929 research outputs found
Re-balancing the excellence frameworks with individualistic logic
The analysis and assessment of business excellence are often associated with the discussion on the design and justification of the excellence measures and their dimensions. This paper re-visits the critical issues in assessing business excellence, and aims to explore the conceptual development on re-balancing the performance dimensions in view of a framework. Based on the synthesising of published literatures and case studies it reveals that all the published excellence frameworks are based on the commonality logic ; and it suggests re-balancing them with the individualistic logic . This concept has then been operationalised by constructing a new excellence framework named world-class diamond model. Based on the surveyed data and by using structural equation modelling the re-balanced diamond model is tested and analysed in order to secure its theoretical validity. With the re-balanced framework, it stresses the critical importance of the individualistic logic in achieving business excellence. It also argues that the managerial implication of the individualistic logic lies in the firm-specific and situation-sensitive practices of business excellence. The original contribution of the research is a conceptually re-balanced perspective of business excellence, suggesting a shift from commonality logic towards individualistic logic
Spin dependent transport in ferromagnetic/superconductor/ferromagnetic single electron transistor
Ferromagnetic single electron transistors with Al islands and orthogonal
ferromagnetic leads (Co) are fabricated using ebeam lithography followed by
shadow evaporation techniques. I-V characteristics exhibit typical single
electron tunneling effects. Transport measurements performed in external
magnetic field show that, when the two ferromagnetic leads are in antiparallel
configuration, spin imbalance leads to a suppression of superconductivity.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure
Simulation of anyonic statistics and its topological path independence using a 7-qubit quantum simulator
Anyons, quasiparticles living in two-dimensional spaces with exotic exchange
statistics, can serve as the fundamental units for fault-tolerant quantum
computation. However, experimentally demonstrating anyonic statistics is a
challenge due to the technical limitations of current experimental platforms.
Here, we take a state perpetration approach to mimic anyons in the Kitaev
lattice model using a 7-qubit nuclear magnetic resonance quantum simulator.
Anyons are created by dynamically preparing the ground and excited states of
the 7-qubit Kitaev lattice model, and are subsequently braided along two
distinct, but topologically equivalent, paths. We observe that the phase
acquired by the anyons is independent of the path, and coincides with the ideal
theoretical predictions when decoherence and implementation errors are taken
into account. As the first demonstration of the topological path independence
of anyons, our experiment helps to study and exploit the anyonic properties
towards the goal of building a topological quantum computer.Comment: 12 pages and 9 figures. All comments are welcome
The Relevance of Soil Moisture by Remote Sensing and Hydrological Modelling:12th International Conference on Hydroinformatics (HIC 2016) - Smart Water for the Future
AbstractAccurate soil moisture information is critically important for hydrological modelling and natural hazards (landslide & debris flow). However, its effective utilisation in those areas is still in a state of infancy. This paper focuses on exploring the advances and potential issues in current application of satellite soil moisture observations in hydrological modelling. It has proposed that hydrological application of soil moisture data requires two inter-connected components: 1) soil moisture data relevant to hydrology, and 2) appropriate hydrological model structure compatible with such data. In order to meet these two requirements, the following three research tasks are suggested: the first is to carry out comprehensive evaluations of satellite soil moisture observations for hydrological modelling; the second is that the soil moisture representations in hydrological models may need to be modified so that they are more compatible with the real field soil moisture variations; and the third is that a soil moisture product (i.e., soil moisture deficit) directly applicable to hydrological modelling should be developed
Perception gap and its impact on supply chain performance
The main purpose of this paper is to frame the perception differences
between the buyer and supplier on the supply chain’s operational delivery, and to investigate their causal relation to the overall supply chain performance. A conceptual three-level model is developed to theorise the structural existence of the perception gaps in primarily a dyadic buyer-supplier setting. Using the primary data gathered through a major survey exercise, confirmative factor analysis and structural equation modelling were conducted to test the hypotheses on the significance and relevance of the perception gaps in supply chain management. This study provides a better conceptual understanding of
the perception differences on the required as well as achieved operational deliveries within the supplier-buyer dyad, and reveals their significant and negative causal impact on the overall supply chain performance
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