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The rapid growth of the Internet, networking systems, and wireless and web technologies is stimulating more and more companies to provide e-commerce applications. E-commerce application developers have the problem of creating enterprise-wide and world-wide applications that must operate across corporations and continents of the world. Such ecommerce applications are difficult to produce with traditional software technologies. An agent is a software entity that applies Artificial Intelligence techniques to choose the best of actions to perform in order to reach a goal specified by the user. It should be proactive, flexible, dynamic and autonomous, and should act in an intelligent manner to the changes produced in its environment. A multi-agent system (MAS) may be defined as a collection of agents that communicate between themselves to coordinate their activities in order to be able to solve collectively a problem that could not be solved by an individual agent (Sycara, 1998; Wooldridge, 2010). Multi-agent systems have been shown to be suitable to domains with the following characteristics (Moreno and Isern, 2002):  Knowledge is distributed in different locations.  Several entities have to join their problem-solving abilities to be able to solve a complex problem.  The problem in the domain may be decomposed into a set of different sub-problems, even if they have some kind of inter-dependencies.

Rice tungro disease is caused by a combination of two viruses: Rice tungro spherical virus and Rice tungro bacilliform virus (RTBV). This study was performed with the objective to decipher the molecular variability and evolution of RTBV isolates present in the tungro-affected states of Indian subcontinent. Phylogenetic analysis based on ORF-I, ORF-II, and ORF-IV sequences showed distinct divergence of Indian RTBV isolates into two groups; one consisted isolates from Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), Cuttack (Orissa), and Puducherry and another from West Bengal, Chinsura West Bengal, and Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu). The results obtained from phylogenetic analysis were further supported with the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), insertion and deletion (INDELs) and evolutionary distance analysis. In addition, sequence difference count matrix revealed a maximum of 56 (ORF-I), 13 (ORF-II) and 73 (ORF-IV) nucleotides differences among all the Indian RTBV isolates taken in this study. However, at the protein level these differences were not significant as revealed by K (a)/K (s) ratio calculation. Sequence identity at nucleotide and amino acid level was 92-100 % (ORF-I), 96-100 % (ORF-II), 94-100 % (ORF-IV) and 86-100 % (ORF-I), 98-100 % (ORF-II) and 95-100 % (ORF-IV), respectively, among Indian isolates of RTBV. The divergence of RTBV isolates into two independent clusters of Indian and non-Indian was shown with the help of the data obtained from phylogeny, SNPs, and INDELs, evolutionary distance analysis, and conserved motifs analysis. The important role of ORF-I and ORF-IV in RTBV diversification and adaptation to different rice growing regions is also discussed.

When presented with an attack graph, network administrator may raise question on how to harden the network. To defend his network, network administrator should be supplied with list of all attack paths that can compromise the network. With this list, he can decide which paths are worth paying attention to and defending against. In the event of limited resources, network administrator may only be interested in certain critical paths which cause worst network attack. Attack graph alone is not always helpful on its own and needs additional work for this purpose. In this paper we present the use of a Fuzzy Cognitive Map which is converted from attack graph with genetic algorithm to find attack scenarios causing worst impact on network security. The identified scenarios can then help network administrator to mitigate risks associated with the attack scenarios and improve his network security.

The development of the Decision Support Framework (DSF) for software testing provides a solid basis for assisting the software test manager in assessing the risk of achieving successful software testing. To further enhance the DSF, the DSF has been expanded beyond its static and dynamic analysis perspectives.

Transmission measurements at intensities (fluences) above 500 MW/cm2 (2.5 J/cm2) reveal that the nonlinear absorption in photodarkened samples of semiconductor doped glass is higher than in undarkened ones. A comparison of the saturation behavior in these materials and UV photodarkened host glass supports the model of a photodarkening mechanism based on absorption by electrons trapped in the host glass.

