253 research outputs found
Future Parallel Computers: An Advanced Course, Pisa, Italy, June 9-20, 1986, Proceedings
No full textSocio-Cultural Factors Influencing the Success of Technology-Driven Acquisitions: An exploratory study of 10 selected Philips acquisitions
No full textVarious authors propose that half of the national and cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) fail to achieve their prior-set targets. One of the most cited cause of failures is ‘culture clashes’. The ‘socio-cultural issues’, as they are in mostly cited, are believed to influence the integration of acquisitions and the overall success of the combined organizations. However, the direction of influence is not always clear for all the identified factors. This research is focusing on technology-driven acquisitions and on the socio-cultural issues that appear during the integration period of such firms into the acquiring large organization. The sponsor of the research is Philips International, through its New Venture Integration department. The research was organized as follows: firstly, a literature review was conducted, in order to identify the most important socio-cultural issues that appear in the post-acquisition period and their influence on acquisitions’ success. Then, a conceptual model of factors and interrelations was developed. This draft model tackles acquisitions in general, not only technology-driven deals, due to insufficient literature on socio-cultural dynamics characterizing the latter. The initial model was further improved after collecting empirical data in ten Philips’ technology-driven acquisitions. The empirical data was analyzed after being transcribed and coded with the help of the MAXQDA software package. The findings helped the researcher improve the initial conceptual model, as technology-driven characteristics are taken into considerations. Finally, the improved scheme of socio-cultural factors and interrelations was tested against the opinions of various external and internal experts: post-acquisition managers from Philips, two other corporations and two consultancy firms. The resulting model proposes that, among the socio-cultural factors that appear in the post-acquisition period, organizational commitment has a central role: all the other identified socio-cultural factors should be tackled in the direction of improving organizational commitment (i.e. changing the employees’ psychological contract towards the new organization). This offsets the role of cultural differences in the post-acquisition period. In other words, this research proposes that it is not the cultural fit that makes or breaks the deal, but the commitment of the resulting organization, towards achieving its vision of the future. Other important factors identified in the model were: communication, leadership commitment & skills, a shared vision of the future and cultural awareness. Cultural factors cannot easily be disentangled in practice from other social factors. Also, solving various cultural issues in the post-acquisition period is possible only after accounting for these other factors. Another insight is that the so-called ‘cultural clashes’ can originate, not from the existing cultural differences themselves, but from exercises of power from the acquirer’s side.Management of TechnologyTechnology, Strategy and EntrepreneurshipTechnology, Policy and Managemen
Design and discrete event simulation of power and free handling systems
No full textEffective manufacturing systems design and implementation has become increasingly critical, with the reduction in manufacturing product lead times, and the subsequent influence on engineering projects. Tools and methodologies that can assist the design team must be both manageable and efficient to be successful. Modelling, using analytical and mathematical models, or using computer assisted simulations, are used to accomplish design objectives. This thesis will review the use of analytical and discrete event computer simulation models, applied to the design of automated power and free handling systems, using actual case studies to create and support a practical approach to design and implementation of these types of systems. The IDEF process mapping approach is used to encompass these design tools and system requirements, to recommend a generic process methodology for power and free systems design. The case studies consisted of three actual installations within the Philips Components Ltd facility in Durham, a manufacturer of television tubes. Power and free conveyor systems at PCL have assumed increased functions from the standard conveyor systems, ranging from stock handling and buffering, to type sorting and flexible product routing. In order to meet the demands of this flexible manufacturing strategy, designing a system that can meet the production objectives is critical. Design process activities and engineering considerations for the three projects were reviewed and evaluated, to capture the generic methodologies necessary for future design success. Further, the studies were intended to identify both general and specific criteria for simulating power and free conveyor handling systems, and the ingredients necessary for successful discrete event simulation. The automated handling systems were used to prove certain aspects of building, using and analysing simulation models, in relation to their anticipated benefits, including an evaluation of the factors necessary to ensure their realisation. While there exists a multitude of designs for power and free conveyor systems based on user requirements and proprietary equipment technology, the principles of designing and implementing a system can remain generic. Although specific technology can influence detailed design, a common, consistent approach to design activities was a proven requirement In all cases. Additionally, it was observed that no one design tool was sufficient to ensure maximum system success. A combination of both analytical and simulation methods was necessary to adequately optimise the systems studied, given unique and varying project constraints. It followed that the level of application of the two approaches was directly dependent on the initial engineering project objectives, and the ability to accurately identify system requirements
