Research for HIRFL new improvement project

According to the newest matching mode between the two cyclotrons at HIRFL, the beam obit properties were researched, especially for the harm of existing ‘over-magnetic shim’ in SSC as well as the trajectory in the new mode. The results obtained are encouraging.

企业经营风险决策的组织行为学研究

This thesis has investigated the risk preferences of the Chinese company managers in kinds of simulated decision situations and their perceptions of risk concerning types of business decisions. Four studies are conducted: Study I is utility analysis. 214 company managers and 46 middle - school headmasters have responded to Utility Measurement Survey. The results indicate: (1) The risk preferences of the managers vary in the different decision situations. In most of the situations, most of the managers are risk aversion; In few situations, they are risk-seeking. (2) In some of the decision situations, there are significant differences on risk preference between business managers and school headmasters, male managers and female managers, senior managers and junior managers, managers with high qualifications and managers with low qualifications, non-state-owned firms' managers and state-owned firms' managers, medium-small sized firms' managers and large-sized firms' managers. In the other situations there aren't significant differences between them. (3) In all of the decision situations, so significant differences on risk preference are found among managers with different marriage, experience, age and education. Study II is risky decision simulation. The Risky Decision Situations Simulation Survey is administered to 82 company managers. The result indicates that firm culture, business condition, survival limit and risk preference of the superior influence the managers' risk decision-making behavior. Study III is perceptions of business decision risks. 68 company managers have filled in Decision Cases Risk Perception Inventory. The results indicate: (1) Inaccurate market analysis and prediction, instable politics and the changes of economic policy are the more risky elements to strategy decision. (2) Erroneous market analysis and prediction, appearance of new technology and the changes of market demands are the more risky elements to investment decision. (3) Poor quality control, backward technology and too large stocks are the more risky elements to production decision. (4) Shortage of development fund, wrong choice in development project and limitation of the development ability are the more risky elements to new production development decision. (5) No payment of the foreign partner's capital, the changes of national relevant policy, difficulty in marketing, too high selling prices of foreign partner's equipments are the more risky elements to joint-venture decision. (6) Unfamilarity with oneself and misjudgement in qualification of oneself are the more risky elements to personnel decision. (7) Bad market of the product, defects in product quality and the changes of consumers demands are the more risky elements to marketing decision. (8) Wrong strategy and ambiguous goals are the more risky elements to public relation decision. (9) Violation of the law, ambiguous goals and poor creation are the more risky elements to advertisement decision. (10) Deterioration of diplomatic relations, unsuitable products for foreign consumers and unfamilarity with foreign market are the more risky elements to international business decision. Study IV is structured interview. 5 company managers have answered all questions of the Interview Questionnaire. The results indicate: (1) The managers think that risks are the possible unfavourable consequences of decisions; (2) The self-ratings of the managers coordinate with the results of utility measurement; (3) The managers admit that risks always accompany bussiness decision; (4) Individual difference is found among managers on risk perception. This thesis has also pointed out the important implications of the research and discussed several further questions.

The management of health library outreach services: evaluation and reflection on lessons learned on the VIVOS project

Yeoman, A. J., Cooper, J. M., Urquhart, C. J. & Tyler, A. (2003). The management of health library outreach services: evaluation and reflection on lessons learned on the VIVOS project. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 91(4), 426-433. Sponsorship: Resource

Inference and Labeling of Metric-Induced Network Topologies

The development and deployment of distributed network-aware applications and services over the Internet require the ability to compile and maintain a model of the underlying network resources with respect to (one or more) characteristic properties of interest. To be manageable, such models must be compact, and must enable a representation of properties along temporal, spatial, and measurement resolution dimensions. In this paper, we propose a general framework for the construction of such metric-induced models using end-to-end measurements. We instantiate our approach using one such property, packet loss rates, and present an analytical framework for the characterization of Internet loss topologies. From the perspective of a server the loss topology is a logical tree rooted at the server with clients at its leaves, in which edges represent lossy paths between a pair of internal network nodes. We show how end-to-end unicast packet probing techniques could b e used to (1) infer a loss topology and (2) identify the loss rates of links in an existing loss topology. Correct, efficient inference of loss topology information enables new techniques for aggregate congestion control, QoS admission control, connection scheduling and mirror site selection. We report on simulation, implementation, and Internet deployment results that show the effectiveness of our approach and its robustness in terms of its accuracy and convergence over a wide range of network conditions.

