OntoAgent is an environment that supports the cognitive modeling of societies of intelligent agents that emulate human beings. Like traditional intelligent agents, OntoAgent agents execute the core functionalities of perception, reasoning and action. Unlikemost traditional agents, they engage in extensive \translation" functions in order to render perceived inputs into the unambiguous, ontologi...

It is over 25 years since Professor D A D Montgomery gave his presidential address to the Society-"The Ulster Medical Society: Quo Vadis". I was then the Honorary Secretary, trying to record some minutes, and the platform party was all correctly attired in dinner jackets, so I do not now recall much of the lecture. But I was recently stimulated to go back to the published address in the Ulster ...

Indeed, continuous scientific and technical evolution has led to a decisive progress in diagnosis through the search of “gold standard” tests that will provide safe information about the real health status of the patient. However, in our opinion, faults are often observed in the training of clinicians or laboratory technicians concerning the selection of tests and mainly their use at an opportu...

Many multinational corporations have implemented cross-national satisfaction measurement programs for tracking and benchmarking the satisfaction of their customers across their various markets. These companies measure satisfaction with the goal of maximizing customer loyalty and the financial benefits associated with loyalty. However, existing research comparing consumer satisfaction across nat...

A doctrine with roots in eighteenth century thought, liberalism emerged in the nineteenth century as the prevailing ideology of Western capitalist societies and democracies. Philosophically, liberalism consists of a commitment to the ideals of equality, liberty, individuality, and rationality. However, liberals have divided over their social and political implications. Some liberals have believ...

J Rehabil Med 41 © 2009 The Authors. doi: 10.2340/16501977-0348 Journal Compilation © 2009 Foundation of Rehabilitation Information. ISSN 1650-1977 Sir, Scientific conferences are instrumental in the development of scientific fields. Conferences bring scientists together and foster the exchange of ideas as well as the formation of a common identity. For a scientific field, continuous research i...

What did we achieve in the 5 years of my term as the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine (IJBM)? It has been an interesting and rewarding experience to serve IJBM in this position. In this editorial, I will summarize the major developments during these 5 years and I will assess the current state of IJBM. The profile of IJBM has been defined as " original research...

During the past twenty years, rapid strides have been made in the advancement of preventive medicine and community health work. With this development has come an increasing recognition of the value of bringing public health work close to the people. Several state and local health departments, in cooperation with medical societies and non-official health and welfare agencies, are giving serious ...