bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Corporate Community Involvement: a case for regulatory reform
Authors: Hamil Sean
Published: March 2003

The central thesis of this paper is that Corporate Community Involvement (CCI) is not a neutral activity with positive and mutual benefits for all involved. Rather, it is a much more complex activity which may also have negative impacts. Using Donaldson and Preston’s (1995) explanatory model of the stakeholding concept as a framework, this paper explores: (1) the practice of CCI in the UK (with some reference to US experience from which UK firms have drawn extensively), (2) the grounds on which it is justified, and (3) the material consequences of such activity for corporate governance. It concludes by arguing that there is a case for a review of the law on CCI to assess the need for fuller public disclosure so as to allow shareholders and other interested groups the opportunity to assess the impact and effectiveness of CCI more thoroughly.
Tinged shareholder theory: or what’s so special about stakeholders?
Authors: Moore Geoff
Published: March 2003

This paper contrasts the normative foundations of the stakeholder and shareholder theories of the firm. It demonstrates how the shareholder theory of the firm appears to have at least as much normative support as stakeholder theory and suggests that a way forward may be for a variant of pure shareholder theory to emerge.
Media Ethics
Authors: Hackley Chris
Published: March 2003

John Corner, Philip Schlesinger and Roger Silverstone (eds), International Media Research – a critical survey

Matthew Kieran (ed), Media Ethics
From Ethics ‘By Proxy’ to Ethics In Action: New Approaches to Understanding HRM and Ethics
Authors: Cornelius Nelarine , Gagnon Suzanne
Published: March 2003

In this paper we review recent UK literature on HRM and ethics and suggest that implicit in many accounts is a perception of a ‘moral hole’ appearing within the employee relations landscape which is based on external, reflective observations of HRM policies and practices. We argue that the investigation of HRM and ethics could be broadened by locating HRM and ethics research more explicitly within the social and cultural realities of organizations and their employees. Finally, we outline and illustrate what a social constructivist approach might add to research in this field and how it might provide insights that help bridge the gap between theory and practice.
Review Article: In Trusts We Trust
Authors: Hackley Chris
Published: March 2003

Book reviewed in this article:

Marchand, Roland Creating the Corporate Soul: The rise of public relations and corporate imagery in American big business
A cross‐cultural comparison of achievement and power orientation as leadership dimensions in three European countries: Britain, Ireland and Turkey
Authors: Arslan Mahmut
Published: March 2003

This paper compares attitudes towards achievement and power orientation as between Turkish, British and Irish managers and discusses the issue from a business ethics point of view. The concept of achievement and power orientation and its impacts on business ethics is discussed. This research is part of a larger cross‐cultural study that examines leadership styles and managerial attitudes in Britain, Turkey and Ireland. Intensive structured interviews were conducted for data gathering process. Results revealed that Irish and Turkish managers show a higher achievement orientation level than their British counterparts. On one hand this situation may give some advantages to Turkish and Irish managers in developing leadership qualities, on the other hand, it can also lead to some difficulties in ethical business practices. Therefore, corporate social responsibility becomes a more important issue to be pursued in Turkey and Ireland. British and Irish managers, however, showed a higher power orientation level than Turkish managers. The low level of power orientation of Turkish managers can be explained by cultural and historical conditions that still affect modern Turkish society. Previous cross‐cultural studies support the results of this paper.
Human rights strategies for corporations
Authors: Rice David
Published: March 2003

This paper presents BP’s approach to ethical corporate governance. The author suggests that corporate social responsibility is in the interests of both business and the people at large. In this context co‐operation between business, NGOs and activity is the best way to proceed, with each party focusing on their own field of engagement; doing business in a way that respects human rights for the companies, and campaigning and advocacy for the NGOs. Increasing transparency and risks to reputation require business to take social responsibility seriously. It is also crucial, however, to examine the boundaries of business responsibility. The challenge is to address these issues and to co‐operate with other parties such as NGOs to provide clear guidelines within specific time frames. This requires bold leadership on all sides.
The ‘privacy in employment’ critique: a consideration of some of the arguments for ‘ethical’ HRM professional practice
Authors: Nye David
Published: March 2003

A developing area of interest in ethics and in legal studies is privacy protection. This paper focuses on privacy protection in employment, and examines some of the arguments of commentators who seek to limit the information obtained from job candidates and employees. The ethical underpinnings of these restrictions are discussed in terms of how privacy in employment relations can be understood as functioning to provide a context for the maintenance and development of self‐identity, an autonomous self‐concept, the practice of meaningful autonomy, and a pluralistic social order. In the second part of the paper the proposed restrictions are examined in terms of their impact on economic welfare. The latter consideration suggests that HRM and allied professional groupings that unilaterally implemented the critics’ proposals could be deemed to be paternalistic. The potential relevance of legal regulation to resolve this issue for ‘ethical’ HRM professional practice and its significance in the area of genetic discrimination are discussed.
Business ethics: is it useful? – An empirical study of Chinese enterprise
Authors: Hong Ying
Published: March 2003

