Organizing the innovation process : complementarities in innovation networking

This paper contributes to the developing literature on complementarities in organizational design. We test for the existence of complementarities in the use of external networking between stages of the innovation process in a sample of UK and German manufacturing plants. Our evidence suggests some differences between the UK and Germany in terms of the optimal combination of innovation activities in which to implement external networking. Broadly, there is more evidence of complementarities in the case of Germany, with the exception of the product engineering stage. By contrast, the UK exhibits generally strong evidence of substitutability in external networking in different stages, except between the identification of new products and product design and development stages. These findings suggest that previous studies indicating strong complementarity between internal and external knowledge sources have provided only part of the picture of the strategic dilemmas facing firms

Control theory application in power market stability analysis

This paper proposes a new framework to model the system dynamics and study the system stability for the quantity bidding competition in power market. From the viewpoint of control theory, the quantity bidding competition is modeled as close-loop dynamic system, where market price is the system feedback signal. Based on the objective of maximizing individual profit in a shot-game, a general dynamic process is given to describe supplier's adjustment behavior, which can be used to model all classical bidding strategy and CV-based bidding strategy. With the application of control theory, sufficient stability conditions and market equilibrium are presented. Computer test results support the analytic conclusion very well.published_or_final_versio

A novel ANN fault diagnosis system for power systems using dual GA loops in ANN training

Fault diagnosis is of great importance to the rapid restoration of power systems. Many techniques have been employed to solve this problem. In this paper, a novel Genetic Algorithm (GA) based neural network for fault diagnosis in power systems is suggested, which adopts three-layer feed-forward neural network. Dual GA loops are applied in order to optimize the neural network topology and the connection weights. The first GA-loop is for structure optimization and the second one for connection weight optimization. Jointly they search the global optimal neural network solution for fault diagnosis. The formulation and the corresponding computer flow chart are presented in detail in the paper. Computer test results in a test power system indicate that the proposed GA-based neural network fault diagnosis system works well and is superior as compared with the conventional Back-Propagation (BP) neural network.published_or_final_versio

Available transfer capability calculation with post-contingency generation rescheduling/load curtailment

The available transfer capability (ATC) is an important index indicating the remaining transfer capability in the physical transmission network for further commercial activity above existing commitments. In this paper, ATC mathematical model considering post-contingency generation rescheduling and load curtailment is first formulated. Benders decomposition method is then used to partition the ATC model above into a base case master problem and a series of independent subproblems relevant to various contingencies. Finally, an improved parallel solution scheme is employed to improve the convergence. Numerical results on a 4-bus test system show clearly the effectiveness of the presented method and necessity of considering post-contingency generation rescheduling and load curtailment in calculating ATC.published_or_final_versio

Ethical Consumption amongst Chinese Students (In UK): An Empirical Study on Ethical Consumption Issues

Abstract This paper aims to explore the ethical consumption issues among the overseas Chinese students in UK. In other words, this paper attempts to gain an understanding of the factors or motivations that drive Chinese students to consume ethically or reject to do so. The research conducted used qualitative research method (semi-structured interview) on 12 Chinese students study at Business School in University of Nottingham. The collected data from the researched Chinese students indicated that Chinese students who consume ethically influenced by their cultural and personal characteristics, ethnical background, as well as their pursuit of distinctive life style and opportunities to demonstrate their love. Further, this research revealed that Chinese student who consume unethically oriented by their social norms and traditions, ethical unconscious and three common justifications (e.g. economic rationalism, institutional dependency and development realism). Further, the results of the research can offer the potential for both scholars and practitioners and fulfil the gap between the current ethical consumption study and uncovered consumer groups in some way. However, the results of this research can be hardly generalised due to the constraint of sample unit, sample size and single research method. Hence, for the purpose of future research, sample unit, sample size and selection of research method should be improved accordingly

A novel radial basis function neural network for fault section estimation in transmission network

In this paper, the application of Radial Basis Function Neural Network (RBF NN) to fault section estimation in power systems is addressed. The orthogonal least square algorithm has been extended to optimize the parameters of RBF NN. In order to assess the effectiveness of RBF NN, a classical Back-Propagation Neural Network (BP NN) has been developed to solve the same problem for comparison. Computer test is conducted on a 4-bus test system and the test results show that the RBF NN is quite effective and superior to BP NN in fault section estimation.published_or_final_versio

Adaptive frequency sweep analysis for electromagnetic problems using the Thiele interpolating continued fractions

A direct rational approximation method based on Thiele interpolating continued fractions theory is proposed for fast frequency sweep analysis of electromagnetic problems. And an adaptive algorithm is also formed. Compared with the conventional rational approximation method, the proposed method can get a rational approximation directly without a great number of matrix inverse computations and doesn't need to allocate much memory for high derivatives of the dense impedance matrix. Meanwhile, the computation of surface currents by continued fractions can be sped up as compared with the traditional rational approximation. Numerical simulations for broad band scattering analysis of different shaped objects are discussed to shown the effectiveness of the present method. © 2010 IEEE.published_or_final_versionThe 2nd International Conference on Education Technology and Computer (ICETC 2010), Shanghai, China, 22-24 June 2010. In Proceedings of 2nd ICETC, 2010, v. 5, p. 126-12

Longitudinal 1H MRS of hamster superior colliculus following retinotectal deafferentation

Session: Applications of MRS to the Animal Brain - TRADpublished_or_final_versionThe 17th Scientific Meeting of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM 2009), Honlolulu, HI., 18-24 April 2009. In Proceedings of ISMRM 17th Scientific Meeting & Exhibition, 200

Framework design of a general-purpose power market simulator based on multi-agent technology

Power system deregulation has become a worldwide trend which introduces competition in power system in order to realize efficient electricity production and investment. In this regard, power market simulator will be a useful tool to study bidding strategies, market operation and market power and to train market operators. In this paper, the framework design of a novel power market simulator based on the state-of-the-art multi-agent technology is suggested and described in detail, which is the first phase in developing a general-purpose power market simulator.published_or_final_versio

Developing a voltage-stability-constrained security assessment system part I: Determination of power system voltage security operation limits

The method for determining the voltage security operation limits in a practical voltage security analysis (VSA) system based on VSAT software for large power systems is introduced in this paper. These operation limits include bus voltage limits, branch/corridor transfer power limits and P-load limit of the whole system. The voltage security operation limits are determined by the most critical contingency among the studied contingency set. The most critical contingency determines the P-load limit of the whole system, and all kinds of operation parameter limits are operation parameter values corresponding to this P-load limit under pre-contingency. An operation parameter limit is upper limit if the function relationship between this operation parameter and load power is an increasing curve, or lower limit if the function relationship between this operation parameter and load power is an decreasing curve. These operation parameter limits are helpful for operators to monitor the system operation state. © 2005 IEEE.published_or_final_versio