22,317 research outputs found
An agent-based fuzzy cognitive map approach to the strategic marketing planning for industrial firms
This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Industrial Marketing Management. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2013 Elsevier B.V.Industrial marketing planning is a typical example of an unstructured decision making problem due to the large number of variables to consider and the uncertainty imposed on those variables. Although abundant studies identified barriers and facilitators of effective industrial marketing planning in practice, the literature still lacks practical tools and methods that marketing managers can use for the task. This paper applies fuzzy cognitive maps (FCM) to industrial marketing planning. In particular, agent based inference method is proposed to overcome dynamic relationships, time lags, and reusability issues of FCM evaluation. MACOM simulator also is developed to help marketing managers conduct what-if scenarios to see the impacts of possible changes on the variables defined in an FCM that represents industrial marketing planning problem. The simulator is applied to an industrial marketing planning problem for a global software service company in South Korea. This study has practical implication as it supports marketing managers for industrial marketing planning that has large number of variables and their cause–effect relationships. It also contributes to FCM theory by providing an agent based method for the inference of FCM. Finally, MACOM also provides academics in the industrial marketing management discipline with a tool for developing and pre-verifying a conceptual model based on qualitative knowledge of marketing practitioners.Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (Korea
Optimal Estimates for the Electric Field in Two-Dimensions
The purpose of this paper is to set out optimal gradient estimates for
solutions to the isotropic conductivity problem in the presence of adjacent
conductivity inclusions as the distance between the inclusions goes to zero and
their conductivities degenerate. This difficult question arises in the study of
composite media. Frequently in composites, the inclusions are very closely
spaced and may even touch. It is quite important from a practical point of view
to know whether the electric field (the gradient of the potential) can be
arbitrarily large as the inclusions get closer to each other or to the boundary
of the background medium.
In this paper, we establish both upper and lower bounds on the electric field
in the case where two circular conductivity inclusions are very close but not
touching. We also obtain such bounds when a circular inclusion is very close to
the boundary of a circular domain which contains the inclusion. The novelty of
these estimates, which improve and make complete our earlier results published
in Math. Ann., is that they give an optimal information about the blow-up of
the electric field as the conductivities of the inclusions degenerate.Comment: 26 page
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Shape matching and clustering in design
Generalising knowledge and matching patterns is a basic human trait in re-using past experiences. We often cluster (group) knowledge of similar attributes as a process of learning and or aid to manage the complexity and re-use of experiential knowledge [1, 2]. In conceptual design, an ill-defined shape may be recognised as more than one type. Resulting in shapes possibly being classified differently when different criteria are applied. This paper outlines the work being carried out to develop a new technique for shape clustering. It highlights the current methods for analysing shapes found in computer aided sketching systems, before a method is proposed that addresses shape clustering and pattern matching. Clustering for vague geometric models and multiple viewpoint support are explored
Quantum Direct Communication with Authentication
We propose two Quantum Direct Communication (QDC) protocols with user
authentication. Users can identify each other by checking the correlation of
Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states. Alice can directly send a secret
message to Bob using the remaining GHZ states after authentication. Our second
QDC protocol can be used even though there is no quantum link between Alice and
Bob. The security of the transmitted message is guaranteed by properties of
entanglement of GHZ states.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures and 2 table
On the Formation of Perseus OB1 at High Galactic Latitudes
The Per OB1 association, which contains the remarkable double cluster h and
chi Per, is unusual in not having a giant molecular cloud in its vicinity. We
show from Hipparcos data that the luminous members of this association exhibits
a bulk motion away from the galactic plane, such that their average velocity
increases with height above the galactic plane. We find HAeBe and T Tauri stars
towards probable remnant molecular clouds associated with Per OB1. These
star-forming regions lie well beyond the location of the luminous member stars
at heights of 280-400 pc above the galactic plane, far higher than that
previously found for embedded clusters. We argue that the observed motion of
the luminous member stars is most naturally explained if many formed from
molecular gas pushed and accelerated outwards by an expanding superbubble
driven presumably by stellar winds and perhaps also supernova explosions. A
large shell of atomic hydrogen gas and dust that lies just beyond the remnant
molecular clouds, believed to be driven by just such a superbubble, may
comprise the swept-up remains of the parental giant molecular cloud from which
this association formed. In support of this picture, we find a week trend for
the younger O star members to lie at higher galactic latitudes than the older
supergiant members. The star-forming regions located at even larger heights
above the galactic plane presumably correspond to more recent episodes of star
formation at or near the periphery of this superbubble.Comment: 35 Pages, 9 figures. accepted for publication in Ap
Journey of water in pine cones
Pine cones fold their scales when it rains to prevent seeds from short-distance dispersal. Given that the scales of pine cones consist of nothing but dead cells, this folding motion is evidently related to structural changes. In this study, the structural characteristics of pine cones are studied on micro-/macro-scale using various imaging instruments. Raindrops fall along the outer scales to the three layers (bract scales, fibers and innermost lignified structure) of inner pine cones. However, not all the layers but only the bract scales get wet and then, most raindrops move to the inner scales. These systems reduce the amount of water used and minimize the time spent on structural changes. The result shows that the pine cones have structural advantages that could influence the efficient motion of pine cones. This study provides new insights to understand the motion of pine cones and would be used to design a novel water transport system.119Ysciescopu
Optical studies of carrier and phonon dynamics in Ga_{1-x}Mn_{x}As
We present a time-resolved optical study of the dynamics of carriers and
phonons in Ga_{1-x}Mn_{x}As layers for a series of Mn and hole concentrations.
While band filling is the dominant effect in transient optical absorption in
low-temperature-grown (LT) GaAs, band gap renormalization effects become
important with increasing Mn concentration in Ga_{1-x}Mn_{x}As, as inferred
from the sign of the absorption change. We also report direct observation on
lattice vibrations in Ga1-xMnxAs layers via reflective electro-optic sampling
technique. The data show increasingly fast dephasing of LO phonon oscillations
for samples with increasing Mn and hole concentration, which can be understood
in term of phonon scattering by the holes.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures replaced Fig.1 after finding a mistake in
previous versio
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AKARI observation of early-type galaxies in Abell 2218
We describe the AKARI InfraRed Camera (IRC) imaging observation of early-type galaxies (ETGs) in A2218 at z ≅ 0.175. With the imaging capability at 11 and 15 μm, we investigate mid-infrared (MIR) properties of ETGs in the cluster environment. Among our flux-limited sample of 22 optical red sequence ETGs, we find that more than 50% have MIR-excess emission, and the most likely cause of the MIR excess is the circumstellar dust emission from asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. The MIR-excess galaxies reveal a wide spread in N3-S11 (3 and 11 μm) colors, indicative of a significant spread (2–11 Gyr) in the mean ages of stellar populations. They are also preferentially located in the outer region, suggesting the environment dependence of MIR-excess ETGs over an area out to a half virial radius
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