Exploration and exploitation in the presence of network externalities

This paper examines the conditions under which exploration of a new, incompatible technologyis conducive to firm growth in the presence of network externalities. In particular, this studyis motivated bythe divergent evolutions of the PC and the workstation markets in response to a new technology: reduced instruction set computing (RISC). In the PC market, Intel has developed new microprocessors bymaintaining compatibilitywith the established architecture, whereas it was radicallyr eplaced byRISC in the workstation market. History indicates that unlike the PC market, the workstation market consisted of a large number of power users, who are less sensitive to compatibilitythan ordinaryusers. Our numerical analysis indicates that the exploration of a new, incompatible technologyis more likelyto increase the chance of firm growth when there are a substantial number of power users or when a new technologyis introduced before an established technologytakes off. (; ; ;

Review Essay: Michael Richter, \u3ci\u3eMedieval Ireland: The Enduring Tradition\u3c/i\u3e

Michael Richter, Medieval Ireland: The Enduring Tradition, St. Martin\u27s Press, 1988

Review Essay: Luis Garcia-Ballester, Michael R. McVaugh, and Agustin Rubio-Vela, \u3ci\u3eMedical Licensing and Learning in Fourteenth-Century Valencia\u3c/i\u3e

Luis Garcia-Ballester, Michael R. McVaugh, and Agustin Rubio-Vela, Medical Licensing and Learning in Fourteenth-Century Valencia, American Philosophical Society, 1989, 128 pp., facsim., maps, $15.00

Churn, Baby, Churn: Strategic Dynamics Among Dominant and Fringe Firms in a Segmented Industry

This paper integrates and extends the literatures on industry evolution and dominant firms to develop a dynamic theory of dominant and fringe competitive interaction in a segmented industry. It argues that a dominant firm, seeing contraction of growth in its current segment(s), enters new segments in which it can exploit its technological strengths, but that are sufficiently distant to avoid cannibalization. The dominant firm acts as a low-cost Stackelberg leader, driving down prices and triggering a sales takeoff in the new segment. We identify a “churn” effect associated with dominant firm entry: fringe firms that precede the dominant firm into the segment tend to exit the segment, while new fringe firms enter, causing a net increase in the number of firms in the segment. As the segment matures and sales decline in the segment, the process repeats itself. We examine the predictions of the theory with a study of price, quantity, entry, and exit across 24 product classes in the desktop laser printer industry from 1984 to 1996. Using descriptive statistics, hazard rate models, and panel data methods, we find empirical support for the theoretical predictions

Authorized Limit Evaluation of Spent Granular Activated Carbon Used for Vapor-Phase Remediation at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Livermore, California

This report provides a technical basis for establishing radiological release limits for granular activated carbon (GAC) containing very low quantities of tritium and radon daughter products generated during environmental remediation activities at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). This evaluation was conducted according to the Authorized Limit procedures specified in United States Department of Energy (DOE) Order 5400.5, Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment (DOE, 1993) and related DOE guidance documents. The GAC waste is currently being managed by LLNL as a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) mixed waste. Significant cost savings can be achieved by developing an Authorized Limit under DOE Order 5400.5 since it would allow the waste to be safely disposed as a hazardous waste at a permitted off-site RCRA treatment and disposal facility. LLNL generates GAC waste during vapor-phase soil remediation in the Trailer 5475 area. While trichloroethylene and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are the primary targets of the remedial action, a limited amount of tritium and radon daughter products are contained in the GAC at the time of disposal. As defined in DOE Order 5400.5, an Authorized Limit is a level of residual radioactive material that will result in an annual public dose of 100 milliroentgen-equivalent man per year (mrem/year) or less. In 1995, DOE issued additional release requirements for material sent to a landfill that is not an authorized low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. Per guidance, the disposal site will be selected based on a risk/benefit assessment under the As-Low-As-Reasonably-Achievable (ALARA) process while ensuring that individual doses to the public are less than 25 mrem in a year, ground water is protected, the release would not necessitate further remedial action for the disposal site, and the release is coordinated with all appropriate authorities. The 1995 release requirements also state that Authorized Limits may be approved by DOE field office managers without DOE headquarters (EH-1) approval if a reasonably conservative dose assessment demonstrates that: (1) Public doses will not exceed one mrem per year individually or 10 person-rem/year collectively; (2) Appropriate record keeping and data collection procedures are in place; (3) Copies of the release evaluation and procedures are properly maintained; and (4) Coordination with all applicable state and federal agencies is documented. Based on the above guidelines, this report uses one mrem/year for individual members of the public and 10 person-rem/year for the collective population as upper-bound doses for the determination of Authorized Limits

Dust detection by the wave instrument on STEREO: nanoparticles picked up by the solar wind?

