Truncated fractional moments of stable laws

Expressions are given for the truncated fractional moments $E X_+^p$ of a general stable law. These involve families of special functions that arose out of the study of multivariate stable densities and probabilities. As a particular case, an expression is given for $E(X-a)_+$ when $\alpha > 1$

Large firms and catch-up in a transitional economy: the case of Shougang Group in China

This study examines the possibility of catch-up of the Chinese steel industry, in particular the Shougang Group, with the leading global steel giants. Shougang is one of the four steel companies that have been selected by the Chinese government to constitute the core of the future Chinese steel industry. The contract system at Shougang, which operated from 1979 to 1995, unleashed an extraordinary entrepreneurial energy in the formerly traditional state-run steel plant. In the post-contract system, Shougang's range of decision-making independence in respect to the purchase of inputs, its production structure and product marketing has increased substantially compared to the contract system, when the government still controlled many of the key decisions. As a result of institutional constraint, the low value-added steel products dominate Shougang's portfolio. To challenge the established giants in the steel industry, Shougang has to divest the loss-making non-core businesses, slowly downsize employment in the core business, raise capital on the stock market and generates the resources for continued upgrading of its steel technology and diversifying its product portfolio

Big business with Chinese characteristics: two paths to growth of the firm in China under reform

This paper presents a case study of two large firms which emerged from among the ranks of traditional state-owned enterprises and new entrants: Shougang (steel) and Sanjiu (pharmaceuticals). Rather than being irreconcilable with the market economy, the experience of these two firms suggests that the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Liberation Army possessed a rich legacy of organisational and motivational skills. Moreover, Shougang and Sanjiu both grew rapidly through mergers and acquisitions in the absence of privatisation and a developed stock market. Furthermore, the main reason for Shougang and Sanjiu's success is not special help from the government or the army, but rather the fact that its leadership used their autonomy to construct a highly effective business organisation

Generating Macroscopic Superpositions with Interacting Bose-Einstein Condensates: Multi-Mode Speed-Ups and Speed Limits

We theoretically investigate the effect of multi-mode dynamics on the creation of macroscopic superposition states (spin-cat states) in Bose-Einstein condensates via one-axis twisting. A two-component Bose-Einstein condensate naturally realises an effective one-axis twisting interaction, under which an initially separable state will evolve toward a spin-cat state. However, the large evolution times necessary to realise these states is beyond the scope of current experiments. This evolution time is proportional to the degree of asymmetry in the relative scattering lengths of the system, which results in the following trade-off; faster evolution times are associated with an increase in multi-mode dynamics, and we find that generally multi-mode dynamics reduce the degree of entanglement present in the final state. However, we find that highly entangled cat-like states are still possible in the presence of significant multi-mode dynamics, and that these dynamics impose a speed-limit on the evolution such states

Dynamics and stability of wind turbine generators

Synchronous and induction generators are considered. A comparison is made between wind turbines, steam, and hydro units. The unusual phenomena associated with wind turbines are emphasized. The general control requirements are discussed, as well as various schemes for torsional damping such as speed sensitive stabilizer and blade pitch control. Integration between adjacent wind turbines in a wind farm is also considered

A point mass in an isotropic universe: III. The region R≤2mR\leq 2m

McVittie's solution of Einstein's field equations, representing a point mass embedded into an isotropic universe, possesses a scalar curvature singularity at proper radius $R=2m$. The singularity is space-like and precedes, in the expanding case, all other events in the space-time. It is shown here that this singularity is gravitationally weak, and the possible structure of the region $R\leq 2m$ is investigated. A characterization of this solution which does not involve asymptotics is given.Comment: Revtex, 11pp. To appear in Class.Quant.Grav. Paper II appeared as Class. Quant. Grav. 16 (1999) 122

The nurses that roared: nurses from history who found their voices and challenged the status quo

In this article we explore how nurses from history challenged norms of nursing and society, and consider how they can influence and inspire nurses today. We discuss the role of nurses in the fight for women’s suffrage, campaigning for the vote and caring for women who suffered in their fight to achieve it, and present examples of outstanding bravery in the past and present day. The article contains examples of the bravery of some relatively unknown nurses in wartime, who also fought for equality and inclusion, and nurses who challenged the care of marginalised groups, campaigning for improved treatment, sometimes at great personal cost. Finally we consider the courage of present-day nurses. Drawing on the global campaign of “Nursing Now”, we suggest that learning from these exceptional nurses and acknowledging and highlighting their contribution can inspire us to strengthen and promote nursing and to empower women globally

Spectral determinations for discrete sources with EGRET

The ability of the EGRET (Energetic Gamma-Ray Experimental Telescope) to determine the spectral parameters of point sources in 14-day exposures, as planned for the initial survey phase of the GRO (Gamma Ray Observatory) mission, is explored by numerical simulation. Results are given for both galactic and extragalactic objects as a function of source strength and for representative levels of diffuse background emission