This thesis takes the micro-economic notion of flexibility in the firm, and seeks to describe formally its significant features. It develops a theoretical approach to flexibility in a behavioural model of the firm, following the principles set down by Herbert Simon in his work on complex systems. This approach is then applied to the small entrepreneurial firm, (S.E.F.), taking fish processing a...

Executive summary This deliverable documents the work performed by the authors in the context of work package WP7 of the EU project BRICS. The authors of this report all work at the University of Bergamo, which is the partner in BRICS responsible for promoting and supporting the development of Open and Flexible Robotic Systems. WP7 is a cross-sectional work package as Openness and Flexibility a...

In this work, we extend the existing local fractional Sumudu decomposition method to solve the nonlinear local fractional partial differential equations. Then, we apply this new algorithm to resolve the nonlinear local fractional gas dynamics equation and nonlinear local fractional Klein-Gordon equation, so we get the desired non-differentiable exact solutions. The steps to solve the examples a...

To present a framework for compassionate teaching, the views of teachers and students on the topic were sought. These informants were chosen from among their corresponding populations in Tehran, using the snowball and mixed methods. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather the needed data. To analyze the data open coding and descriptive categorization were utilized. Results show that from...

This paper proposes a framework of process flexibility based on a view of processes as design objects. It is represented using the function-behaviourstructure (FBS) ontology of designing. The paper shows how the FBS ontology allows extending and generalising recent work on flexibility in engineering design, and how it allows applying this work to processes. The resulting framework provides a co...

A fi rewall is a collection of components interposed between two networks that fi lter traffi c between them according to some security policy [1]. Typically, fi rewalls rely on restrictions in the network topology to perform this fi ltering. One key assumption under this model is that everyone on the protected network(s) is trusted, since internal traffi c is not seen by the fi rewall and thus...

By blending storytelling with topics in biology, a fun activity can be created for students to strengthen their scientific knowledge (1-3). The “Sci-Fi Microbe” writing assignment lets students create an altered version of a known microorganism, and write a story describing an unusual observation that leads the characters discovery of their new microorganism. The Sci-Fi Microbe exercise is appr...

Psychosocial stress influences cognitive abilities, such as long-term memory retrieval. However, less is known about the effects of stress on cognitive flexibility, which is mediated by different neurobiological circuits and could thus be regulated by different neuroendocrine pathways. In this study, we randomly assigned healthy adults to an acute stress induction or control condition and subse...

Statement of purpose: The purpose of these working papers is to promote the circulation of research results (Research Series) and analytical studies (Documents Series) made within the National Bank of Belgium or presented by external economists in seminars, conferences and conventions organised by the Bank. The aim is therefore to provide a platform for discussion. The opinions expressed are st...