Measuring the degree of virtualization. An empirical analysis in two Austrian industries.

Strategic management literature suggests that especially in young and dynamic industries Virtual Corporations are more likely to emerge, as this type of organization is flexible enough to deal with rapidly changing environments. This paper challenges the proposition that environ-mental uncertainty and technological change lead to organizational adaptation towards virtual structures. We analyzed companies of two Austrian industries, data processing and engineering, which are characterized by different rates of innovation and environmental uncertainty, and compare their strategic, structural, and process characteristics by measuring their Degree of Virtualization. Results indicate almost no difference in the Degree of Virtualization. From these findings, we draw implications for the theoretical concept of Virtual Corpora-tions as well as for empirical research. (author's abstract)Series: Report Series SFB "Adaptive Information Systems and Modelling in Economics and Management Science

Addressing the need for improved land cover map products for policy support

The continued increase of anthropogenic pressure on the Earth’s ecosystems is degrading the natural environment and then decreasing the services it provides to humans. The type, quantity, and quality of many of those services are directly connected to land cover, yet competing demands for land continue to drive rapid land cover change, affecting ecosystem services. Accurate and updated land cover information is thus more important than ever, however, despite its importance, the needs of many users remain only partially attended. A key underlying reason for this is that user needs vary widely, since most current products – and there are many available – are produced for a specific type of end user, for example the climate modelling community. With this in mind we focus on the need for flexible, automated processing approaches that support on-demand, customized land cover products at various scales. Although land cover processing systems are gradually evolving in this direction there is much more to do and several important challenges must be addressed, including high quality reference data for training and validation and even better access to satellite data. Here, we 1) present a generic system architecture that we suggest land cover production systems evolve towards, 2) discuss the challenges involved, and 3) propose a step forward. Flexible systems that can generate on-demand products that match users’ specific needs would fundamentally change the relationship between users and land cover products – requiring more government support to make these systems a reality

Uncoupled approaches for walking-induced vertical vibration of a lively footbridge

The recent trend towards the design of flexible footbridges, characterized by a low ratio between permanent and variable load, has made them more sensitive to dynamic forces induced by pedestrians. While walking, the pedestrian moves on the flexible structure adapting his gait to the bridge motion and interacting with the footbridge. At contact points, the pedestrian transmits contact forces to the bridge that, in turn, imposes a set of displacements and velocities to the pedestrian’s feet. The pedestrian is here described with an increasing accuracy. Neglecting the interaction with the bridge, the pedestrian is described with a refined force model, that simulates the force pattern transmitted by each foot. The position of the two forces reproduces the sequence of single and double support phases, typical of the human gait. Interaction is accounted for when both systems are described as mechanical systems (having proper mass, stiffness and damping matrices). In this work a newly proposed bipedal pedestrian mass-spring-damper model is adopted, sharing with the force model the same type of locomotion. The mechanical system is excited by an equivalent bio-mechanical force and its equation of motion takes into account the interaction with the bridge. The coupled equations of motion of the bridge-pedestrian system are then derived; with a forced uncoupling of the equations, the two systems can be analyzed separately. The case study concerns a lively footbridge, whose dynamic response is computed with the different modeling approaches

Mobility in daily life - The car and use of information and communication technology for family logistics

The development of “new” family structures, with an increasing portions of divorced parents choose joint custody of the children, and a differentiation and distribution of daily activities has opened the way for new and more flexible forms for information and communication technology (ICT) to coordinate the interaction between family members. The need for flexible transport to link together activities is also an issue. The point of departure for this paper is to examine the interaction between the uses of ICT, in particular mobile phones, physical mobility and social life in an increasingly differentiated and distributed daily life among families with children. The questions addressed are how different families use ICT to coordinate and maintain relationships in everyday life and how ICT and physical mobility interact within this context. The empirical analysis is based on in-depth interviews of 25 families in the Oslo region. The analysis of the interaction between the car and the mobile phone indicate that the one will not replace the other. It is rather such that they represent technologies that complement each other and can perhaps mutually increase use. While the car is an extension of the body and which increases the physical range of the individual, the mobile telephone increases one’s range of overview. To some degree the mobile telephone directs automobile use, in the sense that it may generate more trips since use of the mobile telephone means that there is not the need to plan daily activities. More of the activities are carried out spontaneously and daily life is more ad hoc, which also indicate more car uses. In the families of this study different time use arrangements are tied to the use of the car and the mobile telephone. At the one extreme we find the structured where all the activities are planned – both in time and space – and all the assignments are divided between the various members of the family. On the other hand we see families where everything is done spontaneously and there is very little planning aside from the fixed portions of life. The structured and ad hoc systems are two extremes on a scale where there are many alternative solutions. The families in this study represent positions between the extremes tending towards the ad hoc end of the spectrum. The car and the mobile telephone are devices that allow this type of organization, which seems to increase daily transport by car.