A low-cost, efficient and accurate human body scanner
No full textFollowing the emergence of low-cost, high quality cameras and projectors, 3D scanners are becoming more and more affordable, making way for a number of different industries ranging from clothing to mechanical and film. Advancements in 3D human body scanning offer even greater potential for healthcare applications by transforming our ability to accurately measure a person’s body size, shape, and skin-surface area, in order to track any changes and foresee the development of disease or ailment. This thesis describes our approach in building a structured light 3D scanner to help dermatologists track the evolution of moles and psoriasis of their patient
A comprehensive characterization of the time resolution of the Philips Digital Photon Counter
No full textPhotodetectors with excellent time resolution are becoming increasingly important in many applications in medicine, high energy- and nuclear physics applications, biology, and material science. Silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) are a novel class of solid-state photodetectors with good timing properties. While the time resolution of analog SiPMs has been analyzed by many groups, the time resolution of the digital photon counter (DPC) developed by Philips has not yet been fully characterised. Here, the timing capabilities of the DPC are studied using a femtosecond laser. The time resolution is determined for complete dies, single pixels, and individual single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs). The measurements cover a broad dynamic range, from intense illumination down to the single-photon level, and were performed at various temperatures between 0°C and 20°C. The measured single photon time resolution (SPTR) ranges from 101 ps FWHM for the DPC3200 sensor pixel to 247 ps FWHM for the DPC6400 sensor die. An extensive study of the single-SPAD time resolution, ranging from single photon to very high laser intensities (∼1000 photons per pulse), yielded a time resolution of 48 ps FWHM at the single-photon level.RST/Applied Radiation & Isotope
“Philo-Philippa”: to the excellent Orinda: a laudatory poem dedicated to Katherine Philips by another woman, in the 17th century
No full textAutora de gran importancia en la poesía inglesa del siglo XVII, Katherine
Philips atesora, entre otros méritos, el de haber sido alabada por Dryden, y
celebrada por Cowley y Jeremiah Taylor, así como el de haber instaurado en la
literatura inglesa femenina una tradición de escritos virtuosa y moral, reivindicada a
su muerte por otras autoras relevantes. Sin pretender ni buscar nunca halagos ni
privilegios intelectuales durante su corta vida, sería no obstante ensalzada por
escritores y personalidades tan importantes como The Earl of Orrery, The Earl of
Roscomon, Abraham Cowley, James Tyrrell y Thomas Flatman. Además de todas
estas alabanzas, Philips recibiría, como reconocimiento a su labor de escritora y
traductora, un poema anónimo, se supone que escrito por una mujer irlandesa:
“Philo-Philippa”: To the Excellent Orinda. Basado en estas premisas el presente
trabajo se articula en torno a tres ejes: a) la figura de la autora, b) un breve esbozo
de la literatura encomiástica, c) la traducción del poema citado.Katherine Philips, an outstanding English female poet of 17th century, has
the great merit of being praised by Dryden and celebrated by Cowley and Jeremiah
Taylor, as well as of having introduced a tradition of moral writing in English female
literature, vindicated by other relevant female authors after her death. With no
pretence for seeking neither praise nor intelectual privilege during her short life time,
she was, however, praised by relevant writers and persons like the Earl of Orrery, the
Earl of Roscomon, Abraham Cowley, James Tyrrell and Thomas Flatman. Beside all
such words of praise, Philips was devoted, as a recognition for her work as a writer
and translator, an anonymous poem, written, as it appears, by an Irish female poet,
“Philo-Philippa”: to the Excellent Orinda. Based on such antecedents, the present paper tackles three main points: a) the female author herself, b) a brief outline of
‘praise literature’, c) the translation of the above cited poem
An Improved Design of IPL Hair Removal Device for Generation Z
No full textThis master thesis reports the research and design activities about designing a new Philips intense pulsed light (IPL) Lumea Prestige hair removal device for generation Z users. Philips invented an Intense pulsed light hair removal device for a painless hair removal experience. However, the new consumers generation Z are coming to the market who are born between 1997 to 2012. Philips would like to see how the IPL device can fit into generation Z consumers. Firstly, research was conducted about the current usability issues of the IPL hair removal device. Secondly, generation Z was selected as the target group because of the current market trend. Thus, user research was conducted about understanding the generation Z personal care characteristics. Contextmapping method was used here for deeper understanding of the users. Next, research was done about finding out how to match the current IPL device insights with the characteristics of the generation Z, and how the Philips IPL device can fit into the generation Z personal care routine. In the end, a design goal was discovered based on the research. Afterwards, co-creation and ideation were conducted for discovering ideas for the design. Moreover, an exploration on shapes was conducted as well. In the end, a new shape and a new design were created for the generation Z users. In the end, usability tests have been conducted with real generation Z participants in order to validate the design goal.Design for Interactio
Philo “PHILO-PHILIPPA”: TO THE EXCELLENT ORINDA: UN POEMA LAUDATORIO DEDICADO A KATHERINE PHILIPS POR OTRA MUJER, EN EL SIGLO XVII
No full textKatherine Philips, an outstanding English female poet of 17th century, has the great merit of being praised by Dryden and celebrated by Cowley and Jeremiah Taylor, as well as of having introduced a tradition of moral writing in English female literature, vindicated by other relevant female authors after her death.
