When management myths collide? : case study of management control systems in two Norwegian companies, operating in Russia

Masteroppgave i bedriftsøkonomi - Universitetet i Nordland, 2011In this case study I have described two companies: Norwegian-Russian joint venture Rossnor and Reinertsen NWR, founded as a foreign direct investment of a parent company. I have analyzed management control systems of both companies with focus on challenges, arising in cross-cultural settings. This research indentifies and questions differences in myths of Russian and Norwegian management and shows how they can be resolved through the use of management control. Pursuing the goal of establishing links between different types of myths, challenges for managers and design of management control system a model of process relationship has been developed. The contribution of this model is that it emphasizes the necessity of two types of organizational learning as tools for reconsidering beliefs and assumptions of managers and redesigning management control systems, based on changes and new myths, with purpose to handle new challenges. Case of Rossnor proved that double-loop learning is critical for joint ventures and should supplement single-loop learning

Physical-Mathematical Model for Fixed-Bed Solid Fuel Gasification Process Simulation

Phycial-mathmatical model for fixed-bed coal gasification process simulation is proposed. The heterogeneous carbon oxidation chemical reactions were simulated via Arrhenius equation while homogeneous reactions in gas phase were calculated using Gibbs free energy minimization procedure. The syngas component concentration field and fuel conversion distribution as well as syngas final temperature and composition were defined for fixed bed gasification of T-grade coal of Kuznetskiy deposit. The optimal fuel residence time and gasifyer specific productivity were defined. The prevail reactions in oxidizing and reduction zones together with its height were defined

Pre-collectivization peasantry social dynamics: retroprognosis: application of alternative modells

Anfang der 30er Jahre endete in der UdSSR die 'Neue Politische Ökonomie' und es begann die Phase der Zwangskollektivierung der sowjetischen Landwirtschaft. Der vorliegende Beitrag versucht durch ein Simulationsmodell einer nicht kollektivierten Bauernschaft die verloren gegangenen Möglichkeiten der 'Neuen Politischen Ökonomie' retrospektiv in Erinnerung zu bringen. Die Modellparameter stützen sich auf Erhebungen Mitte der 20er Jahre. Die Ergebnisse der Simulation zeigen, daß bei Fortsetzung der 'freien Marktwirtschaft' die Bauernschaft nicht wie vorausgesagt und befürchtet in sich bekämpfende Gruppen zerfallen wäre, sondern eine Nivellierung hin auf Mittellagen eingetreten wäre. (pmb)'The events that occurred in the USSR at the end of the 1920s - beginning of the 1930s were given the name 'great break'. It was the end of NEP - New Economic Policy. This work applies simulation to retroprognosis of the pre-collectivization peasantry social structure dynamics to 'prolong' the NEP rural population social mobility tendencies up to the late 30ies, which offers an opportunity to disclose distinctly the nature of social processes in the countryside before the collectivization, to detect the directions and extent of the social differentiation. Simulation based on Markovs chains allows to assess a theory that market economy inevitably entails rural population differentiation and antagonistic social groups formation from the formerly homogeneous mass of petty commodity producers. The model's parameters were estimated by using the data on the rural social processes, recorded by dynamic censuses of the mid-20ies. The results of simulation indicate that if the NEP economic conditions had been sustained, the peasantry wouldn't have splitted into opposed group, on the contrary, the position of medium strata would have grown stronger against the background of the overall economic growth.' (author's abstract

Modeling of Pyrolysis in a Stage Scheme of Low‐Grade Solid Fuel Gasification

This paper is concerned with the development of a model of wood pyrolysis in a screw reactor as the first stage of the multistage gasification process. In terms of design, the pilot pyrolyzer represents a recuperative heat exchanger where the heat carrier is represented by a mixture of exhaust and recirculation gases. To prevent clinkering of particles and thermal inhomogeneities, screw‐type transportation is used to transport fuel. In order to describe kinetics of pyrolysis and transport of volatiles within the wood particles and their transition to the gas phase, we carried out the studies using a complex of synchronous thermal analysis. The original techniques for the interpretation of measurements were developed for this complex, including the techniques for technical analysis of fuels and identification of detailed kinetics and mechanism of pyrolysis. A detailed numerical modeling of pyrolyzer was performed using the Comsol Multiphysics software, which makes it possible to optimize the design and operating parameters of the pyrolysis process in a screw reactor

