Tilted fibre Bragg grating based 800nm WDM interrogation system for strain, temperature and refractive index sensing

We report the implementation of a low-cost high-resolution WDM interrogation system operating around 800nm region with bandwidth up to 60 nm and resolution of 13 pm by utilising a tilted fibre Bragg grating as an out-coupling device and a CCD-array detector. The system has been evaluated for interrogating fibre Bragg grating based strain, temperature sensors, giving sensitivities of 0.6 pm/µe and 5.6 pm/°C which are in good agreement with previously reported values. Furthermore, the system has been utilised to detect refractive index change of sample liquids, demonstrating a capability of measuring index change as small as 10-5.

Organisational receptivity for change:combining context and capability to explain competitive advantage

This thesis explores efforts to conjoin organisational contexts and capabilities in explaining sustainable competitive advantage. Oliver (1997) argued organisations need to balance the need to conform to industry’s requirements to attain legitimization (e.g. DiMaggio & Powell, 1983), and the need for resource optimization (e.g. Barney, 1991). The author hypothesized that such balance can be viewed as movements along the homogeneity-heterogeneity continuum. An organisation in a homogenous industry possesses similar characteristics as its competitors, as opposed to a heterogeneous industry in which organisations within are differentiated and competitively positioned (Oliver, 1997). The movement is influenced by the dynamic environmental conditions that an organisation is experiencing. The author extended Oliver’s (1997) propositions of combining RBV’s focus on capabilities with institutional theory’s focus on organisational context, as well as redefining organisational receptivity towards change (ORC) factors from Butler and Allen’s (2008) findings. The authors contributed to the theoretical development of ORC theory to explain the attainment of sustainable competitive advantage. ORC adopts the assumptions from both institutional and RBV theories, where the receptivity factors include both organisational contexts and capabilities. The thesis employed a mixed method approach in which sequential qualitative quantitative studies were deployed to establish a robust, reliable, and valid ORC scale. The adoption of Hinkin’s (1995) three-phase scale development process was updated, thus items generated from interviews and literature reviews went through numerous exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to achieve convergent, discriminant, and nomological validities. Samples in the first phase (semi structured interviews) were hotel owners and managers. In the second phase, samples were MBA students, and employees of private and public sectors. In the third phase, samples were hotel managers. The final ORC scale is a parsimonious second higher-order latent construct. The first-order constructs comprises four latent receptivity factors which are ideological vision (4 items), leading change (4 items), implementation capacity (4 items), and change orientation (7 items). Hypotheses testing revealed that high levels of perceived environmental uncertainty leads to high levels of receptivity factor. Furthermore, the study found a strong positive correlation between receptivity factors and competitive advantage, and between receptivity factors and organisation performance. Mediation analyses revealed that receptivity factors partially mediate the relationship between perceived environmental uncertainty, competitive advantage and organisational performance.

Fiber bragg gratings:advances in fabrication process and tools

Successful commercialization of a technology such as Fiber Bragg Gratings requires the ability to manufacture devices repeatably, quickly and at low cost. Although the first report of photorefractive gratings was in 1978 it was not until 1993, when phase mask fabrication was demonstrated, that this became feasible. More recently, draw tower fabrication on a production level and grating writing through the polymer jacket have been realized; both important developments since they preserve the intrinsic strength of the fiber. Potentially the most significant recent development has been femtosecond laser inscription of gratings. Although not yet a commercial technology, it provides the means of writing multiple gratings in the optical core providing directional sensing capability in a single fiber. Femtosecond processing can also be used to machine the fiber to produce micronscale slots and holes enhancing the interaction between the light in the core and the surrounding medium. © 2011 Bentham Science Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Simultaneous measurement of temperature and external refractive index by use of a hybrid grating in D fiber with enhanced sensitivity by HF etching

We propose a dual-parameter optical sensor device achieved by UV inscription of a hybrid long-period grating-fiber Bragg grating structure in D fiber. The hybrid configuration permits the detection of the temperature from the latter's response and measurement of the external refractive index from the former's response. In addition, the host D fiber permits effective modification of the device's sensitivity by cladding etching. The grating sensor has been used to measure the concentrations of aqueous sugar solutions, demonstrating its potential capability to detect concentration changes as small as 0.01%.

