Strategies for appropriate technology and competitive performance in infrastructure construction

Earlier research developed theoretically-based aggregate metrics for technology strategy and used them to analyze California bridge construction firms (Hampson, 1993). Determinants of firm performance, including trend in contract awards, market share and contract awards per employee, were used as indicators for competitive performance. The results of this research were a series of refined theoretically-based measures for technology strategy and a demonstrated positive relationship between technology strategy and competitive performance within the bridge construction sector. This research showed that three technology strategy dimensions—competitive positioning, depth of technology strategy, and organizational fit— show very strong correlation with the competitive performance indicators of absolute growth in contract awards, and contract awards per employee. Both researchers and industry professionals need improved understanding of how technology affects results, and how to better target investments to improve competitive performance in particular industry sectors. This paper builds on the previous research findings by evaluating the strategic fit of firms' approach to technology with industry segment characteristics. It begins with a brief overview of the background regarding technology strategy. The major sections of the paper describe niches and firms in an example infrastructure construction market, analyze appropriate technology strategies, and describe managerial actions to implement these strategies and support the business objectives of the firm.

Note sequence morphing algorithms for performance of electronic dance music

This paper describes algorithms that can musically augment the realtime performance of electronic dance music by generating new musical material by morphing. Note sequence morphing involves the algorithmic generation of music that smoothly transitions between two existing musical segments. The potential of musical morphing in electronic dance music is outlined and previous research is summarised; including discussions of relevant music theoretic and algorithmic concepts. An outline and explanation is provided of a novel Markov morphing process that uses similarity measures to construct transition matrices. The paper reports on a ‘focus-concert’ study used to evaluate this morphing algorithm and to compare its output with performances from a professional DJ. Discussions of this trial include reflections on some of the aesthetic characteristics of note sequence morphing. The research suggests that the proposed morphing technique could be effectively used in some electronic dance music contexts.

The art of careful listening : children as co-artists in the making of live performance

Since 2007 Kite Arts Education Program (KITE), based at Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), has been engaged in delivering a series of theatre-based experiences for children in low socio-economic primary schools in Queensland. The twelve-week workshop experience culminates in a performance developed by the children with the assistance of the teacher artists from KITE for their community and parents/carers in a peak community cultural institution. Using Wartella’s notion of the socially competent child this analysis interrogates the performance product Precious, child participation modes, the intersection between the professional artists, teacher artists and child artists and outcomes in terms of building capacities for the development of social competencies in children.

The gender diversity-performance relationship in services and manufacturing organizations

Empirical findings on the link between gender diversity and performance have been inconsistent. This paper presents three competing predictions of the organizational gender diversity-performance relationship: a positive linear prediction derived from the resource-based view of the firm, a negative linear prediction derived from self-categorization and social identity theories, and an inverted U-shaped curvilinear prediction derived from the integration of the resource-based view of the firm with self-categorization and social identity theories. This paper also proposes a moderating effect of industry type (services vs. manufacturing) on the gender diversity-performance relationship. The predictions were tested in publicly listed Australian organizations using archival quantitative data with a longitudinal research design. The results show partial support for the positive linear and inverted U-shaped curvilinear predictions as well as for the proposed moderating effect of industry type. The curvilinear relationship indicates that different proportions of organizational gender diversity have different effects on organizational performance, which may be attributed to different dynamics as suggested by the resource-based view and self-categorization and social identity theories. The results help reconcile the inconsistent findings of past research that focused on the linear gender diversity-performance relationship. The findings also show that industry context can strengthen or weaken the effects of organizational gender diversity on performance.

For the better or the worse? The impact of business idea changes on new venture performance and novelty

Should new ventures stick to their knitting once they start commercialising or should they engage in frequent changes of their business idea? In this paper we argue that new ventures still need to learn their way in the early phases of commercialisation and that changes are good, but subject to two important contingencies. First is that changes should be aimed at enhancing uniqueness, which in turn enhances new venture performance. Second is that our results show that changes have limited affect on uniqueness and performance for entrepreneurs aiming at maximising opportunities, but that changing the business idea has a significant positive impact for entrepreneurs focusing on minimising losses. Our findings indicate that entrepreneurs aiming at minimising losses may offset their initial disadvantages by engaging in a series of adaptations of the business idea to gain higher performance and a more unique product offering.

