bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Robust Computation of Intersection Graph between Two Solids
Authors: Nakamura Hiroyuki , Higashi Masatake , Hosaka Mamoru
Published: March 2003

We propose a new robust algorithm for Boolean operations on solid models. The algorithm produces a consistent intersection graph between two input solids whose geometrical data are represented in floating point numbers. In order to prevent numerical calculation errors and inaccuracy of input data from causing inconsistency of the output, we put higher priority on symbolical connectivity of the edge‐face intersection points than their numerical nearness. Each edge‐face intersection point is symbolically represented using face names, which generate connectivity relations between the intersection points and the intersection line segments. The symbols with the same connectivity are made into clusters. The intersection line segments connected together at their end clusters form the intersection graph of two solids. Inconsistency of the connectivity of the clusters is detected and the intersection graph is corrected automatically. We describe the algorithm in detail for polyhedral solids, discuss extension to curves solids, and show its effectiveness by some examples of Boolean operations for two solids whose faces intersect at a very small angle.
Fast Analytic Shading and Shadowing for Area Light Sources
Authors: Tanaka Toshimitsu , Takahashi Tokiichiro
Published: March 2003

This paper describes a fast analytic algorithm that generates exact highlights and soft shadows from area light sources. In order to realize fast shadowing, we propose the ray‐oriented buffer which segments 3D space by following light rays from polygonal sources. Each cell of the buffer stores objects that intersect a related subspace. Candidate objects which may cast shadows onto a point are selected by referring to the buffer. The candidates are then tested with their shadow bounding volumes to suppress objects that never occlude light sources.

In addition, we propose the cross scanline clipping algorithm. It quickly determines the exact regions of uncovered area light sources with simple silhouette generation. Both diffuse and specular reflections are computed by integrating light rays from the uncovered sources. Experimental results confirm the high performance of the proposed method.
A Rendering Equation for Specular Transfers and Its Integration into Global Illumination
Authors: Yu Yizhou , Wu Hong
Published: March 2003

In this paper, we present a rigorous theoretical formulation of the fundamental problem—indirect illumination from area sources via curved ideal specular surfaces. Intensity and area factors are introduced to clarify this problem and to rectify the radiance from these specular surfaces. They take surface geometry, such as Gaussian curvature, into account. Based on this formulation, an algorithm for integrating ideal specular transfers into global illumination is also presented. This algorithm can deal with curved specular reflectors and transmitters. An implementation is described based on wavefront tracing and progressive radiosity. Sample images generated by this method are presented.
Adaptive Supersampling in Object Space Using Pyramidal Rays
Authors: Genetti Jon , Gordon Dan , Williams Glen
Published: March 2003

We introduce a new approach to three important problems in ray tracing: antialiasing, distributed light sources, and fuzzy reflections of lights and other surfaces. For antialiasing, our approach combines the quality of supersampling with the advantages of adaptive supersampling. In adaptive supersampling, the decision to partition a ray is taken in image‐space, which means that small or thin objects may be missed entirely. This is particularly problematic in animation, where the intensity of such objects may appear to vary. Our approach is based on considering pyramidal rays (pyrays) formed by the viewpoint and the pixel. We test the proximity of a pyray to the boundary of an object, and if it is close (or marginal), the pyray splits into 4 sub‐pyrays; this continues recursively with each marginal sub‐pyray until the estimated change in pixel intensity is sufficiently small.

The same idea also solves the problem of soft shadows from distributed light sources, which can be calculated to any required precision. Our approach also enables a method of defocusing reflected pyrays, thereby producing realistic fuzzy reflections of light sources and other objects. An interesting byproduct of our method is a substantial speedup over regular supersampling even when all pixels are supersampled. Our algorithm was implemented on polygonal and circular objects, and produced images comparable in quality to stochastic sampling, but with greatly reduced run times.
The Priority Face Determination Tree for Hidden Surface Removal
Authors: James A. , Day A. M.
Published: March 2003

Many virtual environments are built from a set of polygons that form the basis of objects in the scene. Using priority‐list algorithms, the sequence in which these polygons are drawn is dependent upon the location of an observer; the polygons must be ordered correctly before a realistic image can be displayed. It is necessary for a scene to be drawn correctly in real time from all locations before the observer can move interactively around the scene with complete freedom.

The binary‐space partitioning (BSP) tree developed by Fuchs, Kedem and Naylor in 1980 stores the view independent priority of a set of polygons which can be used to obtain the correct order for any given view‐point. However, the number of polygons grows significantly due to the BSP splitting stage, increasing the number of nodes in the tree. This affects linearly the number of tests necessary to traverse the tree to obtain the priority of the set of polygons.