Type-2 fuzzy logic system applications for power systems

PhD ThesisIn the move towards ubiquitous information & communications technology, an opportunity for further optimisation of the power system as a whole has arisen. Nonetheless, the fast growth of intermittent generation concurrently with markets deregulation is driving a need for timely algorithms that can derive value from these new data sources. Type-2 fuzzy logic systems can offer approximate solutions to these computationally hard tasks by expressing non-linear relationships in a more flexible fashion. This thesis explores how type-2 fuzzy logic systems can provide solutions to two of these challenging power system problems; short-term load forecasting and voltage control in distribution networks. On one hand, time-series forecasting is a key input for economic secure power systems as there are many tasks that require a precise determination of the future short-term load (e.g. unit commitment or security assessment among others), but also when dealing with electricity as commodity. As a consequence, short-term load forecasting becomes essential for energy stakeholders and any inaccuracy can be directly translated into their financial performance. All these is reflected in current power systems literature trends where a significant number of papers cover the subject. Extending the existing literature, this work focuses in how these should be implemented from beginning to end to bring to light their predictive performance. Following this research direction, this thesis introduces a novel framework to automatically design type-2 fuzzy logic systems. On the other hand, the low-carbon economy is pushing the grid status even closer to its operational limits. Distribution networks are becoming active systems with power flows and voltages defined not only by load, but also by generation. As consequence, even if it is not yet absolutely clear how power systems will evolve in the long-term, all plausible future scenarios claim for real-time algorithms that can provide near optimal solutions to this challenging mixed-integer non-linear problem. Aligned with research and industry efforts, this thesis introduces a scalable implementation to tackle this task in divide-and-conquer fashio

CellTV - on the Benefit of TV Distribution over Cellular Networks A Case Study

As mobile IP-access is becoming the dominant technology for providing wireless services, the demand for more spectrum for this type of access is increasing rapidly. Since IP-access can be used for all types of services, instead of a plethora of dedicated, single-service systems, there is a significant potential to make spectrum use more efficient. In this paper, the feasibility and potential benefit of replacing the current terrestrial UHF TV broadcasting system with a mobile, cellular data (IP-) network is analyzed. In the cellular network, TV content would be provided as {one} of the services, here referred to as CellTV. In the investigation we consider typical Swedish rural and urban environments. We use different models for TV viewing patterns and cellular technologies as expected in the year 2020. Results of the quantitative analysis indicate that CellTV distribution can be beneficial if the TV consumption trend goes towards more specialized programming, more local contents, and more on-demand requests. Mobile cellular systems, with their flexible unicast capabilities, will be an ideal platform to provide these services. However, the results also demonstrate that CellTV is not a spectrum-efficient replacement for terrestrial TV broadcasting with current viewing patterns (i.e. a moderate number of channels with each a high numbers of viewers). In this case, it is doubtful whether the expected spectrum savings can motivate the necessary investments in upgrading cellular sites and developing advanced TV receiver required for the success of CellTV distribution.Comment: To appear on Trans. Broadcasting 201

Flexible couplings: diffusing neuromodulators and adaptive robotics

Recent years have seen the discovery of freely diffusing gaseous neurotransmitters, such as nitric oxide (NO), in biological nervous systems. A type of artificial neural network (ANN) inspired by such gaseous signaling, the GasNet, has previously been shown to be more evolvable than traditional ANNs when used as an artificial nervous system in an evolutionary robotics setting, where evolvability means consistent speed to very good solutions¿here, appropriate sensorimotor behavior-generating systems. We present two new versions of the GasNet, which take further inspiration from the properties of neuronal gaseous signaling. The plexus model is inspired by the extraordinary NO-producing cortical plexus structure of neural fibers and the properties of the diffusing NO signal it generates. The receptor model is inspired by the mediating action of neurotransmitter receptors. Both models are shown to significantly further improve evolvability. We describe a series of analyses suggesting that the reasons for the increase in evolvability are related to the flexible loose coupling of distinct signaling mechanisms, one ¿chemical¿ and one ¿electrical.

User producer interaction in context: a classification

Science, Technology and Innovation Studies show that intensified user producer interaction (UPI) increases chances for successful innovations, especially in the case of emerging technology. It is not always clear, however, what type of interaction is necessary in a particular context. This paper proposes a conceptualization of contexts in terms of three dimensions – the phase of technology development, the flexibility of the technology, and the heterogeneity of user populations – resulting in a classification scheme with eight different contextual situations. The paper identifies and classifies types of interaction, like demand articulation, interactive learning, learning by using and domestication. It appears that each contextual situation demands a different set of UPI types. To illustrate the potential value of the classification scheme, four examples of innovations with varying technological and user characteristics are explored: the refrigerator, clinical anaesthesia, video cassette recording, and the bicycle. For each example the relevant UPI types are discussed and it is shown how these types highlight certain activities and interactions during key events of innovation processes. Finally, some directions for further research are suggested alongside a number of comments on the utility of the classification

Large Area Electronic Skin

Technological advances have enabled various approaches for developing artificial organs such as bionic eyes, artificial ears, and lungs etc. Recently electronics (e-skin) or tactile skin has attracted increasing attention for its potential to detect subtle pressure changes, which may open up applications including real-time health monitoring, minimally invasive surgery, and prosthetics. The development of e-skin is challenging as, unlike other artificial organs, tactile skin has large number of different types of sensors, which are distributed over large areas and generate large amount of data. On top of this, the attributes such as softness, stretchability, and bendability etc., are difficult to be achieved as today's electronics technology is meant for electronics on planar and stiff substrates such as silicon wafers. This said, many advances, pursued through “More than Moore” technology, have recently raised hope as some of these relate to flexible electronics and have been targeted towards developing e-skin. Depending on the technology and application, the scale of e-skin could vary from small patch (e.g. for health monitoring) to large area skin (e.g. for robotics). This invited paper presents some of the advances in large area e-skin and flexible electronics, particularly related to robotics