The STEREO/WAVES instrument has detected a very large number of intense voltage pulses. We suggest that these events are produced by impact ionisation of nanoparticles striking the spacecraft at a velocity of the order of magnitude of the solar wind speed. Nanoparticles, which are half-way between micron-sized dust and atomic ions, have such a large charge-to-mass ratio that the electric field induced by the solar wind magnetic field accelerates them very efficiently. Since the voltage produced by dust impacts increases very fast with speed, such nanoparticles produce signals as high as do much larger grains of smaller speeds. The flux of 10-nm radius grains inferred in this way is compatible with the interplanetary dust flux model. The present results may represent the first detection of fast nanoparticles in interplanetary space near Earth orbit.Comment: In press in Solar Physics, 13 pages, 5 figure

Innovation Management Techniques and Tools: a review from Theory and Practice

Knowledge is considered to be an economic driver in today’s economy. It has become a commodity, a resource that can be packed and transferred. The objective of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the scope, trends and major actors (firms, organizations, government, consultants, academia, etc.) in the development and use of methods to manage innovation in a knowledge-driven economy. The paper identifies the main innovation management techniques (IMTs) aiming at the improvement of firm competitiveness by means of knowledge management. It will specifically focus on those IMTs for which knowledge is a relevant part of the innovation process. The research study, based on a survey at the European level, concludes that a knowledge-driven economy affects the innovation process and approach. The traditional idea that innovation is based on research (technology-push theory) and interaction between firms and other actors has been replaced by the current social network theory of innovation, where knowledge plays a crucial role in fostering innovation. Simultaneously, organizations in both public and private sectors have launched initiatives to develop methodologies and tools to support business innovation management. Higher education establishments, business schools and consulting companies are developing innovative and adequate methodologies and tools, while public authorities are designing and setting up education and training schemes aimed at disseminating best practices among all kinds of businesse

The sequence of rice chromosomes 11 and 12, rich in disease resistance genes and recent gene duplications

Background: Rice is an important staple food and, with the smallest cereal genome, serves as a reference species for studies on the evolution of cereals and other grasses. Therefore, decoding its entire genome will be a prerequisite for applied and basic research on this species and all other cereals. Results: We have determined and analyzed the complete sequences of two of its chromosomes, 11 and 12, which total 55.9 Mb (14.3% of the entire genome length), based on a set of overlapping clones. A total of 5,993 non-transposable element related genes are present on these chromosomes. Among them are 289 disease resistance-like and 28 defense-response genes, a higher proportion of these categories than on any other rice chromosome. A three-Mb segment on both chromosomes resulted from a duplication 7.7 million years ago (mya), the most recent large-scale duplication in the rice genome. Paralogous gene copies within this segmental duplication can be aligned with genomic assemblies from sorghum and maize. Although these gene copies are preserved on both chromosomes, their expression patterns have diverged. When the gene order of rice chromosomes 11 and 12 was compared to wheat gene loci, significant synteny between these orthologous regions was detected, illustrating the presence of conserved genes alternating with recently evolved genes. Conclusion: Because the resistance and defense response genes, enriched on these chromosomes relative to the whole genome, also occur in clusters, they provide a preferred target for breeding durable disease resistance in rice and the isolation of their allelic variants. The recent duplication of a large chromosomal segment coupled with the high density of disease resistance gene clusters makes this the most recently evolved part of the rice genome. Based on syntenic alignments of these chromosomes, rice chromosome 11 and 12 do not appear to have resulted from a single whole-genome duplication event as previously suggested

Product and process innovation in manufacturing firms: a 30-year bibliometric analysis

Built upon a thirty-year dataset collected from the Web of Science database, the present research aims to offer a comprehensive overview of papers, authors, streams of research, and the most influential journals that discuss product and process innovation in the manufacturing environment. The dataset is composed of 418 papers from more than 150 journals from the period between 1985 and 2015. Homogeneity analysis by means of alternating least squares (HOMALS) and Social Network Analysis (SNA) are used to accomplish the objectives listed above through the keywords given by authors. Initially, the paper highlights and discusses the similarity between the topics debated by the main journals in this field. Subsequently, a wide-range map of topics is presented highlighting five main areas of interests; namely, performance, patent, small firm, product development, and organization. A SNA is also performed in order to validate the results that emerged from HOMALS. Finally, several insights about future research avenues in the manufacturing field are provided