There are many ethical issues that arise during the period of transition from a planning economy to a market economy. Academics and researchers on ethics appear to think that business and ethics overlap. However, this paper addresses the relation between business and ethics from the perspective of business people. From a historical and cultural perspective, the connection between business and ethics is relevant. But in practice business people only sometimes regard this connection as useful, most of the time considering the two as being quite separate. In interviews of 21 people who are owners, chief executive officers or senior managers in state–owned or private enterprises, this study found that business ethics is indeed a dilemma for them for reasons of competitive survival. Therefore, in order to improve the ethical climate, the definition of enterprise, the guidance of government policy and the audit system all have an important role to play.
Marketing virtue
Authors: Thompson Mike
Published: March 2003

This paper is designed to respond to the conference theme of making business ethical specifically within a marketing context. Ethical marketing challenges marketers to move away from illusory and deceptive brand promises to make way for a form of marketing which serves the consumer with creative and truthful messages. The paper markets virtue to marketers whilst exploring existing marketing deontologies and the problem of the depersonalised relationship between marketer and consumer. ‘Marketing virtue’ is approached within an ontology that begins with the marketer as a moral agent. Six virtues–based principles are proposed as a creative resource to improve the ethical performance of contemporary marketing. True prosperity for both marketer and consumer is seen within the Aristotelian concept of ευδαιμονια (eudaimonia).
Britian’s Political Watershed
Authors: Haskins Christopher
Published: March 2003

This first article in our special feature is based on a speech analysing the issues facing the new Labour Government on five fronts: macroeconomics, investment, the privatised monopolies and regulation, corporate governance and stakeholders, and Britain’s relationship with the European Union (EU). The author uses his personal experience to make a particular contribution on the privatised monopolies and regulation –“The regulation and deregulation debate has come to a gory head with the BSE issue”. He outlines the significant areas being examined by the Hampel Committee on Corporate Governance which is due to report at the end of 1997. He is strongly in favour of “no change” on macroeconomic policy and for Britain to remain at the centre of the European Union. On investment he rehearses Britain’s problems and their possible solutions, dismissing the argument that changes in taxation of corporate profits would increase the cost of pensions.
A Community Fund
Authors: Holtham Gerald
Published: March 2003

This article presents a modest version of James Meade’s vision of a community fund, to be managed by commercial fund managers, with the aim of filling the hole in the public finances which can arise because the ned for critical healthcare and education grows faster than GDP. The author argues that, with profits representing and increasing share of GDP, it is essential for government revenues to have some relationship with increases in the value of capital. He suggests tightening up loopholes in inheritance tax and hypothecating the proceeds to a community fund so that wealth would “cascade down the generations” in the name of the community. He also suggests levying a variety of small‐scale taxes in the form of scrip, with the shares being held by the community fund. The income of the fund would then be directed to education and healthcare.
Inequality and Competitiveness
Authors: Witztum Amos
Published: March 2003

This article suggests a theoretical exploration of possible relationships between several issues normally discussed separately: the long‐standing capital/labour debate, the distinctions between popular capitalism (ie universal or very widespread shareholding) and stakeholding, poverty and inequality and the factors which promote productivity and competitiveness in firms. The author argues that the promotion of competition and its attendant increases in inequality are likely to reduce competitiveness.
The Education and Training Mismatch
Authors: Mayhem Ken
Published: March 2003

Ken Mayhew argues that money spent on eduction is misallocated and that the biggest problem for training is lack of demand for a flexibly skilled workforce.
Navigating Strategic Inflection Points
Authors: Grove, Dr Andrew S.
Published: March 2003

In this first of the 1997 Stockton Lectures, the speaker reflects on the turning points which can make or break even the strongest of businesses. How can managers distinguish a “Strategic Inflection Point” from the normal hurly–burly of corporate life? What generic series of actions are necessary to convert the threats of change into opportunities? What are the implications for managers as individuals with their own careers and responsibility for the careers of those working under them? Throughout the article the generic issues are illustrated with examples ranging from small–town retailing to X–ray vision.
Techniques for Analysing Company Performance
Authors: Cubbin John , Tzanidakis George
Published: March 2003

Increasingly, successful managers are required to apply mathematical tools to analysis: at the least, they must be able to spot inappropriate use of these tools in reports that they read. This article discusses two of the most common of these tools, regression analysis and data envelopment analysis.
Visualising and Rehearsing Strategy
Authors: Morecroft John
Published: March 2003

