Product introduction by SMEs

In recent years a great deal of research has been carried out on the subject of product introductions. However, there has been little research on product introductions by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Current theory on product introductions might thus not be fully applicable to SMEs. This report therefore aims to answer the question: 'Does the way product introductions are handled by SMEs differ from the way product introductions are described in literature?' �We find that there are indeed differences, though these are mainly differences in level of detail and focus.

“The Impact of Housing Market Institutions on Labour Mobility: A European Cross-Country Comparison.” ENEPRI Working Paper No. 54, July 2007

This paper examines the effects of housing market institutions on labour mobility. The authors construct durations for individuals leaving their current job for a different job, becoming unemployed or leaving the labour market, from a sample of households from 14 European countries in 1994-2001. This data are then merged with country-specific housing market institutions, such as transaction taxes, and language and religion diversity. Similar to previous studies, estimated hazards indicate that home-ownership reduces job-to-job mobility as well as the probability to become unemployed or economically inactive on an individual level. However, a comparison between countries reveals that countries with high levels of home-ownership rates also have high levels of unemployment. Therefore, this paper is able to reconcile the seemingly contrasting empirical results from both the macroeconomic and the microeconomic level

China’s rise in a liberal world order in transition – introduction to the FORUM

In a time of great uncertainty about the future and resilience of the liberal world order this Forum focuses on China’s rise and interplay with the foundations of that liberal order. The key question is the extent to and variegated ways in which China - with its (re)ascendance to power and potential global leadership – is adapting to and perhaps even strengthening liberal institutions and rules of the game, confronting them, or developing alternative paths. In this introduction to the Forum we advance three key points based on the contributions. First, contrasting the orthodox binary scenarios of either inevitable conflict or co-optation offered in the mainstream IR debate, the Forum highlights the possibility of a third scenario of China’s interplay with the liberal world and its key actors, institutions, and rules. A hybrid and variegated scenario that entails both conflict and adaptation, differently entangled in different issue areas. Second, it stresses the need to conceptualize and empirically comprise the essentially interlinked nature of domestic state-society models and the global political economy. Third, we argue for a perspective that incorporates underlying economic and social structures and the power relations embedded therein

Do Dutch Musea Compete Or Cooperate?

This paper looks into the effect of distance on market shares of Dutch museums. To this end, we assume a generic distance decay function for all museums. In addition, we allow for spatial dependence between museums to account for local competition or synergy effects. Using a unique transaction database with the visiting behavior of 80,821 museum cardholders to 108 Dutch museums, we are able to calculate market shares of each museum in all 484 Dutch municipalities. To account for possible measurement error in the market shares, we adopt a spatial two error component model. Finally, we allow for additional heterogeneity by segmenting the 108 museums using a mixture approach. Without segmenting, preliminary results indicate positive spatial dependence between museums, which points to the conclusion that -- in general -- museums benefit from each others presence.

Layout to circuit extraction for three-dimensional thermal-electrical circuit simulation of device structures

In this paper, a method is proposed for extraction of coupled networks from layout information for simulation of electrothermal device behavior. The networks represent a three-dimensional (3-D) device structure with circuit elements. The electrical and thermal characteristics of this circuit representation are calculated with a circuit simulator. Spatial potential distributions, current flows, and temperature distributions in the device structure are calculated on the spatial coordinates. This simulation method can be placed between device simulation and (conventional) circuit simulation. It has been implemented in a circuit simulator and is demonstrated for simulation of self-heating in a bipolar low frequency power transistor. The main advantage of this simulation method is that not only the 3-D thermal behavior of the whole chip is simulated, but that this is also directly coupled to the electrical device behavior by means of the power dissipation and temperature distribution in the device. This offers the possibility for the circuit designer to simulate 3-D, coupled, thermal-electrical problems with a circuit simulator. As an example, the influence of the emitter contacting on the internal temperature and current distribution of a BJT is investigate

Strategies and economics of farming systems with coffee in the Atlantic Rainforest Biome

In the Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais State, Brazil, family farmers are adjusting to agroecological principles to reconcile sustainable agriculture, livelihood improvements and biodiversity conservation. Starting in 1993, experimentation with coffee agroforestry was gradually initiated on an increasing number of farms (37 in total), resulting in the simultaneous management of sun coffee (SC) and agroforestry coffee (AF) plots. We aimed (1) to identify factors that determine the farmers’ selection of trees used in AF; (2) to describe the agroecological farms in transition; and (3) to perform an economic comparison between AF and SC. These objectives were addressed by combining data from botanical surveys in 1993/1994 and 2007, by interviews with farmers and by detailed data on the production value and costs of labour and material inputs. The results showed considerable diversity in farming strategies and management among the farmers. Early adopters of AF had diversified towards production of different marketable products. The use of native trees in AF for this purpose, and for restoration of soil fertility (e.g., leguminous trees), had increased since the start of the experiments, while exotic tree species were eliminated. Over a period of 12 years AF was more profitable than SC due to the production of a diversity of agricultural goods, despite somewhat higher establishment costs. Other ecosystem services delivered by AF, such as biodiversity and cultural services are currently not valorized. Payment schemes for environmental services could further improve the economic benefits of AF for family farmers and alleviate establishment and learning cost

An empirical model for early resistance changes due to electromigration

A new heuristic description for electromigration-induced early resistance changes is given. The basis is formed by two coupled partial differential equations, one for vacancies, and one for imperfections. These equations are solved numerically for a grain boundary bamboo structure. It is shown that this model is capable of simulating the typical effects as observed in early resistance change measurements. These early resistance changes are due to the redistributions of the vacancies and the generation of imperfections. Simulations are performed that closely match the measured resistance change curves

Comprehensive physical modeling of NMOSFET hot-carrier-induced degradation

The role of hot-carrier-induced interface states in NMOSFETs is discussed. A new model is proposed based on measurements in several 0.7¿m CMOS technologies of different suppliers. Our model for the first time enables accurate interface state prediction over many orders of magnitude in time for all stress conditions under pinch-off and incorporates saturation. It can easily be implemented in a reliability circuit simulator, enabling more accurate NMOSFET parameter degradation calculations(e.g. ¿ID ¿gm etc.)