of this thesis: Low-dimensional electronic systems confined in semiconductor nanostructures possess unique properties and can be used not only to improve device performances but also

In this paper, an automatic pre–crash collision avoidance strategy for cars is presented. It produces a collision avoidance manoeuvre, if feasible, or, otherwise, an emergency braking to reduce the energy at the impact. The manoeuvre is generated relying on the use of sliding mode control. The performances of the proposed collision avoidance system are tested on a scaled radio–controlled car an...

A large number of papers and reports that have been published after the Napoli RPC97 workshop show an impressive progress in improving the RPC performances and extending their use to new "elds of application. This talk is an attempt to summarize the state of the art at the beginning of the present workshop as an introduction to the new results that will be presented. A discussion about the scal...

This paper shows that, even if volatility is accurately predicted by correctly specified GARCH models, however such predictions are not very useful for traders when the conditional volatility does not vary "enough" over time, being therefore quite close to the unconditional one. It is shown that a low R in the Mincer-Zarnowitz regression implies flat (although correctly predicted) volatility, a...

This paper examines the relationship between strategy and Total Quality Management (TQM) implementation, as well as the impact of the adaptation of both to organizational performance. We have used the emphasis on cost leadership, differentiation on marketing and differentiation on innovation as strategic dimensions to develop four great strategic configurations. The degrees of implementation of...

Software performance prediction methods are typically validated by taking an appropriate software system, performing both performance predictions and performance measurements for that system, and comparing the results. The validation includes manual actions, which makes it feasible only for a small number of systems. To significantly increase the number of systems on which software performance ...

A new class of statistical deformable models is introduced to study high-dimensional curves or images. In addition to the standard measurement error term, these deformable models include an extra error term modeling the individual variations in intensity around a mean pattern. It is shown that an appropriate tool for statistical inference in such models is the notion of sample Fréchet means, wh...

Traditional credit-risk evaluation methods focus mainly on static credit evaluation and rarely consider incentive factors. This paper proposes a comprehensive method of credit-risk evaluation based on dynamic incentives. First, an “explicit incentive” model is constructed based on the firm's current financial standing, and an “implicit incentive” model is subsequently developed focusing on the ...

Due to rapid development of technology and strict competition in the context of global and concurrent economy, the requirements of customers such as quality, reliability, sustainability and cost of products are more and more high and tight. Thus, satisfaction of those is an important key of product designers. However, the product designers work mainly on the nominal model of the product within ...

This paper discusses data analysis approaches for effective reliability prediction using prognostics and health management methodology, which integrates sensory data with models based on either healthy training data or physics-of-failure knowledge. This approach enables in-situ assessment of a product’s performance degradation or deviation from an expected normal operating condition (i.e., the ...