This article describes the use of business modelling and simulation for visualising and rehearsing strategy. A small‐scale model of customer growth and competitor retaliation (based on easyJet, the three‐year old UK start‐up airline) demonstrates the approach and its emphasis on interactive team‐led model building. Accompanying the article is a downloadable mini‐simulator (available at www.lbs.ac.uk/sysdyn – go to that address and select “what is modelling”). Readers can use the mini‐simulator to replay all the simulations shown in the paper and to experiment with new ones. The article also describes a modelling project at BBC World Service, conducted as an interactive learning process with an experienced management team. This includes examples of maps created by the team as well as a screen shot from the gaming simulator (or “microworld”).
Should You Spin Off Your Internet Business?
Authors: Chavez Rick , Leiter Mark , Kiely Tom
Published: March 2003

The purpose of most corporate spin‐offs is to unlock the shareholder value of a business unit that is not critical to the parent company's success. Internet spin‐offs raise additional problems, partly because they are so new. This article sets out a multi‐dimensional framework to help managers decide how to structure their internet businesses: whether to keep them integrated into the parent company, to establish them as wholly‐owned subsidiaries or to spin them off ‘wholly or partially’. The authors argue that companies must weigh the trade‐offs between what they call the ‘three Cs’: control, currency and culture. The collapse of internet stock prices in April/May 2000 reduced but did not eliminate then ‘currency’ attraction of the spin‐off option. But issues of control and culture were always just as important. Above all, the decision must be made in the context of a company's total ‘digital agenda’: that is, as part of a company's overall strategy for creating and sustaining value in the new economy.
Fresenius AG: High‐speed Globalization
Authors: Korine Harry
Published: March 2003

At first glance, Fresenius' emergence as the global leader in renal care is a classic consolidation story: price pressure on products, a changing regulatory environment, and the advent of truly global competition. Under these conditions, there are first mover advantages to building scale and bringing costs down, and Fresenius was very quick off the mark. The Fresenius tale has two special twists. First, the firm made a major move into services to speed up consolidation in the product sector; and, second, it transformed from a command and control bureaucracy to an entrepreneurial, profit‐oriented business structure. These strategic and organizational innovations have changed the character of the industry and enabled very rapid globalization. Broader research suggests that other high‐speed globalizers too need to simultaneously adapt strategy and organization to changing competitive conditions.
Telematics: Decision Time for Detroit
Authors: Chatterjee Anjan , Greenberg Joseph , Jones Matthew , Kaas Hans‐Werner , Wojcik Philip
Published: March 2003

With implications for navigation, safety, entertainment and vehicle maintenance as well as regulation and infrastructure investment in roads, telematics has the potential to transform driving more than any other innovation for decades. In the already well‐established Asian telematics industry, revenue tends to come from extra charges at the time of vehicle‐sale, with most subsequent services provided free. The US model has evolved differently, with much of the cost of telematics hardware and software subsidized in the initial vehicle sale price and revenue coming from services used. The decision to invest in telematics is therefore riskier in the US. This article first briefly summarizes the potential of telematics. It then analyzes the investment risks, particularly for automakers. It concludes with recommendations on how the US auto industry can minimize risk and make the most of the opportunities.
Watching the money go‐round
Authors: Furnham Adrian
Published: March 2003

Economics once had a monopoly on writing and theorising on the subject of money. No more. Adrian Furnham travels through the world of aspirational finance and greenback therapy where there is a millionaire around every corner.
Has Sam’s Magic Passed its Sell–by Date?
Authors: O’Higgins Eleanor R E , Weigel John R
Published: March 2003

Is Wal–Mart’s magic formula still working or will the renowned US retailer ultimately fall prey to the affliction common to apparently invincible incumbents – relying too much on a once–winning recipe in the face of environmental change and formidable rivals?
Metamemory in Children with Autism
Authors: Helwig Charles C. , Prencipe Angela
Published: March 2003

Five experiments are reported comparing metamemory abilities in children with autism, age‐ and language‐matched mentally retarded children, and language‐matched young normal controls. The mean language age of the participants in Experiment 1 was approximately 6 years, in Experiments 2, 3, and 4 approximately 8 years, and in Experiment 5 approximately 9 years. All the children were given one or more false belief tests. Experiment 1 assessed the children's understanding that a task variable (list length) and a person variable (age) will affect their own and others' performances on an immediate auditory–verbal recall task. Experiment 2 assessed the ability to utilize category cues in a picture recall task. Experiments 3 and 4 assessed the ability to verbalize strategies used in a memory span test and in one retrospective and two prospective memory situations. Experiment 5 assessed the children's knowledge and understanding of another person's memory. On the basis of available evidence and theory, we predicted that the children with autism would be impaired on all the metamemory tasks and that impairment would be associated with failure on tests of false belief. Our predictions were not supported. The children with autism were not impaired on any of the metamemory tasks, although they were less likely than controls to make spontaneous use of memory strategies involving other people. Unexpectedly few of the children failed the false belief tasks. These results are discussed in relation to theories concerning primary psychological deficits underlying autism.
Trade‐Offs in the Study of Culture and Development: Theories, Methods, and Values
Authors: Rothbaum Fred , Pott Martha , Azuma Hiroshi , Miyake Kazuo , Weisz John
Published: March 2003