The algorithm presented here is built using its associated BSP tree, but attempts to reduce the number of tests to, log4/3n, at the cost of a tree of size of O(N1.5log4/3n−1), where n is the initial number of polygons in the scene, and N the resulting number after BSP splitting. To achieve the increase in run‐time efficiency, a height plane is used to restrict the view point of the observer to a fixed height, but the key to the efficiency of the algorithm is in the use of polygonal dependencies. In the scene; if we know our location relative to the front or back of a polygon, then our position relative to one‐quarter of the remaining polygons, in the expected worst‐case, can be determined.
Creating and Rendering Convolution Surfaces
Authors: McCormack Jon , Sherstyuk Andrei
Published: March 2003

Implicit surfaces obtained by convolution of multi‐dimensional primitives with some potential function, are a generalisation of popular implicit surface models: blobs, metaballs and soft objects. These models differ in their choice of potential function but agree upon the use of underlying modelling primitives, namely, points. In this paper a method is described for modelling and rendering implicit surfaces built upon an expanded set of skeletal primitives: points, line segments, polygons, arcs and planes. An analytical solution to the convolution is described. This solution offers a more accurate and robust representation of the resultant implicit surface than previous methods. An algorithm for ray‐tracing the surfaces formed through convolution of any combination of these primitives is also outlined.
A Vector Approach for Global Illumination in Ray Tracing
Authors: Zaninetti Jacques , Serpaggi Xavier , Péroche Bernard
Published: March 2003

This paper presents a method taking global illumination into account in a ray tracing environment. A vector approach is introduced, which allows to deal with all the types of light paths and the directional properties of materials. Three types of vectors are defined: Direct Light Vectors associated to light sources, Indirect Light Vectors which correspond to light having been diffusely reflected at least once and Caustic Light Vectors which are associated to light rays emitted by sources and reflected and/or transmitted by specular surfaces. These vectors are estimated at a small number of points in the scene. A weighted interpolation between known values allows to reconstruct these vectors for the other points, with the help of a gradient computation for the indirect component. This approach also allows to take uniform area light sources (spherical, rectangular and circular) into account for all the types of vectors. Computed images are thus more accurate and no discretizing of the geometry of the scene is needed.
Subdivision Schemes for Thin Plate Splines
Authors: Weimer Henrik , Warren Joe
Published: March 2003

Thin plate splines are a well known entity of geometric design. They are defined as the minimizer of a variational problem whose differential operators approximate a simple notion of bending energy. Therefore, thin plate splines approximate surfaces with minimal bending energy and they are widely considered as the standard "fair" surface model. Such surfaces are desired for many modeling and design applications.

Traditionally, the way to construct such surfaces is to solve the associated variational problem using finite elements or by using analytic solutions based on radial basis functions. This paper presents a novel approach for defining and computing thin plate splines using subdivision methods. We present two methods for the construction of thin plate splines based on subdivision: A globally supported subdivision scheme which exactly minimizes the energy functional as well as a family of strictly local subdivision schemes which only utilize a small, finite number of distinct subdivision rules and approximately solve the variational problem. A tradeoff between the accuracy of the approximation and the locality of the subdivision scheme is used to pick a particular member of this family of subdivision schemes.

Later, we show applications of these approximating subdivision schemes to scattered data interpolation and the design of fair surfaces. In particular we suggest an efficient methodology for finding control points for the local subdivision scheme that will lead to an interpolating limit surface and demonstrate how the schemes can be used for the effective and efficient design of fair surfaces.
Incident Light Metering in Computer Graphics
Authors: Neumann László , Matković Krešimir , Neumann Attila , Purgathofer Werner
Published: March 2003

Every rendering process consists of two steps. The first is the computing of luminance values by methods like ray tracing or radiosity, and the second step is the mapping of the computed values to values appropriate for displaying. In the last years, as alternative to simple linear scaling which maps the average value to the medium luminance, some new ways of mapping were introduced. These new methods are based on photography analogies and on human vision models. All existing methods follow, implicitly or explicitly, the reflected light metering principle. The method introduced in this paper is the first that follows the incident light metering used in professional photography and in the movie industry. Actually the irradiances are measured using a set of diffusors, which are placed automatically in the scene, and a linear scale factor based on these measurements is used to map the computed radiances to the display device. The diffusors act as half space integrators, they collect the light energy from all half space directions. The light comes from the primary light sources, or it is the result of various interreflections. The newly introduced method reproduces original colors faithfully even for scenes with very low or very high average reflectivity.
Observational Models of Graphite Pencil Materials
Authors: Sousa Mario Costa , Buchanan John W.
Published: March 2003