SummaryThe cultivar Ajaya (IET 8585) exhibits durable broad-spectrum resistance to bacterial blight (BB) disease of rice and is widely used as a resistance donor. The present study was carried out to decipher the genetics of BB resistance in Ajaya and map the gene(s) conferring resistance. Genetic analysis in the F2indicated a quantitative/additive nature of resistance governed by two loci with equal effects. Linked marker analysis and allelic tests revealed that one of the resistance genes isxa5. Sequence analysis of a 244 bp region of the second exon of the gene-encoding Transcription factor IIAγ (the candidate gene forxa5) confirmed the presence ofxa5. Bulked-segregant analysis (BSA) revealed the putative location of the two quantitative trait loci (QTLs)/genes associated with resistance on chromosomes 5 and 8. Composite interval mapping located the first locus on Chr. 5S exactly in the genomic region spanned byxa5and the second locus (qtl BBR 8.1) on Chr. 8L. Owing to its differential disease reaction with a set of seven hyper-virulent isolates ofXanthomonas oryzae, a map location on Chr. 8L, which was distinct fromxa13and data from allelism tests, the second resistance locus in Ajaya was determined to be novel and was designated asxaAj. A contig map spanningxaAjwas constructedin silicoand the genomic region was delimited to a 13·5 kb physical interval.In silicoanalysis of the genomic region spanningxaAjidentified four putatively expressed candidate genes, one of which could be involved in imparting BB resistance in Ajaya along withxa5.

Rice tungro disease, one of the major constraints to rice production in South and Southeast Asia, is caused by a combination of two viruses: Rice tungro spherical virus (RTSV) and Rice tungro bacilliform virus (RTBV). The present study was undertaken to determine the genetic variation of RTSV population present in tungro endemic states of Indian subcontinent. Phylogenetic analysis based on coat protein sequences showed distinct divergence of Indian RTSV isolates into two groups; one consisted isolates from Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), Cuttack (Orissa), and Puducherry and another from West Bengal, Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), and Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu). The results obtained from phylogenetic study were further supported with the SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphism), INDELs (insertion and deletion) and evolutionary distance analysis. In addition, sequence difference count matrix revealed 2–68 nucleotides differences among all the Indian RTSV isolates taken in this study. However, at the protein level these differences were not significant as revealed by Ka/Ks ratio calculation. Sequence identity at nucleotide and amino acid level was 92–100% and 97–100%, respectively, among Indian isolates of RTSV. Understanding of the population structure of RTSV from tungro endemic regions of India would potentially provide insights into the molecular diversification of this virus.

Agent-mediated e-commerce is rapidly emerging as a new paradigm to develop business intelligent systems. Such systems are built upon the foundations of agent technology with a strong emphasis on the automated negotiation capabilities. In this paper, we address negotiation problems where agreements must resolve several different attributes. We propose a one-to-many multi-issue negotiation model based on the Pareto optimal theory. The proposed model is capable of processing agents’ preferences and arriving to an optimal solution from a set of alternatives by ranking them according to the score that they achieved. We present our prototype system architecture, together with a discussion of the underlying negotiation framework. We then illustrate on our implementation efforts using the JADE and Eclipse platform. Our concluding remarks and possible further work are presented.

This paper explores new models of software agent architectures able to provide agents with subjectivity and egocentric communication patterns aiming to increase knowledge of subjective intelligent systems communication internal processes improving the design of human-intelligent agent interface tools. The new model may be applied to intelligent agent and knowledge systems adopting subjective and egocentric communication in areas such as analysis of security intelligence, legal argument analysis and intelligent web search engines.

Optical pumping of polymer sheets containing laser dyes and TiO(2) nanoparticle scatterers results in emissions that exhibit laser behavior with linewidths as low as 4 nm. The input-output characteristics, effects of index matching on the emission, damage thresholds, wavelength stability, and possible applications of these new materials are discussed.

Agent-mediated eCommerce (AMEC) is rapidly emerging as a new paradigm to develop distributed and intelligent eCommerce systems. Such systems are built upon the foundations of agent technology with a strong emphasis on the automated negotiation. In this paper, we address negotiation problems where agreements must resolve several different issues. We propose a one-to-many multi-attribute negotiation model based on the decision making theory. The proposed model is capable of processing agents’ preferences and arriving to an optimal solution from a set of alternatives by ranking them according to the score that they achieved. We present our experimental system architecture, together with a discussion of the underlying negotiation framework. We then report on our prototype implementation using the JADE and Eclipse platform and illustrate it with an example in eCommerce. Our concluding remarks and future research are presented.

