Technology adoption and the selection effect of trade

The reallocation of output across plants and the productivity growth at individual plants are both important sources of productivity growth at the industry level. Recent evidence has shown that trade liberalization is related to both effects. While a trade model with firm heterogeneity can account for the first effect, it can not explain the second effect. We add to this model the option for firms to costly adopt more productive technologies and show that plant productivity actually rises in response to lower trade costs. Following trade liberalization, selection into exporting raises the market share only for some exporters. Therefore, a greater scale of operation amplifies their return from costly productivity-enhancement investments and leads a greater proportion of them to implement a more innovative technology

Technology adoption and the selection effect of trade

The reallocation of output across plants and the productivity growth at individual plants are both important sources of productivity growth at the industry level. Recent evidence has shown that trade liberalization is related to both effects. While a trade model with firm heterogeneity can account for the first effect, it can not explain the second effect. We add to this model the option for firms to costly adopt more productive technologies and show that plant productivity actually rises in response to lower trade costs. Following trade liberalization, selection into exporting raises the market share only for some exporters. Therefore, a greater scale of operation amplifies their return from costly productivity-enhancement investments and leads a greater proportion of them to implement a more innovative technology.

Be vicarious: the challenge for project management in the service economy

Purpose. The paper aims to answer to the following questions: which are the critical dynamic capabilities to survive in the rubber landscape of service economy? Does it exist in service economy a dynamic capabilities provider? Methodology. The paper combines the literature review on dynamic capability perspective and that on vicariance to the Project Management professional services. Findings. Firstly, the paper identifies vicariance as an intriguing dynamic capability, crucial to survive in the rubber landscape of service economy. Secondly, the paper sheds light on Project Management (PM) as a vicarious that provides vicariance. Practical implications. For each critical organizational dimension, the paper identifies the links among the service economy challenges and the vicariance typology required to the project manager to face those challenge. Originality/value.The approach to conceive the PM as a vicarious that provides vicariance is original and leads to new insights on the professional services management. In fact, on one hand, dynamic capabilities cannot easily be bought through a market transaction; on the other hand, they must be built. This building can be achieved internally, by the organization itself (i.e. hierarchy), or through a partnership (i.e. hybrid form among hierarchy and market). PM professional services enrich organizations with additional information variety according to a hybrid (i.e. non- market) coordination model

The PMBOK standard evolution: leading the rising complexity

The aim of this work is to enlighten how the Standard for Project Management (part II of PMBOK® Guide) has evolved over the last 30 years as it has introjected the perspective of complexity. The several contexts (private firms, public institutions etc.) in which Project Management is applied become more and more complex (i.e. uncertain and characterized by unpredictable feedbacks among their own variables and their environments). This needs an enrichment (and perhaps a new conceptualization) of the endowment of information variety provided by the Standard for Project Management with respect to the specific requisite variety asked at a local level (i.e. the specific organizational contexts), to lead a project with efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability. The traditional Standard for Project Management can no longer be considered as a “comfort zone” (i.e. a set of established and “familiar” frameworks, rules and tools aiming to ensure certain and predictable results). On the contrary, the Standard for Project Management should shift towards an open standard, that is able to consistently co-evolve with the increasingly complex contexts that even more ask for new tools, creative solutions and original combinations between exploitative and explorative knowledge

[Book Review] H.K. Lam and F.H.F. Leung (2011) Stability Analysis of Fuzzy-Model-Based Control Systems: Linear-Matrix-Inequality Approach, Springer

This is a book review of Stability Analysis of Fuzzy-Model-Based Control Systems, H.K. Lam, F.H.F. Leung. Springer (2011), ISBN: 978-3642178436Sala, A. (2013). [Book Review] H.K. Lam and F.H.F. Leung (2011) Stability Analysis of Fuzzy-Model-Based Control Systems: Linear-Matrix-Inequality Approach, Springer. Fuzzy Sets and Systems. 225(1):108-109. doi:10.1016/j.fss.2012.10.013S108109225

