Creating multi-vendor solutions: the resources and capabilities required.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the resources and capabilities required by manufacturers to develop and deliver multi-vendor solutions. Design/methodology/approach – A multi-case design comprising six UK-based manufacturers: two from each of the aerospace/defence, information technology and telecommunications sectors. Findings – Manufacturers can be characterized by their propensity to include products from other vendors in their solutions; single vendor solution providers (SVSPs) focus on solutions comprising their own products, while multi-vendor solution providers (MVSPs) fully embrace products from other manufacturers. Three capabilities were identified which distinguish MVSPs from SVSPs given the complexity of multi-vendor solutions (expertise specifying the solution, engineers trained in implementing/supporting the solution, partnerships with component suppliers of the solution). These capabilities are underpinned by both technical capability and impartiality in solution specification. Research limitations/implications – MVSPs need to be impartial when specifying customer solutions. They should be guided by the best interests of the customer rather than the interests of the product-based SBUs. Achieving impartiality can conflict with some manufacturers' product heritage. The research has focused on three sectors; further research is needed to test whether the findings are applicable beyond these sectors. Practical implications – Solutions are a valuable approach in creating market differentiation, although not all manufacturers will possess the resources/capabilities to be successful. Originality/value – A continuum of solution providers is proposed; SVSPs at one extreme and MVSPs at the other. The operant resource-based capability “impartiality” was identified as being particularly important to MVSPs in creating value for customers. </jats:sec

The inexorable resistance of inertia determines the initial regime of drop coalescence

Drop coalescence is central to diverse processes involving dispersions of drops in industrial, engineering and scientific realms. During coalescence, two drops first touch and then merge as the liquid neck connecting them grows from initially microscopic scales to a size comparable to the drop diameters. The curvature of the interface is infinite at the point where the drops first make contact, and the flows that ensue as the two drops coalesce are intimately coupled to this singularity in the dynamics. Conventionally, this process has been thought to have just two dynamical regimes: a viscous and an inertial regime with a crossover region between them. We use experiments and simulations to reveal that a third regime, one that describes the initial dynamics of coalescence for all drop viscosities, has been missed. An argument based on force balance allows the construction of a new coalescence phase diagram

WHAT CAN A KANSAS FARMER AFFORD TO PAY TO RENT CROPLAND?

Five years of continuous annual data are used to measure the marginal value product of cropland (return to land) on approximately 100 Kansas farms. Determinants of the marginal value product are investigated using regression.Land Economics/Use,

Private Agricultural Land Base by Producing Areas for Year 2000

A prime resource in the production of agriculture commodities is land. Individuals throughout the United States have become increasingly concerned over the loss of agricultural land to nonagricultural purposes such as urban sprawl, roads and airports facilities and mining etc. Reduction in the agricultural land base due to urban expansion and other nonagricultural uses could result in less agricultural production unless the reduced land base is compensated by other resources in production. Over time, two viewpoints on this issue have surfaced, one group feels the reduction of agricultural land will be a definite threat to agriculture in the future Because once a piece of land is converted for urban build-up or any other use; chances of reclaiming that land to agricultural production are slim. Another group feels that the conversion rate of agricultural land to other uses is not significant enough to affect future agricultural production With increasing research on crop genetics and resource substitutions, compensation for the loss of land can occur. Few studies have been carried out at regional or at national levels that determine the extent of loss of land and its effect on agricultural production. The objective of this study is to estimate the loss of agricultural land in years ahead. These estimates will be incorporated in the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development linear programming models or right-hand-sides. They will serve as production restraints on the agricultural system

Difficulties quitting for smokers with and without a respiratory disease and use of a tailored intervention for smoking cessation – a qualitative study

