Start-up Research Articles

Optimal Sizing of Small Scale Liquefied Natural Gas Storage using Numerical Cascade Pinch Analysis

Increasing demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) at the inaccessible area through pipeline has provided a solid platform for the emergence of new small scale LNG (ssLNG). The key challenges related to the ssLNG business are relatively expensive supply chain due to the diseconomy of small scale and meeting the security of supply and demand with limited supply alternatives available. Nevertheless, the market has increasingly become the preferred delivery method for natural gas (NG) because LNG can be produced at remote locations and distributed to end-users conveniently. To date, extensive works with a variety of objectives have been developed in an attempt to optimise the ssLNG supply chain in terms of conversion, transportation, and utilisation yet an optimal synthesis of LNG for small scale market has not been adequately investigated. The activity of loading and unloading of LNG in supply port terminals needs sufficient capacity of LNG storage tank. Designing an adequate capacity is necessary in order to secure reliable supplies of LNG as well as to offset fluctuations in the supply and demand of LNG. This work aims to ease industrial planner to design an optimal capacity of ssLNG storage by implementing a well established numerical cascade approach based on Pinch Analysis technique and proposed a new numerical approach of small scale LNG-Storage Cascade Analysis (ssLNG-SCA). Based on the proposed tool, the minimum amount of LNG supply for operation has been reduced from 2,100 m3 to 1,400 m3 due to the stored amount of excess LNG supply (700 m3) during start-up with the existence of ssLNG storage tank. The developed ssLNG-SCA in this work shows a significantly reduced storage capacity from 24,000 m3 to 6,300 m3 thus eliminate the need to provide for a larger and higher price of LNG storage tank. The storage offers delivery of NG to virtual trading hubs to meet end-user demand which inaccessible to the high-pressure pipeline.

Determinants of Start-up among the Disabled

Determinants of Start-up among the Disabled

Bio-tech Startup Incubation Best Practice in the United States

Bio-tech Startup Incubation Best Practice in the United States

Start-up Accelerators and Crowdfunding to drive Innovation Development under Thailand 4.0 Policy

This paper attempts to study the mechanisms of start-up accelerators and crowdfunding to support entrepreneurial development in Thailand. In particular, the study explores the major accelerator programmes to support innovation commercialisation and the start-up eco-innovation system. The results have shown the problems of weak Triple Helix system since the interactions among the university, industry and government are not strong enough to drive effective technology commercialisation. Arguably, the accelerator programme should act as an intermediary among the institutional spheres to provide interactive linkages and promote effective utilisation of research results. The empirical study provides insightful implications on the move towards Thailand 4.0 and the lessons of Thailand in stimulating entrepreneurial development which can be applied to other developing economies.

