Developing information policy

The author first considers some of the policy issues that arise in connection with the creation of new information, primarily scientific and technical information. He then discusses specific policy problems stemming from communications and information storage and retrieval systems and their use. A broader integrative view of this field could help develop a national information policy for the future. Such integrative work remains to be done, and suggestions for future studies in this area are given.     

对架空输电线路设计企业标准的解读

为提高电网应对自然灾害的能力,科学指导灾后改造重建和未来电网发展,国家电网公司发布了架空输电线路设计企业标准。对企业标准的重要条款进行了解读,对新旧线路设计规程规定的异同进行梳理,对新企业标准中提高标准、修订完善的具体条款进行了技术经济分析,以期为输变电工程设计和建设单位对新标准的理解和应用提供参考。     

异型阀门质检技术难点分析与建议

通过对长庆油田技术监测中心所检验的异型阀门种类进行统计,结合现有检验装置与工装,对造成异型阀门难以检验的技术难点进行分析,并追溯原因,最后从设计和采购环节提出建议。     

Organisational, technical and data quality factors in CRM adoption — SMEs perspective

Like large organisations, many Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) have implemented Customer Relationship Management (CRM), so that they can compete effectively in today's highly changeable economic and market climate. However, studies indicate that there are mixed results as to how successful SMEs have been in adopting CRM solutions. It is also reported in the literature that CRM implementation is influenced by issues that relate to organisational, technical and data quality factors. To this end, there is limited research conducted in this area which mainly focuses on including these dimension in the evaluation of factors that influence CRM adoption in the SME sector. In seeking to address this issue, this research uses an investigative study aimed at identifying the organisational, technical and data quality related factors influencing CRM adoption by SMEs. This will enhance the quality of the evaluation process, and help support SME decision makers in exploring the implications surrounding CRM adoption. The findings of this study confirm that factors affecting the adoption of CRM in SMEs are largely similar to the factors affecting CRM adoption in previously studied other types of organisations.     

Allocation of inventive effort in complex product systems

This paper examines the allocation of inventive effort in complex product systems. I argue that complex product systems, e.g., personal computers (PCs), are distinguished by functional interaction among several components, each guided by a relatively autonomous bundle of technical and economic characteristics. I try to explore whether the dynamics of such interactions between components of complex product systems can help us understand changes in the relative allocation of inventive effort. I advance and empirically test three hypotheses: (1) emergence of component constraints (bottlenecks) in product systems will trigger research and development (R&D) investment to resolve the constraints; (2) slack component firms have a strong incentive to invest in resolving component constraints; and (3) the incentive of slack component firms to invest in resolving component constraints is increasing in their prior sunk R&D investments in slack components. In sum, I argue that interactions between components in a product system conditions the R&D incentives of firms and also that the incentives are increasing in their prior investments or capabilities. Using product reviews from technical journals, I trace the constraint components in the PC from 1981 to 1998 and attempt to predict shifts in the allocation of inventive effort in the subsequent period. The empirical results strongly support all three hypotheses. This study highlights the paradoxical effect of modularity in complex product systems. Modular design architectures, while contributing to accelerating the pace of technical change, also tend to limit the economic benefits of firms' component R&D efforts, especially when different components technologies are progressing at different rates. This often creates an impetus to enlarge the scope of firm R&D activities beyond the component product markets that firms operate in. Other implications for R&D decision making are discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Systematic approach to incorporate human factors into a process plant design

Despite the increasing number of accidents in process industry caused by human error, there are still too few efforts devoted to this area. This is mainly caused by people's tendency to overestimate human's capability in interacting with their working environment and moreover by the unavailability of reliable analysis methods. Because of the current lack of adequate methods, human factors (HF) analysis is not widely performed in process industry. Some HF techniques developed in the process industry were examined regarding their practical applicability and were unfortunately proved to be unsuitable for an elaborate HF analysis. Therefore, a new approach was developed, which provides a systematic way in performing a qualitative HF analysis to achieve a safer operation and decrease the number of human failure events. HF consideration during the design of a process plant is the key to minimize accidents caused by human error in process industry. Thus, an approach to incorporate HF into design phase is described in this article, which can help achieving a safer operation as early as possible with minimized costs. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog 2009     

