910 research outputs found
Diffusion of digital innovation in construction: a case study of a UK engineering firm
The UK government is mandating the use of building information modelling (BIM) in large public projects by 2016. As a result, engineering firms are faced with challenges related to embedding new technologies and associated working practices for the digital delivery of major infrastructure projects. Diffusion of innovations theory is used to investigate how digital innovations diffuse across complex firms. A contextualist approach is employed through an in-depth case study of a large, international engineering project-based firm. The analysis of the empirical data, which was collected over a four-year period of close interaction with the firm, reveals parallel paths of diffusion occurring across the firm, where both the innovation and the firm context were continually changing. The diffusion process is traced over three phases: centralization of technology management, standardization of digital working practices, and globalization of digital resources. The findings describe the diffusion of a digital innovation as multiple and partial within a complex social system during times of change and organizational uncertainty, thereby contributing to diffusion of innovations studies in construction by showing a range of activities and dynamics of a non-linear diffusion process
Speculation beyond technology: building scenarios through storytelling
‘Modern methods of construction’ is a term largely synonymous with the prefabrication of product components in factories. Emerging technologies, e.g. robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), are redefining the concept of modern methods of construction and destabilising the structure of the sector to meet the conditions of their implementation. Robotics and machine-based automation, for example, are expected to transform construction manufacturing techniques in rapid and significant ways, but the extent of change and the associated impacts on organisations, supply chains and business models that constitute the sector remains unknown. Existing foresight is dominated by trajectorial perspectives that overemphasise technological predictions and underemphasise the contextual stories of implementation most helpful in understanding technology adoption. An alternative approach presented here focuses on storytelling, the design of the scenarios and the visual images used to help convey these scenarios. These allow practitioners to explore how robotics and machine-based automation may play out in different characterisations of the industry. The research involved the analysis of an existing dataset to create four scenarios, before adapting and extending these scenarios through participatory workshops and interviews. Project participants were comprised of seven small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in manufacturing and architectural fabrication, one tier 1 contractor, and two acclaimed industry experts from an industry advisory board and education centre
Reducing Costs of Delivering Feed to Cattle - Supplementation Frequency
Winter supplementation of beef cattle is an important economic and production decision that producers make each year. Supplementation is often necessary to overcome nutrient deficiencies to allow adequate cattle performance. However, supplementation is an expensive input cost, par-ticularly with current high feed prices and deliv¬ery costs. The initial decision is about the correct type and amount of feed to use as the supplement, with the goal to provide the needed nutrients at the least feed cost. After this decision, opportuni¬ties for reducing other costs of supplementation should be considered. One option that can have a major impact on input costs is how often supple-ment is delivered. Reducing the frequency that supplement is delivered can reduce fuel, labor, and machinery costs. The important concern is creating the right balance between frequency of delivery and cattle performance
Fecal near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) and the Nutrition Balance Analyzer (NUTBAL) Case Study in South Dakota
The objective of this study was to compare fecal near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) and the nutrition balance analyzer (NUTBAL) results with diet samples and cattle performance to determine if fecal NIRS and NUTBAL can accurately predict forage quality and cattle performance in South Dakota
High-fidelity quantum logic gates using trapped-ion hyperfine qubits
We demonstrate laser-driven two-qubit and single-qubit logic gates with
fidelities 99.9(1)% and 99.9934(3)% respectively, significantly above the
approximately 99% minimum threshold level required for fault-tolerant quantum
computation, using qubits stored in hyperfine ground states of calcium-43 ions
held in a room-temperature trap. We study the speed/fidelity trade-off for the
two-qubit gate, for gate times between 3.8s and 520s, and develop a
theoretical error model which is consistent with the data and which allows us
to identify the principal technical sources of infidelity.Comment: 1 trap, 2 ions, 3 nines. Detailed write-up of arXiv:1406.5473
including single-qubit gate data als
High-fidelity trapped-ion quantum logic using near-field microwaves
We demonstrate a two-qubit logic gate driven by near-field microwaves in a
room-temperature microfabricated ion trap. We measure a gate fidelity of
99.7(1)\%, which is above the minimum threshold required for fault-tolerant
quantum computing. The gate is applied directly to Ca "atomic clock"
qubits (coherence time ) using the microwave
magnetic field gradient produced by a trap electrode. We introduce a
dynamically-decoupled gate method, which stabilizes the qubits against
fluctuating a.c.\ Zeeman shifts and avoids the need to null the microwave
field
A microfabricated ion trap with integrated microwave circuitry
We describe the design, fabrication and testing of a surface-electrode ion
trap, which incorporates microwave waveguides, resonators and coupling elements
for the manipulation of trapped ion qubits using near-field microwaves. The
trap is optimised to give a large microwave field gradient to allow
state-dependent manipulation of the ions' motional degrees of freedom, the key
to multiqubit entanglement. The microwave field near the centre of the trap is
characterised by driving hyperfine transitions in a single laser-cooled 43Ca+
ion.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
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