Differences Among Industrial Companies in Their Innovative Efforts and Competitiveness： On How Size, Technological Level and Subcontractor Character Matter

The aim of this research is to test to what extent do the classifying variables of company size, technological level and subcontractor nature moderate on the causal relationship between a finn＇s innovative capacities and its competitiveness. To this end, we use a random sample of 861 manufactttring f＇Lrms with 10 or more employees from the Basque Autonomous Community （in Spain）, accounting for 26.29% of the population. Maximum sampling error is 2.87% for a 95% confidence interval. We start from a competitiveness general model of the firm, and set out under the resource based view of the finn, which had been previously tested and validated by Martinez （2009） for the whole sample. The model is formed with the constructs of management capabilities, innovative capabilities, marketing capabilities, quality capabilities, current competitiveness and future competitiveness. From this point, we test a set of alternative hierarchical models both for the total sample and for different divisions in sub-samples, according to the intervals of size in number of employees, OECD technological levels and firms＇ subcontractor character. The innovative capabilities construct is reflected in the items of radical product innovation, incremental product innovation, innovation in the production process, innovation in marketing, management innovation and the efforts in company workers＇ training and development. From all these items, previous descriptive data analysis showed that although product radical innovation was the most representative capability for superior innovativeness, it was at the same time the least evident from all the aforementioned items in the case of the analyzed Basque industrial companies. The analysis of results led us to conclude that the factor of innovative capabilities was the most influential on current competitiveness among the whole sample. In particular, as regards the size factor, this positive effect dilutes in the case of smaller companies. In the same manner, whereas in the case of the companies with higher technological level it is verified that the factor of innovative capabilities reveals crucial, in the group of fhans with lower technological level the most relevant factor is quality. Also, the same effect is evidenced for the case of the subcontractor/non-subcontractor nature of the finns： The first ones show quality as the most relevant construct while for the second ones it is the innovative capabilities.

The Relationship between Water Resources Use Efficiency and Scientific and Technological Innovation Level: Case Study of Yangtze River Basin in China

The Yangtze River Basin’s water resource utilization efficiency(WUE)and scientific and technological innovation level(STI)are closely connected,and the comprehension of these relationships will help to improve WUE and promote local economic growth and conservation of water.This study uses 19 provinces and regions along the Yangtze River’s mainstream from 2009 to 2019 as its research objects and uses a Vector Auto Regression(VAR)model to quantitatively evaluate the spatiotemporal evolution of the coupling coordination degree(CCD)between the two subsystems of WUE and STI.The findings show that:(1)Both the WUE and STI in the Yangtze River Basin showed an upward trend during the study period,but the STI effectively lagged behind the WUE;(2)The CCD of the two subsystems generally showed an upward trend,and the CCD of each province was improved to varying degrees,but the majority of regions did not develop a high-quality coordination stage;(3)The CCD of the two systems displayed apparent positive spatial autocorrelation in the spatial correlation pattern,and there were only two types:high-high(H-H)urbanization areas and low-low(L-L)urbanization areas;(4)The STI showed no obvious response to the impact of the WUE,while the WUE responded greatly to the STI,and both of them were highly dependent on themselves.Optimizing their interaction mechanisms should be the primary focus of high-quality development in the basin of the Yangtze River in the future.These results give the government an empirical basis to enhance the WUE and promote regional sustainable development.

The Technological Gap between China and World Frontiers at the Industrial Level:1985-2009

Using sequential DEA methodology, this paper has measured the variations in the technological gaps of China＇s industrial sectors compared with the world frontiers of technology. From a temporal dimension, variations in the technological gaps of China＇s industrial sectors can be divided into the following four stages： slight abatement of technological gaps between 1985 and 1992, and between 1999 and 2007; stagnation in the variation of technological gaps between 1994 and 1999; and continuous abatement of technological gaps between 2008 and 2009. From the industry dimension, by 2009, 58.8% of China＇s industrial sectors had gradually reached or approached the world frontiers of technology; 29.4% of industrial sectors had experienced technological improvements but still lagged far behind the world frontiers of technology; 11.8% of industrial sectors significantly lagged behind the world frontiers of technology.

