Supporting Global Automotive Product Development Projects through the Integration of Systems Engineering Knowledge

Global automotive companies are vast extended enterprises of geographically dispersed teams that collaborate on the concurrent development of new technologies and multiple vehicle programs. Consequently, it is challenging to effectively capture all new knowledge generated during continuous innovation. Furthermore, current knowledge management tools fail to adequately organise vital new explicit knowledge captured during vehicle development programs and then make it widely accessible for future re-use throughout the product lifecycle. This paper reports the findings of an investigation exploring the current knowledge management practices in a large-scale multinational automotive company, and proposes an integrated framework to address the industrial challenges

Investigating the use of social media in improving knowledge management within a collaborative product development and testing environments

During the last three decades, the manufacturing industry has witnessed the growing benefits of incorporating knowledge management practices in to business processes, which has been documented in research literature worldwide. However, companies operating in the manufacturing industry still struggle to successfully manage and extract the full potential of their in-house knowledge, both at organisational and individual levels, and are often unable to fully capture and utilise lessons learned into their new products. This research, through an exploratory survey conducted with an industrial partner operating in the power generation sector, explores the possibility of using alternative methods for knowledge management purposes, such as social media tools and video sharing, as a means of capturing, sharing and discussing company knowledge in a product development engineering environment. This paper presents the results of the investigation which explored employee usage and tendencies of social media tools, preferred learning methods and their knowledge sharing habits

Empirical isochrones and relative ages for young stars, and the radiative-convective gap

We have selected pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars in 12 groups of notional ages ranging from 1 to 35 Myr, using heterogeneous membership criteria. Using these members we have constructed empirical isochrones in V, V−I colour–magnitude diagrams. This allows us to identify clearly the gap between the radiative main sequence and the convective PMS (the R–C gap). We follow the evolution of this gap with age and show that it can be a useful age indicator for groups less than ≃15 Myr old. We also observe a reduction in absolute spreads about the sequences with age. Finally, the empirical isochrones allow us to place the groups in order of age, independently of theory. The youngest groups can be collated into three sets of similar ages. The youngest set is the ONC, NGC 6530 and IC 5146 (nominally 1 Myr); next Cep OB3b, NGC 2362, λ Ori and NGC 2264 (nominally 3 Myr); and finally σ Ori and IC 348 (nominally 4–5 Myr). This suggests Cep OB3b is younger than previously thought, and IC 348 older. For IC 348 the stellar rotation rate distribution and fraction of stars with discs imply a younger age than we derive. We suggest this is because of the absence of O-stars in this cluster, whose winds and/or ionizing radiation may be an important factor in the removal of discs in other clusters

Cosmological parameter estimation using Very Small Array data out to ℓ= 1500

We estimate cosmological parameters using data obtained by the Very Small Array (VSA) in its extended configuration, in conjunction with a variety of other cosmic microwave background (CMB) data and external priors. Within the flat Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model, we find that the inclusion of high-resolution data from the VSA modifies the limits on the cosmological parameters as compared to those suggested by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) alone, while still remaining compatible with their estimates. We find that Ωbh2= 0.0234+0.0012−0.0014, Ωdmh2= 0.111+0.014−0.016, h= 0.73+0.09−0.05, nS= 0.97+0.06−0.03, 1010AS= 23+7−3 and τ= 0.14+0.14−0.07 for WMAP and VSA when no external prior is included. On extending the model to include a running spectral index of density fluctuations, we find that the inclusion of VSA data leads to a negative running at a level of more than 95 per cent confidence ( nrun=−0.069 ± 0.032 ), something that is not significantly changed by the inclusion of a stringent prior on the Hubble constant. Inclusion of prior information from the 2dF galaxy redshift survey reduces the significance of the result by constraining the value of Ωm. We discuss the veracity of this result in the context of various systematic effects and also a broken spectral index model. We also constrain the fraction of neutrinos and find that fν < 0.087 at 95 per cent confidence, which corresponds to mν < 0.32 eV when all neutrino masses are equal. Finally, we consider the global best fit within a general cosmological model with 12 parameters and find consistency with other analyses available in the literature. The evidence for nrun < 0 is only marginal within this model