The commentators are unanimous in their support for our general orientation to culture and development, and for the pathways we have identified, and they suggest ways to enrich our approach to theory, methods, and values. We view their main suggestions as relating to trade‐offs: between theories that highlight generalizations or exceptions; between methods that rely on one‐, two‐, or multiculture studies; and between values involving individuation or accommodation. Here, we describe ways to find an optimal balance in each instance.
Middle‐School‐Age Outcomes in Children with Very Low Birthweight
Authors: Taylor H. Gerry , Klein Nancy , Minich Nori M. , Hack Maureen
Published: March 2003

Most previous studies of children with birthweight <750 g have focused on early childhood sequelae. To evaluate later outcomes, a regional sample of 60 <750‐g birthweight children was compared at middle school age (M= 11 years) to 55 children with birthweight 750 – 1,499 g and 49 term controls. The groups were matched on age, gender, and demographic variables at the time of an early‐school‐age assessment (mean age 7 years). The <750‐g birthweight group fared less well at middle school age than the term group on measures of cognitive function, achievement, behavior, and academic performance. In many instances, outcomes were less favorable for the <750‐g children than for the 750 to 1,499‐g group. Children in the <750‐g group who were free of neurosensory disorders and global cognitive impairment performed more poorly on several tests than their term counterparts. Group differences in this subsample on tests of motor skills, math, and the ability to copy and recall a complex drawing remained significant even after controlling for IQ. Disparities between the <750‐g and term groups increased with age for some measures. Despite favorable outcomes for many children in the <750‐g group, this population is at risk for long‐term developmental problems.
Parental Sensitivity, Infant Affect, and Affect Regulation: Predictors of Later Attachment
Authors: Braungart‐Rieker Julia M. , Garwood Molly M. , Powers Bruce P. , Wang Xiaoyu
Published: March 2003

This longitudinal study on 94 families examined the extent to which parent sensitivity, infant affect, and affect regulation at 4 months predicted mother – infant and father – infant attachment classifications at 1 year. Parent sensitivity was rated from face‐to‐face interaction episodes; infant affect and regulatory behaviors were rated from mother – infant and father – infant still‐face episodes at 4 months. Infants' attachment to mothers and fathers was rated from the Strange Situation at 12 and 13 months. MANOVAs indicated that 4‐month parent and infant factors were associated with infant – mother but not infant – father attachment groups. Discriminant Function Analysis further indicated that two functions, “Affect Regulation” and “Maternal Sensitivity,” discriminated infant–mother attachment groups; As and B1 – B2s showed more affect regulation toward mothers and fathers than B3 – B4s and Cs at 4 months, and mothers of both secure groups were more sensitive than mothers of Cs. Finally, the association between maternal sensitivity and infant – mother attachment was partially mediated by infant affect regulation.
Attention to Novel Objects during Verb Learning
Authors: Kersten Alan W. , Smith Linda B.
Published: March 2003

Three experiments provided evidence that 3.5‐ to 4‐year‐old English‐speaking children (N= 72) attend to the appearances of novel objects, not only when they hear a novel noun, but also when they hear a novel verb. Children learning nouns in the context of novel, moving objects attended exclusively to the appearances of objects, even though nouns were also related to the motions of those objects. Children learning verbs attended equally to the appearances of objects and their motions. The latter result contrasted with the results from adults (N= 20), who focused more strongly on motions than on the appearances of objects when learning verbs. When familiar objects were instead employed, child verb learners attended more to motions than to the appearances of objects. Children may attend to novel objects during verb learning because knowledge of an object may be prerequisite to understanding what a verb means in the context of that object.
The Development of Reasoning about the Teaching of Values in School and Family Contexts
Authors: Prencipe Angela , Helwig Charles C.
Published: March 2003