Modularity, component outsourcing, and inter-firm learning

Modularization of product architectures is a strategy for managing complex design activities and production systems, and associated supply chain issues. It has wide-reaching implications, from design engineering to business strategy. With standardized interface specifications, component outsourcing is possible, both with respect to the division of tasks in functional specification and detailed engineering of a product architecture. However, failure at the system level could still take place if interface compatibility issues of the outsourced component with the rest of the system are not understood. Outsourcing creates a certain degree of supplier-buyer interdependence and possibilities for inter-firm learning. A study of Chrysler Jeeps WIPERs suggested that learning-by-failure from one product architecture cultivated closer cooperation between the supplier and Chrysler to solve technical problems as well as to be innovative in searching for the best technological solutions for future product architecture designs.     

对工程设计责任保险问题的研究

工程设计责任保险有助于设计企业的信用体系建设，提高设计企业的抗风险能力和核心竞争能力，目前已存我国得到推行。设计企业应充分利用保险中介市场的技术支撑，根据实际情况制定投保策略。     

标准查新在技术检测中的应用

介绍了标准查新所包含的内容、步骤和依据,着重阐述了标准查新在检测生产管理、项目扩项、计量认证和国家实验室认可、科研和科技成果鉴定评估、标准制修订、标准体系建立中的应用,并提出了相关建议。     

Applications of computers in R & D management

R & D Managers use computers extensively in solving technical problems. This paper examines the use they make of computers in solving Management problems. Applications of computers to various aspects of R & D programme formulation, project planning, technical information storage and retrieval, management information systems, and computer-aided training have been investigated by many companies and, in some cases, have been implemented. Some of the techniques have become well established but others are still at a development stage. No attempt has been made to evaluate the techniques described.
This topic was the subject of a study by a Working Group of the European Industrial Research Management Association (EIRMA), and a report 'Computers as Aids to R & D Management' was distributed to members of the Association. EIRMA has now agreed to release information contained in that report and this paper is based on that information updated by the author, who was Chairman of the EIRMA Working Group.     

Applications of computers in R & D management

R & D Managers use computers extensively in solving technical problems. This paper examines the use they make of computers in solving Management problems. Applications of computers to various aspects of R & D programme formulation, project planning, technical information storage and retrieval, management information systems, and computer-aided training have been investigated by many companies and, in some cases, have been implemented. Some of the techniques have become well established but others are still at a development stage. No attempt has been made to evaluate the techniques described. This topic was the subject of a study by a Working Group of the European Industrial Research Management Association (EIRMA), and a report ‘Computers as Aids to R & D Management’ was distributed to members of the Association. EIRMA has now agreed to release information contained in that report and this paper is based on that information updated by the author, who was Chairman of the EIRMA Working Group.     

Collaborative learning in technological project design

The POWERTECH contest in Taiwan was established in an attempt to promote inventiveness and technology to elementary school pupils. The POWERTECH contest is designed as a collaborative learning system for project design. Project design is comprised of technical processes, which include the construction of an artifact and improvement of its functions. Thus, pupils learn scientific and technical knowledge through a collaborative design project. The purpose of the study was to examine how collaborative learning could be facilitated in technological project design, and whether and how pupils working collaboratively were able to share their design ideas. The study was carried out by analyzing the design portfolio compiled by a team of four elementary school pupils who were engaged in a collaborative design project that focused on making a robot rat for the POWERTECH contest. A portfolio analysis was used in this study to help researchers assess the actual collaboration process among the team members. The study indicated that collaborative learning in a contest facilitated the sharing of knowledge and resources among the team members. Furthermore, reflections essential for problem-solving among the team members were often raised during the design process. These reflections were also conducive to the reduction of mistakes during the contest.     

