The effect of protons on the performance of swept-charge devices

This is the pre-print version of the final paper published in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment. 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 @ 2009 Elsevier B.V.The e2v technologies CCD54, or swept-charge device (SCD) has been extensively radiation tested for use in the Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS) instrument, to be launched as a part of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chandrayaan-1 payload in 2008. The principle use of the SCD is in X-ray fluorescence (XRF) applications, the device providing a relatively large collecting area of 1.1 cm2, and achieving near Fano-limited spectroscopy at −15 °C, a temperature that is easily obtained using a thermoelectric cooler (TEC). This paper describes the structure and operation of the SCD and details the methodology and results obtained from two proton irradiation studies carried out in 2006 and 2008, respectively to quantify the effects of proton irradiation on the operational characteristics of the device. The analysis concentrates on the degradation of the measured FWHM of various elemental lines and quantifies the effects of proton fluence on the observed X-ray fluorescence spectra from mineralogical target samples

CO-OPERATING TO COMPETE IN HIGH VELOCITY GLOBAL MARKETS: THE STRATEGIC ROLE OF FLEXIBLE SUPPLY CHAIN ARCHITECTURES

Continued value creation is paramount for the survival of firms competing in today's high velocity global business environment. This paper presents a conceptual framework for understanding how firms can create and capture value within a highly volatile and uncertain business environment by exploiting both performance gaps and opportunity gaps through the development and use of flexible supply chain architectures. The choice of flexible organizational architecture allows for the continued reconfiguration of the independent modular components of the supply chain so as to achieve optimal leverage of both the firms core competencies as well as their collaborative partners complementary resources. The case of Cellars of Canterbury, a New Zealand based International wine marketing and distribution cooperative enterprise provides empirical support.Industrial Organization, International Relations/Trade,

CO-OPERATING TO COMPETE IN HIGH VELOCITY GLOBAL MARKETS: THE STRATEGIC ROLE OF FLEXIBLE SUPPLY CHAIN ARCHITECTURES

Continued value creation is paramount for the survival of firms competing in today's high velocity global business environment. This paper presents a conceptual framework for understanding how firms can create and capture value within a highly volatile and uncertain business environment by exploiting both performance gaps and opportunity gaps through the development and use of flexible supply chain architectures. The choice of flexible organizational architecture allows for the continued reconfiguration of the independent modular components of the supply chain so as to achieve optimal leverage of both the firms core competencies as well as their collaborative partners complementary resources. The case of "Cellars of Canterbury," a New Zealand based International wine marketing and distribution cooperative enterprise provides empirical support. Keywords: value creation, flexible supply chain architectures, leverage, core competencies.value creation, flexible supply chain architectures, leverage, core competencies., Industrial Organization, Marketing,

AN EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS OF CATTLE BACKGROUNDING IN KANSAS

Efficiency measures can be used to generate inferences about the future direction of the industry and determine factors that may influence the structure. This study evaluated relative efficiencies of Kansas backgrounding operations. Farms that engaged in the backgrounding of cattle were very inefficient. Significant improvement is needed in technology adoption and input usage.Livestock Production/Industries,

Investment and Income Responses to Marketing Channel Choice

Marketing,

Public and Private Institutional Responses to Advocacy Attacks: The Case of the Global Cocoa Industry and Child Labour Abuse

Over the past decade the global agri-food industry has come under increasing attack by advocacy groups related to their production and marketing processes (Bowmar and Gow, 2009). Advocacy groups have used these attacks to exploit the growing intergenerational disconnect between consumers and farming to campaign for narrowly defined political ideals while challenging traditional agricultural practices (Olin, 1999). This disconnect has provided advocacy groups the opportunity to use boycotts and other media attacks to severely adverse impact not only branded manufacturers and retailers, but their farmer suppliers. The agri-food industry’s challenge is to understand how to develop appropriate individual and collective responses to these attacks that minimize their current and future adverse impact and provide mutually beneficial outcomes for all of the channel members. Using an instrumental case study of the international cocoa and chocolate industry’s response to the child labour abuse and trafficking claims, we analyse and evaluate the alternative individual and collective responses that firms can implement to minimize their current and future adverse impact from advocacy attacks and provide mutually beneficial outcomes for all of the channel members. This paper follows a comparative institutional analysis methodology to analyse the multiple nested case studies and evaluate the impact and implications of each alternative.Certification, Advocacy, Cocoa, Chocolate, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, International Development, Marketing,

Student Expectations and Preferences of Distance Course Delivery Methods

Students in five courses offered with a variety of distance and on-campus delivery methods were surveyed to determine student expectations and post-evaluation of courses; student demographics; and student experiences and preferences with technology and course delivery methods. The response group was primarily degree seeking upperclassmen, taking a required course, equally split by gender and by delivery location. All students preferred a live class delivery method but videotape delivery appeared to have a higher student satisfaction level than satellite. On-campus students found simultaneous satellite delivery distracting but not detrimental to their learning experience. Students consistently misjudged the content and workload of courses.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Strategic Positioning Under Agricultural Structural Change: A Critique of Long Jump Co-operative Ventures

Industrial Organization, Agribusiness,

SUCCESSFUL ALLIANCE ESTABLISHMENT AND EVOLUTION IN A VOLATILE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT: THE CASE OF "CELLARS OF CANTERBURY"

Little attention has been given to the process of development that leads to alliance relationships flexible enough to withstand unforeseen environmental shifts and evolve while others fail. We believe that the problem stems from the contractual rigidity imposed by partners in the initial stages to the formation of an alliance. This paper analyzes a process to create self-enforcing agreements that lead to a flexible alliance architecture capable of reconfiguration to meet the demands of environmental change. Using an empirical case study of "Cellars of Canterbury" a New Zealand wine producing and marketing joint venture, we suggest that immediate value creation establishes private enforcement capital in a relationship which allows for critical relation-specific investment to take place without the need for written contractual safeguards. We also emphasize the advantage of external contract enforcement mechanisms and third party verification in reinforcing these relationships. We then argue that it is this lack of contractual rigidity that allows an alliance agreement to be reconfigured when environmental circumstances change.Agribusiness,

Market Orientation, Innovation and Entrepreneurship: An Empirical Examination of the Illinois Beef Industry

This paper explores the importance of a producer’s market orientation on their subjective performance within agricultural commodity markets. Using a structural equation model of beef producers, our findings suggest that market oriented firms are highly innovative and achieve superior performance. These findings are consistent with previous research on the market orientation-performance relationship in heterogeneous product markets. The cost focus of a firm was also found to have a significant influence on innovation, but no direct effect on performance. This suggests that beef producers should follow a balanced approach utilizing both an external market and an internal productivity focus to achieve superior returns as opposed to solely focusing on internal productivity as many producers currently do.market orientation, beef production, innovation, performance, Marketing, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Q10, Q13, Q16,