Process and performance in international collaborative research

Motivated by policy goals to develop international research capability and our experiences of collaborative research, we wanted to learn more about the factors that influence success in collaborative research. This article presents a review of the academic literature on collaborative research, focusing on multinational teams doing international comparative research. We address the question ‘what accounts for variation in process and performance of collaborative research projects?’, through 11 themes: context; vision; reward and commitment; leadership; structure; contract; task capability; sociability; communication; finance; rhythm and pace. We then propose an agenda for future research with an analytic framework and, finally, our conclusions.

Modeling Optical Response of Thin Films: Choice of the Refractive Index Dispersion Law

Determination of the so-called optical constants (complex refractive index N, which is usually a function of the wavelength, and physical thickness D) of thin films from experimental data is a typical inverse non-linear problem. It is still a challenge to the scientific community because of the complexity of the problem and its basic and technological significance in optics. Usually, solutions are looked for models with 3-10 parameters. Best estimates of these parameters are obtained by minimization procedures. Herein, we discuss the choice of orthogonal polynomials for the dispersion law of the thin film refractive index. We show the advantage of their use, compared to the Selmeier, Lorentz or Cauchy models.

Optical sensor based on hybrid LPG/FBG in D-fiber for simultaneous refractive index and temperature measurement

A dual-parameter optical sensor has been realized by UV-writing a long-period and a Bragg grating structure in D-fiber. The hybrid configuration permits the detection of the temperature from the latter and measuring the external refractive index from the former responses, respectively. The employment of the D-fiber allows as effective modification and enhancement of the device sensitivity by cladding etching. The grating sensor has been used to measure the concentrations of aqueous sugar solutions, demonstrating the potential capability to detect concentration changes as small as 0.01%.

Simultaneous measurement for liquid level and refractive index based on all-fiber modal interferometer

A simple fiber sensor capable of simultaneous measurement of liquid level and refractive index (RI) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The sensing head is an all-fiber modal interferometer manufactured by splicing an uncoated single-mode fiber with two short sections of multimode fiber. The interference pattern experiences blue shift along with an increase of axial strain and surrounding RI. Owing to the participation of multiple cladding modes with different sensitivities, the height and RI of the liquid could be simultaneously measured by monitoring two dips of the transmission spectrum. Experimental results show that the liquid level and RI sensitivities of the two dips are 245.7 pm/mm, -38 nm/RI unit (RIU), and 223.7 pm/mm, -62 nm/RIU, respectively. The approach has distinctive advantages of easy fabrication, low cost, and high sensitivity for liquid level detection with the capability of distinguishing the RI variation simultaneously. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Fiber bragg gratings:advances in fabrication process and tools

Successful commercialization of a technology such as Fiber Bragg Gratings requires the ability to manufacture devices repeatably, quickly and at low cost. Although the first report of photorefractive gratings was in 1978 it was not until 1993, when phase mask fabrication was demonstrated, that this became feasible. More recently, draw tower fabrication on a production level and grating writing through the polymer jacket have been realized; both important developments since they preserve the intrinsic strength of the fiber. Potentially the most significant recent development has been femtosecond laser inscription of gratings. Although not yet a commercial technology, it provides the means of writing multiple gratings in the optical core providing directional sensing capability in a single fiber. Femtosecond processing can also be used to machine the fiber to produce micronscale slots and holes enhancing the interaction between the light in the core and the surrounding medium. © 2011 Bentham Science Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of a technological innovation capability assessment model:a case study of manufacturing SMEs in Sialkot, Pakistan