With no pretence for seeking neither praise nor intelectual privilege during her short life time, she was, however, praised by relevant writers and persons like the Earl of Orrery, the Earl of Roscomon, Abraham Cowley, James Tyrrell and Thomas Flatman. Beside all such words of praise, Philips was devoted, as a recognition for her work as a writer and translator, an anonymous poem, written, as it appears, by an Irish female poet, “Philo-Philippa”: to the Excellent Orinda.
Based on such antecedents, the present paper tackles three main points: a) the female author herself, b) a brief outline of ‘praise literature’, c) the translation of the above cited poem.Autora de gran importancia en la poesía inglesa del siglo XVII, Katherine Philips atesora, entre otros méritos, el de haber sido alabada por Dryden, y celebrada por Cowley y Jeremiah Taylor, así como el de haber instaurado en la literatura inglesa femenina una tradición de escritos virtuosa y moral, reivindicada a su muerte por otras autoras relevantes.
Sin pretender ni buscar nunca halagos ni privilegios intelectuales durante su corta vida, sería no obstante ensalzada por escritores y personalidades tan importantes como The Earl of Orrery, The Earl of Roscomon, Abraham Cowley, James Tyrrell y Thomas Flatman. Además de todas estas alabanzas, Philips recibiría, como reconocimiento a su labor de escritora y traductora, un poema anónimo, se supone que escrito por una mujer irlandesa: “Philo-Philippa”: To the Excellent Orinda.
Basado en estas premisas el presente trabajo se articula en torno a tres ejes: a) la figura de la autora, b) un breve esbozo de la literatura encomiástica, c) la traducción del poema citado
Researching the BLE based intelligent lighting control system
No full textSeveral leading lighting companies for example NXP and Philips work in a project to explore the next generation intelligent lighting system. One innovation of the project is using a distributed architecture to replace current centralized system to increase robustness and extensibility. As a core component of wireless lighting control system, there are many wireless communication protocols can be applied in distributed system. We choose BLE protocol which is a new wireless communication protocol as the communication protocol of distributed system to do research because BLE has a huge potential in low power consumption. However, there exist some problems in BLE based distributed lighting control system. One of these problems is a commissioning problem. The commissioning problem we come up with is that a constrained device (no screen) router, cannot display a scanning list of BLE based lamps. This prevents specific BLE based lamps which user want to remotely control, from securely joining in the existing access point (router). The main purpose of this thesis is to solve the commissioning problem in a BLE based intelligent lighting control system to make BLE become an appropriate candidate in this field. An innovative solution, developed on standardized BLE protocol, which is used for overcoming the commissioning problem through utilizing modified BLE protocol in a smartphone. The modified BLE protocol is a application protocol. With the modified BLE protocol stack, a third device which is a Commissioning Tool(smartphone) can securely instruct specific BLE based lamps to router. As part of this thesis, a demo was set up and the solution to the commissioning problem has been tested on this system. Results proved that the solution was valid to solve the commissioning problem of BLE based intelligent lighting control system.Electrical EngineeringTelecommunicationsElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc
Enhanced visualization for improved lesion diagnosis in virtual colonoscopy
No full textThe risk of developing colon cancer is strongly correlated with the appearance of polypoid lesions (also called polyps) in the large intestine [Santoro et al. 2008]. Not all polyps are dangerous; in fact only one percent of polyps smaller than one centimeter is dangerous. However, when polyps grow bigger the risk quickly increases to over fifty percent. Recently another kind of lesion was discovered that has higher risk of developing towards cancer [Soetniko et al. 2008]. This so-called flat lesion is extremely hard to spot. Research in the past two years has made some effort to detect flat lesions automatically from CT scans but has yet been unsuccessful. This thesis tries to describe techniques that help radiologists spot polypoid and flat lesions in a CT Colonography by enhancing the rendered images of the colon interior surface wall.Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc
- …