This paper presents models for graphite pencil, drawing paper, blenders, and kneaded eraser that produce realistic looking pencil marks, textures, and tones. Our models are based on an observation of how lead pencils interact with drawing paper, and on the absorptive and dispersive properties of blenders and erasers interacting with lead material deposited over drawing paper. The models consider parameters such as the particle composition of the lead, the texture of the paper, the position and shape of the pencil materials, and the pressure applied to them. We demonstrate the capabilities of our approach with a variety of images and compare them to digitized pencil drawings. We also present image‐based rendering results implementing traditional graphite pencil tone rendering methods.
Direct Manipulation and Interactive Sculpting of PDE Surfaces
Authors: Du Haixia , Qin Hong
Published: March 2003

This paper presents an integrated approach and a unified algorithm that combine the benefits of PDE surfaces and powerful physics‐based modeling techniques within one single modeling framework, in order to realize the full potential of PDE surfaces. We have developed a novel system that allows direct manipulation and interactive sculpting of PDE surfaces at arbitrary location, hence supporting various interactive techniques beyond the conventional boundary control. Our prototype software affords users to interactively modify point, normal, curvature, and arbitrary region of PDE surfaces in a predictable way. We employ several simple, yet effective numerical techniques including the finite‐difference discretization of the PDE surface, the multigrid‐like subdivision on the PDE surface, the mass‐spring approximation of the elastic PDE surface, etc. to achieve real‐time performance. In addition, our dynamic PDE surfaces can also be approximated using standard bivariate B‐spline finite elements, which can subsequently be sculpted and deformed directly in real‐time subject to intrinsic PDE constraints. Our experiments demonstrate many attractive advantages of our dynamic PDE formulation such as intuitive control, real‐time feedback, and usability to the general public.
Virtual Dunhuang Mural Restoration System in Collaborative Network Environment
Authors: Li Xiangyang , Lu Dongming , Pan Yunhe
Published: March 2003

This paper introduces a virtual Dunhuang mural restoration system in collaborative network environment. It describes the style of Dunhuang mural, analyzes the reasons of mural spoilage, and presents the necessity to develop a collaborative mural restoration GroupWare. It describes the components and the workflow of mural restoration in detail, solves some key technologies in the system. In the end, it introduces the system architecture, and presents the system interface and some restored results.
Stochastic Motion—Motion Under the Influence of Wind
Authors: Shinya Mikio , Fournier Alain
Published: March 2003

Stochastic approaches are very effective for modelling natural phenomena. This paper presents a motion model based on a stochastic process as well as physics, and proposes motion synthesis techniques for stochastic motion—motion under the influence of wind.

The motion synthesis process is modelled by a cascade system of three components: wind model, dynamic model, and deformation model. Wind models produce spatio‐temporal wind velocity fields using the power spectrum and auto‐correlation of wind, just like fractal geometry. Dynamic models describe the dynamic response of the systems, using equation systems or response functions. Deformation models produce deformed shapes of objects according to the geometric models of the objects and the results of the dynamic systems.

The biggest advantage of the model is its generality and consistency. The model is applicable to most of the existing trees and grass models, including structural models, particle systems, impressionist models, and 3D texture. It is demonstrated that the coupling of stochastic approaches and physically‐based approaches can synthesize realistic motion of trees, grass and snow with modest computational cost.
Modelling the Texture of Paint
Authors: Cockshott Tunde , Patterson John , England David
Published: March 2003

We present an extension to the WET & STICKY model. A method of modelling textured and shiny paint is described using bump mapping and standard illumination models. The qualities of the paint are used to supply input to the texture and lighting models. We demonstrate that a dynamic model of textured paint provides the user with valuable visual cluesfor the production of realistic painted images. We also propose further extensions which would allow the use of different lighting models for different paints, allowing for paint attributes which are unachievable either with traditional painting or with earlier forms of electronic painting.
Two‐manifold cell‐decomposition of r‐sets.
Authors: Falcidieno Bianca , Ratto Ornella
Published: March 2003

This paper discusses the relationships studied between manifold solids and r‐sets by defining an r‐set as a decomposition in two‐manifold cells. This decomposition is represented as a graph (Two‐manifold Cell Decomposition graph TCD) in which each node corresponds to a 2 manifold component of the regular set, while each arc or hyperarc defines a non‐manifold adjacency between components. The TCD model and data structure encoding it were designed in order to be compatible with a traditional boundary architecture.
3D Computational Morphology
Authors: Veltkamp Remco C.
Published: March 2003

Computational Morphology is the analysis of form by computational means. This discipline typically uses techniques from Computational Geometry and Computer Aided Geometric Design. The present paper is more specifically about the construction and manipulation of closed object boundaries through a set of scattered points in 3D. Original results are developed in three stages of computational morphology:

impose a geometrical structure on the set of points;

construct a polyhedral boundary surface from this geometrical structure;

build a hierarchy of polyhedral approximations together with localization information;