An Appearance-Based Framework for 3D Hand Shape Classification and Camera Viewpoint Estimation

An appearance-based framework for 3D hand shape classification and simultaneous camera viewpoint estimation is presented. Given an input image of a segmented hand, the most similar matches from a large database of synthetic hand images are retrieved. The ground truth labels of those matches, containing hand shape and camera viewpoint information, are returned by the system as estimates for the input image. Database retrieval is done hierarchically, by first quickly rejecting the vast majority of all database views, and then ranking the remaining candidates in order of similarity to the input. Four different similarity measures are employed, based on edge location, edge orientation, finger location and geometric moments.

Analysis of institutional arrangements and common pool resources governance: the case of Lake Tana sub-basin, Ethiopia

Although Common Pool Resources (CPRs) make up a significant share of total income for rural households in Ethiopia and elsewhere in developing world, limited access to these resources and environmental degradation threaten local livelihoods. As a result, the issues of management, governance of CPRs and how to prevent their over-exploitation are of great importance for development policy. This study examines the current state and dynamics of CPRs and overall resource governance system of the Lake Tana sub-basin. This research employed the modified form of Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework. The framework integrates the concept of Socio-Ecological Systems (SES) and Interactive Governance (IG) perspectives where social actors, institutions, the politico-economic context, discourses and ecological features across governance and government levels were considered. It has been observed that overexploitation, degradation and encroachment of CPRs have increased dramatically and this threatens the sustainability of Lake Tana ecosystem. The stakeholder analysis result reveals that there are multiple stakeholders with diverse interest in and power over CPRs. The analysis of institutional arrangements reveals that the existing formal rules and regulations governing access to and control over CPRs could not be implemented and were not effective to legally bind and govern CPR user’s behavior at the operational level. The study also shows that a top-down and non-participatory policy formulation, law and decision making process overlooks the local contexts (local knowledge and informal institutions). The outcomes of examining the participation of local resource users, as an alternative to a centralized, command-and-control, and hierarchical approach to resource management and governance, have called for a fundamental shift in CPR use, management and governance to facilitate the participation of stakeholders in decision making. Therefore, establishing a multi-level stakeholder governance system as an institutional structure and process is necessary to sustain stakeholder participation in decision-making regarding CPR use, management and governance.

Decision making across social contexts: Competition increases preferences for risk in chimpanzees and bonobos

Context can have a powerful influence on decision-making strategies in humans. In particular, people sometimes shift their economic preferences depending on the broader social context, such as the presence of potential competitors or mating partners. Despite the important role of competition in primate conspecific interactions, as well as evidence that competitive social contexts impact primates' social cognitive skills, there has been little study of how social context influences the strategies that nonhumans show when making decisions about the value of resources. Here we investigate the impact of social context on preferences for risk (variability in payoffs) in our two closest phylogenetic relatives, chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, and bonobos, Pan paniscus. In a first study, we examine the impact of competition on patterns of risky choice. In a second study, we examine whether a positive play context affects risky choices. We find that (1) apes are more likely to choose the risky option when making decisions in a competitive context; and (2) the play context did not influence their risk preferences. Overall these results suggest that some types of social contexts can shift patterns of decision making in nonhuman apes, much like in humans. Comparative studies of chimpanzees and bonobos can therefore help illuminate the evolutionary processes shaping human economic behaviour. © 2012 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

A framework to integrate design knowledge reuse and requirements management in engineering design

This paper presents a framework to integrate requirements management and design knowledge reuse. The research approach begins with a literature review in design reuse and requirements management to identify appropriate methods within each domain. A framework is proposed based on the identified requirements. The framework is then demonstrated using a case study example: vacuum pump design. Requirements are presented as a component of the integrated design knowledge framework. The proposed framework enables the application of requirements management as a dynamic process, including capture, analysis and recording of requirements. It takes account of the evolving requirements and the dynamic nature of the interaction between requirements and product structure through the various stages of product development.

