on an earlier version are acknowledged with gratitude. 1 North (1981, p. 166) comes close to linking the institutional changes of the late eighteenth century with the Industrial 1 Revolution when he maintains that it was explained by " a combination of better-specified and enforced property rights and increasingly efficient and expanding markets. " North and Weingast (1989, p. 831) are more pru...

The recent emphasis on preparedness has created heightened expectations and has raised questions about the extent to which U.S. public health systems have evolved in recent years. This paper describes how public health preparedness is transforming public health agencies. Key signs of change include new partnerships, changes in the workforce, new technologies, and evolving organizational structu...

Research into computer-aided psychotherapy is thriving around the world. Most of it concerns computer-aided cognitive-behavioural therapy (CCBT). A recent narrative review found 97 computer-aided psychotherapy systems from nine countries reported in 175 studies, of which 103 were randomised controlled trials. The rapid spread of the mass delivery of psychotherapy through CCBT, catalysed in the ...

On 10 February 2004 the Commission published its proposal for the financial perspective 2007-2013. A week later it adopted the third report on economic and social cohesion. These two documents form the basis of the so-called ‘Agenda 2007 reforms’. They will be the greatest challenge for the enlarged EU after the intergovernmental conference, since they will determine the financial basis for EU ...

Threading in microprocessors is not new, the earliest threaded processor design was implemented in the late 1970s and yet only now is i t being used in mainstream microprocessor architecture. This paper reviews threaded microprocessors and explains why the more popular option of outof-order execution has a poor future and is not likely to provide a pathway for future microprocessor scalability....

The purposes of this chapter is to delve more deeply into the processes and determinants of technological, organisational, and social innovation and to discuss their implications for selecting instruments and policies to stimulate the kinds of innovation necessary for the transformation of industrial societies into sustainable ones. Sustainable development must be seen as a broad concept, incor...

At the time of publication, the draft of the human genome sequence will have been released. Beyond the anecdotal event that it is coincidentalwith the year 2000, the availability of this draft is an evolution rather than a revolution that proceeds from Socrate’s famous motto “Know yourself” and constitutes a significant milestone of our journey towards an even more self-conscious humanity. A co...