1,721,672 research outputs found
Innovation persistence and employment dynamics
No full textThis paper examines the effect of persistence in product and process innovations on the employment dynamics of a representative sample of Spanish manufacturing firms observed over more than 20 years. We build a conceptual framework that links innovation, its persistence, and different trajectories of employment growth. This framework suggests that firms might show different responses in terms of their employment growth and its persistence depending on the degree of persistence in their product and process innovations. We construct a synthetic indicator of innovation persistence at the firm-level and link this indicator to different employment trajectories. We find that persistence in product innovation affects both employment growth and the sustainability of job creation over time significantly, whilst persistence in process innovation does not play any relevant role. Also, the positive effect of persistence in product innovation is particularly strong for SMEs. The evidence we provide supports the notion that product innovation is more effective in spurring sustained employment growth when carried out systematically
Barriers to innovation in young and mature firms
No full textThis paper examines how firm age can affect a firm’s perception of the obstacles (deterring vs. revealed) that hamper and delay innovation. Using a comprehensive panel of Spanish firms for the period 2004–2011, the empirical analysis conducted shows that distinct types of obstacle are perceived differently by firms of different ages. First, a clear-cut negative relationship is identified between firm age and a firm’s assessment of both the internal and external shortages of financial resources. Second, young firms seem to be less sensitive to the lack of qualified personnel when initiating an innovative project than when they are already engaged in such activities. By contrast, the attempts of mature firms to engage in innovation activity are significantly affected by the lack of qualified personnel. Finally, mature incumbents appear to attach greater importance to obstacles related to market structure and demand than is the case of firms with less experience
Determination of PM Flux Linkage Based on Minimum Saliency Tracking for PM-SyR Machines without Rotor Movement
Full text linkPermanent magnet assisted synchronous reluctance (PM-SyR) motors often present relevant magnetic saturation, especially if overload capability is exploited. The knowledge of current-to-flux relationship is mandatory for proper motor control, and it becomes even more critical in the case of sensorless applications. Reliable standstill self-commissioning tests have been recently developed for synchronous reluctance (SyR) motors without producing rotor movement. This procedure can be extended to PM-SyR motors, but being at standstill, it does not retrieve the flux contribution related to the permanent magnets (PMs). This article integrates the identification of the flux characteristics including a novel test for estimating the PM flux linkage, obtaining the complete magnetic characteristic of the PM-SyR motor. The identification session is performed at standstill and without a position transducer, independently of the mechanical load being connected or not. Such conditions are considered the most demanding for self-commissioning tests. The machine is first excited with a proper sequence of bipolar high voltage pulses to determine its current-dependent flux components. Then, the estimate of PM flux linkage is retrieved at standstill by evaluating the local saliency along the negative q-axis. The proposed method is supported by detailed finite element analysis and experimentally verified on two PM-SyR motor prototypes, confirming the accuracy of the PM flux linkage estimate
Nell'Antropocene. Etica e politica alla fine di un mondo
No full textMonografia su ontologia, etica e politica dell'Antropocen
Artificial intelligences as extended minds. Why not?
No full textArtificial intelligences and robots increasingly mimic human mental powers and intelligent behaviour. However, many authors claim that ascribing human mental powers to them is both conceptually mistaken and morally dangerous. This article defends the view that artificial intelligences can have human-like mental powers, by claiming that both human and artificial minds can be seen as extended minds – along the lines of Chalmers and Clark’s view of mind and cognition. The main idea of this article is that the Extended Mind Model is independently plausible and can easily be extended to artificial intelligences, providing a solid base for concluding that artificial intelligences possess minds. This may warrant viewing them as morally responsible agents
Etica e politica delle piante
No full textAn exploration of the history of the philosophy of plants, with a special emphasis on plant ontology, ethics, and politics
Dimensioni e Motivi dello Shopping in Due Centri Commerciali: Uno Studio Comparato Carrefour-Ipercoop
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