This paper attempts to extend current research efforts in cloud computing by creating a value model for ICT organisations to objectively determine to invest in either cloud computing or continue investing with on premise hosting options. The model will attempt to factor ICT organisations’ business attributes, financial attributes and technical attributes to provide a balanced view. Previously the authors of this paper have proposed a Cloud Computing Tipping Point model to address these gaps in research. The author also attempts to enable the model with package of services to exchange information with 3 rd parties and agents that consumes the model. This paper attempts to validate the Cloud Computing Tipping Point model by leveraging surveys. The paper also attempts to validate the model by creating an artifact to demonstrate the model’s capability. It continues to discusses the authors attempt to enable service centric capability by leveraging service oriented architecture (SOA) concepts. This paper concludes by introducing a standard based XML taxonomy to exchange information between the model and its clients or agents.

The use of artificial intelligent (AI) techniques for testing software applications has been investigated for over a decade. This paper proposes a framework to assist test managers to evaluate the use of AI techniques as a potential tool to test software. The framework is designed to facilitate decision making and provoke the decision maker into a better understanding of the use of AI techniques as a testing tool. We provide an overview of the framework and its components. Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) are employed to evaluate the framework and make decision analysis easier, and therefore help the decision making process about the use of AI techniques to test software. What-if analysis is used to explore and illustrate the general application of the framework.

The narrow-linewidth laser emission from a scattering gain medium can be forced to oscillate in a narrower emission bandwidth with the introduction of a seed in much the same way as the injection-seeding technique used to produce single-mode oscillation from conventional lasers. The system exhibits complete spectral collapse at all wavelengths other than that of the seed and a large enhancement of the isotropic emission peak intensity. A theory explaining the emission characteristics and the minimum threshold seed energy required for locking is presented.

Microsatellites are abundant across prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes. However, comparative analysis of microsatellites in the organellar genomes of plants and their utility in understanding phylogeny has not been reported. The purpose of this study was to understand the organization of microsatellites in the coding and non-coding regions of organellar genomes of major cereals viz., rice, wheat, maize and sorghum. About 5.8-14.3% of mitochondrial and 30.5-43.2% of chloroplast microsatellites were observed in the coding regions. About 83.8-86.8% of known mitochondrial genes had at least one microsatellite while this value ranged from 78.6-82.9% among the chloroplast genomes. Dinucleotide repeats were the most abundant in the coding and non-coding regions of the mitochondrial genome while mononucleotides were predominant in chloroplast genomes. Maize harbored more repeats in the mitochondrial genome, which could be due to the larger size of genome. A phylogenetic analysis based on mitochondrial and chloroplast genomic microsatellites revealed that rice and sorghum were closer to each other, while wheat was the farthest and this corroborated with the earlier reported phylogenies based on nuclear genome co-linearity and chloroplast gene-based analysis.

THE radiative properties of an atomic or molecular system may be altered significantly in the presence of coherent optical scattering1,2. In the course of investigating the radiative properties of a laser dye dispersed in a strongly scattering medium (a colloidal suspension of titanium dioxide particles), we have found that the emissions from such systems can exhibit spectral and temporal properties characteristic of a multimode laser oscillator, even though the systems contain no external cavity. The threshold excitation energy for laser action is surprisingly low. We suggest that these composite systems might find applications in laser instrumentation and photonics.

To determine the optimal wavelength for subconjunctival laser suture lysis.130 black monofilament 10-0 nylon sutures were sewn subconjunctivally into the bare sclera of enucleated rabbit globes. The lowest energy levels facilitating laser suture lysis were determined for the argon green (514.5 NM), argon blue-green (488.0 NM, 514.5 NM), and krypton red (647.1 NM) wavelengths. In addition, absorption spectroscopy was performed on the suture material and conjunctiva using the Perkin Elmer W/VIS Lambda 2 spectrometer.Krypton red produced the fewest buttonhole defects, and it was also the most efficient energy source for suture lysis (P = 0.0001) under nontenectomized conjunctiva. Absorbance spectra studies revealed peak absorbance at 628 NM for the 10-0 nylon suture material.Based on animal and absorption spectroscopy studies, krypton red may be a safer and more efficient wavelength for subconjunctival laser suture lysis.

Space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) technique has become the most popular and important PWM techniques for three-phase voltage source inverters (VSI) fed control of induction, brushless dc, switched reluctance (SR) and permanent magnet synchronous motors. SVPWM is a method of pre-calculation of switching timing instants for various sections of target output which has options in terms of positioning vectors inside every sampling interval. Even though the basic structure for all SVPWM variants is same, there are more options in the arrangement of the voltage vectors in each sector. Competency of difference SVPWM variants can be understood through their analog equivalencies (reference). This paper presents eight different variations of SVPWM. A comparative evaluation of all these variants in terms of attributes such as switching loss factor (SLF), distortion factor (DF) and total harmonic distortion (THD) in output line voltage is reported. Simulation results are provided to illustrate the analysis.

