1,202 research outputs found
Successful new product development by optimizing development process effectiveness in highly regulated sectors: the case of the Spanish medical devices sector
Rapid development and commercialization of new products is of vital importance for small and medium sized enterprises (SME) in regulated sectors. Due to strict regulations, competitive advantage can hardly be achieved through the effectiveness of product concepts only. If an SME in a highly regulated sector wants to excell in new product development (NPD) performance, the company should focus on the flexibility, speed, and productivity of its NPD function: i.e. the development process effectiveness. Our main research goals are first to explore if SMEs should focus on their their development process effectiveness rather than on their product concept effectiveness to achieve high NPD performance; and second, to explore whether a shared pattern in the organization of the NPD function can be recognized to affect NPD performance positively. The medical devices sector in Spain is used as an example of a\ud
highly regulated sector. A structured survey among 11 SMEs, of which 2 were studied also as in in-depth case studies, led to the following results. First of all, indeed the companies in the dataset which focused on the effectiveness of their development process, stood out in NPD performance. Further, the higher performing companies did have a number of commonalities in the organisation of their NPD function: 1) The majority of the higher performing firms had an NPD strategy characterized by a predominantly incremental project portfolio.\ud
2) a) Successful firms with an incremental project portfolio combined this with a functional team structure b) Successful firms with a radical project portfolio combined this with a heavyweight or autonomous team structure.\ud
3) A negative reciprocal relationship exists between formalization of the NPD processes and the climate of the NPD function, in that a formalized NPD process and an innovative climate do not seem to reinforce each other. Innovative climate combined with an informal NPD process does however contribute positively to NPD performance. This effect was stronger in combination with a radical project portfolio. The highest NPD performance was measured for companies focusing mainly on incremental innovation. It is argued that in highly regulated sectors, companies with an incremental product portfolio would benefit from employing a functional structure. Those companies who choose for a more radical project portfolio in highly regulated sectors should be aware\ud
that they are likely to excell only in the longer term by focusing on strategic flexibility. In their NPD organization, they might be well advised to combine informal innovation processes with an innovative climate
Experimental Determination of the Characteristics of a Positron Source Using Channeling
Numerical simulations and `proof of principle' experiments showed clearly the
interest of using crystals as photon generators dedicated to intense positron
sources for linear colliders. An experimental investigation, using a 10 GeV
secondary electron beam, of the SPS-CERN, impinging on an axially oriented
thick tungsten crystal, has been prepared and operated between May and August
2000. After a short recall on the main features of positron sources using
channeling in oriented crystals, the experimental set-up is described. A
particular emphasis is put on the positron detector made of a drift chamber,
partially immersed in a magnetic field. The enhancement in photon and positron
production in the aligned crystal have been observed in the energy range 5 to
40 GeV, for the incident electrons, in crystals of 4 and 8 mm as in an hybrid
target. The first results concerning this experiment are presented hereafter.Comment: 3 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Linac200
A facility for the test of large area muon chambers at high rates
Operation of large area muon detectors at the future Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will be characterized by large sustained hit rates over the whole area, reaching the range of kHz/\scm. We describe a dedicated test zone built at CERN to test the performance and the aging of the muon chambers currently under development. A radioactive source delivers photons causing the sustained rate of random hits, while a narrow beam of high energy muons is used to directly calibrate the detector performance. A system of remotely controlled lead filters serves to vary the rate of photons over four orders of magnitude, to allow the study of performance as a function of rate
Physics Beyond Colliders:The Conventional Beams Working Group
The Physics Beyond Colliders initiative aims to exploit the full scientific potential of the CERN accelerator complex and its scientific infrastructure for particle physics studies, complementary to current and future collider experiments. Several experiments have been proposed to fully utilize and further advance the beam options for the existing fixed target experiments present in the North and East Experimental Areas of the CERN SPS and PS accelerators. We report on progress with the RF-separated beam option for the AMBER experiment, following a recent workshop on this topic. In addition we cover the status of studies for ion beams for the NA⁶⁰⁺ experiment, as well as of those for high intensity beams for Kaon physics and feebly interacting particle searches. With first beams available in 2021 after a CERN-wide long shutdown, several muon beam options were already tested for the NA64mu, MUonE and AMBER experiments
Measurement of the branching ratio of the decay
From the 2002 data taking with a neutral kaon beam extracted from the
CERN-SPS, the NA48/1 experiment observed 97 candidates with a background contamination of events.