GASFLOW-MPI: A Scalable Computational Fluid Dynamics Code for Gases, Aerosols and Combustion. Band 1 (Theory and Computational Model (Revision 1.0) und Band 2 (Users\u27 Manual). (KIT Scientific Reports ; 7710 und 7711)

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is developing the parallel computational fluid dynamics code GASFLOW-MPI as a best-estimate tool for predicting transport, mixing, and combustion of hydrogen and other gases in nuclear reactor containments and other facility buildings. GASFLOW-MPI is a finite-volume code based on proven computational fluid dynamics methodology that solves the compressible Navier-Stokes equations for three-dimensional volumes in Cartesian or cylindrical coordinates

Thermal analysis of wood fuel pyrolysis process

The paper presents the results of studies of conversion process on the laboratory pyrolysis reactor and the results are compared with data, obtained in model experiments by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The heating rates were compared in the pyrolysis reactor and in the laboratory furnace of TGA in the pyrolysis process of wood biomass conversion. The laboratory pyrolysis reactor, as a part of the multistage gasification facility of low-grade solid fuel, was launched in several modes. Three experimental modes of the device operation with different screw speeds and fuel flow rates through the reaction shaft were tested. The temperature profile of fuel and wall along the length of the pyrolysis reactor was shown. The temperature up to 600 °C was recorded in a mode with a low fuel flow rate, and in the end of the reaction zone the fuel temperature was close to that of the wall. The kinetic coefficients and conversion rates for the wood biomass pyrolysis were calculated from the obtained equation. Therefore, the calculated data of the conversion rate and the pyrolysis parameters, based on the TGA data, can be used to further develop the pyrolysis reactor and evaluate the parameters of its operation. © 2018 Institute of Physics Publishing. All rights reserved.The research was performed at Melentiev Energy Systems Institute SB RAS under the support of Russian Science Foundation (Grant № 16-19-10227) and by using the Unique Scientific Plant “High‐temperature circuit”.Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR

Interplay Between Time-Temperature-Transformation and the Liquid-Liquid Phase Transition in Water

We study the TIP5P water model proposed by Mahoney and Jorgensen, which is closer to real water than previously-proposed classical pairwise additive potentials. We simulate the model in a wide range of deeply supercooled states and find (i) the existence of a non-monotonic ``nose-shaped'' temperature of maximum density line and a non-reentrant spinodal, (ii) the presence of a low temperature phase transition, (iii) the free evolution of bulk water to ice, and (iv) the time-temperature-transformation curves at different densities.Comment: RevTeX4, 4 pages, 4 eps figure

A method of studying thermochemical conversion of single biomass particles in an intense air flow

There are many methods for obtaining kinetic data of thermochemical conversion of fuel particles. These methods to some extent reproduce the conditions of industrial processes. At the same time, there is a lack of methods reproducing the conditions of wood particles gasification in downdraft gasifier. In this process, raw fuel enters the hot reactor region with intense air jets blowing through the tuyeres. It is difficult to directly measure the weight of particles under these conditions due to the effect of gas flow. The authors proposed a research method in accordance with which the sample is introduced into a heated furnace and placed in the tuyere flow. The sample is combusted for a certain time then removed from the furnace and quickly quenched. The method allows reproducing the dynamics of changes in temperature, mass, volume, shape and structure of the inner layers of particles. It provides visual observations of the process, high heating rate of wood samples (750-5500 °C min-1) and large amount of data sufficient for statistical processing. © 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd.Russian Foundation for Basic Research, RFBR: 18-38-00774The reported study was funded by RFBR according to the research project № 18-38-00774

A comprehensive survey of advanced SLAM techniques

In robot navigation, precise knowledge of the robot’s position and orientation is essential for accurate trajectory tracking, obstacle avoidance, and goal attainment, especially in scenarios where human supervision is limited or absent. This paper describes the different established methods in simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithms, such as the most advanced SLAM techniques for extreme environmental conditions, including dynamic objects, illumination and brightness variability. Namely, visual information received from cameras is less susceptible to radio interference and does not depend on any additional device, such as GPS and satellite signals. The SLAM community’s main approaches to solving these problems are introduced. Finally, we consider current research in the field of visual odometry (VO), as well as its practical implementation in robotics