Optically pumped dyes in a TiO2 nanoparticle colloid exhibit thresholdless laser behavior. A linewidth collapse by a factor of 20 and a linear input-output behavior are observed.

Optimization is a well understood process in design domains. Designers formulate their design problems as single or multicriteria optimization problems and then select an approximate optimization algorithm to search for the optimal values for the design variables. The formulation and algorithm selection procedures have been considered to be activities which relied on substantive human knowledge. This paper describes a computer system, OPTIMA, which formulates design optimization problems from a pseudo-English description into canonical algebraic expressions. It then recognises the formulation and selects appropriate algorithm(s) for its solution. Finally, it runs the selected algorithm(s) and sends the results back to the original descriptions. Areas of expert knowledge involved in carrying out the above tasks are identified. Such knowledge is explicitly encoded in the system. The basic philosophy and key features of the system are described and are illustrated with examples.

This paper commences by discussing some of the difficulties involved in the process of automatic verification of designs from CAD databases. The main focus of the paper is to describe and demonstrate an approach to the development of a knowledge-based integrated system which is capable of verifying a design through its description in a CAD database for conformance with some specified requirements. IPEXCAD, an early version of such an integrated environment, is described in terms of its architecture, implementation and operation issues. The system is illustrated by an application in building design.

Multicriteria optimization is a useful and challenging activity in many disciplines. It provides decision makers with tools for producing better decisions while saving time in the decision process. In the past, computers have assisted in achieving several advancements in the field of multicriteria optimization. In spite of the rapid development of multicriteria optimization techniques, their applications to real world problems have not been legion. There can be many reasons for a decision maker to avoid numerical optimization techniques and resort to conventional trial and error methods based on judgement, intuition and experience. Decision makers who are not experts in optimization techniques usually experience difficulties while using conventional optimization systems. The aim of this chapter is to show how knowledge-based systems technology can be used to overcome some of the shortcomings of earlier optimization systems. It is illustrated how knowledge-based approaches attempt to make multicriteria optimization an easier tool for decision makers to use.

A laser model based on feedback produced by scattering has been developed to explain the narrow linewidth emission and input-output behavior observed in scattering gain media. The model is based on the transient two-level laser equations and includes the detailed spectral properties of the dye gain system. Monte Carlo methods were employed to calculate the threshold gain required for modeling the input-output and linewidth emission characteristics.

Intense optical pumping of solutions of high-gain laser dyes and TiO(2) nanoscatterers in methanol is found to result in narrow-linewidth bichromatic emission. Experimental studies of the long-wavelength emission peak show that weak pumping of the scattering gain medium by the primary lasing emission results in a random system that lases at longer wavelengths. Measurements with other dyes show that the bichromatic emission effect is very general.

Intense isotropic laser emission from an optically pumped scattering gain medium has been used to induce isotropic lasing in an adjacent scattering gain medium at a longer wavelength. The energy-transfer mechanism between the media involved has been studied with a simple model based on radiation-transfer theory. The applications of this effect for wavelength-domain coding are also discussed.

Experiments on laser action in scattering systems with gain reveal that even in the nondiffusive regime interface reflection effects do not enhance linewidth collapse. Instead we show that in dye systems replacing the cell wall with a mirror causes broadening and that removing Fresnel reflection at the surface results in narrower emission lines.

Nature 368, 436-438 (1994) WE omitted to acknowledge that A.S.L.G. was partially funded by the CNPq Brazilian Agency during this work, undertaken while on sabbatical leave from the Departamento de Fisica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife PE 50730, Brazil.

