3,648 research outputs found
Working with Complexity: a Participatory Systems-Based Process for Planning and Evaluating Rural Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Services
Individuals working within the water, sanitation and hygiene for development (WASH) sector grapple daily with complex technical, social, economic, and environmental issues that often produce unexpected outcomes that are difficult to plan for and resolve. Here we propose a method we are calling the ‘Participatory Systems-based Planning and Evaluation Process’ (PS-PEP) that combines structural factor analysis and collaborative modeling to guide teams of practitioners, researchers, and other stakeholders through a process of modeling and interpreting how factors systemically and dynamically influence sustained access to WASH services. The use and utility of the PS-PEP is demonstrated with a regional team of water committee members in the municipality of Jalapa, Nicaragua who participated in a two-day modeling workshop. Water committee members left the workshop with a clear set of action items for water service planning and management in Jalapa, informed by the analysis of systemic influences and dependencies between key service factors. In so doing, we find that the PS-PEP provides a powerful tool for WASH project or program planning, evaluation, management and policy, the continued use of which could offer unprecedented growth in understanding of WASH service complexity for a broad spectrum of service contexts
Techniques for trajectory optimization using a hybrid computer
The use of a hybrid computer in the solution of trajectory optimization problems is described. The solution technique utilizes the indirect method and requires iterative computation of the initial condition vector of the co-state variables. Convergence of the iteration is assisted by feedback switching and contour modification. A simulation of the method in an on-line updating scheme is presented
Persistent current formation in a high-temperature Bose-Einstein condensate: an experimental test for c-field theory
Experimental stirring of a toroidally trapped Bose-Einstein condensate at
high temperature generates a disordered array of quantum vortices that decays
via thermal dissipation to form a macroscopic persistent current [T. W. Neely
em et al. arXiv:1204.1102 (2012)]. We perform 3D numerical simulations of the
experimental sequence within the Stochastic Projected Gross-Pitaevskii equation
using ab initio determined reservoir parameters. We find that both damping and
noise are essential for describing the dynamics of the high-temperature Bose
field. The theory gives a quantitative account of the formation of a persistent
current, with no fitted parameters.Comment: v2: 7 pages, 3 figures, new experimental data and numerical
simulation
Dynamic and Energetic Stabilization of Persistent Currents in Bose-Einstein Condensates
We study conditions under which vortices in a highly oblate harmonically
trapped Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) can be stabilized due to pinning by a
blue-detuned Gaussian laser beam, with particular emphasis on the potentially
destabilizing effects of laser beam positioning within the BEC. Our approach
involves theoretical and numerical exploration of dynamically and energetically
stable pinning of vortices with winding number up to , in correspondence
with experimental observations. Stable pinning is quantified theoretically via
Bogoliubov-de Gennes excitation spectrum computations and confirmed via direct
numerical simulations for a range of conditions similar to those of
experimental observations. The theoretical and numerical results indicate that
the pinned winding number, or equivalently the winding number of the superfluid
current about the laser beam, decays as a laser beam of fixed intensity moves
away from the BEC center. Our theoretical analysis helps explain previous
experimental observations, and helps define limits of stable vortex pinning for
future experiments involving vortex manipulation by laser beams.Comment: 8 pages 5 figure
Mississippi\u27s New Equitable Distribution Rules: The Ferguson Guidelines and Valuation`
Mississippi Focu
Unbundling Faculty Roles In Online Distance Education Programs
Many colleges and universities are expanding their current online offerings and creating new programs to address growing enrollment. Institutions often utilize online education as a method to serve more students while lowering instructional costs. While online education may be more cost effective in some situations, college decision makers need to consider the full range of cost implications associated with these online offerings. The unbundling of faculty roles in online distance education programs is one cost consideration which is often overlooked. As the faculty role has become more distributed, so have the costs associated with providing instruction and instructional support. This paper reviews the hidden costs associated with the unbundling of the faculty role and presents a framework for calculating the true costs of the unbundled faculty role
PATENTS, R&D AND LAG EFFECTS: EVIDENCE FROM FLEXIBLE METHODS FOR COUNT PANEL DATA ON MANUFACTURING FIRMS
Hausman, Hall and Griliches (1984) and Hall, Griliches and Hausman (1986) investigated whether there was a lag in the patent-R&D relationship for the U.S. manufacturing sector using 1970¿s data. They found that there was little evidence of anything but contemporaneous movement of patents and R&D. We reexamine this important issue employing new longitudinal patent data at the firm level for the U.S. manufacturing sector from 1982 to 1992. To address unique features of the data, we estimate various distributed lag and dynamic multiplicative panel count data models. The paper also develops a new class of count panel data models based on series expansion of the distribution of individual effects. The empirical analyses show that, although results are somewhat sensitive to different estimation methods, the contemporaneous relationship between patenting and R&D expenditures continues to be rather strong, accounting for over 60% of the total R&D elasticity. Regarding the lag structure of the patents-R&D relationship, we do find a significant lag in all empirical specifications. Moreover, the estimated lag effects are higher than have previously been found, suggesting that the contribution of R&D history to current patenting has increased from the 1970¿s to the 1980¿s.Innovative activity, Patents and R&D, Individual effects, count panel data methods.
Integrating TV/digital data spectrograph system
A 25-mm vidicon camera was previously modified to allow operation in an integration mode for low-light-level astronomical work. The camera was then mated to a low-dispersion spectrograph for obtaining spectral information in the 400 to 750 nm range. A high speed digital video image system was utilized to digitize the analog video signal, place the information directly into computer-type memory, and record data on digital magnetic tape for permanent storage and subsequent analysis
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Servitization – The Holy Grail? Considering The Strategic Dark Sides of Servitization
Relevance of the phenomenon being studied
In highly competitive manufacturing markets, evermore firms offer goods through
services as opposed to sell them directly. These servitization strategies are
implemented by manufacturers to sustain competitive advantage and to survive in
the market. Consequently, servitization has gained significant traction over the last
few years in academic research. On the one side, early literature put forth consent in
suggesting that manufactures should servitize their offerings to generate growth
beyond their goods base (e.g. Quinn, 1992; Wise & Baumgartner, 1999). On the
other side, more recently, ambiguity emerged on the success of servitization (e.g.
Kastalli & Bart Van Looy, 2013; Benedettini, Swink, & Neely, 2017; Valtakoski, 2017).
Indeed, scientific literature increasingly calls for further research on the threats of
servitization. Specifically, critical questions remain yet to be answered on the
strategic threats on servitization and how research can advice manufactures in
designing appropriate implementation strategies of servitization
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