The economic advantage of this approach is that there is no dependency on any specific data source. It can be used for various types of data sources or when the source is unknown.
On the Application of Quantization and Dithering Techniques to History of Arts
Authors: Coltelli P. , Faconti G. , Marfori F.
Published: March 2003

The diffusion of computing techniques within humane studies is considerably increasing, due to technological advances and reduction in computing costs, with History of Arts being one of the most interesting fields of application. In fact, several domains related to works of arts might be investigated other than archival and retrieval of information: this includes the planning for the preservation and restoration, the developing of critical examinations of artworks as well as the supporting of less specialized activities such as teaching, presentation of museum exhibitions and spreading of information.

Within this framework, it is of particular interest to review already known image compression techniques from other fields and to evaluate their applicability taking into account the peculiarities and the requirements of this specific domain. A distinguishing aspect of History of Arts is the requirement to keep the maximum approximation of the original information on each point of an image. This peculiarity strongly requires that the set of pixels of the same color in the original image is bound to a unique color in the final image and that each color in the final image uniquely determines the set of colors it represents. This requirement constrains the applicability in this domain to those quantization algorithms satisfying this property while still minimizing the quantization error.

The paper gives a formal definition of the above requirement and justifies the use of the quantization and dithering algorithms based on the octree reduction technique. Following, the results given by the application of these techniques to several paintings are shown. Finally, the measured quantization errors are compared with those obtained by applying the median‐cut algorithm.
Nonsplitting Macro Patches for Implicit Cubic Spline Surfaces
Authors: Guo B.
Published: March 2003

Macro patches are important for generating quadric or cubic implicit spline surfaces from the input of a polyhedron. All existing macro patches split the triangular facets of the polyhedron; this paper presents cubic nonsplitting macro patches (NMP) that do not split these facets. The NMP's are based on a necessary and sufficient condition for nonsplitting constructions of implicit cubic spline surfaces. This condition can be satisfied for most practical applications, so the NMP's lead to an efficient and powerful spline surface scheme using implicit cubics. The free parameters in an NMP are set using a new technique for excluding topological anomalies such as extraneous sheets, splits, unwanted holes, self‐intersections, and unwanted handles. Each cubic patch obtained by this technique best approximates, in a least‐squares sense, a quadric patch from a single algebraic component of a monotone polynomial derived from the input data.
A Multiprocessor Implementation of Radiosity
Authors: Ng Adelene , Slater Mel
Published: March 2003

This paper describes a multi‐processor implementation of form factor computation in the radiosity method. Form factors are computed using the ray casting method and the algorithm is enhanced with Binary Space Partition (BSP) Trees and bounding boxes. Experimental results are presented together with a discussion of load balance efficiency.
Designing and Implementing a Grid‐Distortion Mapping Based on Variational Principles
Authors: Arad Nur
Published: March 2003

A grid‐distortion mapping based on variational principles is described. The mapping is first defined between any two equivalent regular grids with minor geometric restrictions, and is then optimally extended to the interior of the source grid in a sense to be defined. The result is independent of the particular representation of the curves, and depends only on geometric properties of the grids. We then proceed to construct an approximation to the mapping defined and demonstrate its implementation. Finally, this algorithm is compared to several competing ones, in particular separable (scanline) algorithms.
Surface Reconstruction from Unstructured 3D Data
Authors: Algorri Maria‐Elena , Schmitt Francis
Published: March 2003

Building 3 0 models from unstructured data is a problem that arises increasingly as new 30 scanning technology is able to produce large and complex databases of full 3 0 information. Huge efforts put into segmenting entire sets of 20 images demand robust tools that are then able to reconstruct any arbitrary 30 surface segmented from the images. In this paper we propose an algorithmic methodology that automatically produces a surface from a set of points in ℜ3 about which we have no topological knowledge. Our method uses a spatial decomposition and a surface tracking algorithm to produce a rough approximation S' of the unknown manifold S. The produced surface S' serves as a robust initialisation for a physically based modeling technique that yields the fine details of S and so improves the quality of the reconstruction.
Generation of Smooth Surfaces by Controlling Curvature Variation
Authors: Higashi Masatake , Tsutamori Hideo , Hosaka Mamoru
Published: March 2003

To satisfy a designer's intention for constructing aesthetic shapes such as automotive bodies, we propose a surface generation method. In the surface design process, designers determine shapes according to their great concern for the reflected images of vehicle surroundings, shade lines and highlight lines. Since reflection and shading are affected by changes of surface normal, the curvature variation of the surface, which represents the change of the surface normal, should be smooth and distributed as designers want. The proposed method controls curvature distribution directly by determining a surface shape from an evolute, which is a locus of the curvature center of the generatrix and moves along directrices to form the surface. It first generates evolutes of boundary curves to be generatrices as rational Bezier curves, then interpolates their shapes with the Bezier polygons, and locates the interpolated shape to the corresponding position of the directrices. By applying this method, we have confirmed that a smooth shape is generated from four boundary curves.
Liberalism and Culture
Authors: Carens Joseph H.
Published: March 2003