The word “document” in the title has been used to denote publications from our federal government, foreign governments and regional and international organizations. Most readers are aware of the section on comparative international economics, contained in the Statistical Abstract of the United States. It includes information on population, economic growth indicators like GNP, trade, agricultural and industrial production, employment, wages and prices and social indicators like health and literacy in all foreign countries. Brief though the coverage of this section is, it would nevertheless be sufficient to satisfy the needs of most library users. The Abstract also conveniently provides citations to various national and international sources from which the information was gathered. Those who require more detailed data can resort to the many national statistical almanacs and compendiums issued regularly by the statistical departments of the national governments. A prime example of such an almanac would be the Annual Abstract of Statistics relating to the United Kingdom. We may note in this connection that these statistical handbooks are now available in microform. In addition to the statistical offices, the central banks of the countries involved issue regular reports on the monetary and economic situation within the countries. For instance, publications like the West German Monatsbericht contain a wealth of economic data not ordinarily needed by most lay people. Like the central banks, foreign embassies also issue pamphlet type reports aimed at increasing the host country's interest in trade and tourism in their home countries. The annual report entitled Italy: An Economic Profile falls under this category. Finally, there is a wealth of commercially published statistical reviews such as the Economic Intelligence Unit's Quarterly Economic Reviews, containing composite information on national economies. Those interested in learning more about the various available statistical sources may consult excellent bibliographies like the American Statistics Index, Foreign Language Index, Guide to the Basic Statistics in Countries of the ECAFE Region and Sources of European Economic Information. Other similar guides include the following: Statistics Africa‐Sources for Market Research, Statistics America‐Sources for Market Research; Statistics Europe‐Sources for Social, Economic and Market Research; and Statistics Asia and Australasia‐Sources for Market Research. In this survey, we will be concerned only with some recent and most used documents, which provide information on both the United States and foreign countries. We may note here that it is often useful to know about foreign publications containing economic data on the United States, even though there is no scarcity of indigenous sources dealing with domestic issues. The reason for this would be clear if one examines the peculiarity of some of these publications. If one wants to know about the latest consumer price index for the United States, one can get it from the many Bureau of Labor Statistics Reports. There is a problem however in that the BLS still uses the 1967 base year to compute its indices. If one wants a base year later than 1967, one has to resort to non‐American publications like the OECD's Economic Indicators, which use a later base year. Again, data may be available locally on an annual basis and not by quarter. Patrons may solve this problem by looking at some of the statistical documents to be discussed in the course of this survey. Likewise, one can avoid buying expensive foreign data books and almanacs by a judicious use of publications from our federal government. It is also good to know that journals such as the Survey of Current Business and Business Conditions Digest contain issues and sections devoted to comparative economic indicators.

One of the most significant events that took place during the period under review was the recent symposium on economics bibliography held in July 1975 under the auspices of the International Economics Association. It met at the famous Institut fur Weltwirtschaft, University of Kiel, West Germany. The theme of the symposium was the “Organization and Retrieval of Economic Knowledge.” The papers presented there covered recent trends in data and bibliographic organization, the emerging library characteristics of many specific economic subfields, the emerging solutions to the library cost problem and the boundaries of methodologies of economics. At its conclusion the Symposium issued a statement identifying some concerns about the future of economics libraries and data retrieval. Pending the forthcoming publication of the entire transcript, interested readers may find a summary of the symposium in the Journal of Economic Literature (December 1975: 1320–1321). While it is not entirely appropriate for this survey, I would be remiss if I did not mention another significant occasion: the bicentennial of the publication of the great Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations in honor of which the Clardendon Press has issued a special reprint.

This paper describes and compares three approaches to solving design optimization problems with multiple conflicting objectives. The three techniques are described in detail and then applied lo an example which demonstrates how information is accumulated which leads to a logical and efficient multicriteria optimal design. The techniques employed (weighting, noninferior set estimation and constraint methods) ate compared to each other by considering their computational efficiencies and their abilities to produce an approximation of the Pareto optimal set.

This paper investigates the relative merits of declarative programming and procedural programming languages for optimization problems through an example taken from the field of multicriteria decision making. The results obtained from this work are presented and discussed.

In this paper a systematic approach to dimensioning architectural floor plans to optimize multiple conflicting objectives is presented. The methodology is applied to solve the dimensioning problem of a house plan, where construction cost, total floor area and proportion ratio were considered the noncommensurable objectives.

Optimization is a well understood process in design domains. Designers formulate their design problems as single criterion or multicriteria optimization problems and then select an appropriate optimization algorithm to search for the optimal values for the design variables. The formulation and algorithm selection procedures have been considered to be activities which relied on substantive human knowledge. This paper describes a computer system, OPTIMA, which formulates design optimization problems from a pseudo-English description into canonical algebraic expressions. It then recognizes the formulation and selects appropriate algorithm(s) for its solution. Finally, it runs the selected algorithm(s) and sends the results back to the original descriptions. Areas of expert knowledge involved in carrying out the above tasks are identified. Such knowledge is explicitly encoded in the system. The basic philosophy and key features of the system are described and are illustrated with examples.