ДЕРЖАВА ЯК СУБ’ЄКТ ФОРМУВАННЯ ЕКОСИСТЕМИ СТАРТАПІВ УКРАЇНИ

The realization of Ukraine's innovation potential is permanently hampered by a number of political and socio-economic factors. However, despite numerous problems in the economy, innovative entrepreneurship in the form of startup projects shows stable growth. The Ukrainian startup sector has become one of the few sectors of the economy that has been developing dynamically in recent years. International experience indicates that the state is an important player in building the national startup ecosystem. In particular, the state plays a leading role in preventing the outflow of startups to other world ecosystems. The purpose of the article was to establish the features of the state support for the national startup ecosystem and outline the ways to strengthen this support. Based on the analysis of international experience, the existing approaches, methods, and tools used in the world practice to support the startup ecosystems were identified. In terms of the development of the startup ecosystems, two major types of state policies are outlined: proactive policy and reactive policy. The paper provides key characteristics of theses types of policies. The analysis of government support for national startup ecosystem was conducted. Although the development of innovative entrepreneurship was defined as a strategic priority of Ukrainian government, the speed of implementation of practical measures aimed at achieving this goal is insufficient. Positive tendencies in the state support of Ukrainian startups as well as the main directions for state stimulation of the domestic startup ecosystem were highlighted.To stimulate the development of the domestic startup ecosystem, the following areas of state support were considered: legal regula-tion, startup investment, human capital development, competence centers, infrastructure development, media and event management. The factors that inhibit state support for startups were identified. In addition, the role of the private sector in building the national ecosys-tem of startups was outlined. Promising area of further research is the analysis of trends in the global startup industry and comprehension of international experience to elaborate efficient tools for domestic startup ecosystem support. Keywords: startup, startup ecosystem, state policy, investments in startups, human capital, startup ecosystem infrastructure. У статті розглядається роль держави як суб’єкта формування вітчизняної екосистеми стартапів. На основі аналізу міжнарод-ного досвіду визначені існуючі у світовій практиці підходи до формування державної політики підтримки екосистеми стартапів, напрями та практичні інструменти стимулювання стартапів. Висвітлені відмінності між проактивною та реактивною політикою стимулюванння екосистеми стартапів. Проаналізовано сучасний стан державної підтримки стартапів в Україні. Хоча в Україні розвиток інноваційного підприємництва визначений як стратегічний пріоритет державної політики, однак темпи імплементації практичних заходів, спрямованих на досягнення цієї мети, є недостатніми. Визначені інструменти державного стимулювання вітчизняної екосистеми стартапів, що відносяться до державно-правового регулювання, інвестування стартапів, розвитку людського капіталу, створенння центрів компетенцій, інфраструктурного забезпечення, медіа та івент менеджменту. Ключові слова: стартап, екосистема стартапів, політика підтримки стартапів, інвестування стартапів, людський капітал, інфраструктура стартапів.

Start-up in Lifestyle

Start-up in Lifestyle

Low Carbon Transition Pathway of Power Sector with High Penetration of Renewable Energy

Increasing the share of renewable energy in total power generation is an important trend in the global power system. However, the volatility and intermittency of renewable energy resources pose a great challenge to the high penetration of renewable energy. In order to absorb large amount of renewable energy electricity, thermal power plants should increase their operational flexibility such as more start-up and shut-down actions as well as running at part load more often. It brings about integration costs for renewable energy penetration, which should be quantitatively assessed. In this paper, a long-term power generation expansion planning model incorporating short-term operational characteristics of power generation units is proposed. This model is used to find the most cost effective low carbon transition pathway of power sector with high penetration of renewable energy and the impact of incorporating short-term integration costs on long-term power generation planning. China is selected for a case study as it is the largest carbon dioxide emitter in the world and has urgent need for low carbon transition.

Initial programming of deep brain stimulation of hypothalamic/fornix for severe Alzheimer′s disease

Objective To explore the initial start-up programming and efficacy of deep brain electrical stimulation (DBS) of the hypothalamic fornix (HF) in the treatment of severe Alzheimer′s disease (AD). Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 9 patients with severe AD who underwent DBS-HF at Department of Neurosurgery, the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from June 2015 to September 2018. Postoperative cranial MRI was performed to determine the electrode position. Four weeks after operation, DBS device was turned on with initial programming set as unipolar stimulation with a frequency of 130 Hz, pulse width 90 μs and voltage of 3 V. The emotion, memory, calculation, language or communication and orientation of the patients were observed based on corresponding function of the brain area where the electrode contacts were located in order to determine the optimal contact and stimulating mode was thus maintained. Outpatient follow-up was conducted for all patients 3 months after the start-up. The follow-up included assessment of the patient′s emotion, memory, calculation, language, communication and orientation evaluated at initial programming. In addition, the patient′s sleep conditions and social skills were documented through consultation with the patient′s families. Results Nine patients were successfully operated. No perioperative complications such as intracerebral hemorrhage, abnormal electrode connection or wound infection occurred after operation. The electrodes of 9 patients were accurately implanted into the preset target position. At initial programming, there were no adverse effects reported including psychiatric and behavioral disorders, cardiovascular events and intolerance of stimulation. Among the 9 patients, memory was improved in 2 and mood was improved in 1. No symptom worsening was observed in the patient with severe psychiatric disorder who underwent bipolar stimulation through optimal contacts. Nine patients were followed up for 3 months. Among them, 7 had improved mood, 5 had improved memory, 7 had improved sleep, 6 had improved language ability, 3 had changed social intercourse, and 4 had changed orientation. However, there was no significant change in calculating power of 9 patients. Conclusions The preliminary results have suggest that the program-controlled startup scheme with functions of test, calculation, memory, emotion and physiology could be a way to ensure the efficacy of HF-DBS in the treatment of severe AD patients. Key words: Alzheimer′s disease; Deep brain stimulation; Fornix, brain; Treatment outcome; Programming