Will Kymlicka’s new book makes important conceptual, methodological, and substantive contributions to contemporary discussions of multiculturalism. Nevertheless, Kymlicka’s attempt to construct a defense of special rights for minority cultural groups on the basis of his conception of “societal culture” entails implications that are both too radical and too restrictive with regard to the kinds of minority claims they support. In particular, Kymlicka’s account undermines the claims of immigrant minorities to the sorts of special rights that Kymlicka thinks they are entitled to demand.
The Politics of Corporate Control and the Future of Shareholder Activism in the United States
Authors: Thompson Tracy A. , Davis Gerald F.
Published: March 2003

Over the past eleven years, activists – particularly public pension funds such as the California Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) – are credited with prompting boards to roust underperforming management at some of the largest US corporations, and they have pushed for reforms in areas ranging from compensation to corporate strategy. Evidence for shareholders’ increased interest in corporate governance is clear. In the 1984–5 proxy season, shareholder resolutions totaled 275, and the average vote was 5.74%; by 1991–2, resolutions and the average vote on them had climbed to 487 and 24.06%, respectively. In 1992, shareholders were also successful in pushing through regulatory changes that gave them the right to communicate with each other outside the management–dominated proxy system.

After 11 years of shareholder activism, where does the movement stand today? Understanding the development of the shareholder–rights movement, the prospects for governance reform, and the future evolution of the movement requires a sophisticated understanding of how the politics of corporate control is accomplished and, in particular, the important role that social structure plays. In this article, we suggest that social movement theory, which sociologists have used to explain collective action by groups ranging from the Civil Rights movement to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, provides a useful tool for analysing owner–management conflicts, and in particular, the recent rise of the shareholder–rights movement in the United States. After briefly discussing the traditional economic view of corporate governance and its shortcomings, we argue that more–or–less organized politics is an essential ingredient of the American system of corporate governance. We then present a social movement framework to explain the rise in investor activism. We conclude by continuing our application of this framework to examine the maturation of this movement and to assess its future, in part by comparing it to other contemporary, confrontational movements.
The Corporate Monitoring Firm
Authors: Latham Mark
Published: March 2003

Shareholders can gain effective control over their firm’s management by voting to choose an outside agency to nominate director candidates. This would give the board and management a greater incentive to serve the owners’ interests, resulting in higher productivity of capital, more realistic levels of executive pay, less short‐termism, and a moderation of the corporate bloat that tends to necessitate drastic cuts. Such a system would further improve corporate governance in western countries, and provide a much needed “quick fix” for governance problems in Asia.
Developments in Corporate Governance in Central and Eastern Europe
Authors: Mallin Chris
Published: March 2003

The countries of western Europe have seen far reaching corporate governance developments in recent years, ranging from the Cadbury Report in the UK to the Vienot Report in France. These developments have been discussed in toto in the report of the CEPS working party on corporate governance in Europe. However alongside the developments in western Europe, there are fundamental political and economic changes going on in the countries in Eastern and Central Europe (CEEC) which have significant implications for the development of corporate governance in these countries.

In this paper we analyse the changes that have taken place in a number of CEEC countries, highlighting both the commonalities and the differences, and the way that these countries are developing in terms of their corporate governance structures. The demise of central planning, for example, has led to a shift of control, and we seek to examine such issues as where control now lies, the effects of privatisation, and the problems of development of institutional arrangements for corporate governance.

Financial institutions have a key role to play in the changes in the CEEC and therefore the latter part of the paper places a special emphasis on the role of financial institutions, particularly banks, as monitors in the CEEC, and analyses the banks’ role in firms’ restructuring. The implications for the role of banks in any developing corporate governance system are immense, with banks playing a central role as monitors of corporate success. However the privatisation of banks and firms is not, per se, sufficient to ensure that these enterprises develop adequate corporate governance structures which are able to cope with problems endemic in the current framework, and are capable of evolving to take account of future changes.