This study investigated children’s, adolescents’, and young adults’ reasoning about the teaching of a variety of values in the school and family contexts. One‐hundred and sixty participants in four age groups (8‐, 10‐, and 13‐year‐olds, and college students) evaluated acts involving the teaching of values and laws that regulate the teaching of these values. Both the valence (positive or negative) of values and the context in which they were presented (school, family) were systematically varied. Results showed that a variety of factors were considered in evaluating the teaching of values, including context, the valence of the value, and the type of value being taught. Participants’ reasoning about values education was found to be multifaceted and included distinctions between moral values that reflect justice and rights, and values that reflect other forms of personality traits and social values. The findings suggest that conceptions of values education may be better understood within models of social reasoning that draw distinctions between types of values (e.g., moral and other values) and account for the increasing capacity to differentiate social contexts and spheres of legitimate governmental regulation with development.
Profiles of Social Competence among Low–Income African American Preschool Children
Authors: Mendez Julia L. , Fantuzzo John , Cicchetti Dante
Published: March 2003

Relations between children’s personal attributes and peer play competence were investigated in a sample of 141 African American preschool children who participated in Head Start. Variable–oriented analyses confirmed that dispositions of temperament, emotion regulation, autonomy, and language were related to children’s peer play competence in the classroom. Person–oriented analyses revealed distinctive profiles of personal attributes linked to adaptive preschool social functioning. A small group of resilient children whose profile was characterized by highly adaptable temperament, ability to approach new situations, and above average vocabulary development evidenced the greatest social competence with peers. Children who were disruptive with peers were equally divided between two profiles characterized by inattention and activity, but with differential performance on vocabulary tasks. A profile containing calm, reticent children was the group least likely to engage in disruptive peer play. Inspection of the six profiles revealed the within–group variability for this economically disadvantaged sample and illustrated the differential importance of temperament, regulation, and language constructs. Findings from the profile analyses and relations with peer competence inform the study of resilience in social development for urban African American children who participate in early intervention preschool programs.
Understanding “Prior Intentions” Enables Two–Year–Olds to Imitatively Learn a Complex Task
Authors: Carpenter Malinda , Call Josep , Tomasello Michael
Published: March 2003

This study investigated children’s understanding of others’ intentions in a social learning context. Specifically, it investigated whether knowing an adult’s prior intention before the adult gives a demonstration influences what children learn from the demonstration. In the five main experimental conditions, ninety–six 2–year–old children watched as an experimenter (E) pulled out a pin and opened the door of a box. Children in two No Prior Intention conditions saw this demonstration alone or paired with an irrelevant action. Children in three Prior Intention conditions knew what E was trying to do before the demonstration: they first saw E either attempt unsuccessfully to open the door, or visit and open several other containers, or they first saw that the door opened. Children opened the box themselves more often in each of these three conditions than in the two No Prior Intention conditions, even though children in all five conditions saw the exact same demonstration of how to open the box.
Deformable Surface Techniques for Field Visualization
Authors: Sadarjoen I. , Post Frits H.
Published: March 2003

Surface extraction from data fields is often used in scientific visualization, as surfaces can represent meaningful information and they are well suited for display. This paper describes a general method for localized surface extraction from scalar and vector fields. An initial polygonal surface is placed within the field, and the shape of the surface is adapted to the field by iterative displacement of surface nodes according to a displacement criterion. To achieve a good approximation of a smooth surface, the polygon mesh can be locally refined during iteration. The type of surface extracted depends on the displacement criterion, which can be any function of the available field variables. Techniques for displacement and mesh refinement are discussed in detail. The results we show are generation of a local isosurface and extraction of a vortex tube. Finally, we will draw conclusions and discuss some issues for further development.
Generating Reflected Directions from BRDF Data
Authors: Lalonde Paul , Fournier Alain
Published: March 2003

Monte‐Carlo path tracing algorithms for computer graphics require that given an incident light ray at a surface an outgoing direction can be computed with a distribution given by the magnitude of the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF). For analytic reflectance functions this can be done using various techniques including inverting the function, or tabulating some representation of the inverse. However, measured BRDF data sets are too large for this to be practical.

We present a method to generate reflection rays distributed according to the magnitude of the BRDF. The method relies on a wavelet‐based representation of the BRDF. This representation is efficient and compact, allowing large, anisotropic measured BRDF data sets to be represented with a few thousand coefficients. In particular, we exploit the wavelet representation to quickly compute integrals over ranges of the BRDF.
Optimal Source Selection in Shooting Random Walk Monte Carlo Radiosity
Authors: Sbert Mateu
Published: March 2003

In this paper we study how to optimally select between different sources in shooting random walk Monte Carlo Radiosity. Until now the probability of selecting a source has been made proportional to the importance of that source for the region of interest. We will show here that, whenever the transition probabilities are the Form Factors, this is not optimal, and will consequently give the optimal case. This will correspond to probabilities proportional to the square root of importances, rather than to importances themselves.
Bounded Radiosity – Illumination on General Surfaces and Clusters
Authors: Stamminger Marc , Slusallek Philipp , Seidel Hans‐Peter
Published: March 2003