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play an important part in the economy of any country. Initially, a flat management hierarchy, quick response to market changes and cost competitiveness were seen as the competitive characteristics of an SME. Recently, in developed economies, technological capabilities (TCs) management- managing existing and developing or assimilating new technological capabilities for continuous process and product innovations, has become important for both large organisations and SMEs to achieve sustained competitiveness. Therefore, various technological innovation capability (TIC) models have been developed at firm level to assess firms‘ innovation capability level. These models output help policy makers and firm managers to devise policies for deepening a firm‘s technical knowledge generation, acquisition and exploitation capabilities for sustained technological competitive edge. However, in developing countries TCs management is more of TCs upgrading: acquisitions of TCs from abroad, and then assimilating, innovating and exploiting them. Most of the TIC models for developing countries delineate the level of TIC required as firms move from the acquisition to innovative level. However, these models do not provide tools for assessing the existing level of TIC of a firm and various factors affecting TIC, to help practical interventions for TCs upgrading of firms for improved or new processes and products. Recently, the Government of Pakistan (GOP) has realised the importance of TCs upgrading in SMEs-especially export-oriented, for their sustained competitiveness. The GOP has launched various initiatives with local and foreign assistance to identify ways and means of upgrading local SMEs capabilities. This research targets this gap and developed a TICs assessment model for identifying the existing level of TIC of manufacturing SMEs existing in clusters in Sialkot, Pakistan. SME executives in three different export-oriented clusters at Sialkot were interviewed to analyse technological capabilities development initiatives (CDIs) taken by them to develop and upgrade their firms‘ TCs. Data analysed at CDI, firm, cluster and cross-cluster level first helped classify interviewed firms as leader, follower and reactor, with leader firms claiming to introduce mostly new CDIs to their cluster. Second, the data analysis displayed that mostly interviewed leader firms exhibited ‗learning by interacting‘ and ‗learning by training‘ capabilities for expertise acquisition from customers and international consultants. However, these leader firms did not show much evidence of learning by using, reverse engineering and R&D capabilities, which according to the extant literature are necessary for upgrading existing TIC level and thus TCs of firm for better value-added processes and products. The research results are supported by extant literature on Sialkot clusters. Thus, in sum, a TIC assessment model was developed in this research which qualitatively identified interviewed firms‘ TIC levels, the factors affecting them, and is validated by existing literature on interviewed Sialkot clusters. Further, the research gives policy level recommendations for TIC and thus TCs upgrading at firm and cluster level for targeting better value-added markets.

Individual decision-making by top executives as a valuable resource for strategic management – A resource-based view and dynamic capability approach

Strategy is highly important for organisational success and the achievement of competitive advantage. Strategy is dynamic and it depends on accurate individual decision-making from medium and high-level managers and executives. Since managers always formulate strategy, its formulation depends mostly on their assertive decisions. Making good decisions is a complex task, even more in today’s business world where a large quantity of information and a dynamic environment forces people to decide without having complete information. As Shafir, Simonson, & Tversky (1993) point out, "the making of decisions, both big and small, is often difficult because of uncertainty and conflict". In this paper the author will explain a basic theoretical framework about top manager's individual decision-making, showing how complex the process of making high-impact decisions is; then, he will compare this theory with one of the most important streams in strategic management, the Resource-Based View (RBV) of the firm. Finally, within the context of individual decision-making and the RBV stream, the author will show how individual decision makers in top management positions constitute a valuable, rare, non-imitable and non-substitutable resource that provides sustained competitive advantage.

Team diversity and leadership: Tests of model of process and direct effects

A model was tested to examine relationships among leadership behaviors, team diversity, and team process measures with team performance and satisfaction at both the team and leader-member levels of analysis. Relationships between leadership behavior and team demographic and cognitive diversity were hypothesized to have both direct effects on organizational outcomes as well as indirect effects through team processes. Leader member differences were investigated to determine the effects of leader-member diversity leader-member exchange quality, individual effectiveness and satisfaction.^ Leadership had little direct effect on team performance, but several strong positive indirect effects through team processes. Demographic Diversity had no impact on team processes, directly impacted only one performance measure, and moderated the leadership to team process relationship.^ Cognitive Diversity had a number of direct and indirect effects on team performance, the net effects uniformly positive, and did not moderate the leadership to team process relationship.^ In sum, the team model suggests a complex combination of leadership behaviors positively impacting team processes, demographic diversity having little impact on team process or performance, cognitive diversity having a positive net impact impact, and team processes having mixed effects on team outcomes.^ At the leader-member level, leadership behaviors were a strong predictor of Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) quality. Leader-member demographic and cognitive dissimilarity were each predictors of LMX quality, but failed to moderate the leader behavior to LMX quality relationship. LMX quality was strongly and positively related to self reported effectiveness and satisfaction.^ The study makes several contributions to the literature. First, it explicitly links leadership and team diversity. Second, demographic and cognitive diversity are conceptualized as distinct and multi-faceted constructs. Third, a methodology for creating an index of categorical demographic and interval cognitive measures is provided so that diversity can be measured in a holistic conjoint fashion. Fourth, the study simultaneously investigates the impact of diversity at the team and leader-member levels of analyses. Fifth, insights into the moderating impact of different forms of team diversity on the leadership to team process relationship are provided. Sixth, this study incorporates a wide range of objective and independent measures to provide a 360$\sp\circ$ assessment of team performance. ^