A weakly stable algorithm for general Toeplitz systems

We show that a fast algorithm for the QR factorization of a Toeplitz or Hankel matrix A is weakly stable in the sense that R^T.R is close to A^T.A. Thus, when the algorithm is used to solve the semi-normal equations R^T.Rx = A^Tb, we obtain a weakly stable method for the solution of a nonsingular Toeplitz or Hankel linear system Ax = b. The algorithm also applies to the solution of the full-rank Toeplitz or Hankel least squares problem.Comment: 17 pages. An old Technical Report with postscript added. For further details, see http://wwwmaths.anu.edu.au/~brent/pub/pub143.htm

Understanding How Inequality in the Distribution of Income Affects Health

Research on the determinants of health has almost exclusively focused on the individual but it seems clear we cannot understand or improve patterns of population health without engaging structural determinants at the societal level. This article traces the development of research on income distribution and health to the most recent epidemiologic studies from the USA that show how income inequality is related to age-adjusted mortality within the 50 States. (r 520.62, p 5 0.0001) even after accounting for absolute levels of income. We discuss potential material, psychological, social and behavioral pathways through which income distribution might be linked to health status. Distributional aspects of the economy are important determinants of health and may well provide one of the most pertinent indicators of overall social well-being.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66686/2/10.1177_135910539700200303.pd

Planck 2015 results. XXVII. The Second Planck Catalogue of Sunyaev-Zeldovich Sources

We present the all-sky Planck catalogue of Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) sources detected from the 29 month full-mission data. The catalogue (PSZ2) is the largest SZ-selected sample of galaxy clusters yet produced and the deepest all-sky catalogue of galaxy clusters. It contains 1653 detections, of which 1203 are confirmed clusters with identified counterparts in external data-sets, and is the first SZ-selected cluster survey containing > $10^3$ confirmed clusters. We present a detailed analysis of the survey selection function in terms of its completeness and statistical reliability, placing a lower limit of 83% on the purity. Using simulations, we find that the Y5R500 estimates are robust to pressure-profile variation and beam systematics, but accurate conversion to Y500 requires. the use of prior information on the cluster extent. We describe the multi-wavelength search for counterparts in ancillary data, which makes use of radio, microwave, infra-red, optical and X-ray data-sets, and which places emphasis on the robustness of the counterpart match. We discuss the physical properties of the new sample and identify a population of low-redshift X-ray under- luminous clusters revealed by SZ selection. These objects appear in optical and SZ surveys with consistent properties for their mass, but are almost absent from ROSAT X-ray selected samples

A community-based geological reconstruction of Antarctic Ice Sheet deglaciation since the Last Glacial Maximum

A robust understanding of Antarctic Ice Sheet deglacial history since the Last Glacial Maximum is important in order to constrain ice sheet and glacial-isostatic adjustment models, and to explore the forcing mechanisms responsible for ice sheet retreat. Such understanding can be derived from a broad range of geological and glaciological datasets and recent decades have seen an upsurge in such data gathering around the continent and Sub-Antarctic islands. Here, we report a new synthesis of those datasets, based on an accompanying series of reviews of the geological data, organised by sector. We present a series of timeslice maps for 20 ka, 15 ka, 10 ka and 5 ka, including grounding line position and ice sheet thickness changes, along with a clear assessment of levels of confidence. The reconstruction shows that the Antarctic Ice sheet did not everywhere reach the continental shelf edge at its maximum, that initial retreat was asynchronous, and that the spatial pattern of deglaciation was highly variable, particularly on the inner shelf. The deglacial reconstruction is consistent with a moderate overall excess ice volume and with a relatively small Antarctic contribution to meltwater pulse 1a. We discuss key areas of uncertainty both around the continent and by time interval, and we highlight potential priorities for future work. The synthesis is intended to be a resource for the modelling and glacial geological community