Reflection of Literature on Using Lean Innovation Models For Start-Up Ventures

This paper discusses lean innovations and lean startup methods for the engineering management field. The aim of the literature review is to explain the methods and processes used in lean startup. First, we discuss the concept of startup and the impact that innovation has on startups and organizations seeking to implement lean innovations models. The assumption made in the hypothesis is that lean startup can be applied to areas outside of high-tech entrepreneurship. This hypothesis is further explored in the research. The findings in this paper suggest that innovation and entrepreneurship are highly influenced by innovation and company cultures. We find that technology transfer plays a key role in fostering innovation. However, there are barriers to public-private innovation partnerships, which is discussed in this paper.

Talleres de emprendimiento con Lean Startup MX en la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur: Impacto de la metodología y propuestas de mejora

Con el propósito de responder a las necesidades de los sectores económicos en formación de capital humano y desarrollo empresarial, las políticas nacionales se han orientado a impulsar en las instituciones de educación superior la generación de profesionistas con capacidades que mejoren las organizaciones a través del emprendimiento/intraemprendimiento. Sin embargo, son escasas las evaluaciones de los impactos logrados en las universidades. Ante ello, el objetivo de este estudio fue identificar las fortalezas y oportunidades que influyeron en el proceso de adopción del modelo Lean Startup Mx por parte de profesores y estudiantes, así como generar propuestas de mejora para la formación de capacidades y competencias que puedan ser útiles tanto en los alumnos de la Autónoma de Baja California Sur (UABCS) como para los de otras instituciones educativas. Lo anterior se realizó a través de la aplicación y análisis de instrumentos de evaluación de salida a los participantes. Los temas incluidos en la evaluación atienden factores personales y componentes de la metodología que impactaron en el proceso de adopción del método, y fueron validados utilizando el coeficiente de alfa de Cronbach. Los resultados determinan que la metodología influyó positivamente en el espíritu emprendedor de los participantes, así mismo permitió identificar y ponderar las áreas con mayor dificultad para emprender un negocio, tales como finanzas (36 %), administración (30 %), innovación y creatividad (21 %), mercado (6 %), ventas y mercadotecnia (3 %). Una de las conclusiones es que el método Lean Startup Mx resultó adecuado para los objetivos del programa “Promoción de la cultura emprendedora de la UABCS”. Sin embargo, la evaluación también mostró que es necesario proyectar acciones que fortalezcan el currículo con las asignaturas correspondientes. Mejorar la formación de emprendedores dentro de la universidad pública es un proceso que requiere una planeación tanto administrativa como académica, en donde se deberá incidir paulatinamente en los docentes, planes de estudio, áreas administrativas de apoyo, con la finalidad de preparar a los estudiantes como futuros emprendedores.

Un análisis de las empresas TIC desde una perspectiva financiera. Evidencia para las pymes de software y videojuegos

El objetivo de este trabajo es evaluar las decisiones de financiamiento de dos sub­sectores específicos del segmento de tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC): el de desarrollo de videojuegos (VG) y el de software y servicios informáticos (SSI). Los datos utilizados incluyen 80 empresas argentinas relevadas durante el 2017. Los resultados muestran que la fuente principal de financiamiento en las diferentes etapas del ciclo de negocio son los fondos propios para todas las empresas de la muestra. Sin embargo, la participación de dichos fondos se reduce a medida que las empresas transitan las etapas de start up y de crecimiento. Además, se encuentra que la tipología de las fuentes externas con las que sustituyen el financiamiento propio difiere de acuerdo con el subsector analizado. En la etapa de start up, las empresas de SSI sustituyen fondos propios por subsidios públicos, a diferencia de las empresas de VG que utilizan el financiamiento de prestamistas privados. En la etapa de crecimiento, las empresas de SSI utilizan en mayor proporción financiamiento bancario, y las empresas de VG, subsidios públicos.