We examine the existing structures in several CEEC, and provide a taxonomy of changes that have occurred to date. We discuss likely future changes and conclude on the likely effects on corporate governance in the CEEC.
Corporate Governance: And Strategy: a test of the association between governance structures and diversification on Swedish data
Authors: Collin Sven‐Olof , Bengtsson Lars
Published: March 2003

A taxonomy of corporate governance structures based on equity and debt financial interest is offered as an alternative to the conventional emphasis on ownership concentration. Hypotheses on the association between the proposed governance structures and the strategic variable of diversification are formulated and tested on a sample of 73 large Swedish corporations. The theory explains significantly a tiny bit of the variance in diversification, something the conventional theory limited to ownership structure considerations was unable to do.
Corporate Governance and Anti‐Takeover Devices: evidence from Australia
Authors: Lange Helen , Ramsay Ian , Woo Li‐Anne
Published: March 2003

This paper seeks to establish what form of management structure, ownership structure and financial characteristics are exhibited by firms that propose and subsequently adopt anti‐takeover charter amendments (ATCAs) in Australia over the period June 1986 to December 1990. An ATCA is a restriction of partial takeover activity implemented though shareholder approval to changes in a firm’s constitution. Approval for such changes is obtained through majority agreement from a plebiscite of shareholders. The study adopts a control sample design to analyse if characteristics differ statistically from adopting ATCA firms and those which do not adopt ATCAs during the investigation period. Following this, a logit analysis establishes the importance of variables considered to have a role in distinguishing between ATCA adoptees and firms without ATCAs. This research is motivated by the fact that little is known about the reasons for alternative corporate governance structures in Australia and is a natural extension to Armstrong, Lange and Woo (1994) which determined that firms adopting ATCAs were likely to experience increases in firm value around the announcement date of the ATCA.
The Determinants of Compensation Committee Membership
Authors: Vafeas Nikos
Published: March 2003

This study extends the work of Kesner (1988) and Bilimoria and Piderit (1994) in examining the determinants of compensation committee composition. Consistent with their findings, my results suggest that the likelihood of compensation committee membership is significantly related to director type (i.e., outside vs. inside), length of board tenure, and the number of other directorships held. In addition, my results suggest that committee membership also depends on director age, and the number of other committee memberships served. Importantly, in contrast to the predictions of agency theory, I find that committee membership is only marginally related to director affiliation, and unrelated to outside director stock ownership. Together, these results provide mixed, somewhat weak evidence that firms staff their compensation committees with directors that are likely to protect shareholder interests.
Corporate Governance Structures and the Comparative Advantage of Credit Unions
Authors: Amess Kevin , Howcroft Barry
Published: March 2003

The paper examines the economics of the mutual organisation and the stakeholder models of corporate governance with its emphasis on informal contracts, trust and co‐operation. These concepts are important in informal governance systems such as mutuals because they economise on transaction costs and promote efficient exchange. In this respect, the paper argues that mutuals have a comparative advantage compared with joint stock banks in ameliorating problems associated with adverse selection and moral hazard. These comparative advantages, however, are enhanced in small mutuals such as credit unions which focus on relatively small memberships with a common bond. The paper concludes by suggesting that although the credit union movement will not necessarily develop along similar lines to the building societies, it does have a future in providing banking facilities to the relatively poor and disenfranchised sectors of society.
Innovations in Sport: the Rise of One Day Internationals (ODIs) in Cricket
Authors: Robinson Julian
Published: March 2003

The rise of one day internationals has been influenced by spectator' desires for a shorter, more exciting version of the game with a mass appeal and by cricketing associations' recognition of the significant contribution it makes to their financial coffers. This article seeks to show how the diffusion of ODIs resembled that of an S curve with slow uptake by test‐playing nations in the early 1970s to the present day, with all the test‐playing nations and three non‐playing nations participating in the World Cup. It then discusses how ODI was an ‘alpha’ innovation that has created the conditions for the development of many smaller or ‘beta’ innovations.
Organizational Conditions and Levels of Creativity
Authors: Ekvall Göran
Published: March 2003

Two levels of creativity can be identified whether we look at the concept from the product, the person or the process point of view. The one is radical and revolutionary, the other adaptive and confirmatory. Are there organizational structures and practices that support lower level creativity but hamper higher level, or vice versa? Some research results on organizational climate and structure variables are presented that indicate differing influences on higher and lower level creativity. It is argued that the issue of innovation in organizations harbours a couple of basic dilemmas, the management of which requires understanding and taking into consideration the psychology of creativity.
Improving Group Productivity with Group Support Systems and Creative Problem Solving Techniques
Authors: McFadzean Elspeth
Published: March 2003

Organisations today utilise teams to undertake problem solving and opportunity finding tasks. There have been a number of variables that have been posited by theorists that can influence group productivity. Two of these – namely group technology and creative problem solving (CPS) techniques – are explored in this paper. Studies have found that group support systems tend to improve group productivity because they can reduce evaluation apprehension, production blocking and free riding. These systems, however, tend to utilise Electronic Brainstorming in modes that fail to deliver some advantages of other CPS techniques. The paper suggests how developers of group support systems could incorporate new creative problem solving modules into their software.
Strategic Personal Links in Successful Innovation: Link‐pins, Bridges, and Liaisons
Authors: Conway Steve
Published: March 2003