Traditionally, Radiosity algorithms have been restricted to scenes made from planar patches. Most algorithms for computing form factors and the subdivision criterion for hierarchical methods implicitly assume planar patches. In this paper, we present a new radiosity algorithm that is solely based on simple geometric information about surface elements, namely their bounding boxes and cone of normals. Using this information allows to compute efficient error bounds that can be used for the subdivision oracle and for computing the energy transfer. Due to the simple interface to geometric objects, our algorithm not only allows for computing illumination on general curved surfaces, but it can also be directly applied to a hieararchy of clusters. Several examples demonstrate the advantages of the new approach.
A Framework for Interacting with Paper
Authors: Robinson Peter , Sheppard Dan , Watts Richard , Harding Robert , Lay Steve
Published: March 2003

This paper reports on ways of using digitised video from television cameras in user interfaces for computer systems. The DigitalDesk is built around an ordinary physical desk and can be used as such, but it has extra capabilities. A video camera mounted above the desk, pointing down at the work surface, is used to detect where the user is pointing and to read documents that are placed on the desk. A computer‐driven projector is also mounted above the desk, allowing the system to project electronic objects onto the work surface and onto real paper documents. The animated paper documents project is considering particular applications of the technology in electronic publishing. The goal is to combine electronic and printed documents to give a richer presentation than that afforded by either separate medium.

This paper describes the framework that has been developed to assist with the preparation and presentation of these mixed‐media documents. The central component is a registry that associates physical locations on pieces of paper with actions. This is surrounded by a number of adaptors that assist with the creation of new documents either from scratch or by translating from conventional hypermedia, and also allow the documents to be edited. Finally the DigitalDesk itself identifies pieces of paper and animates them with the actions described in the registry.
Color Fidelity in Computer Graphics: a Survey
Authors: Rougeron Gilles , Péroche Bernard
Published: March 2003

The purpose of this paper is to make a state of the art for color fidelity in computer graphics. Color fidelity includes three steps. The first one is the spectral rendering phase which attributes a spectrum to each pixel of a picture. During the second step, a spectral data is transformed into a set of tristimulus values in the XYZ color space. The purpose of the third step, called Color Reproduction Function, is to determine the RGB values displayable on the screen, in such a way that subjective fidelity is reached. We especially detail the two last steps of the color fidelity process; we also point out the work still remaining to be done in this field and we propose some research ways.
Molecular Dynamics Simulation in Virtual Environments
Authors: Ai Z. , Fröhlich T.
Published: March 2003

A virtual environment for interactive molecular dynamics simulation has been designed and implemented at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics. Different kinds of virtual reality devices are used in the environment for immersive display and interaction with the molecular system. A parallel computer is used to simulate the physical and chemical properties of the molecular system dynamically. A high‐speed network exchanges data between the simulation program and the modeling program. Molecular dynamics simulation virtual environment provides scientists with a powerful tool to study immersively the world of molecules. The dynamic interaction between an AIDS antiviral drug and reverse transcriptase enzyme is illustrated in the paper.
Rapid and Accurate Contact Determination between Spline Models using ShellTrees
Authors: Krishnan S. , Gopi M. , Lin M. , Manocha D. , Pattekar A.
Published: March 2003

In this paper, we present an efficient algorithm for contact determination between spline models. We make use of a new hierarchy, called ShellTree, that comprises of spherical shells and oriented bounding boxes. Each spherical shell corresponds to a portion of the volume between two concentric spheres. Given large spline models, our algorithm decomposes each surface into Bézier patches as part of pre‐processing. At runtime it dynamically computes a tight fitting axis‐aligned bounding box across each Bézier patch and efficiently checks all such boxes for overlap. Using off‐line and on‐line techniques for tree construction, our algorithm computes ShellTrees for Bézier patches and performs fast overlap tests between them to detect collisions. The overall approach can trade off runtime performance for reduced memory requirements. We have implemented the algorithm and tested it on large models, each composed of hundred of patches. Its performance varies with the configurations of the objects. For many complex models composed of hundreds of patches, it can accurately compute the contacts in a few milliseconds.
Generic Geometric Programming in the Computational Geometry Algorithms Library
Authors: Veltkamp Remco C.
Published: March 2003

This paper describes a number of design issues and programming paradigms that affect the development of Cgal, the computational geometry algorithms library. Genericity of the library is achieved by concepts such as templates, iterators, and traits classes. This allows the application programmer to plug in own types of containers and point types, for example. The paper gives an explanation of these concepts and examples of how they are used.
A Video‐Based 3D‐Reconstruction of Soccer Games
Authors: Bebie T. , Bieri H.
Published: March 2003