The effects of population aging on industrial structure upgrading:Empirical analysis of provincial and threshold characteristics in China

Global population aging trends are intensifying,presenting multifaceted economic and social challenges for countries worldwide.As the world’s largest developing country,China has entered a phase of extreme demographic aging,posing significant questions about its impact on the ongoing upgrading of industrial structures.How does this demographic shift influence the upgrading of industrial structures,and does technological innovation mitigate or exacerbate this impact?The empirical results indicate that population aging impedes upgrading the industrial structure,while technological innovation positively affects the relationship between the two.Moreover,using technological innovation as a threshold variable,the impact of population aging on industrial structure upgrading evolves in a“gradient”manner from“impediment”to“insignificant”to“promotion”as the technological innovation levels increase.These findings offer practical guidance for tailoring industrial policies to different stages of technological advancement.

Effect of the Technological Status of Small Cow-Calf Farm Producers on the Induction to Resumption of Ovarian Activity of Dual-Purpose Cattle Raised under Topical Conditions

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of the technological level in small-scale dual-purpose cow-calf Bos indicus female operations on the resumption of the ovarian activity post-partum. A total of 13 small scale dual-purpose Bos indicus × Bos taurus operations were included in this experiment and they were classified according to their technological status as: high technological status (HT), medium technological status (MT) and low technological status (LT). Ninety-three mature cows were treated with either a CIDR (controlled internal drug release device) with estradiol benzoate (CIDR+EB) or alone (CIDR). At day 9 all animals received intravaginally a CIDR for nine days. At day 0, the CIDR was withdrawn and 24 hours later one dose of estradiol benzoate was administered to 51 cows (17 in HT, 17 in MT and 17 in LT), the remaining animals (n = 42) did not receive the estradiol benzoate administration (14 in HT, 13 in MT and 15 in LT). Comparisons were performed on serum progesterone concentrations after CIDR treatment. By day 7 after implant withdrawal, the proportion of cows that resume ovarian activity detected by progesterone concentration increased in all technological level farms, no statistical main effect was observed within technological level. By day 17 there was a significant main effect of technological level (P = 0.05) on the proportion of animal that resumed the estrous cycles, but neither a main effect of treatment (P = 0.97) nor an interaction between technological level and treatment (P = 0.98). Furthermore, technological level of the farm showed a tendency (P = 0.07) to affect that resume the estrous activity, and a significant effect of treatment was observed (P = 0.005) but no interaction between technological level and treatment. The proportion of cows that showed estrus was different across technological level (P = 0.02), the highest proportion of cows showing estrus regardless of treatment was in the HT: 90% (40% CIDR and 50% CIDR+EB), MT: 50% (13.3% CIDR and 36.7% CIDR+EB) and in the LT: 50% (18.8% CIDR and 31.3% CIDR+EB). In conclusion, the combination of a progestogen and estradiol benzoate resulted in a high proportion of cows that were induced to resume the ovarian activity and this treatment was particularly beneficial in the medium and low technological status of the farms.

Cutting-Edge Space Exploration Technology Maturity Level Facilitation with Support of Space Debris Removal Missions

Considering current space debris situation in outer space environment,different methods for debris removal missions are proposed.In addition,advanced technologies are needed to be demonstrated for future human space exploration programs.The main issue regarding to these missions is high mission cost for both debris removal missions and space environmental tests to achieve high maturity level for new space-usable technologies.Since,these missions are unavoidable for future of human space activities,a solution which can tackle these challenges is necessary.This paper will address to an idea which has the possibility to give a solution for facilitating technology readiness level(TRL)maturity tests by debris removal mission platform consideration.

