Deep Space Network information system architecture study

The purpose of this article is to describe an architecture for the Deep Space Network (DSN) information system in the years 2000-2010 and to provide guidelines for its evolution during the 1990s. The study scope is defined to be from the front-end areas at the antennas to the end users (spacecraft teams, principal investigators, archival storage systems, and non-NASA partners). The architectural vision provides guidance for major DSN implementation efforts during the next decade. A strong motivation for the study is an expected dramatic improvement in information-systems technologies, such as the following: computer processing, automation technology (including knowledge-based systems), networking and data transport, software and hardware engineering, and human-interface technology. The proposed Ground Information System has the following major features: unified architecture from the front-end area to the end user; open-systems standards to achieve interoperability; DSN production of level 0 data; delivery of level 0 data from the Deep Space Communications Complex, if desired; dedicated telemetry processors for each receiver; security against unauthorized access and errors; and highly automated monitor and control

Industrial R&D Laboratories: Windows on Black Boxes?

This paper provides an overview of the survey-based literature on industrial Research and Development (R&D) laboratories, beginning with the work of Edwin Mansfield. Topics covered include R&D projects, new products, and new processes; the appropriability of intellectual property; the limits of the firm in R&D; and spillovers of knowledge from other firms and universities into the laboratories. I discuss the value of collecting information from industrial R&D managers, who participate in a wide range of R&D decisions and are the natural best source of information on these decisions. I also emphasize gaps in our knowledge concerning R&D from past studies, such as the private and social returns to R&D, the nature of firms' R&D portfolios, and other topics. The paper closes with a discussion of the benefits from building a national database on R&D laboratories that could be shared among researchers and that could take this area of research to a new and higher level of achievement.

PLACES'10: The 3rd Workshop on Programmng Language Approaches to concurrency and Communication-Centric Software

Paphos, Cyprus. March 201

Remote diagnosis server

A network-based diagnosis server for monitoring and diagnosing a system, the server being remote from the system it is observing, comprises a sensor for generating signals indicative of a characteristic of a component of the system, a network-interfaced sensor agent coupled to the sensor for receiving signals therefrom, a broker module coupled to the network for sending signals to and receiving signals from the sensor agent, a handler application connected to the broker module for transmitting signals to and receiving signals therefrom, a reasoner application in communication with the handler application for processing, and responding to signals received from the handler application, wherein the sensor agent, broker module, handler application, and reasoner applications operate simultaneously relative to each other, such that the present invention diagnosis server performs continuous monitoring and diagnosing of said components of the system in real time. The diagnosis server is readily adaptable to various different systems

Supply chain natural resource scarcity strategies and their implications for ogranisational performance.:an empirical study of manufacturing companies.

Concerns about natural resource scarcity are growing as some of these resources are critical for the successful functioning of firms. Research into the appropriate strategies for minimising dependencies caused by the scarcity of natural resources is still insufficient in the field of supply chain management. Whilst there is a growing recognition of the need to handle the issue of natural resource scarcity, there is limited empirical work on investigating what supply chain strategies should be utilised. This research provides insights from manufacturing companies and explores the conditions under which a specific natural resource will lead to buffering and/or bridging strategies and the implications for organisational performance. The research attempts to contribute to theory development by developing a Resource Dependence Theory based framework. The framework identifies the contingency factors that determine companies’ dependence that leads to specific supply chain strategies. This study contributes further into the identification of the impacts of these strategies on organisational performance. The proposed conceptual framework is validated through the means of exploratory research. The empirical research included the collection of qualitative data from thirteen companies that use different natural resources. In order to manage and analyse the 31 semi-structured interviews content analysis was conducted using the qualitative analysis software NVivo. After the qualitative first stage, quantitative research followed to validate the findings. Responses from 183 logistics, purchasing and supply chain managers were collected and analysed by using the partial least squares (PLS) method to verify the relationships between the constructs in the framework. The study reveals that there are three main contingent factors, namely; the importance of the scarce natural resource (e.g. the price of the natural resources), the supplier substitutability of the scarce natural resource (e.g. number of suppliers) and the discretion over the scarce natural resource (e.g. legislation and geopolitical risk). This is leading companies to natural resource dependencies thus to specific supply chain NRS strategies (i.e. buffering strategies and bridging strategies). The research has shown that the two strategies can improve both resource efficiency and a company’s competitive advantage

