National Innovation Network at the Crossroads – in Search of a New Support Formula for Proinnovative Services for Small and Medium Enterprises

Celem artykułu jest analiza jakościowa systemu wsparcia innowacyjnej przedsiębiorczości opartego na Krajowej Sieci Innowacji oferującej usługi proinnowacyjne dla małych i średnich przedsiębiorstw w Polsce. Formułowane wnioski oparte są na wynikach ogólnopolskich badań przeprowadzonych przez autora wśród firm sektora MŚP, będących zarówno beneficjentami usług KSI (ogółem zbadano 381 podmiotów), jak i firm niekorzystających wcześniej z tych usług (próba badawcza liczyła 1100 podmiotów). Podstawowe zastrzeżenia zgłaszane przez małych i średnich przedsiębiorców dotyczą pasywności tych ośrodków w budowaniu partnerskiej współpracy, zdolności do rozpoznania rzeczywistych potrzeb przedsiębiorstwa oraz umiejętności dostosowania oferty usług w odpowiedzi na rzeczywiste potrzeby przedsiębiorstw. W artykule zawarto rekomendacje zmian w systemie świadczenia usług proinnowacyjnych w ramach wsparcia publicznego oferowanego przez ośrodki Krajowej Sieci Innowacji w odniesieniu do „filozofii”, zakresu i instrumentów wsparcia

Growth mechanisms of perturbations in boundary layers over a compliant wall

The temporal modal and nonmodal growth of three-dimensional perturbations in the boundary-layer flow over an infinite compliant flat wall is considered. Using a wall-normal velocity/wall-normal vorticity formalism, the dynamic boundary condition at the compliant wall admits a linear dependence on the eigenvalue parameter, as compared to a quadratic one in the canonical formulation of the problem. This greatly simplifies the accurate calculation of the continuous spectrum by means of a spectral method, thereby yielding a very effective filtering of the pseudospectra as well as a clear identification of instability regions. The regime of global instability is found to be matching the regime of the favorable phase of the forcing by the flow on the compliant wall so as to enhance the amplitude of the wall. An energy-budget analysis for the least-decaying hydroelastic (static-divergence, traveling-wave-flutter and near-stationary transitional) and Tollmien--Schlichting modes in the parameter space reveals the primary routes of energy flow. Moreover, the flow exhibits a slower transient growth for the maximum growth rate of a superposition of streamwise-independent modes due to a complex dependence of the wall-boundary condition with the Reynolds number. The initial and optimal perturbations are compared with the boundary-layer flow over a solid wall; differences and similarities are discussed. Unlike the solid-wall case, viscosity plays a pivotal role in the transient growth. A slowdown of the maximum growth rate with the Reynolds number is uncovered and found to originate in the transition of the fluid-solid interaction from a two-way to a one-way coupling. Finally, a term-by-term energy budget analysis is performed to identify the key contributors to the transient growth mechanism

The effect of core-shell engineering on the energy product of magnetic nanometals.

Solution-based growth of magnetic FePt-FeCo (core-shell) nanoparticles with a controllable shell thickness has been demonstrated. The transition from spin canting to exchange coupling of FePt-FeCo core-shell nanostructures leads to a 28% increase in the coercivity (12.8 KOe) and a two-fold enhancement in the energy product (9.11 MGOe)

Stress distribution in a pressurised thick walled toroidal shell: a three dimensional analysis

An investigation is made into the state of stress in a closed toroidal shell of uniform thick-walled circular cross section, when loaded by uniform internal and external pressures. The general equations of the classical theory of elasticity, expressed in terms of stress components, are solved approximately by expanding the solutions in power series in a small parameter {R) (a is the external radius of the cross section and R the radius of the axis). This method was used (inter alia) by E. Gohner (1) in his investigation of the twist and pure bending of the sector of a circular ring. The first approximation yields the known solution of the problem of Lame for a thick walled cylinder. The equations for the higher approximations reduce to the problem of plane strain in a circular ring. Only the first three terms of the power series are calculated in this report. The convergence of the series is not investigated

Outward U.S. Foreign Direct Investment Performance during Recent Financial Crises

Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays an extraordinary and growing role in the global markets and represents an integral part of the U.S. economy. This research has descriptive character and focuses on the latest trends in outward United States foreign direct investment (US FDI) illustrating the impact of the recent financial crises on FDI performance. The study analyzes the outward US FDI stock contribution to the global FDI stock and its performance during the last decade including geographical and sectorial distribution. The next paragraph focuses on outward US FDI corporate players ranking MNC’s by revenue and foreign assets. The essential part of this research relates to outward US FDI employment and financial performance, which includes: equity, reinvested earnings and intercompany debt. This study constitutes a base for the further exploration of the importance of outward US FDI in the global markets and in the U.S. economy. The goal of this research is to illustrate the impact of current financial crises on outward US FDI performance. The basic statistics related to outward US FDI flow and stock come from the UNCTAD’s FDI/TNC and from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), a section of the U.S. Department of Commerce