Chinese Bio-oxidation Gold Extraction Technology Reaches International Advanced Level

In Liaoning, Hunan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Gansu, Sichuan, Anhui, Jilin and other provinces in China, there is a wide occurrence of metal quantity over 1000 tons of refractory gold ores, principally because of low gold recoveries and become ＂stay mine＂. Features of refi＇actory gold ores are： gold in micro-particles or a microscopic state that is wrapped in pyrite, presence of arsenopyrite and other sulfide minerals or disseminated in the crystal lattice of sulfide minerals; harmful impurity elements such as arsenic, carbon, mercury, antimony, copper with high content are closely related with the gold, and these elements affect the contact reaction between the gold and solvent extraction, making the recovery of the gold extraction process low. In the past 20 years, overseas countries have developed the application of the roasting oxidation method, hot acid （alkali） oxidation, bacterial oxidation and flash chlorination oxidation technology to solve this problem.Among these, biological oxidation has developed rapidly in the domestic market and gold enterprises abroad because of its low investment in infrastructure, low production costs, less environmental pollution, simple process and easy control, etc.

Relationship and Boundary Between Market and Government in Corporate Innovation

It is the view of this paper that both market and non-market mechanisms can stimulate corporate innovation and have their respective areas of application. As a major developing country, China should create a national innovation policy system to coordinate these incentives in order to promote economic transition and upgrade through corporate innovation. Innovation policies are determined by a country's technology level. The premise for most advanced economies to follow market-based incentives is a foundation of early-stage non-market policies, as their governments frequently resorted to non-market means such as state-owned enterprises in the early stage of development. This paper also concludes that technological uncertainty can well describe the technological characteristics of industries. For industries with less technological uncertainty, non-market means are more likely to succeed. Lastly, this paper employs the dimensions of both technology level and industrial technology characteristics for a quantitative analysis on the scope of industries to which the two incentive mechanisms are applicable, divides them into quadrants in order to discuss the boundary between market-based and non-market incentives, and explore ways to achieve effective interplay between government and market.

Strategies to Promote Sustainable Development of Industrial Parks in Vietnam＇s Northern Key Economic Zone

Industrial Parks （IPs） in the Northern Key Economic Zone of Vietnam （NKEZ） have been making significant contributions to the development of the zone since the first two industrial parks--Noi Bai in Hanoi and Nomura in Hal Phong--were established 15 years ago. So far, there have been 51 IPs in the zone, covering a total area of 13,000 ha. Such IPs play a crucial role in mobilizing capital from domestic and international investors for investments in infrastructure enhancement, trade and production aimed at promoting the economic structure transition. However, besides the above benefits, there are a number of unstable factors preventing further development of the IPs. Thus, the objectives of this study are two-fold. The first is to analyze the unstable factors, and the second is to map out strategies to enhance sustainable development of industrial parks in Vietnam＇s northern key economic zone.

Research of Technology Readiness Assessment for Aerospace Projects

Two problems were found in recent applications of TRLs in aerospace projects.One is how to accurately evaluate the readiness level of a given technology in a project using the TRL scale.The other is how to deal with the diversity(different types) of technologies involved in an aerospace project.To solve these problems,a technology readiness assessment(TRA) method based on three maturity characteristics is established,and this method is adapted according to the features of different types of technologies.The proposed method has been successfully applied to aerospace projects and enables great effectiveness and accuracy in assessing new technologies.

INCIDENCE MATRIX APPROACH FOR CALCULATING READINESS LEVELS

Contemporary system maturity assessment approaches have failed to provide robust quantitative system evaluations resulting in increased program costs and developmental risks.Standard assessment metrics,such as Technology Readiness Levels（TRL）,do not sufficiently evaluate increasingly complex systems.The System Readiness Level（SRL）is a newly developed system development metric that is a mathematical function of TRL and Integration Readiness Level（IRL） values for the components and connections of a particular system.SRL acceptance has been hindered because of concerns over SRL mathematical operations that may lead to inaccurate system readiness assessments.These inaccurate system readiness assessments are called readiness reversals.A new SRL calculation method using incidence matrices is proposed to alleviate these mathematical concerns.The presence of SRL readiness reversal is modeled for four SRL calculation methods across several system configurations.Logistic regression analysis demonstrates that the proposed Incidence Matrix SRL（IMSRL）method has a decreased presence of readiness reversal than other approaches suggested in the literature.Viable SRL methods will foster greater SRL adoption by systems engineering professionals and will support system development risk reduction goals.