Stability analysis of LPV systems: Scenario approach

[EN] This paper discusses a `scenario¿ approach to prove decay-rate stability of discrete-time polytopic linear parameter-varying systems, dealing with sets of sequences of vertex models of different length. When all sequences have the same length, parameter-trajectory dependent results in earlier literature are obtained as particular cases. The approach in this paper discusses `classical¿ stability, without the need of probabilistic ingredients present in other scenario-based ideas in literature. A numerical example shows that the proposal achieves a sensible tradeoff between proven performance and computing requirements.The author is grateful to Ministerio de Economia (Spain) and European Union, grant DPI2016-81002-R The material in this paper was not presented at any conference. This paper was recommended for publication in revised form by Associate Editor Tingshu Hu under the direction of Editor Andre L. Tits.Sala, A. (2019). Stability analysis of LPV systems: Scenario approach. Automatica. 104:233-237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.automatica.2019.01.032S23323710

Research interventions to strengthen irrigators' associations

Irrigation management, Water distribution, Financing, Data collection, Operations, Maintenance, Performance indexes, Privatization, Farmer-agency interactions, Institution building, Farmers associations, Training, Participatory management, Leadership, Farm Management, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Weak Corrections are Relevant for Dark Matter Indirect Detection

The computation of the energy spectra of Standard Model particles originated from the annihilation/decay of dark matter particles is of primary importance in indirect searches of dark matter. We compute how the inclusion of electroweak corrections significantly alter such spectra when the mass M of dark matter particles is larger than the electroweak scale: soft electroweak gauge bosons are copiously radiated opening new channels in the final states which otherwise would be forbidden if such corrections are neglected. All stable particles are therefore present in the final spectrum, independently of the primary channel of dark matter annihilation/decay. Such corrections are model independent.Comment: 38 pages (half are technical appendices), 7 figure

Decentralized Multi-Agent Formation Control with Pole-Region Placement via Cone-Complementarity Linearization

[EN] An output-feedback decentralised formation control strategy is pursued under pole-region constraints, assuming that the agents have access to relative position measurements with respect to a set of neighbors in a graph describing the sensing topology. No communication between the agents is assumed; however, a shared one-way communication channel with a pilot is needed for steering tasks. Each agent has a separate copy of the same controller. A virtual structure approach is presented for the formation steering as a whole; actual formation control is established via cone-complementarity linearization algorithms for the appropriate matrix inequalities. In contrast to other research where only stable consensus is pursued, the proposed method allows us to specify settling-time, damping and bandwidth limitations via pole regions. In addition, a full methodology for the decoupled handling of steering and formation control is provided. Simulation results in the example section illustrate the approachThe first author is grateful for the financial support via the grant GVA/2021/082 from Generalitat Valenciana. Part of the authors' research activity in related topics is funded via the grant PID2020-116585GB-I00 through MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the European Union.González Sorribes, A.; Sala, A.; Armesto, L. (2022). Decentralized Multi-Agent Formation Control with Pole-Region Placement via Cone-Complementarity Linearization. International Journal of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science. 32(3):415-428. https://doi.org/10.34768/amcs-2022-003041542832

Optimisation of transient and ultimate inescapable sets with polynomial boundaries for nonlinear systems

[EN] This paper addresses the problem of bounding the trajectories of nonlinear systems (transient and ultimate bounds) from initial conditions in given sets, when subject to possibly nonvanishing disturbances constrained by some finite-interval integral bounds, with a suitable controller. The so-called robustly inescapable sets are determined from such initial conditions and disturbance bounds. In order to get numerical results, the approach considers embedding the nonlinear dynamics in a convex combination of polynomials, and solving sum-of-squares (SOS) problems on them, optimising some inescapable-set size parameters. Determination of approximate (locally) optimal solutions usually requires an iterative evaluation of SOS problems, because of products of decision variables. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union (FP7/2007-2013 no 604068) and from the Spanish Government (MINECO/FEDER DPI2015-70975-P, DPI2016-81002). The material in this paper was not presented at any conference. This paper was recommended for publication in revised form by Associate Editor Graziano Chesi under the direction of Editor Richard Middleton.Sala, A.; Pitarch, JL. (2016). Optimisation of transient and ultimate inescapable sets with polynomial boundaries for nonlinear systems. Automatica. 73:82-87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.automatica.2016.06.017S82877