Innovation and export performance:evidence from UK and German manufacturing plants

Using comparable plant-level surveys we demonstrate significant differences between the determinants of export performance among the UK and German manufacturing plants. Product innovation, however measured, has a strong effect on the probability and propensity to export in both countries. Being innovative is positively related to export probability in both countries. In the UK the scale of plants’ innovation activity is also related positively to export propensity. In Germany, however, where levels of innovation intensity are higher but the proportion of sales attributable to new products is lower, there is some evidence of a negative relationship between the scale of innovation activity and export performance. Significant differences are identified between innovative and non-innovative plants, especially in their absorption of spill-over effects. Innovative UK plants are more effective in their ability to exploit spill-overs from the innovation activities of companies in the same sector. In Germany, by contrast, non-innovators are more likely to absorb regional and supply-chain spill-over effects. Co-location to other innovative firms is generally found to discourage exporting.

Embedded progressive-three-layered fiber long-period gratings for respiratory monitoring

A long-period grating (LPG) was written into a progressive three-layered single-mode fiber that was embedded into a flexible platform as a curvature sensor. The spectral location and profile of the LPGs were unaltered after implantation in the platform. The curvature sensitivity was 3.747 nm m with a resolution of ±1.1×10–2 m–1. The bend sensor is intended to be part of a respiratory monitoring system and was tested on a resuscitation training manikin.

Dual-wavelength, ultralong Raman laser with Rayleigh-scattering feedback

We present experimental demonstration of a 200-km-long, dual-wavelength Raman laser utilizing two slightly different-wavelength fiber Bragg gratings, one on each side of the fiber span. The obtained results clearly prove the generation of two independent Raman lasers with a distributed “random” Rayleigh scattering mirror forming a cavity together with each of the individual fiber Bragg grating reflectors.

Optimal design for correlated processes with input-dependent noise

Optimal design for parameter estimation in Gaussian process regression models with input-dependent noise is examined. The motivation stems from the area of computer experiments, where computationally demanding simulators are approximated using Gaussian process emulators to act as statistical surrogates. In the case of stochastic simulators, which produce a random output for a given set of model inputs, repeated evaluations are useful, supporting the use of replicate observations in the experimental design. The findings are also applicable to the wider context of experimental design for Gaussian process regression and kriging. Designs are proposed with the aim of minimising the variance of the Gaussian process parameter estimates. A heteroscedastic Gaussian process model is presented which allows for an experimental design technique based on an extension of Fisher information to heteroscedastic models. It is empirically shown that the error of the approximation of the parameter variance by the inverse of the Fisher information is reduced as the number of replicated points is increased. Through a series of simulation experiments on both synthetic data and a systems biology stochastic simulator, optimal designs with replicate observations are shown to outperform space-filling designs both with and without replicate observations. Guidance is provided on best practice for optimal experimental design for stochastic response models. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The EU's support for democratic governance in the Eastern neighbourhood:the role of transition experience from the New Member States

The European Union seems to place an increasing rhetorical emphasis on harnessing the transition experience of the new member states. This article examines whether the EU actually makes use of this experience in its promotion of democratic governance in the eastern neighbourhood. The main conclusion is that while reform priorities of the EU in the region are aligned with transition experience, the actual participation of actors from the new members in implementing EU-financed projects aimed at promoting democratic governance is limited. This contradiction should be resolved or it will further erode the credibility of the EU's external policies.