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Recognition of plane objects can be achieved by calculating the area and first and second moments of the object. In the work described a hardwired videoprocessor linked to a 16‐bit microprocessor enables the recognition to be achieved within 30 milliseconds.

This paper is part II of an overview of the work of the Pattern and Image Processing group of the Leuven University, presenting some of the industrial applications.

The Pattern Recognition and Image Processing group of the Leuven University is engaged in medical as well as in industrial projects. This paper is Part I of an overview of some of the industrial applications.

The purpose of this study is to examine and interpret the characteristics of social responsibility in general, and business responsibility in particular, that were evident during a period in European history that was plagued by widespread social problems and change. Based on that interpretation, the authors explore the lessons those characteristics may have for social responsibility in a contemporary world that is facing similar conditions.

The paper presents a qualitative analysis of the proceedings of the Bienfaisance Congress held in Frankfurt in 1857, where societal leaders from different nations met to answer the question, who has responsibility for whom, and for what? The authors use grounded theory, as it is operationalized in what is known as the “Gioia template,” to conduct a structured analysis of this particular text, and to in turn produce a theoretical interpretation of how that question was answered.

The interpretation from this study is that congress participants articulated certain established dimensions of responsibility (individual, organizational, national), as well as one new dimension (international), and did so by differentiating boundaries of responsibility; in turn, the authors suggest that these dimensions and boundaries work together to form a nested system of responsibilities.

There is limited empirical evidence available that documents the variety of responsibility-based initiatives that were being conducted during the 19th century. An analysis of the congress proceedings allows us to gain a better understanding of how the 19th-century world, particularly the upper echelons of European society, approached the question of under what conditions actors in different domains have responsibility for another. While the implications are limited by the analysis of the proceedings of one congress that was attended by elites, they do provide a snapshot of how Europe sought to articulate a system of bounded responsibilities during a time of widespread social problems and change.

Although the nested system of responsibilities framework that emerged from the grounded theory analysis is not applicable to all situations, it should sensitize policymakers and business leaders to the need to address social problems in a systemic way.

The authors both present a systems-based framework for understanding how responsibility is differentiated among actors (individual, organizational, state and international) and demonstrate how a theoretical interpretation of historical documents can be accomplished through the use of grounded theory, as operationalized through the Gioia template.

The automatic visual inspection of glassware is a challenging and potentially rewarding field of study. It is possible to detect a wide range of glassware defects and profiles automatically. This article reviews these possibilities and justifies the view that automated visual inspection systems will be increasingly used in glassware inspection tasks.

Digital piracy is one of the most popular forms of intellectual property theft and is currently recognized as a crime in several countries. This begs the question, if persons are fully informed that digital file sharing is a crime and, if caught, can be legally prosecuted, why do individuals opt to engage in such criminal behaviour? The purpose of the paper is to determine the psychological, social and economic factors influencing digital piracy. Understanding the social and psychological features of digital pirates is necessary if effected strategies are to be developed to deter the practice of digital piracy.

In this paper, a representative sample drawn from the population of Barbados was surveyed. The conceptual models were estimated using ordinary least squares multiple regression, Tobit estimation and quantile regression.

The results suggest that intentions and willingness to pay (WTP) both have a significant impact on digital piracy. Intentions are in turn influenced by the pirate's attitude, perceived consequences, ethics, education level and environment. Finally, a facilitating environment and perceived importance of the piracy issue help to predict’ WTP for digital products.

To the best of the knowledge, no other study has combined notions from attitude/values/behaviour with that of WTP. Yet, the literature would suggest that they both have significant impacts on the quantity of digital goods that are pirated. It is possible that not modelling their joint impact could have resulted in loss of vital information.

In the domain of healthcare, both process efficiency and the quality of care can be improved through the use of dedicated pervasive technologies. Among these applications are so-called real-time location systems (RTLS). Such systems are designed to determine and monitor the location of assets and people in real time through the use of wireless sensor networks. Numerous commercially available RTLS are used in hospital settings. The nursing home is a relatively unexplored context for the application of RTLS and offers opportunities and challenges for future applications. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This paper sets out to provide an overview of general applications and technologies of RTLS. Thereafter, it describes the specific healthcare applications of RTLS, including asset tracking, patient tracking and personnel tracking. These overviews are followed by a forecast of the implementation of RTLS in nursing homes in terms of opportunities and challenges.

By comparing the nursing home to the hospital, the RTLS applications for the nursing home context that are most promising are asset tracking of expensive goods owned by the nursing home in order to facilitate workflow and maximise financial resources, and asset tracking of personal belongings that may get lost due to dementia.

This paper is the first to provide an overview of potential application of RTLS technologies for nursing homes. The paper described a number of potential problem areas that can be addressed by RTLS.

Presents over sixty abstracts summarising the 1999 Employment Research Unit annual conference held at the University of Cardiff. Explores the multiple impacts of globalization on work and employment in contemporary organizations. Covers the human resource management implications of organizational responses to globalization. Examines the theoretical, methodological, empirical and comparative issues pertaining to competitiveness and the management of human resources, the impact of organisational strategies and international production on the workplace, the organization of labour markets, human resource development, cultural change in organisations, trade union responses, and trans‐national corporations. Cites many case studies showing how globalization has brought a lot of opportunities together with much change both to the employee and the employer. Considers the threats to existing cultures, structures and systems.

Focuses on two key aspects of the rule of law – equality before the law and the universal application of the same system of law to all people – and examines these requirements in the context of the European Works Council (EWC) Directive, aimed at establishing a European‐wide legal framework for transnational information and consultation. Looks at the philosophy behind the EWC concept, discussing its historical context, the rationale for its adoption, its provisions and certain implementation problems, and considers the implications and consequences of the Directive for the UK, which is in the process of adopting it. Spotlights three problematic areas relating to recognition and employee representation, the potential consequences of late implementation and uniting different employee representative arrangements, and identifies three aspects of inequality relating to both employers and employees that appear to breach the rule of law. Concludes that the Directive represents a first step towards achieving true employee participation and a transnational industrial relations system.