46,642 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 causeāeffect 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
Automatic generation of robot and manual assembly plans using octrees
This paper aims to investigate automatic assembly planning for robot and manual assembly. The octree decomposition technique is applied to approximate CAD models with an octree representation which are then used to generate robot and manual assembly plans. An assembly planning system able to generate assembly plans was developed to build these prototype models. Octree decomposition is an effective assembly planning tool. Assembly plans can automatically be generated for robot and manual assembly using octree models. Research limitations/implications - One disadvantage of the octree decomposition technique is that it approximates a part model with cubes instead of using the actual model. This limits its use and applications when complex assemblies must be planned, but in the context of prototyping can allow a rough component to be formed which can later be finished by hand. Assembly plans can be generated using octree decomposition, however, new algorithms must be developed to overcome its limitations
Enhancement of plasticity in Ti-based metallic glass matrix composites by controlling characteristic and volume fraction of primary phase
In this study, Ti-based metallic glass matrix composites with high plasticity have been developed by controlling characteristic and volume fraction of primary phase embedded in the glass matrix. By careful alloy design procedure, the compositions of Ć/glass phases, which are in metastable equilibrium have been properly selected, therefore the mechanical properties can be tailored by selecting the alloy compositions between the composition of Ć and glass phases. The relation between the compressive yield strength and volume fraction of Ć phase is well described using the rule of mixtures
A formal definition and a new security mechanism of physical unclonable functions
The characteristic novelty of what is generally meant by a "physical
unclonable function" (PUF) is precisely defined, in order to supply a firm
basis for security evaluations and the proposal of new security mechanisms. A
PUF is defined as a hardware device which implements a physical function with
an output value that changes with its argument. A PUF can be clonable, but a
secure PUF must be unclonable. This proposed meaning of a PUF is cleanly
delineated from the closely related concepts of "conventional unclonable
function", "physically obfuscated key", "random-number generator", "controlled
PUF" and "strong PUF". The structure of a systematic security evaluation of a
PUF enabled by the proposed formal definition is outlined. Practically all
current and novel physical (but not conventional) unclonable physical functions
are PUFs by our definition. Thereby the proposed definition captures the
existing intuition about what is a PUF and remains flexible enough to encompass
further research. In a second part we quantitatively characterize two classes
of PUF security mechanisms, the standard one, based on a minimum secret
read-out time, and a novel one, based on challenge-dependent erasure of stored
information. The new mechanism is shown to allow in principle the construction
of a "quantum-PUF", that is absolutely secure while not requiring the storage
of an exponentially large secret. The construction of a PUF that is
mathematically and physically unclonable in principle does not contradict the
laws of physics.Comment: 13 pages, 1 figure, Conference Proceedings MMB & DFT 2012,
Kaiserslautern, German
Making information accessible for the conservation and use of biodiversity. A novel initiative to facilitate access to information and use of agricultural and tree biodiversity
Poster presented at Science Week 2014 - Bioversity International HQ, Rome (Italy), 24-27 Feb 201
Molecular factors in human implantation: adhesion molecules, proteases and cytokines
Successful human reproduction remains an enigma, but this is slowly changing in the current era of expanding scientific knowledge. The discovery of various molecular factors such as adhesion molecules, proteases and cytokines have in recent years been at the forefront of medical research. The growing importance of immunology in particular has led to novel new immuno-modulatory therapies and increasing research into this new aspect of reproductive immunology may well prove to be the most important breakthrough in understanding the fundamentals of human reproduction. Implantation represents the first step in the complex interactions and processes involved in foetal-maternal interaction, which continues throughout pregnancy gestation and culminates in the birth of an infant. It is therefore vital that we understand the myriad processes controlling implantation in order to build a firm foundation for exploring reproductive immunology research in the new millennium. This review brings together and presents an overview of the potential roles of currently known molecular factors such as adhesion molecules, proteases, cytokines and its interaction with the maternal immune response, incorporating the findings of previous published research performed by the author on cytokines and reproductive immunology
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