In this paper we present SoccerMan, a reconstruction system designed to generate animated, virtual 3D views from two synchronous video sequences of a short part of a given soccer game. After the reconstruction process, which needs also some manual interaction, the virtual 3D scene can be examined and ‘replayed’ from any viewpoint. Players are modeled as so‐called animated texture objects, i.e. 2D player shapes are extracted from video and texture‐mapped onto rectangles in 3D space. Animated texture objects have shown very appropriate as a 3D representation of soccer players in motion, as the visual nature of the original human motion is preserved. The trajectories of the players and the ball in 3D space are reconstructed accurately. In order to create a 3D reconstruction of a given soccer scene, the following steps have to be executed: 1) Camera parameters of all frames of both sequences are computed (camera calibration). 2) The playground texture is extracted from the video sequences. 3) Trajectories of the ball and the players' heads are computed after manually specifying their image positions in a few key frames. 4) Player textures are extracted automatically from video. 5) The shapes of colliding or occluding players are separated automatically. 6) For visualization, player shapes are texture‐mapped onto appropriately placed rectangles in virtual space. SoccerMan is a novel experimental sports analysis system with fairly ambitious objectives. Its design decisions, in particular to start from two synchronous video sequences and to model players by texture objects, have already proven promising.
Visual Perception in Realistic Image Synthesis
Authors: McNamara Ann
Published: March 2003

Realism is often a primary goal in computer graphics imagery, and we strive to create images that are perceptually indistinguishable from an actual scene. Rendering systems can now closely approximate the physical distribution of light in an environment. However, physical accuracy does not guarantee that the displayed images will have authentic visual appearance. In recent years the emphasis in realistic image synthesis has begun to shift from the simulation of light in an environment to images that look as real as the physical environment they portray. In other words the computer image should be not only physically correct but also perceptually equivalent to the scene it represents. This implies aspects of the Human Visual System (HVS) must be considered if realism is required. Visual perception is employed in many different guises in graphics to achieve authenticity. Certain aspects of the visual system must be considered to identify the perceptual effects that a realistic rendering system must achieve in order to reproduce effectively a similar visual response to a real scene. This paper outlines the manner in which knowledge about visual perception is increasingly appearing in state‐of‐the‐art realistic image synthesis. After a brief overview of the HVS, this paper is organized into four sections, each exploring the use of perception in realistic image synthesis, each with slightly different emphasis and application. First, Tone Mapping Operators, which attempt to map the vast range of computed radiance values to the limited range of display values, are discussed. Then perception based image quality metrics, which aim to compare images on a perceptual rather than physical basis, are presented. These metrics can be used to evaluate, validate and compare imagery. Thirdly, perception driven rendering algorithms are described. These algorithms focus on embedding models of the HVS directly into global illumination computations in order to improve their efficiency. Finally, techniques for comparing computer graphics imagery against the real world scenes they represent are discussed.
Multiresolution Surfaces having Arbitrary Topologies by a Reverse Doo Subdivision Method
Authors: Samavati Faramarz , Mahdavi‐Amiri Nezam , Bartels Richard
Published: March 2003

We have shown how to construct multiresolution structures for reversing subdivision rules using global least squares models (Samavati and Bartels, Computer Graphics Forum, 18(2):97–119, June 1999). As a result, semiorthogonal wavelet systems have also been generated. To construct a multiresolution surface of an arbitrary topology, however, biorthogonal wavelets are needed. In Bartels and Samavati (Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics, 119:29–67, 2000) we introduced local least squares models for reversing subdivision rules to construct multiresolution curves and tensor product surfaces, noticing that the resulting wavelets were biorthogonal (under an induced inner product). Here, we construct multiresolution surfaces of arbitrary topologies by locally reversing the Doo subdivision scheme. In a Doo subdivision, a coarse surface is converted into a fine one by the contraction of coarse faces and the addition of new adjoining faces. We propose a novel reversing process to convert a fine surface into a coarse one plus an error. The conversion has the property that the subdivision of the resulting coarse surface is locally closest to the original fine surface, in the least squares sense, for two important face geometries. In this process, we first find those faces of the fine surface which might have been produced by the contraction of a coarse face in a Doo subdivision scheme. Then, we expand these faces. Since the expanded faces are not necessarily joined properly, several candidates are usually at hand for a single vertex of the coarse surface. To identify the set of candidates corresponding to a vertex, we construct a graph in such a way that any set of candidates corresponds to a connected component. The connected components can easily be identified by a depth first search traversal of the graph. Finally, vertices of the coarse surface are set to be the average of their corresponding candidates, and this is shown to be equivalent to local least squares approximation for regular arrangements of triangular and quadrilateral faces.
The ARGOSI Classification Scheme for Graphics and Networking Applications
Authors: Sutcliffe D.C. , Gallop J.R. , Maybury R. , Day R.A. , Duce† D.A. , Reynolds‡ G.J.
Published: March 2003

ARGOSI is a project concerned with the relationship between standards for graphics and networking, as rejected in its full title: Applications Related Graphics and OSI Standards Integration. It is a collaborative project between eleven European organizations and is funded under the Esprit‐Il programme of the Commission of the European Community.

