Research and Development as a Competence Creating Business in a Business

Research and development departments in industrial firms may not take it for granted anymore that they are the only preferred supplier of research and development to the company of which they are a part. The growing need to be innovative and the increasing availability of innovative competencies on the market result in a pressure on these departments to become more business–like and to reconsider their sources of competitive advantage over other (potential) suppliers of research and development. Traditionally, scientific and technological knowledge and skills concerning the product were the prime source. Nowadays, managerial competencies and the ability to work for and with your clients and suppliers are becoming more important. To become a competitive business in a business, research and development departments should create the competencies that enable them to create value for their clients. This calls for good competence management, comprising management of human resources, information technology, and internal and external interfaces. In this paper we explore what it means and what it takes for research and development departments to implement competence management, elaborating it theoretically and describing a case of competence management in the research and development department of a European car company.     

Commercial white paint as back surface reflector for thin-film solar cells

In this work, commercially available white paint is applied as a pigmented diffuse reflector (PDR) on the rear surface of thin-film crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells with a silicon thickness in the 1–2 μm range. We show that white paint increases the short-circuit current density of the solar cells enormously, with a boost of 41% observed for very thin planar solar cells illuminated with the global AM1.5 solar spectrum. We also show that white paint is a better back surface reflector (BSR) than aluminium, air, a transparent conductive oxide (TCO)/aluminium stack, and even a detached aluminium mirror. While previous studies have investigated the influence of PDRs on silicon solar cells with thicknesses of over 27 μm, this work closes the gap that has existed for much thinner cells.     

Gas/liquid oxygen-transfer to flowing lead alloys

For the application of liquid lead or lead-bismuth eutectic as coolant in nuclear reactors, the concentration of dissolved oxygen, determining the compatibility with steels used as construction materials, is of critical importance. In general, oxygen has to be added continuously to the liquid metal, so as to compensate for consumption by oxide formation on the surface of the reactor components. A potential method of keeping the oxygen concentration in a favourable range is transferring oxygen from an oxygen-containing gas, which is investigated on the basis of the experience from operating a gas/liquid transfer device in the CORRIDA loop. Conclusions on oxygen transfer in industrial-scale systems are drawn.     

The Theory of Zero-Suppressed BDDs and the Number of Knight's Tours

Zero-suppressed binary decision diagrams (ZBDDs) have been introduced by Minato [14–17] who presents applications for cube set representations, fault simulation, timing analysis and the n-queens problem. Here the structural properties of ZBDDs are worked out and a generic synthesis algorithm is presented and analyzed. It is proved that ZBDDs can be at most by a factor n + 1 smaller or larger than ordered BDDs (OBDDs) for the same function on n variables. Using ZBDDs the best known upper bound on the number of knight's tours on an 8 × 8 chessboard is improved significantly.     

Rekonstruktion von Barockspiegeln des Historischen Grünen Gewölbes im Dresdener Schloss

Reconstruction of Baroque Mirrors of the Historical Green Vault in the Dresden Royal Palace On the 1^st September 2006 the Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel inaugurated the reconstructed Historical Green Vault, the treasury museum of the Saxon electors and kings. Since its destruction on 13^th February 1945 two generations have been working scientific‐artistically in order to set the course for its reconstruction. The idea of a baroque mirror chamber has firstly been implemented on a sequence of 8 rooms in the Green Vault. The original mirrors, which were covered with tin amalgam, had a considerably lower reflexivity modern day silver mirrors. From originally 423 m² mirror surface, only 60 m² could be reused. For the restoration and reconstruction of the original mirrors extensive analytic investigations became necessary, which the state‐owned company Sächsisches Immobilien‐ und Baumanagement (SIB) commissioned the Fraunhofer Institute for Electron Beam and Plasma Technology (FEP). On basis of these results the responsible restoration commission decided to replace partly destroyed mirror surfaces using the historical tin amalgam mirror technology. The fully destroyed jewel room would be restored with mirrors including partial gold etching. Due to hygienical and temporal reasons those mirrors were coated through a mercury‐free vacuum thin film technology ‐ the magnetron sputtering. The results show that a layer system consisting of tin‐bronze‐titanium and protective lacquers represent an adequate replacement for the original tin amalgam mirrors. The procedure allows relatively uncomplicated partial silverings and a subsequent inserting of artistic gold etchings.     

Tracking, grading, and student motivation: Using group composition and status to predict self-concept and interest in ninth-grade mathematics.

Assigning students to different classes on the basis of their achievement levels (tracking, streaming, or ability grouping) is an extensively used strategy with widely debated consequences. The authors developed a model of the effects of tracking on self-concept and interest that integrates the opposing predictions of "assimilation" and "contrast" effects, which specifies teacher-assigned grades as a major mediating variable, and tested it in 2 settings in which track level is clearly associated with different status-systematic tracking as a function of school type (Study 1, N = 14,341 German 9th-grade students) and separate streams within a comprehensive school system (Study 2, N = 3,243 German 9th-grade students). The results support predictions that students' math self-concept and math interest differ as a function of the achievement of their reference group, their own achievement, and their teacher-assigned grades. No systematic association between track level and math self-concept was found once individual student achievement, school-/stream-average achievement, and teacher-assigned grades were controlled. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Erfahrungen mit der Leybold ScrewLine in industriellen Anwendungen. ScrewLine Vacuum Pumps in Industrial Applications

Die Beispiele aus verschiedenen ?industriellen”? Applikationen zeigen, dass sich das Konzept der ScrewLine SP630 auch unter härtesten Bedingungen hervorragend bewährt. Die Pumpe ist eine echte ?Universalpumpe”? und kann durch ihr Zubehör auch an viele Prozesse im Randbereich der Chemischen Industrie oder in der Halbleiterindustrie angepaßt werden. In allen Fällen überzeugen vor allem die sehr niedrigen ?Cost of Ownership”? und die hohe Robustheit der Pumpe. Außerdem präsentiert sie sich als sehr modernes Produkt und setzt bei Vakuumleistung, Schallpegel und Wartungsfreundlichkeit neue Maßstäbe. Leybold Vacuum bietet mit der ScrewLine also wieder ein echtes ?Arbeitspferd”? und setzt so eine Tradition mit Produkten wie TRIVAC, SOGEVAC und RUVAC nahtlos fort.