Spin locks are a synchronization mechanisms used to provide mutual exclusion to shared software resources. Spin locks are used over other synchronization mechanisms in several situations, like when the average waiting time to obtain the lock is short, in which case the probability of getting the lock is high, or when it is no possible to use other synchronization mechanisms. In this paper, we s...

Fine-grained lock protocols should allow for highly concurrent transaction processing on XML document trees, which is addressed by the taDOM lock protocol family enabling specific lock modes and lock granules adjusted to the various XML processing models. We have already proved its operational flexibility and performance superiority when compared to competitor protocols. Here, we outline our ex...

We consider various techniques for implementing shared objects and for accounting for objectsharing overheads in Pfair-scheduled multiprocessor systems. We primarily focus on the use of lock-free objects, though some lock-based alternatives are briefly considered as well. Lock-free objects are more economical for implementing relatively simple objects such as buffers, stacks, queues, and lists;...

Previous studies have paid little attention to the employees' ability to exit a job-lock situation and factors that determine this ability. It remains unclear why some employees who experience job lock are able to exit this state while others remain in job lock. We use longitudinal data to identify employees who have fallen in the state of job lock and their subsequent behavior-exiting or remai...

In general, the choice between boxcar averaging (gated integration) and lock-in detection (phase sensitive detection) is based on the time behavior of the signal. If the signal is fixed in frequency and has a 50 % duty cycle, lock-in detection is best suited. This type of experiment commonly uses an optical chopper to modulate the signal at some low frequency. Signal photons occur at random tim...

Web browsers support secure online transactions, and provide visual feedback mechanisms to inform the user about security. These mechanisms have had little evaluation to determine how easily they are noticed and how effectively they are used. This paper describes a preliminary study conducted to determine which elements are noted, which are ignored, and how easily they are found. We collected e...

The process of conditioning via reward learning is highly relevant to the study of food choice and obesity. Learning is itself shaped by environmental exposure, with the potential for such exposures to vary substantially across individuals and across place and time. In this paper, we use computational techniques to extend a well-validated standard model of reward learning, introducing both subs...

In this paper the question is addressed asking, “Is Timeshare Ownership an Investment Product?” After some discussion, the conclusion is that the purchaser outlays funds for economic benefit, thus timeshare fits well within the definition of an investment product. The paper also adds to the literature in that it advances the discussion regarding the risks associated with timeshare and the metho...

Whilst the notion of path dependence features quite prominently in organisation and business history literature, its actual meaning and logic have remained vague and ambiguous. In order to advance a more precise understanding of the underlying logic we present a theoretical framework explaining how organisations become path-dependent. At its core are the dynamics of self-reinforcing mechanisms,...

Arthur [1, 2] provided a model to explain the circumstances that lead to technological lock-in into a specific trajectory. We contribute substantially to this area of research by investigating the circumstances under which technological development may break-out of a trajectory. We argue that for this to happen, a third selection mechanism— beyond those of the market and of technology—needs to ...