Do programs to improve business performance in small and medium manufacturing enterprise improve opportunity recognition?

Increasing awareness of the benefits of stimulating entrepreneurial behaviour in small and medium enterprises has fostered strong interest in innovation programs. Recently many western countries have invested in design innovation for better firm performance. This research presents some early findings from a study of companies which participated in an holistic approach to design innovation, where the outcomes include better business performance and better market positioning in global markets. Preliminary findings from in-depth semi-structured interviews indicate the importance of firm openness to new ways of working and developing new processes of strategic entrepreneurship. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

The role of digressive learning and uniqueness on performance : longitudinal evidence from young firms

The ability to differentiate from competitors through the selection of unique offerings is an important cornerstone of competitive performance. Developing unique products and services to offer in the marketplace is not only important for established firms, but also an important strategic choice for young firms (Baum and Haveman, 1997). Unlike large and established firms, young firms tend to have less access to adequate resources, well-developed sources of information, contact networks, and considerable experience and management know-how. That is, these firms differ significantly in their attributes and performance from larger and well-established firms (c.f. Miller and Chen, 1994). Although young firms are disadvantaged by the paucity of resources in putting together its unique product offering(s), they develop different pathways in advancing their assortment of capabilities that enables them to stay ahead of competitors.

Nascent venture performance : linking novelty of venture ideas and commitment of firm founders as predictors

The individual-opportunity nexus emphasizes that both the characteristics of individuals and venture ideas have roles in the entrepreneurial process (Shane & Venkataraman, 2000). Following upon this assertion the present study examined whether the venture idea novelty and investment of resources can make an important part in the venture creation process. Data analysed for a sample of nascent entrepreneurs in Australia suggests that the novelty of venture ideas restricts the performance of nascent ventures. However, the more investment of time and money do not show a significant impact to the venture performance.

Remote monitoring of outdoor performance of low scale dye sensitized solar cells for nanosensors nodes

This is the first outdoor test of small-scale dye sensitized solar cells (DSC) powering a standalone nanosensor node. A solar cell test station (SCTS) has been developed using standard DSC to power a gas nanosensor, a radio transmitter, and the control electronics (CE) for battery charging. The station is remotely monitored through wired (Ethernet cable) or wireless connection (radio transmitter) in order to evaluate in real time the performance of the solar cells powering a nanosensor and a transmitter under different weather conditions. We analyze trends of energy conversion efficiency after 60 days of operation. The 408 cm2 active surface module produces enough energy to power a gas nanosensor and a radio transmitter during the day and part of the night. Also, by using a variable programmable load we keep the system working on the maximum power point (MPP) quantifying the total energy generated and stored in a battery. Although this technology is at an early stage of development, these experiments provide useful data for future outdoor applications such as nanosensor network nodes.

Driving performance impairments due to hypovigilance on monotonous roads

Drivers' ability to react to unpredictable events deteriorates when exposed to highly predictable and uneventful driving tasks. Highway design reduces the driving task mainly to a lane-keeping manoeuvre. Such a task is monotonous, providing little stimulation and this contributes to crashes due to inattention. Research has shown that driver's hypovigilance can be assessed with EEG measurements and that driving performance is impaired during prolonged monotonous driving tasks. This paper aims to show that two dimensions of monotony - namely road design and road side variability - decrease vigilance and impair driving performance. This is the first study correlating hypovigilance and driver performance in varied monotonous conditions, particularly on a short time scale (a few seconds). We induced vigilance decrement as assessed with an EEG during a monotonous driving simulator experiment. Road monotony was varied through both road design and road side variability. The driver's decrease in vigilance occurred due to both road design and road scenery monotony and almost independently of the driver's sensation seeking level. Such impairment was also correlated to observable measurements from the driver, the car and the environment. During periods of hypovigilance, the driving performance impairment affected lane positioning, time to lane crossing, blink frequency, heart rate variability and non-specific electrodermal response rates. This work lays the foundation for the development of an in-vehicle device preventing hypovigilance crashes on monotonous roads.

