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The increasing dimension and heterogeneity of global Web systems make their management with tools based on the client/server model more difficult. The mobile agent technology overcomes the limits of traditional approaches and proposes solutions that are suitable for the management of distributed and heterogeneous Internet‐based systems. The paper describes the MAMAS environment and its implementation with a mobile agent technology. MAMAS has the goals of monitoring the whole system, introducing dynamic corrective actions and modifying system policies at run‐time. MAMAS achieves these objectives by answering the guidelines of both security and compliance to standards. The choice of Java as the implementation language has made it possible to achieve portability, to exploit the language security features, and to provide Web accessibility. The MAMAS compliance with CORBA ensures interoperability with legacy management platforms.

The Internet is an open and global programming environment where applications and services mostly follow the traditional client/server model. The use of new programming paradigms based on mobile entities, such as mobile agents (MA), can accelerate the process of diffusion of new applications and services in the areas of e‐commerce, network and systems management, and mobile computing. However, the lack of security is one of the main obstacles to a wide diffusion of MA. On the one hand, mobility increases the potential of security breaches because of the injection of possibly malicious MAs; on the other hand, it introduces the new issue of protecting MAs against integrity and secrecy attacks from their execution environments. This paper discusses the security issues introduced by the MA technology and proposes a security architecture composed of a wide set of services and components, which adequately fulfil the requirements of several application areas. The implementation of the security framework in the secure and open MA system has provided the support for the development of a secure electronic marketplace prototype that demonstrates the effectiveness of adopting the MA technology in the Internet environment.

In this chapter we discuss model selection and predictive accuracy tests in the context of parameter and model uncertainty under recursive and rolling estimation schemes. We begin by summarizing some recent theoretical findings, with particular emphasis on the construction of valid bootstrap procedures for calculating the impact of parameter estimation error. We then discuss the Corradi and Swanson (2002) (CS) test of (non)linear out-of-sample Granger causality. Thereafter, we carry out a series of Monte Carlo experiments examining the properties of the CS and a variety of other related predictive accuracy and model selection type tests. Finally, we present the results of an empirical investigation of the marginal predictive content of money for income, in the spirit of Stock and Watson (1989), Swanson (1998) and Amato and Swanson (2001).

The 13 chapters in this volume concern research and theories on 18th to 21st century gender-related issues by 19th and 21st century writers. Our volume looks backward and forward, advancing both research on gender and research on the history of sociology. Gender research is, like many of the subjects discussed in these chapters, post-discipline and post-modern. Our authors include students, mid-career, senior, and emeriti faculty members. While most identify their fields as sociology or sociology and anthropology, one is also a practicing attorney and another is a professor of English. In addition to the United States, authors come from Brazil, Finland, Israel, Italy, and Poland and their subject matter brings additional countries to the mix. They cover a broad spectrum of subjects and events from the Salem Witch Trials and the Crimean War to contemporary national and international politics and policies in such diverse settings as the European Union, Brazilian race tracks, and Israeli Rabbinical Courts. Yet they overlap and expand on each other in many, often surprising, ways.

The performance of the building envelope of a large-scale public building significantly influences the energy consumption of such a building. This study aims to determine the best strategy for the envelope by examining the engineering design of the building in Nanchang University. The building shape coefficient, sun-shading strategies, window–wall ratio, roof, and walls were studied through a method involving multilayer feed-forward neural network model simulations. Results show that the optimum shape coefficient value is 0.32. The combination of interior and exterior blinds and electrochromic glass is the ideal option to reduce the increase in the energy consumption of the architecture caused by solar radiation. Maintaining the window–wall ratio at 0.4 is ideal. A green roof exerts a minimal effect on building energy consumption decrease (only 0.4%). Applying the strategy of vertical greening to the external wall can reduce cooling energy consumption by as much as 5.4%. Adopting the best envelope strategy combination can further decrease energy consumption by 20.8%. This strategy is also applicable to the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River in China, which flow through Nanchang and have a climate similar to that of the said area. Future research should be directed toward applying artificial neural networks to quantitatively evaluate the effects of a design strategy and produce the best design strategy combination.

Is medically assisted fertilization (with the use of in vitro technology) about “reproductive rights” or about white women's privileges? What is “choice” for white and rich women seems to become a further commodification of the body for women of color and economically disadvantaged women.

Several feminists define reproductive rights by demanding social justice and a type of support for the mothers that does not include expensive technologies, which have a problematic outcome, that of generating a divide between women in the north and women in the south of the world. Some authors also talk about a “division of labor” in reproduction.