A micro-opto-electro-mechanical system (MOEMS) for microstructure manipulation

Microstructure manipulation is a fundamental process to the study of biology and medicine, as well as to advance micro- and nano-system applications. Manipulation of microstructures has been achieved through various microgripper devices developed recently, which lead to advances in micromachine assembly, and single cell manipulation, among others. Only two kinds of integrated feedback have been demonstrated so far, force sensing and optical binary feedback. As a result, the physical, mechanical, optical, and chemical information about the microstructure under study must be extracted from macroscopic instrumentation, such as confocal fluorescence microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. In this research work, novel Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical-System (MOEMS) microgrippers are presented. These devices utilize flexible optical waveguides as gripping arms, which provide the physical means for grasping a microobject, while simultaneously enabling light to be delivered and collected. This unique capability allows extensive optical characterization of the structure being held such as transmission, reflection, or fluorescence. The microgrippers require external actuation which was accomplished by two methods: initially with a micrometer screw, and later with a piezoelectric actuator. Thanks to a novel actuation mechanism, the "fishbone", the gripping facets remain parallel within 1 degree. The design, simulation, fabrication, and characterization are systematically presented. The devices mechanical operation was verified by means of 3D finite element analysis simulations. Also, the optical performance and losses were simulated by the 3D-to-2D effective index (finite difference time domain FDTD) method as well as 3D Beam Propagation Method (3D-BPM). The microgrippers were designed to manipulate structures from submicron dimensions up to approximately 100 μm. The devices were implemented in SU-8 due to its suitable optical and mechanical properties. This work demonstrates two practical applications: the manipulation of single SKOV-3 human ovarian carcinoma cells, and the detection and identification of microparts tagged with a fluorescent "barcode" implemented with quantum dots. The novel devices presented open up new possibilities in the field of micromanipulation at the microscale, scalable to the nano-domain.

Assessing the effectiveness of the internationalization process in Higher Education Institutions: A case study of Florida International University

The purpose of this study was to examine a Higher Education Institution’s (HEI) process of internationalization. The theoretical model developed by Van Dijk and Miejer (1997) was used to review Florida International University (FIU)’s policy, support, and implementation dimensions and determine its position on the Internationalization Cube, and assess how FIU’s international activities fit into its different organizational processes. In addition, the study sought to shed light on student and faculty attitudes toward internationalization. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from examining organizational documents, interviews, descriptive data on FIU’s international activities using the International Dimension Index, and the Student and Faculty Survey on Internationalization. FIU’s international activities results were analyzed in relation to a panel of experts’ item relevancy index. The Likert-type survey scales’ frequencies and percentages were calculated as well as Spearman Rho correlations between the survey’s three scales and demographic and experiences variables. The study found that FIU is located on position six of a possible eight positions on the Van Dijk and Meijer Internationalization Cube with the following characteristics: Priority Policy, One-Sided Support, and Structured Implementation toward internationalization. The analysis of FIU’s results on international activities showed that FIU exhibits all the activities considered to be strong indicators of internationalization but for position seven placement special attention is needed in the areas of foreign language study, international students, study abroad, faculty movement and involvement in international projects. The survey indicated students and faculty rated the Benefits of Internationalization highly but didn’t perceive strong institutional Support for Internationalization. Faculty age and offshore programs participation; student gender, race/ethnicity and class status; and for both, study abroad and knowledge of students travel grant had significant positive correlations with student and faculty attitudes. The study concluded that an association exists between FIU’s position on the Internationalization Cube and its international activities. Recommendations for policy, implementation, and future studies were made. It was concluded that advancing FIU’s position on the Cube will require adjustments in FIU’s policy, support and implementation dimensions. Differences in student and faculty views toward internationalization should be taken into account when planning internationalization efforts.

Global Learning and the Human Capability Approach: Florida International University Case Study

This case study traced the process in which Florida International University engaged to determine what students want and need from their undergraduate education. Using grounded theory, the authors discovered that the process was reflective of the human capability approach in the development of its global learning student learning outcomes.