Intimate transactions : art, exhibition and interaction within distributed network environments

The broad research questions of the book are: How can successful, interdisciplinary collaboration contribute to research innovation through Practice-led research? What contributes to the design, production and curation of successful new media art? What are the implications of exhibiting it across dual sites for artists, curators and participant audiences? Is it possible to create an 'intimate transaction' between people who are separated by vast distances but joined by interfaces and distributed networks? Centred on a new media work of the same name by the Transmute Collective (led by Keith Armstrong), this book provides insights from multidisciplinary perspectives. Visual, sound and performance artists, furniture designers, spatial architects, technology systems designers, and curators who collaborated in the production of Intimate Transactions discuss their design philosophies, working processes and resolution of this major new media work. Analytical and philosophical essays by international writers complement these writings on production. They consider how new media art, like Intimate Transactions, challenges traditional understandings of art, curatorial installation and exhibition experience because of the need to take into account interaction, the reconfiguration of space, co-presence, performativity and inter-site collaboration.

Latent degradation indicators estimation and prediction : a Monte Carlo approach

Asset health inspections can produce two types of indicators: (1) direct indicators (e.g. the thickness of a brake pad, and the crack depth on a gear) which directly relate to a failure mechanism; and (2) indirect indicators (e.g. the indicators extracted from vibration signals and oil analysis data) which can only partially reveal a failure mechanism. While direct indicators enable more precise references to asset health condition, they are often more difficult to obtain than indirect indicators. The state space model provides an efficient approach to estimating direct indicators by using indirect indicators. However, existing state space models to estimate direct indicators largely depend on assumptions such as, discrete time, discrete state, linearity, and Gaussianity. The discrete time assumption requires fixed inspection intervals. The discrete state assumption entails discretising continuous degradation indicators, which often introduces additional errors. The linear and Gaussian assumptions are not consistent with nonlinear and irreversible degradation processes in most engineering assets. This paper proposes a state space model without these assumptions. Monte Carlo-based algorithms are developed to estimate the model parameters and the remaining useful life. These algorithms are evaluated for performance using numerical simulations through MATLAB. The result shows that both the parameters and the remaining useful life are estimated accurately. Finally, the new state space model is used to process vibration and crack depth data from an accelerated test of a gearbox. During this application, the new state space model shows a better fitness result than the state space model with linear and Gaussian assumption.

Analysis of detection performance in spectrum sensing optimisation for long sensing periods

Spectrum sensing optimisation techniques maximise the efficiency of spectrum sensing while satisfying a number of constraints. Many optimisation models consider the possibility of the primary user changing activity state during the secondary user's transmission period. However, most ignore the possibility of activity change during the sensing period. The observed primary user signal during sensing can exhibit a duty cycle which has been shown to severely degrade detection performance. This paper shows that (a) the probability of state change during sensing cannot be neglected and (b) the true detection performance obtained when incorporating the duty cycle of the primary user signal can deviate significantly from the results expected with the assumption of no such duty cycle.

The power of educational podcasting : using short-format podcasts to reinforce tertiary student learning experiences in science

In 2007 I introduced short-format educational podcast resources that reinforced conceptual teaching and learning in an interdisciplinary tertiary science study area (biochemistry). This study aims to determine student attitudes to the perceived usefulness and benefit of short-format educational podcasts, and presents the findings (qualitative and quantitative) from surveys obtained from three offerings of the science teaching unit (2007, 2008 and 2009). Podcasts were recorded (MP3 audio files) separately from the instructive lecture sessions, and subsequent to the weekly lecture, short-format podcasts summarising the key learning objectives were integrated within the resources presented through the students learning management system (Blackboard). The vast majority (>88%) of students utilised the podcast resources, indicating a high level of acceptance and uptake for this portable educational technology. The respondents reported that podcasts focused their attention to core learning concepts and supported their understanding and learning of the lecture material. Furthermore, the data showed that respondents agreed strongly that podcasts assisted with study and revision for examinations and, somewhat surprisingly, there was a perception that podcasts positively impacted on examination performance. Overall, student users perceived that podcasting is as an effective and valuable educational tool that offers convenience and flexibility for their learning and understanding of a tertiary science study area, such as biochemistry.