The institution of an annual series devoted to current and ongoing research in economics and business should be considered one of the notable developments during the period under review. Long standing need for such a reference not withstanding, there has been until this year no systematic attempt to organize a continuing series which concentrated on selected areas of ongoing research, especially adapted to the Jahrbucher format. By facilitating the publication of research papers which are longer than the conventional journal‐length article yet shorter than a monograph, publishing outlets available to scholars in the field have been infinitely expanded. Two years ago, the Royal Economic Society and the Social Science Research Council of Great Britain, developed an experimental series, published by Macmillan, entitled Surveys of Applied Economics. The JAI Press, Greenwich, Conn., has now come out with an annual series, which is expected to fill the gaps in at least seventeen areas of economic theory and business. These are briefly listed below, with pertinent bibliographical citations: Research in Economic Anthropology: An Annual Compilation of Research. Series editor, George Dalton. vol. 1. Sept. 1977‐ $22.00 ISBN 0‐89232‐040‐9; Research in Economic History: An Annual Compilation of Research. Series editor, Paul Uselding. vol. 1. Sept. 1976‐ $22.50 ISBN 0‐89232‐001‐X; Research in Health Economics: An Annual Compilation of Research. Series editor, Richard M. Scheffler. vol. 1. Sept. 1977‐ $22.50 ISBN 0‐89232‐042‐7; Research in Human Capital and Development: An Annual Compilation of Research. Series editor, Ismail Sirageldin. vol. 1. June/July 1977‐ $22.50 ISBN 0‐89232‐019‐2; Research in International Business and Finance: An Annual Compilation of Research. Series editor, Robert G. Hawkins. vol. 1. May/June 1977‐ $23.50 ISBN 0‐89232‐031‐1; Research in Labor Economics: An Annual Compilation of Research. Series editor, Ronald G. Ehrenberg. vol. 1. March 1977‐ $22.50 ISBN 0‐89232‐017‐6; Research in Law and Economics: An Annual Compilation of Research. Series editor, Richard O. Zerbe. vol. 1. Sept. 1977‐ $22.50 ISBN 0‐89232‐028‐1; Research in Marketing: An Annual Compilation in Research. Series editor, Jagdish N. Sheth. vol. 1. June 1977‐ $22.50 ISBN 0‐89232‐041‐9; Research in Philosophy and Technology: An Annual Compilation of Research. Series editor, Paul T. Durbin. vol. 1. March 1977‐ $22.50 ISBN 0‐89232‐022‐2; Research in Political Economy: An Annual Compilation of Research. Series editor, Paul Zarembka. vol. 1. Sept. 1977‐ $22.50 ISBN 0‐89232‐020‐6; Research in Population Economics: An Annual Compilation of Research. Series editor, Julian L. Simon. vol. 1. April 1977‐ $22.50 ISBN 0‐89232‐018‐4; Applications of Management Science. Series editor, Matthew J. Sobel. vol. 1. 1977‐ $22.50. ISBN 0‐89232‐023‐0; Research in Econometrics. Series editor, Dennis J. Aigner. vol. 1. 1977‐ $22.50 ISBN 0‐89232‐039‐7; Research in Experimental Economics. Series editor, Vernon L. Smith. vol. 1. 1977‐ $22.50 ISBN 0‐89232‐030‐3; Research in Finance. Series editor, Haim Levy. vol. 1. 1977‐ $22.50 ISBN 0‐89232‐043‐5; Research in Organizational Behavior. Series editor, Barry Staw. vol. 1. 1977‐ $22.50 ISBN 0‐89232‐045‐1; Research in Public Policy and Management. Series editor, Colin Blaydon. vol. 1. 1977‐ $22.50 ISBN 0‐89232‐044‐3.

This survey is mainly concerned with certain basic sources of information aimed at persons occupying administrative and managerial positions in business and industry as well as academicians and students in business schools. It covers management theory and methods, industrial and personnel relations and legislation affecting such relationships, and manpower planning and related data sources. Since much of the current thinking and research on management is disseminated variously as reports and articles in scholarly periodicals, it would be logical to begin with indexing and abstracting sources which enable retrieval of such data. These should not be confused with serial publications whose aim is to provide the subject specialist with means to keep abreast of developments in his field, like Management Contents, Marketing Executive Digest and McGraw‐Hill Management Awareness Program.

