The impact of new product development acceleration approaches on speed and profitability: lessons for pioneers and fast followers

This work investigates the impact of nine new product development (NPD) acceleration approaches (supplier involvement, lead user involvement, speeding up activities and tasks, reduction of parts and components, training and rewarding of employees, implementation of support systems and techniques, stimulating interfunctional cooperation, emphasis on the customer, and simplification of organizational structure) on development speed and new product profitability. Our findings from 233 manufacturing firms show that lead user involvement and training/rewarding of employees increase both development speed and profitability. Supplier involvement, speeding up activities and tasks, and a simplification of the organizational structure also enhance development speed, while an emphasis on the customer has an additional positive impact on new product profitability. Both new product speed and profitability increase firm financial performance. Our results further show that pioneers and fast followers should not select the same NPD acceleration approaches as the speed and profitability impact of the majority of the acceleration approaches depends on the new product strategy of the firm. These results are important as they provide guidance for pioneers and fast followers regarding which NPD acceleration approaches to select in order to enhance speed and profitability and, hence, firm financial performance.     

A WKB analysis of the buckling condition for a cylindrical shell of arbitrary thickness subjected to an external pressure

We consider the plane-strain buckling of a cylindrical shellof arbitrary thickness which is made of a Varga material andis subjected to an external hydrostatic pressure on its outersurface. The WKB method is used to solve the eigenvalue problemthat results from the linear bifurcation analysis. We show thatthe circular cross-section buckles into a non-circular shapeat a value of µ₁ which depends on A₁/A₂ and a mode number,where A₁ and A₂ are the undeformed inner and outer radii, andµ₁ is the ratio of the deformed inner radius to A₁. Inthe large mode number limit, we find that the dependence ofµ₁ on A₁/A₂ has a boundary layer structure: it is constantover almost the entire region of 0 < A₁/A₂ < 1 and decreasessharply from this constant value to unity as A₁/A₂ tends tounity. Our asymptotic results for A₁ – 1 = O(1) and A₁– 1 = O(1/n) are shown to agree with the numerical resultsobtained by using the compound matrix method.     

A Recursive Frequency Estimator Using Linear Prediction and a Kalman-Filter-Based Iterative Algorithm

This paper proposes a new Kalman-filter-based recursive frequency estimator for discrete-time multicomponent sinusoidal signals whose frequencies may be time-varying. The frequency estimator is based on the linear prediction approach and it employs the Kalman filter to track the linear prediction coefficients (LPCs) recursively. Frequencies of the sinusoids can then be computed using the estimated LPCs. Due to the coloredness of the linear prediction error, an iterative algorithm is employed to estimate the covariance matrix of the prediction error and the LPCs alternately in the Kalman filter in order to improve the tracking performance. Simulation results show that the proposed Kalman-filter-based iterative frequency estimator can achieve better tracking results than the conventional recursive least-squares-based estimators.     

Predeployed secure key distribution mechanisms in sensor networks: current state-of-the-art and a new approach using time information

In this article we survey a number of predeployed secure key distribution (PSKD) schemes proposed in the technical literature. We also propose a new time-based PSKD (TPSKD), which operates under the assumption of loose time synchronization, and discuss the performance of the scheme. Since the TPSKD scheme uses time information, which would typically already be available in sensor nodes, the cost of the scheme?s implementation is low.     

Design Techniques of CMOS Ultra-Wide-Band Amplifiers for Multistandard Communications

This paper presents design techniques of CMOS ultra-wide-band (UWB) amplifiers for multistandard communications. The goal of this paper is to propose a compact, simple, and robust topology for UWB low-noise amplifiers, which yet consumes a relatively low power. To achieve this goal, a common-gate amplifier topology with a local feedback is employed. The first amplifier uses a simple inductive peaking technique for bandwidth extension, while the second design utilizes a two-stage approach with an added gain control feature. Both amplifiers achieve a flat bandwidth of more than 6 GHz and a gain of higher than 10 dB with supply voltages of 1.8-2.5 V. Designs with different metal thicknesses are compared. The advantage of using thick-metal inductors in UWB applications depends on the chosen topology.     

Modified Transition Matrix Simulations of Communication Systems

We apply appropriately enhanced transition matrix and multicanonical methods to communication systems. Our procedure not only predicts time-independent quantities such as the bit-error-probability but can also be applied to dynamic effects such as the distribution of fading times.     

Noise–Power Optimization of Incremental Data Converters

Incremental data converters (IDCs) are useful in instrumentation and measurement applications, where low-frequency analog signals need to be converted into digital form with high accuracy and low power dissipation. They are particularly well suited for applications where a single analog-digital converter is multiplexed between many channels. This paper proposes an exact design methodology for IDCs, which optimizes the signal-to-noise ratio of the converter under practical design constraints. The process also allows the designer to apportion the noise budget in an arbitrary manner between thermal and quantization noise. The design process is illustrated by an example which describes the optimization of a third-order multiplexed IDC.     

Enhancing Chaotic Communication Performances by Manchester Coding

A numerical analysis of an optical chaotic transmission system, based on the synchronization of two chaotic lasers, in a master-slave closed loop configuration is presented. At the transmitter, the master chaotic wave is superposed on the information message; at the receiver, the message is recovered by subtracting the synchronized slave chaotic wave from the received signal. The performances are analyzed in terms of the Q-factor, considering two different message modulation formats: the nonreturn-to-zero and the Manchester coding. The Manchester coding shows enhanced performances due to the shift of the signal spectrum to higher frequencies.     

A Novel Ordered Nanopore Array Diode Laser

In this work, we have created a new type of structure, the nanopore active layer, for achieving quantization of carrier states in a semiconductor. The nanopore structure consists of a periodic two-dimensional array of localized energy barriers perturbing an otherwise conventional quantum well. This perturbation leads to the formation of intraband forbidden energy gaps which are observed experimentally.     

Potential applications of LF-noise spectroscopy to the development of new-generation gas sensors

The solution proposed relates to flicker-noise gas sensors under development, which differ from conventional chemical sensors in offering exceptional selectivity for the analysis of a gaseous environment. The classification and analytical justification are given of low-frequency-noise spectroscopy techniques and measures that are proposed for investigation of disordered semiconductors. The feasibility is shown of patterning processes for flicker-noise gas sensors. Some methods are proposed for these processes and for measurement procedures of gaseous-environment monitoring.