The paper provides the results of an empirical study of the informal relationships employed in the development of 35 successful technological innovations. Through the adoption of a network perspective, the multiple sources and pluralistic patterns of collaboration and communication in the innovation process were systematically explored. A variety of formal and informal boundary‐spanning relationships were found to have been mobilised by the innovating organisations during the respective developments investigated. A typology of three boundary‐spanning link‐types between these internal and external networks was identified: liaisons, bridges, and link‐pins. Particular individuals were highlighted as being important in maintaining these often strategic links. Indeed, these links were found to be the property of individuals rather than the organisational positions that they occupied.
The Managerial Implications of Real‐Time New Product Development in Financial Services
Authors: Naudé Pete , Blackman Ian , Dengler Steve
Published: March 2003

A review of the various models of New Product Development (NPD) process shows that although different approaches have been proposed, they are in fact all variants on a linear theme: some may include feedback loops, but they all essentially advocate that certain steps precede, or are preceded by, others. An inevitable consequence on the Internet/World Wide Web (WWW or Web) is that such models are no longer applicable. Based on the lessons learned from the development of a new financial service offered via the Internet, we show how such assumptions of linearity need no longer be a constraint. In addition, innovativeness is not related to firm size. But the fact that the Web allows for the real‐time development of new financial services based on on‐going feedback from potential and current customers raises a new set of managerial issues that have to be tackled. The objective of this paper is to use the context of the recent launch of an innovative financial service product via the Web to explore the managerial changes that are starting to affect the banking industry.
The Problematic Role of Lawyers in the Creativity and Innovation Process
Authors: Tunney James
Published: March 2003

In the literature on creativity and innovation management, the role of law is often peripheral. There is an urgent need to inject law into creativity and innovation management discourse. However there is a deeper reflexive need. Legal systems are in urgent need of reform and repair. They urgently need input from people who genuinely understand about creativity and innovation management in relation to the operation of overall systems. This is a call for a greater dialogue between creativity management and the legal establishment.
Illness and Satisfaction With Medical Care
Authors: Hall Judith A. , Roter Debra L. , Milburn Michael A.
Published: March 2003

Patients who have worse physical or mental health are less satisfied with their medical care than patients in better health. This article describes research that explores the causal underpinnings of this correlation. Does poor health cause dissatisfaction, or does dissatisfaction cause poor health? And is the dissatisfaction of sicker patients attributable to their own state of mind, or rather to how they are treated by their doctors? It appears that, predominantly, dissatisfaction follows from poorer health rather than vice versa, and moreover that sicker patients negative outlook is a pervasive cause of their lower satisfaction. However, there is also evidence that physicians reactions to sicker patients, in the form of curtailed social conversation, also play a role in the reduced satisfaction of these patients.
A new model for royal penance? Helgaud of Fleury's Life of Robert the Pious
Authors: Hamilton Sarah
Published: March 2003

This article studies the theme of penance in writings about early medieval kingship through a case study: in his eleventh‐century vita of Robert the Pious, Helgaud of Fleury described how the king did penance for his incestuous marriage in terms taken directly from Ambrose's Apologia David. This article, therefore, examines the influence which Ambrose had both on Helgaud and on earlier writers on kingship.
&1squo;The eyes of the beholders were dazzled’: treasure and artifice in Encomium Emmae Reginae
Authors: Tyler Elizabeth M.
Published: March 2003

This article examines the fantastic display of treasure recounted in the Encomium Emmae Reginae. Particular attention is given to the literary traditions and sensibilites, both Latin and the vernacular, which govern the Encomiast's representation of treasure. Treasure emerges as a complex, changing and powerful symbol in eleventh‐century Anglo‐Danish England.
Review article: Parents and Children in the Early Middle Ages
Authors: Stafford Pauline
Published: March 2003

Books reviewed in this article:

Katrien Heene, The Legacy of Paradise. Marriage, Motherhood and Women in Carolingian Edifying Literature

Marcelle Thiébaux (ed), Dhuoda, Handbook for her Warrior Son. Liber Manualis

Sally Crawford, Childhood in Anglo‐Saxon England
The importance of being at the margin
Authors: Vaubel Roland
Published: March 2003

The fundamental defects of the European Union cannot be overcome unless the Intergovernmental Conference is replaced by an Interparliamentary Conference. Eastern enlargement does not justify a transition to widespread majority voting but it calls for a reform of the Court and the Commission. The marginal members of the European Council have the largest power. Britain's role is to be at the margin, not the heart, of Europe.
Review article: The Hayekian research programme
Authors: Barry Norman
Published: March 2003