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises on the Public

Small and medium-sized enterprises are believed to be a key driving force of economic vitality, innovation and new job creation. For a few years the European Union has been monitoring SME performance and the quality of public procurement procedures to make access of SMEs to the public procurement market easier and provide for their greater participation in this market. These activities have their origin in the assumption that having in mind the size of the public procurement market and public resources involved, suitable shaping of this area may improve effectiveness of selected policies at the EU level and in particular member countries. The directives concerning public procurement should ensure opening the market of public procurement for all enterprises irrespectively of their size. Recently the public procurement market in Poland has been continuously growing which doubtlessly resulted from Poland’s accession to the European Union.The aim of this paper is to give evidence of SME position on the public procurement market and to attempt to answer two basic research questions. Firstly, is the market potential fully used as far as applying for awarding public contracts by SMEs is concerned? And secondly, what are the main obstacles determining the access of SMEs to the public procurement market? This is done by reference to available statistical data and two studies that were carried out by the author

Foreign Direct Investment and Macroeconomic Changes in CEE Integrating in to the Global Market

This study relates to the post communist era in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and focuses on foreign direct investment (FDI) as a factor facilitating the globalization process while stimulating economic growth in the host countries. The first part of this study describes the globalization process and inward FDI performance index (CEE vs. World). The second part reflects macroeconomic changes in the post communist CEE and examines macroeconomic indicators, including GDP per capita, economic growth rate, unemployment and inflation. The third section focuses on the association between inward FDI stock and economic growth in the CEE

FDI in Central and Eastern Europe: Business Environment and Current FDI Trends in Poland

The Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) acknowledge foreign direct investment (FDI) as an essential tool in the development and modernization of their economies. The first part of this paper centers on economic stability and FDI inflows in the CEE indicating the Polish leadership in inward FDI inflow. The section of this study focuses on Poland and provides a description of business environment and current FDI trends in Poland. It analyzes the factors influencing the inward FDI in Poland, such as: economic stability, cost of labor, EU membership, regulatory framework. It presents the current FDI trends in Poland, such as: number of foreign firms, geographic origin of inward FDI, inward vs. outward FDI. The future research will focus on the impact of inward FDI stock on economic growth in Poland. To analyze the impact of the FDI stock on output growth in the Polish economy, a model of the economic growth based on the production function will be used

Dependable and Certifiable Real-World Systems – Issue of Software Engineering Education

Embedded software and dedicated hardware are vital elements of the modern world, from personal electronics to transportation, from communication to aerospace, from military to gaming, from medical systems to banking. Combinations of even minor hardware or software defects in a complex system may lead to violation of safety with or even without evident system failure, a major problem that the computing profession faces is the lack of a universal approach to unite the dissimilar viewpoints presented by computer science, with its discrete and mathematical underpinnings, and by computer engineering, which focuses on building real systems and considering spatial and material constraints of space, energy, and time. Modern embedded systems include both viewpoints: microprocessors running software and programmable electronic hardware created with an extensive use of software. The gap between science and engineering approaches is clearly visible in engineering education. This survey paper focuses on exploring the commonalities between building software and building hardware in an attempt to establish a new framework for rejuvenating computing education, specifically software engineering for dependable systems. We present here a perspective on software/hardware relationship, aviation system certification, role of software engineering education, and future directions in computing

Inward FDI in the United States and its Policy Context

Inward foreign direct investment (IFDI) represents an integral part of the United States (U.S.)economy, with its stock growing from US$83 billion in 1980 to US$ 3.5 trillion in 2011. The United States, which had earlier been primarily a home for multinational enterprises (MNEs) rather than a host for affiliates of foreign MNEs, has become a preferred host country for FDI since the 1980s. Foreign MNEs have contributed robust flows of FDI into diverse industries of the U.S. economy, and total FDI inflows reached US$227 billion in 2011, equivalent to 15$ 314 billion in 2000 and another of US$ 306 billion in 2008, have been an important factor contributing to sustained economic growth in the United States. The recent financial and economic crises negatively impacted FDI flows to the United States and opened a period of major uncertainty. The effectiveness of government policy responses at both the national and international levels in addressing the financial crisis and its economic consequences will play a crucial role for creating favorable conditions for a rebound in FDI inflows