CSR firm profiles and innovation: An empirical exploration with survey data

This paper explores the relationship between different Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies and innovation. Using a survey carried out on CSR behavior of Luxembourg firms, we found two types of firms as far as CSR practices are concerned. Cluster 1 firms adopted CSR practices to achieve economic goals without resorting to the formalization of these practices. In contrast, cluster 2 firms "learn CSR by doing" and by establishing CSR procedures and tools. Then  we match Community Innovation Survey (CIS) data and specific data collected on CSR clusters. We estimate Logit models to explain the different types of innovation (product, process, organizational). In comparison with the firms which don't adopt CSR, firms in Cluster 1 are more innovative in  terms of product and process once we control for firm characteristics and innovation drivers while firms in cluster 2 tend to reject innovation in process and adopt organizational innovation. These results, which show the link between the various CSR practices and innovation types, have important consequences in terms of managerial recommendations and public policy support for innovation.Corporate Social Responsibility; Innovation; Organizational; Practices; Product; Process

Assouplir les contraintes des architectures SIMT à faible coût

Parallel architectures following the SIMT model such as GPUs benefit from application regularity by issuing concurrent threads running in lockstep on SIMD units. As threads take different paths across the control-flow graph, lockstep execution is partially lost, and must be regained whenever possible in order to maximize the occupancy of SIMD units. In this paper, we propose two techniques to handle SIMT control divergence and identify reconvergence points. The most advanced one operates in constant space and handles indirect jumps and recursion. We evaluate a hardware implementation which leverage the existing memory divergence management unit. In terms of performance, this solution is at least as efficient as state of the art techniques in use in current GPUs.Les architectures parallèles qui obéissent au modèle SIMT telles que les GPU tirent parti de la régularité des applications en exécutant plusieurs threads concurrents sur des unités SIMD de manière synchrone. Lorsque les threads empruntent des chemins divergents dans le graphe de flot de contrôle, leur exécution est séquentialisée jusqu'au prochain point de convergence. La reconvergence doit être effectuée au plus tôt de manière à maximiser l'occupation des unités SIMD. Nous proposons dans cet article deux techniques permettant de traiter la divergence de contrôle en SIMT et d'identifier dynamiquement les points de reconvergence, dont une qui opère en espace constant et gère les sauts indirects et la récursivité. Nous évaluons une réalisation matérielle consistant à partager le matériel existant de l'unité de gestion de la divergence mémoire. En termes de performances, cette solution est au moins aussi efficace que les techniques de l'état de l'art employés par les GPU actuels

Reconvergence de contrôle implicite pour les architectures SIMT

National audienceParallel architectures following the SIMT model such as GPUs benefit from application regularity by issuing concurrent threads running in lockstep on SIMD units. As threads take different paths across the control-flow graph, lockstep execution is partially lost, and must be regained whenever possible in order to maximize the occupancy of SIMD units. In this paper, we propose two techniques to handle SIMT control divergence and identify reconvergence points. The most advanced one operates in constant space and handles indirect jumps and recursion. We evaluate a hardware implementation which leverage the existing memory divergence management unit. In terms of performance, this solution is at least as efficient as state of the art techniques in use in current GPUs.Les architectures parallèles qui obéissent au modèle SIMT telles que les GPU tirent parti de la régularité des applications en exécutant plusieurs threads concurrents sur des unités SIMD de manière synchrone. Lorsque les threads empruntent des chemins divergents dans le graphe de flot de contrôle, leur exécution est séquentialisée jusqu'au prochain point de convergence. La reconvergence doit être effectuée au plus tôt de manière à maximiser l'occupation des unités SIMD. Nous proposons dans cet article deux techniques permettant de traiter la divergence de contrôle en SIMT et d'identifier dynamiquement les points de reconvergence, dont une qui opère en espace constant et gère les sauts indirects et la récursivité. Nous évaluons une réalisation matérielle consistant à partager le matériel existant de l'unité de gestion de la divergence mémoire. En termes de performances, cette solution est au moins aussi efficace que les techniques de l'état de l'art employés par les GPU actuels