People concerned with marketing and product management, sales merchandising, advertising and market research make use of a variety of demographic and socioeconomic information available on a national, regional, state, and local level. The quantitative market indicators include population, households, income and industrial and retail sales, while qualitative data is provided by specific categories such as percentage of households by gross income classes or the various components of the population like age, race, sex and marital status. There are other indicators like the index of sales to disposable income which measures the selling power in a given area by comparing the volume of retail sales transacted by the retail stores in the area with the income or the buying power of the area residents. The buying power index measures a given market's ability to buy, expressed as a percentage of the national potential. The effective buying income is a bulk measurement of the market potential. It indicates the general ability to buy and facilitates comparison, selection and grouping of markets on that basis. Another useful marketing technique, called input‐output analysis or inter‐industry analysis, studies changes in the demand for or supply of a given industry's products as it affects all other industries. By analyzing the demand for the factors of production‐input one can arrive at the interrelationships between on industry's output and the goods needed to achieve a given volume of production. All these characteristics of markets and measurable marketing components are set forth cogently in a federal document entitled Measuring Markets. Briefly listed below are some of major uses of various types of marketing information: defining market potential, evaluation of sales performance, determination of distribution trends, development of product demand indices, selection of markets, mapping of sales territories, setting of quotas, routing sales force, allocation of advertising dollars, selection of new product test markets, location of high income concentrations, tracing population shifts and forecasting regional and national sales.

Once dismissed as a dismal science, economics has, over a period of three centuries, acquired a respectability, signified quite appropriately by the institution of a separate Nobel prize. It is not any longer a study dealing with the simple laws of supply and demand. Today, it is an extensive and well developed academic discipline with its own specialized branches such as econometrics. Today's student of economics faces the problem common to most other disciplines, namely, proliferation of the subject literature. Luckily for him, there is no dearth of guidebooks and manuals which attempt to teach the beginner the art and science of looking for and finding appropriate information. These include The Uses of Economics Literature, How to Find Out About Economics, Economics and Commerce: The Sources of Information and Their Organization, and Economics: Bibliographic Guide to Reference Books and Information Sources. Any standard textbook would provide an adequate introduction to the basic concepts in the various branches of economics like economic theory, economic history, labor economics, mathematical economics, microeconomics, macroeconomics and price theory. These texts, however, may not contain information on the state of the art in each area. For this purpose, one needs to resort to sources like the AEA Survey of Economic Theory and the Survey of Applied Economics. On a lay level, we have the annual Readings in Economics, which deals with current economic problems, like inflation, unemployment, growth, income distribution, externalities and international economics. Basically, it is a collection of writings dealing with the foundations of economics and its critics. An important recent development in the publication of the state of the art reviews in the various branches of economics will be highlighted in my second annual State‐of‐the‐Art Survey of Reference Materials in Business and Economics. An introductory survey of literature is available from publications such as The Literature of Social Sciences and the Sources of Information in the Social Sciences: A Guide to Literature.

The noninferior set estimation (NISE) method is a powerful technique for the generation of the Pareto optimal set for multicriteria optimization problems with two dimensions. This paper extends the NISE method to three-objective problems. The concepts which allow this extension are presented and an algorithm described. The method is applied to a problem drawn from the literature to produce numerical results.

Engineering is concerned with much more than calculation and numeric analysis. It is concerned with ideas, concepts, judgement and deploying experience which cannot be represented numerically. All of these appear to be outside the realm of traditional engineering computing. Engineers make use of knowledge about objects, events and processes and make declarative statements about them which are often written down symbolically. These limitations of traditional computing in civil engineering can be overcome by expert systems. In this paper we present a number of expert systems dealing with analysis, design and knowledge acquisition in the field of civil engineering.

Until recently, results of significant research in the field of economics were communicated to the scholarly world mostly through the conventional medium of journal articles. Not only have such journals proliferated in number, but the manuscript turnover time has increased considerably, resulting in delay, in the dissemination of current developments. Last year economics joined a few other disciplines with the publication of its first letters journal, consisting of short communications or “Letters,” which provides a rapid medium to announce new results, models and methods. Published by North Holland, the new monthly, entitled appropriately Economics Letters, will carry research communications of not more than four pages each. Readers may also recall that in my previous state of the art survey (RSR v6 n1, 1978, p21), I had briefly noted the institution of an annual series by the JAI Press devoted to current and ongoing research in business and economics.