How ICTs Raise Manufacturing Performance: Firm-level Evidence in Southeast Asia.

This paper examines the effects of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on business performance, using firm-level data obtained through a questionnaire survey in four ASEAN countries (Indonesia, The Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam). Sources of information and new technologies exchanged via ICTs by firms are also explored to investigate the mechanism behind ICT adoption. Empirical results verify that the introduction of ICT to reorganize business processes is significantly correlated with business performance, in particular the development of export markets and improvement of production management. ICTs facilitate access to information and technologies accumulated in in-house departments and joint-venture (JV) affiliates of the respondent firms. There are considerable differences between multinational companies (MNCs)/JVs and local firms. MNCs/JVs make use of information and technologies obtainable via ICTs from their own R&D departments, JVs established with local partners and foreign-owned suppliers/customers to improve factory management, mostly for product quality improvement and production cost reduction. In contrast, local firms interconnect their own R&D departments via ICTs to enhance their business performance in broader areas than MNCs/JVs, including the development of export markets.

Detecting Effective Knowledge Sources in Product Innovation: Evidence from Local Firms and MNCs/JVs in Southeast Asia

This paper examines the effects of internal and external sources of knowledge on the introduction of new products based on new technologies or information at firms which responded to a questionnaire survey conducted in four Southeast Asian countries. The results confirm that local firms make full use of locally available sources of new technology or information to achieve product innovation. On the other hand, foreign-owned firms depend mainly on internal R&D capacities and also possibly upon cooperation with local universities. These findings highlight the fact that local firms complement their lack of internal resources for product innovation with external knowledge sources. Foreign-owned firms utilize their international production networks to concentrate their resources on innovative activities.

Design of polarization splitter and rotator using function-expansion based topology optimization considering two-layer structure

Function expansion based topology optimization method for optical waveguide devices has been proposed as an automatic design method which can produce an optimal device structure having an arbitrary topology. In this paper, we aim to extend the function expansion based topology optimization method to the design problems of three-dimensional photonic devices with structural variation in the depth direction. We confirm the effectiveness of our approach through the design example of the polarization splitter and rotator which utilizes structural asymmetry in the depth direction

Novel COL11A1 mutation in familial Stickler syndrome

Stickler syndrome (STL) is an autosomal, dominantly inherited, clinically variable and genetically heterogeneous connective tissue disorder characterized by ocular, auditory, orofacial and skeletal abnormalities. We conducted targeted resequencing using a next-generation sequencer for molecular diagnosis of a 2-year-old girl who was clinically suspected of having STL with Pierre Robin sequence. We detected a novel heterozygous missense mutation, NM_001854.3:n.4838G>A [NM_001854.3 (COL11A1_v001):c.4520G>A], in COL11A1, resulting in a Gly to Asp substitution at position 1507 [NM_001854.3(COL11A1_i001)] within one of the collagen-like domains of the triple helical region. The same mutation was detected in her 4-year-old brother with cleft palate and high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss

Destruction of mesoscopic chemically modulated domains in single phase high entropy alloy via plastic deformation

Chemically modulated mesoscopic domains in a fcc single phase CrMnFeCoNi equi-atomic high entropy alloy (HEA) are detected by small angle diffraction performed at a synchrotron radiation facility, whereas the mesoscopic domains cannot be detected by conventional X-ray diffraction and 2D mappings of energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy by scanning electron microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy. The mesoscopic domains are deformed and shrieked, and finally destructed by plastic deformation, which is supported by the comprehensive observations/measurements, such as electrical resistivity, Vickers hardness, electron backscattering diffraction, and hard X-ray photoemission spectroscopy. The destruction of the mesoscopic domains causes the decrease in electrical resistivity via plastic deformation, so called K-effect, which is completely opposite to the normal trend of metals. We confirmed that the presence and the size of local chemical ordering or short-range order domains in the single phased HEA, and furthermore, Cr and Mn are related to form the domains

Fundamental Study on New Micro Fluidic Drive Method Based on Liquid Crystalline Backflow

Abstract: In this study, we propose a one-dimensional simple model for predicting the performance of the new micro fluidic drive and then we have a research of the control method based on liquid crystalline backflow by combining the motion of the upper plate of a liquid crystal cell and the flow of a liquid crystal. Comparison of the numerical predictions and the experimental results shows that the proposed model is useful to predict qualitatively the motion the upper plate. The drive efficiency is affected by applied voltage, the frequency, the duty ratio and the gap of the cell. The ideal drive quality can be achieved when the rotation range of the molecules at the center of the cell is controlled within 50-80°

Topology optimization of nonlinear optical waveguide devices considering output signal phase

A signal output of optical devices with multi-input ports, such as a logic gate, depends on the phase difference between input ports. In order to cascade optical devices, it is essential to design such devices considering not only desired output power but also desired output signal phase. We propose a topology optimization method for optical devices considering the output signal phase. In our approach, the beam propagation method (BPM) is employed as a numerical simulation method and the adjoint variable method (AVM) is used to calculate the sensitivity of output power and signal phase to design parameters. The validity and the effectiveness of our approach are verified through design examples of a three-branching waveguide with linear media and an all-optical logic gate utilizing nonlinear media

Blob/Hole Generation in the Divertor Leg of the Large Helical Device

We have analyzed ion saturation current fluctuation measured by a fast scanning Langmuir probe (FSP) in edge region of the Large Helical Device (LHD). Positive and negative spikes of the ion saturation current were observed in the private region and on the divertor leg, respectively. It was found that the boundary position between these regions corresponds to the low-field side (LFS) edge of the divertor leg where the gradient of the ion saturation current profile was the maximum. Such a positional relationship resembles that near the separatrix in the LFS in tokamaks, where blobs and holes are generated. Statistical analysis indicates similar fluctuation characteristics among different magnetic devices