La figura de la Film Commission en la puesta en valor de los recursos audiovisuales técnicos y profesionales de un territorio en España

The interest in turning a territory into a setting for the filming of cinematographic audiovisual productions, television series or any other type of audiovisual product, constitutes the main engine of the start-up of a Film Office or Film Commission in any locality, region, province or region.The mission of a filming office is to highlight, not only the benefits of landscapes, monuments, climate of a territory or the ability of its people to host filming equipment (logistics, predisposition of citizens), but also to give visibility to the technical and human audiovisual resources with which a shooting team arrived in a locality could count on in that environment.This research aims to study the figure of the Film Commission and its contribution to the dynamization of production in a territory through the enhancement of the local audiovisual sector -companies and specialized technicians- as an attractiveness of the territory.

Agilent partners with separation start-up

Agilent partners with separation start-up

Capital psychologique, capital social de l’entrepreneur et performance des entreprises nouvellement créées : quelques particularités de l’hypercroissance

Certains entrepreneurs ont plus de réussite que d’autres dans la création d’une entreprise et sa croissance, ce qui a amené de nombreux chercheurs à en rechercher les causes dans les pays développés, mais peu de recherches existent sur les pays africains. Dans cette perspective, l’objet de cette étude portant sur le Cameroun est double. D’une part, nous analysons l’effet combiné du capital psychologique et du capital social de l’entrepreneur sur la performance de son entreprise nouvellement créée. Le capital social de l’entrepreneur à travers les liens faibles et forts est considéré comme un modérateur de la relation entre son capital psychologique et la performance de sa firme. D’autre part, nous cherchons à identifier d’éventuelles différences entre les entrepreneurs ayant atteint un niveau d’hypercroissance et les autres dans un contexte où l’innovation n’est pas prépondérante.Les résultats des analyses économétriques montrent que le capital psychologique de l’entrepreneur et le capital social ont un effet positif sur la performance des entreprises nouvellement créées pris séparément. Mais, lorsque le capital social est combiné au capital psychologique, l’effet est encore plus fort. D’où le rôle modérateur positif joué par les forces de liens forts et faibles du capital social de l’entrepreneur.De plus, nos résultats stipulent que l’hypercroissance de certaines entreprises s’explique en partie par le niveau élevé du capital psychologique de leurs fondateurs, mais également par une combinaison effective de ce capital psychologique avec le capital social, intégrant les liens faibles et les liens forts. C’est cette combinaison qui leur permet de tirer un meilleur parti des liens forts et des liens faibles constitutifs de leur capital social, et d’atteindre l’hypercroissance. Au regard de nos résultats, des recommandations ont été formulées.

Urban and industrial diffusion mechanisms in China's venture capital investments

Venture capital plays an important role in advancing the development of high-tech industries for promoting industrial and economic growth. However, venture capital is not evenly distributed among various regions and industries in China, which inhibits the development of backward regions and industries. Micro-data related to China's venture capital investments are analyzed to construct an investment decision-making model to analyze the factors affecting venture capital investments. The results show that the industrial and urban experience of the venture capital, the maturity of the start-up companies, and the industrial and urban experience of the joint investors all significantly increase the investment probability. In addition, the venture capital experience and the start-up company maturity are found to strongly influence the venture capital's entry into new cities and new industries, while the joint investors' experience does not have much effect. 摘要 风险投资是促进高新技术产业发展的重要力量, 对于推动产业升级和经济增长具有重要意义。然而, 中国风险资本在城市间和行业间的分布不均衡现象突出, 不利于落后地区和行业的发展。该文利用中国风险投资事件的微观数据, 通过构建投资决策模型, 分析风险资本投资初创企业的影响因素。研究结果表明：风险投资者的行业经验与城市经验、初创企业的发展成熟度、联合投资者的行业经验与城市经验都能够显著提高投资概率; 同时, 风险投资者经验和被投资企业的成熟度有助于推动风险资本进入新城市和新行业, 而联合投资者的经验未能发挥预期作用。

