Factors affecting the adoption of intranets and extranets by SMEs: a UK study

The adoption of intranets and extranets involve major organisational innovation. Intranets alter the flows and content of internal communications, while extranets alter communications between the firm and its clients and suppliers. The paper identifies a number of potential factors that may affect adoption. These include internal and external business drivers, the role of the CEO/owner, firms’ absorptive capacity, firm size amongst SMEs, and business activity. Neither the relative size nor the business activities of SMEs have been considered in previous studies. Logit regressions are run on factors influencing the adoption of intranets and client extranet for a sample of 164 UK SMEs. The findings challenge two oft-stated views. First, that ICT adoption in SMEs depends on the CEO/owner being the ICT decision-maker. The findings clearly indicate that adoption is positively related to firm size. Larger sized SMEs firms have more complex organisational structures in which a specialist manager – typically holding the title ‘IT Manager’ – is the key decision-maker on ICT investments. Adoption depends on the quality and drive of these managers, not the CEO/owner. Second, the myth that services are technological laggards is clearly exposed. Knowledge intensive service firms, not manufacturing firms, are the champions of extranet technologies in this sample. In addition, both knowledge intensive service and manufacturing SMEs are key champions of intranet adoption. Expansion of national, not global, market share is the most important strategic objective identified in the study. The ability to integrate previously separate ICT systems is another important factor for intranet adopters. The results differ with respect to external customer and competitor pressure. These are found to be important in intranet adoption but not in extranet adoption. Only very weak support can be identified for the importance of absorptive capacity. A clear problem remains with regards to identifying a clear set of instruments with which to test for absorptive capacity.economics of technology ;

Quantum dot-cavity strong-coupling regime measured through coherent reflection spectroscopy in a very high-Q micropillar

We report on the coherent reflection spectroscopy of a high-quality factor micropillar, in the strong coupling regime with a single InGaAs annealed quantum dot. The absolute reflectivity measurement is used to study the characteristics of our device at low and high excitation power. The strong coupling is obtained with a g=16 \mueV coupling strength in a 7.3\mum diameter micropillar, with a cavity spectral width kappa=20.5 \mueV (Q=65 000). The factor of merit of the strong-coupling regime, 4g/kappa=3, is the current state-of-the-art for a quantum dot-micropillar system

Florian Crête, c.s.v., et le Musée éducatif de l’Institut des Sourds-Muets (1882-1970) : vers une nouvelle muséologie scientifique

Florian Crête, membre des Clercs de St-Viateur, fait partie de la première génération des muséologues des sciences natrualies que le XXème siècle a produit au Québec. Dirigeant le Musée de l’institution des Sourds-Muets à Montréal, it fut innovateur par la conception et l’application de nouveaux outils pédagogiques; sa réflexion a été partagée et reconnue par les muséologues Canadiens, Américans et Britanniques de l’époque.Les difficultés, qu’il a rencontréeetout au long de sa carrière, semblont typiques de réactions institutionnelles et contexturelles aux enjeux et stratégies mis en place par le mouvement de renoveau de la muséologie des sciences.Florian Crête, a member of the Clercs de St-Viateur, is a typical example of the first generation of natural sciences museologists in Quebec. While in charge of the Musée de l'Institution des Sourds-Muets in Montréal, he was innovative in his concepts and practices of new pedagogical tools; his thoughts were shared and accepted by Canadian, American and British museologists at that time.The difficulties he encountered all along his career, seem typical of institutional and contextual reactions to the stakes and strategies of a renewal movement in science museums

Probing the Ionic Dielectric Constant Contribution in the Ferroelectric Phase of the Fabre-Salts