Some people aspects of knowledge engineering

if an Expert System is to work effectively it must be fitted to its users' needs and preferences, not to its creators' convenience.
The elegance of the programming language or the brilliance of the logical mechanisms will be wasted if the system is difficult to use or irrelevant in action.
The capture of the knowledge when setting up an Expert System, and the use of a working system are both areas which involve Man/Machine interaction. This paper will draw attention to developments in the modelling of Human Learning Styles and Problem Solving Processes which could contribute to Knowledge Engineering methods.
Models drawn from such disciplines can help the designers of Expert Systems to take account of human requirements as well as technical and logical factors. In addition, methods exist whereby the specific needs and objectives of potential users can be incorporated at the design stage, rather than as a result of criticism of systems already provided.
Examples will be given of the contribution these methods are making to the progress of several Man/Machine Interface projects that the author is currently engaged upon.     

Generic non-technical procedures in design problem solving: Is there any benefit to the clarification of task requirements?

The quasi-experimental field study with 174 advanced engineering students analysed the possibilities to assist the requirement analysis when solving design problems. Technical check lists are in common practice for assisting the requirement analysis. We wondered if a generic question answering system (GQAS) aiming at the ‘semantic relationships’ would offer an additional benefit to the exhaustive identification of the requirements of a design task when a technical check list were offered at the same time. Therefore, the students were asked to develop a list of requirements for the design of a machine collecting windfall. Whereas one group was offered the technical check list together with the generic question answering system, the other group was only offered the technical check list in assisting their task. The entire number of identified applicable requirements is significantly higher for the group with the additional GQAS. The additional benefit of answering generic interrogative questions holds for the majority of the individual categories of technical requirements. The benefit is explained with the proven stimulation of meta-cognitive processes by means of systems of interrogative questions. Practically, the consideration of generic procedures of problem solving in engineering design education may be recommended.     

基于多自主体系统的区域产业集群形成机制研究及城市产业发展政策选择

产业集群对推动区域经济发展起着重要作用,产业集群的形成受很多因素影响,其中,区域发展政策极为关键。本文借助多自主体系统方法建立了产业集群形成模型,研究了产业集群如何在特定区域形成以及不同市场环境下城市产业发展政策对产业集群形成的影响,并给出了稳定性证明和仿真结果。     

Empirically informing a technology delivery system model for an emerging technology: illustrated for dye‐sensitized solar cells

This paper explores how to extract empirical knowledge from R&D, patent, and business literature compilations to help compose an innovation system model. It adapts the key elements and dynamics of ‘technology delivery system’ modeling to a given Newly Emerging Science & Technology. We present a 10‐step analytical approach to help characterize the technology, gauge its state of development, and depict the socio‐technical system institutions and actors. We apply this to the case of Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs). A new ‘cross‐charting’ method appears effective at associating novel technology‐enabled capabilities to gain functional advantages, and to link those functions to potential applications. The resulting systems model can help private and public sector decision makers grasp key structures and processes, and how these can be tuned to enhance the prospects of successful innovation.     

Exploring the Appeal of Product Design: A Grounded,Value‐Based Model of Key Design Elements and Relationships*