Determining factors of the innovative behavior of cooperatives: an analysis of the case of Castilla y León

Cooperatives have a long historical experience in the Spanish economy and have demonstrated their ability to compete against traditional firms in the market. To maintain this capability, while taking advantage of the competitive advantages associated with their idiosyncrasies as social economy enterprises, they should take into consideration that the economy is increasingly globalized and increasingly knowledge-based, especially with regards to technological content. As a consequence, the innovative capacity appears to be a key aspect in order to be able to challenge competitors. This article characterizes the innovative behavior of cooperatives in the region of Castile and Leon and analyses the internal and external factors affecting their innovative performance, based on data from a survey of 581 cooperatives. The results of the empirical analysis, which is performed by multivariate binary logistic regression on various types of innovation, lead us to identify the size of the organizations, the existence of planning, the R & D activities and the human capital as the main determining factors.

Reception and schooling of children in schools in Catalonia: Beyond Educational Welcome Facilities

The ways of incorporating newcoming students into schools and colleges have been at the center of debate in most OECD countries in recent years. In Spain, the set of measures developed for the reception of immigrant pupils in different Autonomous Communities has also been the subject of specific research, pointing out the similarities and contradictions between pedagogic discourses and school practices. This article takes into account these considerations and presents the reflections from the results of research on the Educational Welcome Facilities (and specifically the EBE) conducted during the school years 2008-2010. This device was created in Catalonia to attend newcomers before enrolling them in the school. It was a pilot project which took place in Vic and Reus for two consecutive years. The research of the EBE has enabled us to explain the relationship between educational assessment that schools made about this facility and reception processes that schools were implementing. The conclusions that emerge from this analysis allowed us to establish relationships between educational host practices of the seven centers analyzed with three different conceptual and educational frameworks of reception.

Softened C-H modes of adsorbed methyl and their implications for dehydrogenation: An ab initio study

To investigate the softening of CH vibrational frequencies and their implications for dehydrogenation of adsorbed hydrocarbons, an issue of scientific and technological importance, density functional theory calculations have been performed on the chemisorption and dehydrogenation of CH3 on Cu(111) and Pt(111) surfaces. By comparing these results with those of Ni(111) we find that the CH bonds of the adsorbate, when close enough, interact with metal atoms of the surface. It is this interaction and its associated lengthening and weakening of CH bonds that is the physical origin of mode softening. We rule out the possibility of a relationship between the mere presence of mode softening and dehydrogenation. We do show, however, that there is a clear relationship between the extent to which a surface can induce mode softening and the activation energy to dehydrogenation. In addition, periodic trends concerning the extent of mode softening are reproduced. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.

Determinants of long-distance investing by business angels in the UK

The business angel market is usually identified as a local market, and the proximity of an investment has been shown to be key in the angel's investment preferences and an important filter at the screening stage of the investment decision. This is generally explained by the personal and localized networks used to identify potential investments, the hands-on involvement of the investor and the desire to minimize risk. However, a significant minority of investments are long distance. This paper is based on data from 373 investments made by 109 UK business angels. We classify the location of investments into three groups: local investments ( those made within the same county or in adjacent counties); intermediate investments ( those made in counties adjacent to the 'local' counties); and long-distance investments ( those made beyond this range). Using ordered logit analysis the paper develops and tests a number of hypotheses that relate long-distance investment to investment characteristics and investor characteristics. The paper concludes by drawing out the implications for entrepreneurs seeking business angel finance in investment-deficient regions, business angel networks seeking to match investors to entrepreneurs and firms ( which are normally their primary clients), and for policy-makers responsible for local and regional economic development.