Andrew Gamble: Hayek: The Iron Cage of Liberty, London, Polity Press, £12.95. 1996, pp. xxi + 221

Jeremy Shearmur; Hayek and After, London, Routledge, £45, 1996, pp.x +257
Rising costs, falling budgets and their implications for defence policy
Authors: Kirkpatrick David
Published: March 2003

The real unit costs of defence equipment have been rising persistently since World War II, much faster than national defence budgets. Most nations have adapted by buying fewer units in successive generations of each class of defence equipment, and ultimately by omitting some classes from their armed forces. However current decreases in defence budgets will soon force most NATO nations (including the UK) to adopt more closely coordinated policies for force planning and equipment procurement, in order to maintain NATO's military capabilities.
EMU without Britain: reasons for scepticism
Authors: Dunn Robert M.
Published: March 2003

This paper applies the theory of optimum currency areas to the question of which countries could be expected to be successful members of EMU if the monetary union does not include Britain, and is therefore led by the Bundesbank. Correlation matrices are prepared for potential members of EMU for recent years to see which countries would have tended to agree on a monetary policy and which would frequently disagree. The statistics strongly suggest that the Bank of England would be a far more successful leader of EMU than would the Bundesbank. Only Austria and the Netherlands have had macroeconomic cycles which closely follow those of Germany. Far more countries have had cycles which parallel those of Britain. With EMU being led by the Bundesbank, because Britain has not joined, the prospects for monetary union are quite poor.
The Angel of the North: Bob Holman and neighbourhood groups
Authors: Whelan Robert
Published: March 2003

Bob Holman gave up a comfortable middle‐class life to run community projects in poor areas, first in Bath and then Easterhouse. The neighbourhood groups he has established show the benefits of empowering people to act as free agents. State funding for such groups would turn them into bureaucracies, foster dependence on the political process and destroy the good work they are doing.
Europe: Common Money – Political Union?
Authors: Issing Otmar
Published: March 2003

Monetary Union marks the crowning step in the process of economic integration in Europe. This scenario of one currency, one market and 11 member countries raises the issue of whether further political integration is needed to complement the union already achieved in the monetary and economic fields. While there are pressures for change to the current status quo from several directions, further political integration will depend on the success of Monetary Union which crucially requires that countries tackle their reform challenges.
The elusive NHS consumer: 1948 to the NHS Plan
Authors: Anderson Will , Gillam Steve
Published: March 2003

Since the creation of the National Health Service in 1948, patients have never been fully‐fledged consumers of healthcare; they have never held personal economic power with which to express their needs and preferences to service providers. Nonetheless, the history of the NHS has demonstrated an ever‐increasing policy interest in the needs of individual patients and in the responsiveness of services to these needs. Following the collapse of the postwar consensus which gave birth to the welfare state, successive governments have pledged to give priority to consumer needs, but have struggled to realise this priority in practice.Professional and state paternalism in defining patient needs and choices have endured. current policy emphasis on ‘patient and public involvement’ and ‘partnership working’ sustains a top‐down bureaucratic approach but tempers practice with input from all stakeholders in local health economies. There is much to do to make the culture of the NHS genuinely responsive to consumer needs.
Clinical negligence in the UK: throwing the baby out with the bath water?
Authors: Rickman Neil , Fenn Paul
Published: March 2003

As the total cost of clinical negligence claims has grown in the UK in recent years, calls for reform have resurfaced. The government now plans a White Paper on the subject next years. This paper assesses some of the economic arguments surrounding such reform. It suggests that the principle of negligence performs a useful economic function, that there is sum uncertainty surrounding the precise costs of the UK's clinical negligence, and that costs of alternative systems may sometimes be larger than they first appear.
WHY STUDENTS SHOULD PAY THE FULL COSTS OF THEIR EDUCATION
Authors: Mishan E. J.
Published: March 2003

The community as a whole, including students, would be best served by a system under which those who benefit from higher education pay the full costs involved. An optimal student population would emerge (much lower than at present), the tax burden would be reduced and universities would become solvent and independent. Moreover, ‘bizarre and outlandish’ courses would dwindle.
HOW USEFUL IS THE ECONOMIC MODEL OF CRIME IN ASSISTING THE WAR AGAINST TERRORISM?
Authors: Manning Dorothy
Published: March 2003

This article considers whether the economic model of crime can be applied to terrorist activity. It concludes that the model does explain both secular and religiously motivated terrorism: policy‐makers wishing to reduce terrorist activity should aim at devising policies which increase costs and/or decrease benefits to change terrorist incentives. The ‘war’ should continue as long as the probable costs to society incurred by terrorist activity are greater than the costs of abatement.