ICT 벤처창업 활성화 방향: 이공계 대학생들의 벤처창업 인식 및 영향요인 분석을 중심으로

ICT(Information and Communications Technology) 벤처창업이 활성화되어 나가기 위해서는 대학생들의 벤처창업에 대한 인식개선과 동기고취를 통한 창업역량을 강화하고 이를 기반으로 한 벤처창업의 활성화 전략 분석과 시사점 도출의 필요성이 크다. 본 논문은 이공계 재학생들의 벤처창업에 대한 인식과 계획에 대한 영향요인 분석을 통해 대학생들이 창업을 계획하고 성공적으로 이끌어갈 수 있는 요인들을 규명하고자 하였다. 연구결과, 대학생들의 벤처창업 인식에 대한 영향요인으로는 직무선호도 변인, 자아효능감 변인, 기업가정신 변인, 사회적 자본 변인, 창업의지 변인, 대학환경 변인, 교육 및 정책 변인 등으로 도출되었다. 자아효능감이 높고 창업에 대한 의지가 높을수록 벤처창업 계획이 있는 것으로 나타났으며, 창업의지에 가장 큰 영향을 미치는 변인은 기업가 정신으로 나타났다. 이 연구의 결과는 ICT 벤처창업 역량강화를 위한 대학의 교육과정 설계 및 프로그램 콘텐츠 개발에 기초자료로써 활용될 것으로 기대된다.

CONTINUED INNOVATIONS IN STUDY START UP (SSU): ONGOING PROGRESS OF THE GAP FOUNDATION ON SITE START UP

CONTINUED INNOVATIONS IN STUDY START UP (SSU): ONGOING PROGRESS OF THE GAP FOUNDATION ON SITE START UP

Investigation of Laminar–Turbulent Transition on a Rotating Wind-Turbine Blade of Multimegawatt Class with Thermography and Microphone Array

Knowledge about laminar–turbulent transition on operating multi megawatt wind turbine (WT) blades needs sophisticated equipment like hot films or microphone arrays. Contrarily, thermographic pictures can easily be taken from the ground, and temperature differences indicate different states of the boundary layer. Accuracy, however, is still an open question, so that an aerodynamic glove, known from experimental research on airplanes, was used to classify the boundary-layer state of a 2 megawatt WT blade operating in the northern part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. State-of-the-art equipment for measuring static surface pressure was used for monitoring lift distribution. To distinguish the laminar and turbulent parts of the boundary layer (suction side only), 48 microphones were applied together with ground-based thermographic cameras from two teams. Additionally, an optical camera mounted on the hub was used to survey vibrations. During start-up (SU) (from 0 to 9 rpm), extended but irregularly shaped regions of a laminar-boundary layer were observed that had the same extension measured both with microphones and thermography. When an approximately constant rotor rotation (9 rpm corresponding to approximately 6 m/s wind speed) was achieved, flow transition was visible at the expected position of 40% chord length on the rotor blade, which was fouled with dense turbulent wedges, and an almost complete turbulent state on the glove was detected. In all observations, quantitative determination of flow-transition positions from thermography and microphones agreed well within their accuracy of less than 1%.

Slots Startup Synchronization with Shared Resources Dependency

Batch process entails a bottle neck in the majority of plants. This means that an optimal synchronization with the rest of the process lines is mandatory in order to increase the productivity. To obtain the best possible schedule, instead of a feasible solution, the problems usually are implemented using mathematical programming, however the batch processes are considered independent one from each other to facilitate the coding and resolution. In this work the authors present a new formulation that allows an optimal schedule of batch processes which length depend on the synchronization of the startup of those processes. This solution is implemented to use as a real time optimization tool with a rolling horizon method. The distribution of shared resources among the devices is also keep into account.

Ethical Perspectives on Neuromarketing: An Interview With Will Allred

AJOB Neurocience (AJOB N): Will, you are the chief operating officer of the relatively new startup Sorter. Tell us about the company.Will Allred (WA): We are building a neuromarketing platform for ...