Spreading good ideas: a case study of the adoption of an innovation in the construction sector

A health and safety association collaborated with two research centres to examine the dissemination of knowledge of an ergonomic intervention by opinion leaders in the construction sector. The intervention was a hydraulic ladder lift that aided with loading and unloading of ladders off van roofs. Thirteen companies, with five to 900 employees, were involved. The van operators informed workmates not employed by their companies but who worked on the same site as them about the intervention. The opinion leaders informed decision makers within their companies which led to commitments to purchase similar units. They also gave presentations at prearranged health and safety meetings, where attendees indicated that they thought the intervention sounded like a good idea. In this way, knowledge of the innovation reached at least 32 more companies and potentially several thousand other employees. The study showed the potential for workplace change to be exponential.     

试论高职院校“两课”教学的实效性提升

针对＂两课＂教学对大学生的成长与成才发挥着积极的正面引导作用,指出了高职院校应高度重视＂两课＂教学工作,不断提升＂两课＂教学的实效性,并从领导重视、思维创新、教学改革以及师资培养等方面进行了探讨。     

Some Results Concerning the Asymptotic Distribution of Sample Fourier Transforms and Periodograms for a Discrete-time Stationary Process with a Continuous Spectrum

We consider a stationary process ( X_t , t = 0, ±1, ...) with a continuous spectrum. Denote by D_n (λ) a tapered Fourier transform of ( X ₀, X ₁, ..., X _{n −1}) at (angular) frequency λ. We obtain the asymptotic distribution of D_n (λ) and the joint asymptotic distribution of { D_n (λ _j ), 1 ≤ j ≤ k } with continuity of the spectral density f (.) at the relevant frequencies as the only assumption concerning the second-order structure of ( X_t ); all other assumptions required are easily stated. The results are extended to processes for which f (.) is continuous except at λ = 0, with lim_λ←0 f (λ)λ^{2 d} = K , a constant, where 0 < d < ½, as is typical of certain types of processes with long-range dependence. Results for the sample periodogram, proportional to | D_n (λ)|², follow immediately.     

水布垭高水头放空洞设计技术创新与工程实践

水布垭放空洞设计水头152.2 m,运行水头110 m,泄洪水位变幅110 m,消能区河床宽度仅120 m,岩石为写经寺组页岩,其水工设计和金属结构设计难度很大.通过技术攻关,解决了高水头放空洞突扩突跌体型、出口消能形式、闸门支承结构、止水型式和闸门锁定装置等关键技术难题,研究成果成功应用于水布垭工程,并经受了超设计水位的运行考验.     

Some recent innovations in the Kroll process of titanium sponge production

Titanium and its alloys have emerged as cost-effective structural materials in many spheres of chemical and engineering industries including aerospace and power generation. Titanium in its pure form is invariably prepared starting from pure titanium tetrachloride. Titanium tetrachloride obtained by chlorination of the oxide mineral is purified and reduced with either liquid magnesium or sodium or electrolysed to obtain titanium in sponge form. The metal extraction processes are so complex that large scale production technology is limited so far only to a few countries in the world viz. the USA, Japan, CIS, UK and China. India is attempting to enter this arena shortly with a 1000 TPY commercial plant based entirely on home-grown technology. Among the extraction methods, the magnesium reduction of titanium tetrachloride, patented by W J Kroll in 1940, has received wider attention because of the inherent and relative merits of the process and its viability for economic production on an industrial scale. The original Kroll process, however, has undergone several modifications in the past few decades. The recent technological breakthroughs in the Kroll process as well as in the magnesium recycling technology has resulted in a significant reduction in the production cost of the metal. The paper describes these important innovations and also the efforts that are being put in for the establishment of a commercial plant for metal production in India based on indigenously developed technology.     

A NOTE ON THE THRESHOLD AR(1) MODEL WITH CAUCHY INNOVATIONS

Abstract. A threshold autoregressive process of the first order with one threshold r and with Cauchy innovations is investigated in the paper. An explicit formula for the stationary density of such process is derived for the special case that r = 0 and that the autoregressive parameters have the same absolute value.     

高等院校财务管理创新问题探讨

计划经济体制下,高等院校的财务管理,形成的管理弊端,在市场经济条件下日渐暴露。因此,必须在财务管理的观念、制度、内容、方式、结构等方面进行创新,旨在使高等院校的财务管理进一步科学化。     

Activated Sludge: Latest Developments and a Look Into the Future (Abridged)

This paper examines and discusses (a) the innovations of the activated-sludge process which have been developed in recent years - particularly biological nutrient-removal processes, (b) modifications to minimize the construction costs of activated-sludge systems while simultaneously incorporating biological nutrient-removal techniques, (c) innovative computer-interfaced control methodologies, and (d) proposed methods of improving the biochemical versatility of activated sludge. The paper also presents potential methods of utilizing activated-sludge processes to produce valuable by-products from wastewaters.     

建筑在西部的断想

从建筑要满足现代中国人的物质要求和精神要求出发,论述了大量性建筑与少量性建筑、民族形式与地方特色、传统与创新之间的历史辩证的关系。     

Assessing the readiness of municipalities for digital process innovation

Pre-adoption phases of innovation are understudied in the innovation literature. This article addresses pre-adoption phases of innovation by running a prospective analysis. We assess the readiness of municipalities for the adoption of a digital tool that brings about process innovation concerning stakeholder management. Through an online survey, we elicit the public managers’ attitudes and their adoption expectation towards the tool. By drawing on insights from Diffusion of Innovation Theory and Theory of Planned Behaviour, we investigate which attributes of innovation along with managerial, organisational and environmental factors, contribute to a favourable attitude and an increased likelihood of innovation adoption. Our analysis reveals that while the perceived attributes of innovation such as its relative advantage and compatibility are major determinants of attitude formation and adoption expectation, pro-digitalisation beliefs, innovation-oriented organisational culture and environmental context factors such as high population and rates of new residential growth are critical in translation of positive attitudes to increased likelihood of adoption. Hence, in addition to perceived attributes of innovation and managerial characteristics, our findings also highlight the importance of organisational and environmental factors to the adoption expectation, and thus provide a more nuanced understanding of pre-adoption phases of innovation.