From this sample, the BR() is measured to be
Observation of the rare decay K_S -> pi^0mu^+mu^-
A search for the decay K_S -> pi^0mu^+mu^- has been made by the NA48/1
Collaboration at the CERN SPS accelerator. The data were collected during 2002
with a high-intensity K_S beam. Six events were found with a background
expectation of 0.22^+0.18_-0.11 event. Using a vector matrix element and unit
form factor, the measured branching ratio is B(K_S ->
pi^0mu^+mu^-)=[2.9^+1.5_-1.2(stat)+/-0.2(syst)]x10^{-9}.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables. To be published in Physics Letters
A precision measurement of direct CP violation in the decay of neutral kaons into two pions
The direct CP violation parameter Re(epsilon'/epsilon) has been measured from
the decay rates of neutral kaons into two pions using the NA48 detector at the
CERN SPS. The 2001 running period was devoted to collecting additional data
under varied conditions compared to earlier years (1997-99). The new data yield
the result: Re(epsilon'/epsilon) = (13.7 +/- 3.1) times 10^{-4}. Combining this
result with that published from the 1997, 98 and 99 data, an overall value of
Re(epsilon'/epsilon) = (14.7 +/- 2.2) times 10^{-4} is obtained from the NA48
experiment.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures, to be published in Physics Letters
First observation of the KS->pi0 gamma gamma decay
Using the NA48 detector at the CERN SPS, 31 KS->pi0 gamma gamma candidates
with an estimated background of 13.7 +- 3.2 events have been observed. This
first observation leads to a branching ratio of BR(KS->pi0 gamma gamma) = (4.9
+- 1.6(stat) +- 0.9(syst)) x 10^-8 in agreement with Chiral Perturbation theory
predictions.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures submitted to Phys. Lett.
Measurement of the branching ratios of the decays Xi0 --> Sigma+ e- nubar and anti-Xi0 --> anti-Sigma+ e+ nu
From 56 days of data taking in 2002, the NA48/1 experiment observed 6316 Xi0
--> Sigma+ e- nubar candidates (with the subsequent Sigma+ --> p pi0 decay) and
555 anti-Xi0 --> anti-Sigma+ e+ nu candidates with background contamination of
215+-44 and 136+-8 events, respectively. From these samples, the branching
ratios BR(Xi0 --> Sigma+ e- nubar)= (2.51+-0.03stat+-0.09syst)E(-4) and
BR(anti-Xi0 --> anti-Sigma+ e+ nu)= (2.55+-0.14stat+-0.10syst)E(-4) were
measured allowing the determination of the CKM matrix element |Vus| =
0.209+0.023-0.028. Using the Particle Data Group average for |Vus| obtained in
semileptonic kaon decays, we measured the ratio g1/f1 = 1.20+-0.05 of the
axial-vector to vector form factors.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures Submitted to Phys.Lett.
Measurement of the Ratio Gamma(KL -> pi+ pi-)/Gamma(KL -> pi e nu) and Extraction of the CP Violation Parameter |eta+-|
We present a measurement of the ratio of the decay rates Gamma(KL -> pi+
pi-)/Gamma(KL -> pi e nu), denoted as Gamma(K2pi)/Gamma(Ke3). The analysis is
based on data taken during a dedicated run in 1999 by the NA48 experiment at
the CERN SPS. Using a sample of 47000 K2pi and five million Ke3 decays, we find
Gamma(K2pi)/Gamma(Ke3) = (4.835 +- 0.022(stat) +- 0.016(syst)) x 10^-3. From
this we derive the branching ratio of the CP violating decay KL -> pi+ pi- and
the CP violation parameter |eta+-|. Excluding the CP conserving direct photon
emission component KL -> pi+ pi- gamma, we obtain the results BR(KL -> pi+ pi-)
= (1.941 +- 0.019) x 10^-3 and |eta+-| = (2.223 +- 0.012) x 10^-3.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, accepted by Phys. Lett.
- …