Using multi-hub structures for international R&;D: Organisational inertia and the challenges of implementation

Abstract and Key Results

A probabilistic approach for the construction of regional earthquake response spectra

Five scenario earthquakes plausible for the Los Angeles metropolitan region, and one numerical approximation of the 1994 Northridge M_w 6.7 event, provide the database of the proposed methodology that is applied for the construction of regional earthquake response spectra. The methodology involves two main stages of data compaction. In the first stage, the Karhunen–Loève (K–L) decomposition of the excitation temporal covariance matrix is performed. In the second stage, the dominant eigenvectors are analytically approximated with Chebyshev polynomials, thus being converted from eigenvectors to eigenfunctions. This compact analytical representation of the nonstationary excitation data provides an exact closed-form solution for the nonstationary response of linear multi-degree-of-freedom systems. Furthermore, statistical inference analysis for the response variables is conducted, which leads to the construction of regional probabilistic response spectra based on the Log-Normal probability model for the response variables.     

A comparative study of the operations strategies of globally- and domestically-oriented New Zealand manufacturing firms

There has been much written on why and how firms become involved in entering international markets. There is less material on the production/operations actions taken by such firms. This paper investigates the differences in competitive capabilities and manufacturing performance improvement plans between globally-oriented and domestically-oriented firms. It uses data collected from 140 New Zealand manufacturing companies. The results indicate that both groups emphasize the same competitive capabilities, but the globally-oriented group is placing more emphasis on some action plans involving quality assurance, improving existing processes and design for manufacture. Their most favoured action plans are similar to those of firms in most advanced manufacturing countries which participate in the Manufacturing Futures Project.     

A new perspective on the mechanical evaluation of granular material

The mechanical strength of granules is an important parameter to be determined prior to any further downstream formulation processing. It is important to have a good gauge on the granule integrity to forecast any foreseeable powder issues associated with the material processability such as segregation, content uniformity, and material flow-ability. In this study, a systematic methodology has been developed to quantify the integrity of these granules subjected to a low frequency acoustic field to arrive at the Granule Integrity (GI) index. This methodology has been compared to existing well-established bulk characterization techniques reported in the literature such as Heckel analysis, Kawakita analysis, and Young’s modulus for four different processed samples. Heckel analysis is more amenable to examine the material deformability while Kawakita analysis is better suited to understand the mechanics of granular material. Individual granule strength measurements to determine Young’s modulus often show large variations across the bulk sample. The GI index in conjunction with the Kawakita analysis provides us with more mechanistic insight and understanding into the formation of these granules from a processing perspective. This paper shows the benefits of using the GI index as a practical and direct methodology to characterize the GI of bulk samples in an industrial setting.     

The effect of information types on diagnostic strategies in the information aid

Through experiments, this paper investigates the compatibility of information types with the diagnostic strategy in information aid. Compatibility with operator strategies is an important requirement for information aiding systems in nuclear power plants (NPPs). This paper used three typical types of information aids for MCR operators to investigate the effect of the aids on diagnostic strategies: “alarm (A),” “hypothesis on faults (H),” and “hypothesis on faults and expected symptoms (HS).” The experimental results indicate that the effectiveness of information aid types can vary, dependent on the strategies subjects employ. The results also show that the HS aid improved the diagnosis performance in the hypothesis-and-test strategy.     

A new perspective on Renn and Klinke's approach to risk evaluation and management

In this paper we discuss Renn and Klinke's approach for risk evaluation and selection of risk management strategies. The main focus in the discussion is the foundational basis and the understanding of what risk is, and how a different foundational basis may simplify and improve the characterization of risk. We will present and discuss an alternative set of characteristics, and give some recommendations with respect to selection of risk management strategies based on different values or magnitudes of these characteristics. We believe that the main focus when describing and managing risk should be the potential consequences, represented by observable quantities, and the uncertainty related to their future values.     

企业经营中的产品包装策略

分析了产品包装在产品开发中的重要性,介绍了广义的产品概念、企业常用的产品包装策略及其优缺点和适用范围,提出了选择产品包装策略应考率的因素以及产品包装的发展趋势.     

A firm as a knowledge-creating entity: a new perspective on the theory of the firm

The knowledge-based view of the firm views a firm as a knowledge-creatingentity, and argues that knowledge and the capability to createand utilize such knowledge are the most important source ofa firm's sustainable competitive advantage. Knowledge and skillsgive a firm a competitive advantage because it is through thisset of knowledge and skills that a firm is able to innovatenew products/processes/services, or improve existing ones moreefficiently and/or effectively. The raison d'être of afirm is to continuously create knowledge.     

Sensitivity analysis in the context of regional safety modeling: Identifying and assessing the modifiable areal unit problem

A wide array of spatial units has been explored in current regional safety analysis. Since traffic crashes exhibit extreme spatiotemporal heterogeneity which has rarely been a consideration in partitioning these zoning systems, research based on these areal units may be subjected to the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP).     

浅析《植物大战僵尸》成功之处

《植物大战僵尸》一款小型益智策略游戏能够在游戏市场中延续三年的旺盛活力,其背后的成因值得思考和借鉴。     

Growth of De Alio and De Novo firms in the new and renewable energy industry

Firms entering new markets are either de alio, with business experience in other areas, or de novo, without such experience. De alio firms enter markets in advantageous situations, while de novo firms enter markets with innovation capabilities. This study determines whether de alio or de novo firms achieve faster sales growth as well as the duration of their growth when they enter the new and renewable energy industry. Panel data for global companies that entered the new and renewable energy industry after the 1990s show that de alio firms achieved higher growth rate than did de novo firms in the initial stages, but that entry type’s contribution to sales growth gradually decreased and disappeared four years after entrance. The results indicate that accumulated resources and new entrants’ former experiences in other industries have positive effects, contributing to initial success after market entry for a limited time. This finding suggests that firms improve the R&Cs (resources and capabilities) that are appropriate to their new environments for sustainable development.     