Self-adaptive phosphor coating technology for wafer-level scale chip packaging

A new self-adaptive phosphor coating technology has been successfully developed, which adopted a slurry method combined with a self-exposure process. A phosphor suspension in the water-soluble photoresist was applied and exposed to LED blue light itself and developed to form a conformal phosphor coating with self- adaptability to the angular distribution of intensity of blue light and better-performing spatial color uniformity. The self-adaptive phosphor coating technology had been successfully adopted in the wafer surface to realize a wafer- level scale phosphor conformal coating. The first-stage experiments show satisfying results and give an adequate demonstration of the flexibility of self-adaptive coating technology on application of WLSCP.

Developing a TRL-oriented roadmap for the adoption of biocomposite materials in the construction industry

The construction industry is a major contributor to environmental pollution.The effect of the construction industry on the environment may be mitigated using eco-friendly construction materials,such as biocomposites.Once developed,biocomposites may offer a viable alternative to the current materials in use.However,biocomposites are lagging in terms of adoption and eventual use in the construction industry.This article provides insights into the steps for biocomposites to become a product that is ready to use by the construction industry in a structural role.The development and the adoption of such a material is tackled with the use of two concepts,i.e.,technology readiness level and roadmapping,and explored in a case study on the“liquid wood”.Furthermore,interviews in the construction industry are carried out to identify the industry’s take on biocomposites.A customized roadmap,which underlines a mostly nontechnical perspective concerning this material,has emerged.Additionally,the adoption and diffusion issues that the“liquid wood”may encounter are outlined and complemented with further recommendations.

Classification of Growth Clubs and Convergence: Evidence from Panel Data in China, 1981-2004

This paper uses provincial panel data to examine club convergence in China during 1981- 2004. We estimate the province-specific initial technology level, A（O）, and classify the Chinese economy into ＂developed club＂ and ＂underdeveloped club ＂ based on the economic characteristics of A（O）, instead of on geographical location. We find significant evidence of conditional convergence across provinces, and that the convergence speed in the developed club is faster than that in the underdeveloped club. We also find that.＂ （i） human capital accumulation contributes more than physical capital does to club convergence,＂ （ii） there is a positive correlation between infrastructure and growth convergence at the national level and within the developed club, while the spillover effect of infrastructure has not been developed in the developing club; and （iii） the effect of economic openness on convergence is tiny, and insignificant across and within clubs.

Energy storage systems:a review

The world is rapidly adopting renewable energy alternatives at a remarkable rate to address the ever-increasing environmental crisis of CO_(2) emissions.Renewable energy system offers enormous potential to decarbonize the environment because they produce no greenhouse gases or other polluting emissions.However,the RES relies on natural resources for energy generation,such as sunlight,wind,water,geothermal,which are generally un-predictable and reliant on weather,season,and year.To account for these intermittencies,renewable energy can be stored using various techniques and then used in a consistent and controlled manner as needed.Several researchers from around the world have made substantial contributions over the last century to developing novel methods of energy storage that are efficient enough to meet increasing energy demand and technological break-throughs.This review attempts to provide a critical review of the advancements in the energy storage system from 1850-2022,including its evolution,classification,operating principles and comparison.

The Structure of China＇s Imports： A New Framework

Using the elbow function method to determine the number of classification groups of goods and applying the K-means algorithm to classify technical goods, this paper constructs a scientific classification framework of commodity structure and then measures the changes in China ＂s import commodity structure. It is found, first, that from 2000 to 2012, the import commodity structure in China underwent structural change. Shares of non-agricultural primary products and high-technology products increased sigmficantly, whereas shares of low-medium-technology products and medium-high-technology products declined. Second, from 2000 to 2006, the overall technology level of China＇s imports declined, but then increased from 2007 to 2012. Therefore, the Chinese Government shouM increase the share of high-technology and extra- high-technology products in total imports to stimulate structural transformation in manufacturing industries to make full use of foreign advanced technology and to prevent stepping into a low-end import commodity structure.