In order to achieve integration of graphics and OSI standards and to meet the requirements of applications, it is necessary to understand the needs of applications to transfer graphical information and the networking services required to support this. A major part of the ARGOSI project has been to derive a classification framework for applications based on a set of metrics describing their use of graphics and networking. Once classified, a study is to be made to determine the set of graphics and OSI standards that will satisfy the requirements of each group of applications or to identify deficiencies or omissions in the set of current standards that prevent the requirements being met. The classification scheme is believed to be a major stepforward in the field.
Scripting Interactive Physically‐Based Motions with Relative Paths and Synchronization
Authors: Lamouret Alexis , Gascuel Marie‐Paule
Published: March 2003

This paper presents a novel approach for facilitating the use of physically based models by animators. The idea is to let the user guide motion at a high level of control by giving approximate desired trajectories and synchronization constraints between the objects over time, while a simulation module computes the final motion, dealing with collision detection and response, and enhancing realism.

The objects, which are either isolated or components of an articulated structure, are guided through the specification of key‐positions and orientations, defined by coordinates that can be fixed or relative to another object. The animation sequence is scripted by specifying a graph of synchronization constraints between objects over time. During the animation, objects automatically regulate their speed in order to meet these constraints.
Compositing Computer and Video Image Sequences: Robust Algorithms for the Reconstruction of the Camera Parameters
Authors: Berger M.‐O. , Chevrier C. , Simon G.
Published: March 2003

Augmented reality shows great promises in fields where a simulation in situ would be impossible or too expensive. When mixing synthetic and real objects in the same animated sequence, we must be sure that the geometrical coherence as well as the photometrical coherence is ensured. One major challenge is to compute the camera viewpoint with sufficient accuracy to ensure a satisfactory composition. We especially address this point in this paper using computer vision techniques and robust statistical methods. We prove that such techniques make it possible to compute almost automatically the viewpoint for long video sequences even for bad quality images in outdoor environments. Significant results on the lighting simulation of the bridges of Paris are shown.
Surface Graph Sketching
Authors: Hutchinson D. , Lin F. , Hewitt W.T.
Published: March 2003

The production of patterns and designs upon surfaces has received only limited attention, with texturing techniques being accepted as adequate. Texturing, however, can be a very unsatisfactory and clumsy method of producing complex and accurate designs upon a surface, even more so with surfaces such as NURBS where a texture may appear very much distorted when mapped to a surface. This paper introduces a new approach called surface graph sketching which draws upon ideas from planar graph sketching for the construction of complex curve networks across parametrically defined surfaces. Surface curves can be created by a number of methods and stored in the parameter space of the surface thereby allowing intricate and more importantly accurate surface designs to be created. Regions of the surface may be assigned a property such as colour or texture, or cut away to produce holes. Surface graph sketching has a number of applications, in the design of trimming curves, surface patterning and texture map definitions.
An Energy‐Based Approach for Contact Force Computation
Authors: Faure Francois
Published: March 2003

A new approach for computing resting contact forces between solids is presented, which handles both static and sliding friction, while avoiding the problems arising from previous approaches. Each iteration provides values for all unknowns and needs a constant computation time. The first iteration is a global dynamic solution involving inertia and external forces. The subsequent iterations consist of global redistributions of energy through the solids in order to restrict the values within correct bounds, leading to a progressive refinement of the solution. This allows the termination of the computation when a user‐defined level of precision is reached. Convergence is proven in the frictionless case.

The method is concise and is easily usable in a motion control system. It was implemented and tested on some examples involving simultaneously static and sliding friction along with motion control.
Incremental constraint modelling in a feature modelling system
Authors: Laakko Timo , Mäntylä Martti
Published: March 2003

The techniques of constraint propagation have recently been successfully applied to feature‐based design. Because of their speed, constraint propagation methods allow incremental design and rapid local modifcations of the part. However, cyclic constraints cause serious problems to current constraint propagation algorithms. Variational geometric design systems can, in principle, manage these cases. Unfortunately, this typically requires complete re‐evaluation of the underlying set of constraint equations, making the method unsuitable for interactive use.

The proposed system aims to localize the problem of constraint solving and maintenance. The constraint graph of the part or assembly is divided into several independent partial graphs, subsystems. Afterwards, each subsystem is handled separately using a selected constraint solving technique for the subsystem.