Sentara Healthcare: A Case Study Series on Disruptive Innovation Within Integrated Health Systems

Examines how integration and ties with health plans, physicians, and hospitals helped protect against revenue volatility and enabled experimentation; factors that facilitate integration; innovative practices; lessons learned; and policy implications

Pharmaceuticals supply chain management:buffering & bridging response strategies in shortage management

There exists a growing and tenacious challenge in the medicine supply chain, to manage the consequences of supply chain disruptions. Hospitals experience frequent shortages, in a European based study, 45% of respondents indicated that life preserving drugs were affected by shortages (Pauwels 2015). This research seeks to augment theoretical understanding underlying this significant issue and provide advice in the management of shortages which is a critical issue within the pharmaceutical industry. Previous research has focused on the antecedents of supply chain disruptions; what happens after a disruption has received scant attention. This research acknowledges that gap and seeks to build on the Bode et al. (2011), model of organisational responses to supply chain disruptions. This study uses a research onion design as a stencil to guide the pluralistic methodological approach chosen to release the multifaceted dimensions of the problem under consideration. Data collection instruments were interviews, an online survey, and focus groups. It was based on 318 acute care hospitals in the UK and Ireland. Findings indicate there are patterns of responses, and shortage performances vary depending on the length of time since the disruption and response mixture chosen. This research gives new insights into the impact of supply chain disruption response behaviour and supply chain performance in shortage management. It provides additional empirical tests to the Bode et al. (2011) normative model, providing insights into the underlying balanced theories, through examination of three constructs: supply chain disruption orientation; supply chain disruption performance and organisational response. It extends the concept of supply chain disruption orientation and highlights how response behaviour can feed back into the dynamic decision-making process, augmenting the Bode et al. (2011) framework. It provides insights to managers taking a system-wide view on drug delivery performance

A Prototype Toolkit For Evaluating Indoor Environmental Quality In Commercial Buildings

Measurement of building environmental parameters is often complex, expensive, and not easily proceduralized in a manner that covers all commercial buildings. Evaluating building indoor environmental quality performance is therefore not standard practice. This project developed a prototype toolkit that addressed existing barriers to widespread indoor environmental quality performance evaluation. A toolkit with both hardware and software elements was designed for practitioners around the indoor environmental quality requirements of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers / Chartered Institution of Building Services / United States Green Building Council Performance Measurement Protocols. This unique toolkit was built on a wireless mesh network with a web-based data collection, analysis, and reporting application. The toolkit provided a fast, robust deployment of sensors, real-time data analysis, Performance Measurement Protocol-based analysis methods and a scorecard and report generation tools. A web-enabled Geographic Information System-based metadata collection system also reduced field-study deployment time. The toolkit was evaluated through three case studies, which were discussed in this report

The issues of enterprise growth in transition and post-transition period: the case of Polish 'Elektrim'

Case study of Polish company Elektrim illustrates the changing basis of growth of enterprises between the transition and post-transition periods. Elektrim grew primarily through conglomeration in the transition period. After the exhaustion of this mode of growth Elektrim has started to focus on a few core areas (telecoms, cables, energy). The strategic shift to telecommunications has been based on partnerships with foreign firms and it is likely that this will be the pattern in other areas. In this respect, the case of Elektrim shows the importance of internationalisation for the growth of enterprises in CEE. Based on the case study the paper draws several analytical issues: First, Elektrim's shift from conglomeration to focusing suggests that the institutional context, which drives firm strategy in post-socialist economies like Poland, is, perhaps, also changing. Second, in order to grow Elektrim is forced to enter into equity relationships and partnerships like with French Vivendi. This suggests that the possibilities for firm growth in post-socialist economies, like Poland, through generic expansion are still fewer when compared to growth based on mergers & acquisitions or different forms of alliances. Third, Elektrim's relationship with government is complex and refutes the simplified dichotomy of markets vs. governments. This raises the issue of to what extent post-socialist governments operate as a 'compensatory mechanism' on which firms like Elektrim can rely to grow. Fourth, the opening of the CEECs has led to relocations of EU and other MNCs into this region with the result that they are also transferring the oligopolistic competition from EU into new markets. The case of Elektrim shows how CEE companies and goverment regulations become factors in the oligopolistic competition between big EU companies. CEE companies and governments may use this competition to their advantage but also their limited bargaining powers may lead to outcomes unfavourable to them