In strongly correlated organic materials it has been pointed out that charge-ordering could also achieve electronic ferroelectricity at the same critical temperature $T_{co}$. A prototype of such phenomenon are the quasi-one dimensional (TMTTF)$_2X$ Fabre-salts. However, the stabilization of a long-range ferroelectric ground-state below $T_{co}$ requires the break of inversion symmetry, which should be accompanied by a lattice deformation. In this work we investigate the role of the monovalent counter-anion $X$ in such mechanism. For this purpose, we measured the quasi-static dielectric constant along the $c^{*}$-axis direction, where layers formed by donors and anions alternate. Our findings show that the ionic charge contribution is three orders of magnitude lower than the intra-stack electronic response. The $c^{*}$ dielectric constant ($\epsilon'_{c^*}$) probes directly the charge response of the monovalent anion $X$, since the anion mobility in the structure should help to stabilize the ferroelectric ground-state. Furthermore, our $\epsilon'_{c^*}$ measurements %conjugated with earlier investigations of the $c^*$ lattice thermal expansion, show that the dielectric response is thermally broaden below $T_{co}$ if the ferroelectric transition occurs in the temperature range where the anion movement begin to freeze in their methyl groups cavity. In the extreme case of the PF$_6$-H$_{12}$ salt, where $T_{co}$ occurs at the freezing point, a relaxor-type ferroelectricity is observed. Also, because of the slow kinetics of the anion sub-lattice, global hysteresis effects and reduction of the charge response upon successive cycling are observed. In this context, we propose that anions control the order-disorder or relaxation character of the ferroelectric transition of the Fabre-salts.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures. To appear in Physical Review

Routage Dynamique sur Liens HF

Dans ce papier, nous nous intéressons au routage dynamique sur des liens HF (haute fréquence). La propagation radio sur liens HF fluctue au cours de la journée mais surtout lors des changements jour/nuit et nuit/jour. De plus, la bande passante utile est limitée et les temps de retournement des équipements sont non négligeables. Cette étude se propose de recenser les spécificités des liens HF, de montrer les limitations des solutions existantes et de présenter les grandes lignes d'un routage dynamique sur ces liens. Ce papier a pour objectif de poser le problème du routage dynamique sur liens HF, et de fournir les principes généraux d'une solution générique. Ce papier raffinera aussi la solution générique pour un accès au médium de type TDMA (Time Division Multipe Access) ainsi que pour un accès au médium type CSMA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access) et discutera les mérites respectifs de ces deux approche

Characterisation of the Vitis vinifera PR10 multigene family

Background: Genes belonging to the pathogenesis related 10 (PR10) group have been studied in several plant species, where they form multigene families. Until now, such an analysis has not been performed in Vitis vinifera, although three different PR10 genes were found to be expressed under pathogen attack or abiotic stress, and during somatic embryogenesis induction. We used the complete genome sequence for characterising the whole V. vinifera PR10 gene family. The expression of candidate genes was studied in various non-treated tissues and following somatic embryogenesis induction by the auxin 2,4-D. Results: In addition to the three V. vinifera PR10 genes already described, namely VvPR10.1, VvPR10.2 and VvPR10.3, fourteen different PR10 related sequences were identified. Showing high similarity, they form a single cluster on the chromosome 5 comprising three pseudogenes. The expression of nine different genes was detected in various tissues. Although differentially expressed in non-treated plant organs, several genes were up-regulated in tissues treated with 2,4-D, as expected for PR genes. Conclusions: PR10 genes form a multigene family in V. vinifera, as found in birch, apple or peach. Seventeen closely related PR10 sequences are arranged in a tandem array on the chromosome 5, probably reflecting small-scale duplications during evolution. Various expression patterns were found for nine studied genes, highlighting functional diversification. A phylogenetic comparison of deduced proteins with PR10 proteins of other plants showed a characteristic low intraspecific variability. Particularly, a group of seven close tandem duplicates including VvPR10.1, VvPR10.2 and VvPR10.3 showed a very high similarity, suggesting concerted evolution or/and recent duplications

Frequency cavity pulling induced by a single semiconductor quantum dot

We investigate the emission properties of a single semiconductor quantum dot deterministically coupled to a confined optical mode in the weak coupling regime. A strong pulling, broadening and narrowing of the cavity mode emission is evidenced when changing the spectral detuning between the emitter and the cavity. These features are theoretically accounted for by considering the phonon assisted emission of the quantum dot transition. These observations highlight a new situation for cavity quantum electrodynamics involving spectrally broad emitters