Introduction: Smokers with respiratory diseases are less likely to quit than those without impaired lung function, yet few studies have investigated the effectiveness of smoking cessation interventions with this population, and none have used a computer-tailored approach. Aims: This paper aims to fill this gap in the literature by exploring smokers’ experiences when trying to quit and their perceptions of a computer-tailored intervention. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 smokers recruited from six GP practices in North London. Thematic analysis was conducted to examine participants’ previous experiences of quitting and their perceptions of receiving personal tailored feedback reports to aid smoking cessation. Results: Participants discussed how their positive smoking experiences coupled with their negative cessation experiences led to conflicts with quitting smoking. Although the computer-tailored intervention was key in prompting quit attempts and participants valued its personal approach; it was not sufficient as a stand-alone intervention. Conclusion: The results highlight the difficulties that smokers experience when quitting and the need for a more personalised stop smoking service in smokers with respiratory diseases. The study also demonstrates the application and potential for computer tailored intervention as part of a wider programme of long-term smoking cessation

Giant Molecular Clouds are More Concentrated to Spiral Arms than Smaller Clouds

From our catalog of Milky Way molecular clouds, created using a temperature thresholding algorithm on the Bell Laboratories 13CO Survey, we have extracted two subsets:(1) Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs), clouds that are definitely larger than 10^5 solar masses, even if they are at their `near distance', and (2) clouds that are definitely smaller than 10^5 solar masses, even if they are at their `far distance'. The positions and velocities of these clouds are compared to the loci of spiral arms in (l, v) space. The velocity separation of each cloud from the nearest spiral arm is introduced as a `concentration statistic'. Almost all of the GMCs are found near spiral arms. The density of smaller clouds is enhanced near spiral arms, but some clouds (~10%) are unassociated with any spiral arm. The median velocity separation between a GMC and the nearest spiral arm is 3.4+-0.6 km/s, whereas the median separation between smaller clouds and the nearest spiral arm is 5.5+-0.2 km/s.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

Future Crop Prices and Quantities: Influence of Alternative Crop Yields

Many people have tried to analyze what the future holds for continued increases in crop yields. After studying time series of average U.S. yields for 19 crops, Lin and Seaver [6] concluded that 12 crops including corn, cotton, and wheat have reached yield plateau, and the seven remaining crops including hay and soybeans yields have had a slowdown in their rate of growth. On the other hand, after presenting some of the possible new technologies or changes in existing technologies that could boast yields, Wittwer [15] concluded that it is reasonable to expect possible large increases in yields. Wittwer\u27s list of possible technologies included: changes in the plants\u27 ability to withstand environmental stress; changes in the plants\u27 ability to utilize fertilizer including the possibility of more plants with nitrogen fixation capabilities; increases in the plants\u27 photosynthetic efficiency; and increases in the use of chemical growth regulators. Heady [5], after reviewing a host of other studies, observed that probably the best that can be hoped for in the future is the continuation of the current absolute increases in yields

Agriculture and Changing Natural Gas Prices

For the period of analysis, 1982 through 1987, the impacts on agriculture that result from increasing natural gas prices are examined. Two types of models are used in the analysis -- econometric and linear programming. These models are linked together so that a short-run multi-period analysis can be conducted. The econometric model represents national demand for agricultural commodities and projects next year\u27s price while the linear programming component is an agricultural supply model

Analysis of Demand and Supply for some U.S. Crops through Tatonnement Modeling

During the last decade, two concerns have been raised about the future of U.S. crop production. These concerns are: A) Will the United States have enough land available in the future that is suitable for crop production? and b) What will future crop yields be? Future U.S. crop production is highly dependent upon both these issues. The real problem may not be the quantity of future crop production, but rather the price of the quantity that is available. The development of a model to answer this question is one of the objectives of this study. The other objective is the projection of prices and quantities for barley, corn, oats, sorghum, soybeans, and wheat for the year 2000 under alternative yield and land availability assumptions

Information for Conservation Decisions: The IIASA Approach

Sound policy decisions concerning the complex interrelationships between sustainable agricultural production potential, resource use, technical change, and the environment, require much detailed information on the site-specific nature of resource inputs and alternative land-use practices over time. Realizing that these information requirements transcend geographic, economic, and potential boundaries, the Food and Agriculture program (FAP) of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria, has initiated a series of case studies directed at examining the relationships for the United States (Iowa), Hungary, U.S.S.R. (Stavropol Regions0), Czechoslovakia (Nitra Region), Italy (Tuscany Region), Northeastern Bulgaria, and Japan. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the objectives, methodological framework, and potential information available from this aspect of FAP\u27s research, with emphasis on the Iowa Case Study