a normal endosperm. We conclude that A. acutifolium shows apomixis-related pseudo-self-compatibility, as in other self-fertile apomictic species of Bignoniaceae, which confer reproductive assurance and increases fruit-set and persistence ability in fast-changing tropical habitats. © 2012 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

Report of the seminar on the results of the social vulnerability index

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC); Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean and secretariat of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC); has been involved for the past three years in the execution of a project NET/00/035: Development of the Social Statistical Databases and a methodological approach for a Social Vulnerability Index (SVI); funded by the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The project had been conceptualized to produce two outputs, one a social statistical database, and the other, the development of a methodological approach for an SVI. The project was in response to the articulated needs of governments in the subregion, specifically, and the wider international body of policy makers, in general, for greater availability and a better quality of social statistical data and indicators to measure the vulnerability of small States.

Report of the Grenada national yachting consultation

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC); Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean embarked on a project "Development of a Subregional Marine-based Tourism Strategy" in 2001. The project, co-funded by the Government of the Netherlands, is aimed at the development of sustainable yachting tourism in the Eastern Caribbean and focuses on the island arc from the British Virgin Islands in the north to Trinidad and Tobago in the south. The project includes the conduct of national studies in the British Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago. In all countries the national studies were preceded by consultations with the private and public sector and, following completion of the national reports, the findings were similarly discussed through a private and public sector consultation. On 26 March 2003, as part of the project's activities, a national consultation on yachting in Grenada was convened by the Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Culture, Social Security, Gender and Family Affairs in collaboration with the Marine and Yachting Association of Grenada (MAYAG); and ECLAC. One of the objectives of the consultation was to review the report "Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique: The Yachting Sector" that was prepared by the ECLAC Subregional Headquarters of the Caribbean and co-sponsored by the Government of the Netherlands. A second objective included the provision of a forum for a private sector-government discussion on yachting and the pleasure boat industry and its contribution to Grenada. The final objective was the identification of ways and means to increase the contribution of yachting as a viable component of the tourism industry in Grenada.

Yachting in the Eastern Caribbean: a regional overview

Includes bibliography

The impact of climate change on the water sector in the Caribbean

This study econometrically analyses the projected impact of climate change on the water sector of nine Caribbean countries to 2100: Aruba, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Montserrat, Jamaica, Netherlands Antilles, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago. Overall, all countries, with the exception of Trinidad and Tobago, are expected to suffer aggregate losses as result of climate change in the early periods ca. 2020 under one or more scenarios. Over time, some countries experience declining negative impacts, as in the case of Guyana under the B2 scenario. Some countries, such as the Dominican Republic, is projected to suffer increasing losses under the B2 scenario and, for others, the impacts do not follow a defined trend. The A2 scenario offers the best outcome for all countries, except Jamaica (where BAU is most desirable), Montserrat (which performs most poorly under the A2 scenario), and the Netherlands Antilles, which does best under the B2 case. Overall, relative to 2006, the total demand for water in the Caribbean is expected to fall by 2030 by 11.3% to approximately 12,967 million cubic meters. This is due to the expected fall in agricultural water demand by approximately 36% in that period. However, by 2050, total water demand for the Caribbean will again exceed the 2006 level by approximately 4% to 14,896.33 106 m3. By 2100, water demand will increase almost fivefold to approximately 69,233.69 106 m3. Climate change is expected to affect all countries in the Caribbean. In some cases, there will be positive impacts that may continue to increase over time and, in other cases, the impact will be negative and worsen over time. Overall, the agricultural sector is expected to suffer the worst losses over any scenario, whilst growth in the industrial sectors is expected to be significant and contribute the most to increasing water demand over time.

An assessment of the economic impact of climate change on the tourism sector in Curacao

In this study, an attempt is made to estimate the economic impact of climate change on the tourism sector in the (former) Netherlands Antilles. There are three main objectives in this study. The first is to examine the factors that influence the demand and supply of tourism in Netherlands Antilles. The second is to forecast the cost of climate change to the tourism sector until 2050 under the A2 and B2 climate scenarios with the (Business as Usual) as a comparator climate scenario, and the third is to estimate the cost of adaptation and mitigation strategies that can be undertaken by the tourism sector in the Netherlands Antilles to address climate change.

Caribbean regional report for the five-year review of the Mauritius strategy for the further implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action for the sustainable development of small island developing states (MSI +5)

The small island developing States (SIDS) of the Caribbean referred to in this report comprise Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, The Netherlands Antilles, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States Virgin Islands. As far back as 1994, these countries expressed commitment to implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action (BPoA) for SIDS and have reiterated their support in making progress in achieving the targets set out in the Mauritius Strategy for further implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of SIDS (MSI).

Saint Lucia: the Yachting Sector

This study is a measure of the impact of the yachting sector in Saint Lucia specific to the terms of reference as presented by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). This study is part of the project: Development of a Subregional Marinebased Tourism Strategy, co-funded by the Government of the Netherlands, which is aimed at the development of sustainable yachting in the Eastern Caribbean and focuses on the island arc from the British Virgin Islands in the north to Trinidad and Tobago in the south. This study was compiled based on information gathered through interviews, reviewing of existing data and current findings and observations in areas where data was not presented. This study reviews specifically the yachting sector, or pleasure boat industry, which can be defined as a complex set of activities that are required to sustain boating and cruising in Saint Lucia. These activities are emphasized by yachting tourists, who are visitors to the island, staying for more than 24 hours on their vessels. A comp

rho(0) photoproduction in AuAu collisions at root s(NN)=62.4 GeV measured with the STAR detector

Vector mesons may be photoproduced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions when a virtual photon emitted by one nucleus scatters from the other nucleus, emerging as a vector meson. The STAR Collaboration has previously presented measurements of coherent rho(0) photoproduction at center of mass energies of 130 GeV and 200 GeV in AuAu collisions. Here, we present a measurement of the cross section at 62.4 GeV; we find that the cross section for coherent rho(0) photoproduction with nuclear breakup is 10.5 +/- 1.5 +/- 1.6mb at 62.4 GeV. The cross-section ratio between 200 GeV and 62.4 GeV is 4.4 +/- 0.6, less than is predicted by most theoretical models. It is, however, proportionally much larger than the previously observed 15% +/- 55% increase between 130 GeV and 200 GeV.