The Nexus of Corporate Entrepreneurship and Radical Innovation

This paper explores the linkage between the entrepreneurial orientation of established firms and the development of radical innovation. Through five case studies in firms involved in radical innovation, three propositions are developed, suggesting that proactiveness, risk‐taking and autonomy stimulate the development of radical innovation, whereas competitive aggressiveness does not necessarily do so, as radical innovations are directed towards the creation of entirely new arenas of business, where existing competitors are not present.     

Therapists' reactions to treatment of survivors of political torture.

Working with survivors of political torture and war trauma can trigger strong emotional responses in the therapist. As more survivors seek treatment, it is essential to identify and develop robust support systems for therapists who help their clients confront nearly unspeakable experiences. The emotional reactions of 6 psychotherapists who worked with traumatized survivors in a refugee treatment center were explored. The psychotherapists' reactions were compared with those of therapists who worked in different treatment settings with other presenting problems. The results of the study show that the strong level of responsibility therapists feel for their traumatized clients may hide an emotional strain and may lead to burnout. Suggestions are offered for supporting therapists in this difficult but important work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extremes of random fields over arbitrary domains with application to concrete rupture stresses

To find the exact probability distribution of the global maximum or minimum of a random field within a bounded domain is a pending problem even for Gaussian fields. Except for very special examples of fields, recourse must be taken to approximate reasoning or asymptotic considerations to be judged with respect to accuracy by simulations. In this paper, the problem is addressed through a functional equation that leads to the definition of a class of distribution functions that depend solely on process or field characteristics and domain quantities that can be calculated explicitly. This distribution function class is studied for Gaussian processes in earlier works by the author and it has been obtained explicitly for Gaussian fields on rectangular domains in the plane. Simulation studies show that rather good predictions are obtained for sufficiently smooth wide band Gaussian processes and fields. In this paper, the distribution function is obtained in general for Gaussian fields over arbitrary bounded domains with piecewise continuous and differentiable boundaries, and as in earlier works the distribution function is tested against empirical distribution functions obtained by simulation of sample functions of a smooth approximately Gaussian field, herein called a broken line Hino field. For completeness this particular field type is defined in appendix a and appendix b. The paper concludes with a statistical application on data for plain concrete tensile strength.     

Simulation by Slepian method of plastic displacements of Gaussian process excited multistory shear frame

The object of study is a stationary Gaussian white noise excited multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) linear elastic, ideal plastic, linearly damped, statically determinate oscillator with several potential elements of ideal plastic yielding. Specifically the study is exemplified for a plane multistory shear frame with rigid traverses where all the connecting columns except the columns in one or more of the bottom floors have finite symmetrical yield limits. The white noise excitation acts on the mass of the first floor making the movement of the elastic bottom floors simulate a ground motion that interacts with the structure above the bottom floors. The method of study is so-called Slepian model simulation and is in principle the same for other statically determinate MDOF elasto-plastic oscillators of the considered type. The method is fast as compared to direct simulation and provides results that give good insight in the behavior of the plastic displacement response process.     

Parameter extraction for bipolar transistors

Different methods of extracting the DC Gummel-Poon bipolar transistor model parameters are reviewed. First the shortcomings of the classical extraction schemes for the intrinsic model are presented together with some improved procedures. Finally the extraction of the series resistances is addressed.     

Partial summations of stationary sequences of non-Gaussian random variables

The distribution of the sum of a finite number of identically distributed random variables is in many cases easily determined given that the variables are independent. The moments of any order of the sum can always be expressed by the moments of the single term without computational problems. However, in the case of dependency between the terms even calculation of a few of the first moments of the sum presents serious computational problems.By use of computerized symbol manipulations it is practicable to obtain exact moments of partial sums of stationary sequences of mutually dependent lognormal variables or polynomials of standard Gaussian variables. The dependency structure is induced by specifying the autocorrelation structure of the sequence of standard Gaussian variables. Particularly useful polynomials are the Winterstein approximations that distributionally fit with non-Gaussian variables up to the moments of the fourth order [Winterstein, S. R. Nonlinear vibration models for extremes and fatigue. J. Engng Mech. ASCE 114 (1988) 1772–1790]¹. A method to obtain the Winterstein approximation to a partial sum of a sequence of Winterstein approximations is explained and results are given for different autocorrelation functions of the generic Gaussian sequence.The primary purpose of the investigation is to provide a tool for judging the validity of the central limit theorem argument in specific applicational situations occurring in stochastic mechanics, that is, to judge the speed of convergence of the distribution of a sum (or an integral) of mutually dependent random variables to the Gaussian distribution. The paper is closely related to the work in Ditlevsen et al. [Ditlevsen, O., Mohr, G. & Hoffmeyer, P. Integration of non-Gaussian fields. Prob. Engng Mech 11 (1996) 15–23]².     

Engineering Analysis and Design with ALE-VMS and Space–Time Methods

Flow problems with moving boundaries and interfaces include fluid–structure interaction (FSI) and a number of other classes of problems, have an important place in engineering analysis and design, and offer some formidable computational challenges. Bringing solution and analysis to them motivated the Deforming-Spatial-Domain/Stabilized Space–Time (DSD/SST) method and also the variational multiscale version of the Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian method (ALE-VMS). Since their inception, these two methods and their improved versions have been applied to a diverse set of challenging problems with a common core computational technology need. The classes of problems solved include free-surface and two-fluid flows, fluid–object and fluid–particle interaction, FSI, and flows with solid surfaces in fast, linear or rotational relative motion. Some of the most challenging FSI problems, including parachute FSI, wind-turbine FSI and arterial FSI, are being solved and analyzed with the DSD/SST and ALE-VMS methods as core technologies. Better accuracy and improved turbulence modeling were brought with the recently-introduced VMS version of the DSD/SST method, which is called DSD/SST-VMST (also ST-VMS). In specific classes of problems, such as parachute FSI, arterial FSI, ship hydrodynamics, fluid–object interaction, aerodynamics of flapping wings, and wind-turbine aerodynamics and FSI, the scope and accuracy of the FSI modeling were increased with the special ALE-VMS and ST FSI techniques targeting each of those classes of problems. This article provides an overview of the core ALE-VMS and ST FSI techniques, their recent versions, and the special ALE-VMS and ST FSI techniques. It also provides examples of challenging problems solved and analyzed in parachute FSI, arterial FSI, ship hydrodynamics, aerodynamics of flapping wings, wind-turbine aerodynamics, and bridge-deck aerodynamics and vortex-induced vibrations.     

High-Temperature Creep Behavior of Mixed Conducting La0.5Sr0.5Fe1−xCoxO3-δ (0.5≤x≤1) Materials

Steady-state compressive creep rate of La_0.5Sr_0.5Fe_0.5Co_0.5O_3−δ (LSFC) and La_0.5Sr_0.5CoO_3−δ (LSC) is reported in the temperature region 900°–1050°C and stress range 5–28 MPa. The stress exponents for the two materials were 1.71±0.18 and 1.24±0.15, respectively. The activation energy for creep was considerably higher for LSC (619±56 kJ/mol) than for LSFC (392±28 kJ/mol). The grain size exponent for LSC was 1.28±0.14. Considerably higher creep rates were observed for both materials in N₂ compared with air. Relaxation by creep of chemical-induced stresses in oxygen-permeable membranes is addressed, especially at low partial pressure of oxygen.