For complex techno-social system-of-systems, the system’s robustness and its ability to adapt to changing environments and circumstances over the life cycle of the systems is an important measure of system quality and effectiveness. The IEEE 15288-2004 standard describes the concept of “enabling systems” that provide non-operational services to the systemof-interest at various times in the syst...

This paper proposes architectural styles for multi-agent systems (MAS) which adopt concepts from organization theory and strategic alliances. In particular, we discuss here the structure-in-5 and joint venture styles. These structures consist of actors who have goals to fulfill and social dependencies describing their obligations. They are represented in i*, a framework designed to model social...

The detection of community structure is a widely recognised method of revealing the underlying properties of complex networks in biological, physical and social sciences. The simplest form of the community structure problem is the partitioning of unweighted and undirected networks into disjoint communities. However, module detection in weighted networks or communities with overlapping modules m...

Despite great adaptability, most nonhuman primates require regular tactile contact with conspecifics for their psychological well being. By illustrating the inherent value of social contact and by providing clues to the best ways of satisfying this need, behavioral studies are useful in designing social enrichment programs. Although group housing is ideal for most gregarious primates, space con...

Control of walking has been described by a tripartite model consisting of stepping, equilibrium, and adaptability. This review focuses on walking adaptability, which is defined as the ability to modify walking to meet task goals and environmental demands. Walking adaptability is crucial to safe ambulation in the home and community environments and is often severely compromised after a stroke. Y...

OBJECTIVE To examine the contents of the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory (MPAI-4) by mapping it to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). METHODS Each of the 30 scoreable items in the MPAI-4 was mapped to the most precise ICF categories. RESULTS All 30 items could be mapped to components and categories in the ICF. A total of 88 meaningful concepts...

In the business climate an increasing number of people are expected to perform complex work-related tasks while on the move. In some of these systems, the movement of the mobile user to different physical locations results in the volatility of location-dependent information. For example the answer to the question, ‘where is the nearest train station?’ changes as a mobile user roams around its e...

This study used Bayesian inference to investigate the genotype x environment interaction in common bean grown in Mato Grosso do Sul State, and it also evaluated the efficiency of using informative and minimally informative a priori distributions. Six trials were conducted in randomized blocks, and the grain yield of 13 common bean genotypes was assessed. To represent the minimally informative a...

This paper concerns the relationship between the detectable and useful structure in an environment and the degree to which a population can adapt to that environment. We explore the hypothesis that adaptability will depend unimodally on environmental variety, and we measure this component of environmental structure using the information-theoretic uncertainty (Shannon entropy) of detectable envi...

Microorganisms are used in large-scale heap or tank aeration processes for the commercial extraction of a variety of metals from their ores or concentrates. These include copper, cobalt, gold and, in the past, uranium. The metal solubilization processes are considered to be largely chemical with the microorganisms providing the chemicals and the space (exopolysaccharide layer) where the mineral...