The first part of my chapter offers an outline of the historical feminist debate over gender and technology, looking at different positions regarding biotechnologies, and reproductive technologies in a specific way. The second part presents an investigation around the (often racialized) international market of eggs and surrogate mothers in the United States, India and Eastern Europe.

The third part consists of an analysis of few recent studies about the health of women who undergo ovarian hyper-stimulation in order to give eggs as “donation” (under payment); women who offer themselves as surrogate mothers and the children who have been conceived with in vitro fertilization, specifically with heterologue forms (egg donation or surrogate motherhood).

In contrast to liberal, orthodox Marxist and structural interpretations which attribute government policy in capitalist society to exogenous forces, the state regularly possesses a significant area of autonomy within which decisions are effectively determined by the political‐administrative elite (PAE). The majority of the economic projects emanating therefrom can be categorized as either aggrandizing populist or economistic. Postulates the choice of orientation depends upon PAE interests. Concludes that a purely aggrandizing project can be expected only in an environment of decisive underdevelopment while a populist one is almost inevitably a temporary response to conjunctural factors; most common, both in the advanced capitalist countries and the majority of Third World countries is a strong predisposition to an economistic project.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically evaluate the effect of heterogeneity in inter‐organizational collaboration networks on international high‐quality scientific performance of the most reputed business management schools in Latin America according to AméricaEconomía ranking.

Starting from the debate between advantages and disadvantages of heterogeneity in scientific performance framed in the debate between organizational population ecology and organizational institutionalism theories, this research explores the relationship between heterogeneity, reputation and the most important features for doing research. Using a binomial negative regression, the paper evaluates the partial effect of those variables in the count of scientific production.

There is an isomorphical tendency from the most reputed schools to establish heterogeneous networks, showing empirical evidence to normative proposals from Latin America, specially formulated in the light of Sabato triangle. Also there are differentiations between schools in aspects like human capital, double‐degree agreements, and schools’ trajectories.

It is necessary to choose a wider sample of schools and to include Latin American journals. The study of diversity (between researchers) and its relationship with heterogeneity (between organizations) is also needed.

The research shows that elite business management schools in Latin America that present better performance also present high levels of heterogeneity in their inter‐organizational collaboration. Therefore, the promotion of heterogeneity could enhance scientific performance and improve techno‐economical networks.

This research hopes to aim the research policy design to be able to steer and promote heterogeneity that could improve the relationship between producers and users of knowledge.

The relationships between reputation, heterogeneity, and scientific performance in administration in Latin America had not been addressed empirically. The worth of this research is the empirical confirmation to the advantages of heterogeneity, rather than intellectual capital features of schools, in research collaboration that contribute to the debate about heterogeneity and performance.

Evaluar empíricamente el efecto de la heterogeneidad de las redes de colaboración interorganizacionales en el desempeño científico de alta calidad internacional en las escuelas de administración y negocios más reputadas en América Latina de acuerdo con el escalafón de AméricaEconomía.

Con base en el debate que concierne a las ventajas y desventajas de la heterogeneidad en el desempeño científico enmarcado dentro del debate entre las teorías de la ecología de poblaciones y el institucionalismo organizacional, esta investigación explora la relación entre la heterogeneidad, la reputación y las características más importantes que pertenecen a la investigación. Usando la regresión binomial negativa, el artículo evalúa los efectos parciales de las variables en el conteo de la producción científica.

Hay una tendencia isomórfica de las escuelas más reputadas por establecer redes heterogéneas, mostrando evidencia empírica para las propuestas normativas de América Latina, especialmente formuladas a la luz del triángulo de Sabato. También hay diferencias entre las escuelas en términos del capital humano, los convenios de doble titulación, y la trayectoria de las escuelas.

Es necesario escoger una muestra más amplia de escuela e incluir a las revistas de América Latina. El estudio de la diversidad (entre investigadores) y su relación con la heterogeneidad (entre organizaciones) también es requerida.

La investigación muestra que las escuelas de administración en América Latina que presentan mejor desempeño también presentan altos niveles de heterogeneidad en su colaboración interorganizacional. Por lo tanto, la promoción de la heterogeneidad podría añadir al desempeño científico y mejorar las redes tecno‐económicas.

Esta investigación espera impulsar el diseño de políticas de investigación y a su vez promover la heterogeneidad que pueda mejorar la relación entre los productores y usuarios de conocimiento.

La relación entre reputación, heterogeneidad y desempeño científico en administración en América Latina no ha sido abordada empíricamente. El valor de esta investigación es la confirmación empírica de las ventajas de la heterogeneidad, en vez de otras características de las escuelas, en la colaboración científica que contribuye al debate sobre heterogeneidad y desempeño.