Enabling Realistic Cross-Layer Analysis based on Satellite Physical Layer Traces

We present a solution to evaluate the performance of transport protocols as a function of link layer reliability schemes (i.e. ARQ, FEC and Hybrid ARQ) applied to satellite physical layer traces. As modelling such traces is complex and may require approximations, the use of real traces will minimise the potential for erroneous performance evaluations resulting from imperfect models. Our Trace Manager Tool (TMT) produces the corresponding link layer output, which is then used within the ns-2 network simulator via the additionally developed ns-2 interface module. We first present the analytical models for the link layer with bursty erasure packets and for the link layer reliability mechanisms with bursty erasures. Then, we present details of the TMT tool and our validation methodology, demonstrating that the selected performance metrics (recovery delay and throughput efficiency) exhibit a good match between the theoretical results and those obtained with TMT. Finally, we present results showing the impact of different link layer reliability mechanisms on the performance of TCP Cubic transport layer protocol

Role of Lewis acid sites of ZSM-5 zeolite on gaseous ozone abatement

In this work, chemical interactions between ozone and zeolite surface active sites are studied in order to propose a process for gaseous ozone removal. Synthetic ZSM-5 zeolites with three different Si/Al2 ratios and similar specific surface areas and microporous volumes were used in this study. Zeolite samples were characterised using Fourier Transform InfraRed spectroscopy (FTIR) and pyridine sorption IR studies in order to determine acidic site concentrations and strength. Ozone removal experiments were conducted in a quartz fixed-bed flow reactor, at 20°C and 101 kPa. Experiments using Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS) were conducted in order to identify adsorbed ozone and/or adsorbed oxygen species on zeolite surface. Pyridine IR measurements evidence two kinds of Lewis acid sites induced by extra-framework aluminium species and electronic aluminium defaults inside zeolite structure. Results obtained here evidence the important role of acidic surface sites of ZSM-5 zeolite on gaseous ozone removal. The total amount of removed ozone is found to be directly proportional to the total content of Lewis acid sites. DRIFTS experiments exhibit two bands around 800 and 1400 cm-1 that could correspond to adsorbed oxygen species linked to zeolite surface. DRIFTS experiments also exhibit a band around 1100 cm-1 that correspond to adsorbed ozone on the zeolite surface. Gaseous ozone removal using ZSM-5 zeolite could be largely attributed to ozone decomposition on Lewis acid sites and also to ozone adsorption on the surface of the zeolites

Enabling Realistic Cross-Layer Analysis based on Satellite Physical Layer Traces

We present a solution to evaluate the performance of transport protocols as a function of link layer reliability schemes (i.e. ARQ, FEC and Hybrid ARQ) applied to satellite physical layer traces. As modelling such traces is complex and may require approximations, the use of real traces will minimise the potential for erroneous performance evaluations resulting from imperfect models. Our Trace Manager Tool (TMT) produces the corresponding link layer output, which is then used within the ns-2 network simulator via the additionally developed ns-2 interface module. We first present the analytical models for the link layer with bursty erasure packets and for the link layer reliability mechanisms with bursty erasures. Then, we present details of the TMT tool and our validation methodology, demonstrating that the selected performance metrics (recovery delay and throughput efficiency) exhibit a good match between the theoretical results and those obtained with TMT. Finally, we present results showing the impact of different link layer reliability mechanisms on the performance of TCP Cubic transport layer protocol.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures and 1 table. Submitted at PIMRC 201

Initiation and propagation mechanisms of progressive crushing in carbon-epoxy laminated plates

This article presents original experiments that enhance the understanding of the mechanisms that drive the progressive crushing of fiber-reinforced laminated composite materials and their energy absorption capability. An innovative experimental fixture has been created in order to obtain detailed monitoring of quasi-static and dynamic crushing of laminated plates. The fixture enables the development of a regular crushing front through the whole width of the plate, without parasite rupture modes, and the real-time observation of this front with a high speed camera. Results of experimental works on fabric and unidirectional Carbon-Epoxy laminated composite plates are exposed. The obtained crushing modes are analysed, their stability and energy-absorbing capability are discussed

