This volume contains the 37 papers presented at the 9th International Con- rence on Real-Time and Embedded Computing Systems and Applications (RT- CSA 2003). RTCSA is an international conference organized for scientists and researchers from both academia and industry to hold intensive discussions on advancing technologies topics on real-time systems, embedded systems, ubiq- tous/pervasive computing, and related topics. RTCSA 2003 was held at the Department of Electrical Engineering of National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan. Paper submissions were well distributed over the various aspects of...

The mathematical theory enables us to systematically measure the effectiveness of different policies and institutional structures at varying levels of resource abundance and cost.The theory presented in this book shows that there do not exist universally optimal policies or institutional structures.

This book develops an informational theory to account for the coexistence of China s exceptionally resilient authoritarianism and its high decentralization. The nuanced information contained in citizens complaints, which are filed through the petition system, helps to sustain China s decentralized authoritarianism in three important ways. First, petitions help to alleviate the information asymmetry problem that arises when the central government has less information than lower level governments do. When studying citizens petitions, higher level governments can obtain valuable and accurate...