A survey of users of the new British Library Patent Information Centre

The British Library acts as the national patent library in the UK. The patent library moved into a new, purpose-built building in London in 1999, to join other parts of the national library. A market research study was commissioned to study the changes in use of the patent library brought about both by the move and by other factors such as the increased accessibility of patent information on the Internet. The study looked at, for instance, the geographical location and type of business of users, their reason for searching (for themselves or for others, for checking originality, technical background, etc.), the extent to which users actually visited the library, what attributes they required of the services provided, and their use of Internet resources. The results reported include some comparisons with regional patent libraries in the UK. The article concludes that users' requirements have changed significantly, especially as a result of the impact of the Internet, and that the services provided need to adapt to these changes. The study results are being further analysed to determine the best way forward for these services.     

A biotechnological perspective on the application of iron oxide nanoparticles

In recent decades,magnetic iron nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted much attention due to properties such as superparamagnetism,high surface area,large surface-to-volume ratio,and easy separation under external magnetic fields.Therefore,magnetic iron oxides have potential for use in numerous applications,including magnetic resonance imaging contrast enhancement,tissue repair,immunoassay,detoxification of biological fluids,drug delivery,hyperthermia,and cell separation.This review provides an updated and integrated focus on the fabrication and characterization of suitable magnetic iron NPs for biotechnological applications.The possible perspective and some challenges in the further development of these NPs are also discussed.     

A study on the critical factors of ISO 9001:2000 and organizational performance of Indian manufacturing firms

This study explores the critical factors of ISO 9001:2000 and investigates the effect of ISO certification on organizational performance, as perceived by the management. In order to gain more insight into the investigation, the study also analyses the relationship between the firm attributes and the critical factors, as well as the relationship between firm attributes and the indicators of organizational performance.     

A note on decoupling of local and global behaviours for the Dagum Random Field

Self-affinity versus decoupling: this dichotomy represents a breakthrough with respect to the previous literature, that has grown under the dogma of self-affinity. The word decoupling refers to those correlation functions allowing to treat independently the Hausdorff–Besicovitch dimension and Hurst effect parameters. The former is a roughness measure associated to profiles or surfaces. The latter reflects possible persistent or antipersistent behaviours of the associated random process or random field. Thus, the decoupling philosophy opens new avenues for the analysis and interpretation of local and global properties of random fields. In this paper, we introduce a new class of isotropic correlation functions, called Dagum, show its permissibility on any n-dimensional space, and analyse its attitudes with respect to decoupling. Interesting aspects arise from an intensive simulation study, conducted in one and two dimensions. In particular, it seems that the decoupling attitude may depend on the space dimension.     

A perspective on the optimisation of hard carbon and related coatings for engineering applications

Hard carbon coatings hold the key to improved performance for many types of products. However the achievement of these improvements requires the selection of the appropriate type of carbon coating and therefore the correct process and appropriate deposition parameters. The huge range of properties achievable in carbon coatings is mainly due to the ability of carbon to form different types of interatomic bonds, to take up different sites, and to adopt different structures. In addition to intrinsic material properties, other factors must also be considered for each application, such as the adhesion level achievable and coating cost. This complex situation explains why the number of applications for hard carbon films is still more limited than originally expected. Despite the considerable progress achieved during the last decade in hard coating technologies, practical results often appear conflicting, with differences in properties occurring even within the same types of coatings. Furthermore, the many different deposition systems and processes which have been developed introduce further complications in regard to (for example) achievable coating uniformity and deposition rates. Thus, there is often confusion in the use of certain fundamental principles, especially regarding the growth mechanisms and the effects which produce more dense homogeneous and stable coating materials. This is especially true for the improved properties of tetrahedral amorphous carbon films, which are different from previously reported diamond-like carbon materials, and can be created by adapting and improving existing industrial processes, to offer advantages compared to earlier coatings, and hence possibilities for important new applications. This paper discusses issues relating to intrinsic material properties, and practical aspects such as adhesion, to provide a framework for the development, selection and use of hard carbon coatings in practical situations.     

A new perspective on carbon nano-onion/nickel hydroxide/oxide composites: Physicochemical properties and application in hybrid electrochemical systems

Carbon nano-onion (CNO) and Ni(OH)₂ or NiO composites were prepared by chemical loading of Ni(OH)₂ on the carbon surface. The samples were characterized by transmission electron microscopic (TEM) and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) methods, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique and by differential-thermogravimetric analyses (TGA-DTG). The porosity properties were characterized by using nitrogen gas adsorption analyses. Pristine inorganic samples of NiO and Ni(OH)₂ revealed different morphologies and porous characteristics when compared to those of the CNO composites, which showed unique electrochemical properties. The electrochemical performance of the CNO/Ni(OH)₂ or CNO/NiO composites is largely affected by the mass, the morphology, the crystal phases of the inorganic component and the distribution of the Ni(OH)₂/NiO phase. The CNO composites were used as materials for hybrid charge-storage devices.