Invertebrate distribution patterns and river typology for the implementation of the water framework directive in Martinique, French Lesser Antilles

Over the past decade, Europe's Water Framework Directive provided compelling reasons for developing tools for the biological assessment of freshwater ecosystem health in member States. Yet, the lack of published study for Europe's overseas regions reflects minimal knowledge of the distribution patterns of aquatic species in Community's outermost areas. Benthic invertebrates (84 taxa) and land cover, physical habitat and water chemistry descriptors (26 variables) were recorded at fifty-one stations in Martinique, French Lesser Antilles. Canonical Correspondence Analysis and Ward's algorithm were used to bring out patterns in community structure in relation to environmental conditions, and variation partitioning was used to specify the influence of geomorphology and anthropogenic disturbance on invertebrate communities. Species richness decreased from headwater to lowland streams, and species composition changed from northern to southern areas. The proportion of variation explained by geomorphological variables was globally higher than that explained by anthropogenic variables. Geomorphology and land cover played key roles in delineating ecological sub-regions for the freshwater biota. Despite this and the small surface area of Martinique (1080 km²), invertebrate communities showed a clear spatial turnover in composition and biological traits (e.g., insects, crustaceans and molluscs) in relation to natural conditions

Molecular Imaging of Microglial Activation in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

There is growing evidence of activated microglia and inflammatory processes in the cerebral cortex in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Activated microglia is characterized by increased expression of the 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO) in the brain and may be a useful biomarker of inflammation. In this study, we evaluated neuroinflammation in ALS patients using a radioligand of TSPO, 18F-DPA-714. Ten patients with probable or definite ALS (all right-handed, without dementia, and untreated by riluzole or other medication that might bias the binding on the TSPO), were enrolled prospectively and eight healthy controls matched for age underwent a PET study. Comparison of the distribution volume ratios between both groups were performed using a Mann-Whitney’s test. Significant increase of distribution of volume ratios values corresponding to microglial activation was found in the ALS sample in primary motor, supplementary motor and temporal cortex (p = 0.009, p = 0.001 and p = 0.004, respectively). These results suggested that the cortical uptake of 18F-DPA-714 was increased in ALS patients during the ‘‘time of diagnosis’’ phase of the disease. This finding might improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of ALS and might be a surrogate marker of efficacy of treatment on microglial activation

Simultaneous Branch and Warp Interweaving for Sustained GPU Performance

International audienceSingle-Instruction Multiple-Thread (SIMT) micro-architectures implemented in Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) run fine-grained threads in lockstep by grouping them into units, referred to as warps, to amortize the cost of instruction fetch, decode and control logic over multiple execution units. As individual threads take divergent execution paths, their processing takes place sequentially, defeating part of the efficiency advantage of SIMD execution. We present two complementary techniques that mitigate the impact of thread divergence on SIMT micro-architectures. Both techniques relax the SIMD execution model by allowing two distinct instructions to be scheduled to disjoint subsets of the the same row of execution units, instead of one single instruction. They increase flexibility by providing more thread grouping opportunities than SIMD, while preserving the affinity between threads to avoid introducing extra memory divergence. We consider (1) co-issuing instructions from different divergent paths of the same warp and (2) co-issuing instructions from different warps. To support (1), we introduce a novel thread reconvergence technique that ensures threads are run back in lockstep at control-flow reconvergence points without hindering their ability to run branches in parallel. We propose a lane shuffling technique to allow solution (2) to benefit from inter-warp correlations in divergence patterns. The combination of all these techniques improves performance by 23% on a set of regular GPGPU applications and by 40% on irregular applications, while maintaining the same instruction-fetch and processing-unit resource requirements as the contemporary Fermi GPU architecture