Product design is increasingly being recognized as an important source of sustainable competitive advantage. Until recently, the domain of design has been loosely categorized as “form and function” issues. However, as this paper will explore, product design deals with a much richer range of issues, many of which have not been considered in the marketing literature. To explore the domain and elements of design, the paper begins with two major goals: (1) to elicit the key dimensions of design and to develop an enriched language for the understanding and study of design; and (2) to integrate the design dimensions within a broader model that ties initial design goals to eventual psychological and behavioral responses from consumers. To achieve these ends, grounded theory development is used by conducting an extensive literature review, in‐depth interviews, and an interactive object elicitation technique. Drawing from this rich source of qualitative information as well as diverse literature fields, a framework is proposed for the creation of design value in consumer products. This framework not only explores the domain of design but also highlights the important elements of design that go well beyond the clichéd form and function issues. The resulting model reflects specific marketplace and organizational constraints that may help or impede the conversion of designer goals to so‐called design levers. These levers are used to convey three types of values to consumers: rational, kinesthetic, and emotional. The framework then explains how and when these different values may be perceived by the consumer. Within this framework, testable research propositions and specific directions for future design‐based research are also offered. Beyond its potential to spur marketing and new product development (NPD) management thought, the framework offered here represents a significant contribution to the field of design, which has historically been represented as a highly fragmented body of knowledge. Formalizing this framework should help overcome perhaps the largest obstacle to date to marketing‐related and NPD‐related research in this area—the lack of a detailed and consistent nomological view of the scope of design dimensions including testable linkages. Design has become an important tool that can be used by managers to develop dominant brands with lasting advantages. This research lends the NPD manager and the marketing manager better insights in into how this increasingly popular focus can be used to influence consumer behavior and firm success. “Design may be our top unexploited competitive edge.” Tom Peters, 2004 (cover review of Norman, 2004 ) “We don't have a good language to talk about [design]. In most people's vocabularies, design means veneer.… But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design. Design is the fundamental soul of a man‐made creation.” Steve Jobs, Apple Computers     

Reduced Form Coefficients, Structural Coefficients, and Mortgage Redlining

Empirical studies of redlining have long been plagued with the identification problem. Observed behavior in alleged redlined areas is ultimately a combination of both demand and supply influences coming from both mortgage and housing markets. How then can inferences from reduced form experiments be utilized to provide unambiguous structural information concerning purely lender behavior? This problem is analyzed in detail with the help of an implicitly specified skeletal model of the mortgage and housing markets. The results suggest that structural inferences from reduced form information are, indeed controversial at best. Although this fact is fairly widely known at present, many research techniques still utilize an underlying reduced form methodology. It is hoped that the methodology employed in this paper highlights the identification problem in a manner that will generate greater insight into this issue. Some remedies are suggested in line with the general econometric literature dealing with structural identification.     

Analysing clusters of skills in R&D — core competencies, metaphors, visualization, and the role of IT

Though it is now universally accepted that companies should try to align their R&D activities with their business objectives, achieving this alignment is notoriously difficult in practice. The rise of the core competence framework has been very helpful in creating, and legitimizing, a language in which issues of technical competence and R&D strengths can be followed through to their consequences for competitive advantage. Companies are starting to express their R&D priorities explicitly in terms of core competencies.
Without effective IT support, core competence concepts are often applied arbitrarily. This has led to accusations that core competence theory can become yet another battlefield upon which companies play out their internal political battles. Computer-based techniques can help counteract this danger by enabling large volumes of relatively objective data to be collected, then making it possible to analyse and draw out patterns from this data, and finally enabling the data to be represented effectively.
It is in this last area of data representation that information technology is now of particular benefit. In order to make the core competence approach sufficiently robust as a basis for decision making, it is necessary to collect and process large volumes of data. However, this data is normally difficult to represent in such a way that managers can assimilate it. In our recent experience, we have come to realize the particular importance of effective representations and metaphors, and have started to shift our own emphasis towards these areas in addition to analysis per se .
The paper shows how core competence approaches can support R&D management decision making by exploring the roles of data collection, analysis and representation. Information technology is an integral part of these approaches, and we draw out some generalized lessons for the successful use of IT in decision support.     

CASE STUDY: ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF COMPONENT MANAGEMENT FOR A NEW DESIGN

This paper explores the viability of standardization of design and manufacturing techniques to expedite product development and control design proliferation using an example of a leading transport refrigeration unit manufacturer. As an incremental approach to implementing standardization in a product development environment, a conceptual framework for component management decision support system is presented to build a case for its technical feasibility. The primary objective of this research case study is to provide an economic justification for implementing the proposed system. A three level decision making hierarchy is proposed with economic optimization for levels 1 and 2 representing standardization of system modules and capacity decisions for a product line respectively and thermodynamic optimization for level 3 representing control systems to keep the system dynamically balanced in changing environments. Other potential applications amenable to classification are identified.