La Microscopie Electronique à Balayage Environnementale permet l'observation de liquides dans certaines conditions de pression et température. En travaillant en transmission, i.e. en mode STEM (Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy), des nano-objets présents au sein du liquide peuvent même être analysés (mode « Wet-STEM»). Dans les solutions concentrées, l'arrangement du soluté peut changer être un paramètre microstructural important, qu’il est alors nécessaire de caractériser. Dans ce contexte, le but de ce travail est de développer la tomographie électronique sur des suspensions liquides en utilisant le mode STEM en ESEM, de manière à obtenir la structure 3D de nano-objets dispersés dans un liquide. Dans une première partie, le contraste entre des nanoparticules et le film d’eau est étudié en combinant des images expérimentales Wet-STEM (en 2D) et des simulations Monte Carlo. Deux types de nano-matériaux sont choisis : des nanoparticules d’or sphériques, de diamètre environ 40 nm, dispersées dans l’eau, ainsi qu’une suspension aqueuse de latex SBA-PMMA, contenant 3% de PMMA utilisé comme tensioactif stérique. La comparaison entre les résultats simulés et expérimentaux permet d’estimer comment le contraste entre l’eau et les nanomatériaux est affecté par l’épaisseur du film d’eau. Dans une deuxième partie, des expériences de tomographie sont réalisées à sec sur des films de polyuréthane contenant des nanotubes de carbone multiparois greffés ou non, en utilisant une platine développée précédemment au laboratoire. Le volume a pu être reconstruit correctement. Cependant, en effectuant une acquisition 3D sur des suspensions de latex SBA-PMMA, le contrôle de la température de l’échantillon s’est révélé insuffisant. Nous proposons une amélioration à la fois de la platine et des conditions d’observations permettant de mieux contrôler l’évaporation et la condensation de l’eau sur des échantillons liquides. La troisième partie est dévolue à une analyse approfondie d’une suspension de latex SBA-PMMA, de différentes concentrations (d’un état dilué à très concentré), les acquisitions étant effectuées avec les conditions optimisées. L’arrangement des particules de latex est comparé à des modèles issus de la littérature, et avec des résultats expérimentaux obtenus par cryo-SEM sur suspensions congelées. Nous présentons ensuite une étude du même latex en présence de tensioactif. La couche de tensioactif peut être mise en évidence dans les volumes reconstruits et segmentés. En conclusion, nous résumons les potentialités de la tomographie wet-STEM pour la caractérisation de nanomatériaux solides et liquides. Des perspectives sont proposées pour continuer dans l’exploration de ces potentialités et des limites de la technique. / ESEM (Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy) allows the observation of liquids under specific conditions of pressure and temperature. When working in the transmission mode, i.e. in STEM (Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy), nano-objects can even be analyzed inside the liquid (“wet-STEM” mode). Moreover, in situ evaporation of water can be performed to study the materials evolution from the wet to the dry state. This work aims at developing electron tomography on liquid suspensions using STEM-in-ESEM, to obtain the 3D structure of nano-objects dispersed in a liquid. In a first part, Monte Carlo simulations and 2D wet-STEM experimental images are combined to study the contrast. Two kinds of liquid nano-materials are chosen as the sample: spherical gold particles (diameter around 40 nm) in suspension in water; latex SBA-PMMA suspension, a copolymer derived from styrene and metacrylic acid esters in aqueous solution, 3% PMMA shell included as steric surfactant. The comparison between simulated and experimental results helps to determine how water can affect the contrast of hydrated nano-materials. Tomography experiments are then performed on dry PU-carbon nanotubes nanocomposites using a previously developed home-made tomography device, and the volume is well reconstructed. When performing tomography on latex suspension, limitations are found on the temperature control of samples. We propose an optimization of the device with new observations conditions to better control water evaporation and condensation of liquid samples. Afterwards, a full 3D analysis on SBA-PMMA latex from dilute suspension to very concentrated one is performed, and a further study is presented in presence of a surfactant. The encouraging reconstruction results are used to model the particles arrangement. This shows the potentialities of wet-STEM tomography for the characterization of both solid and liquid nano-materials.

我國為一海島型經濟國家，在實體資源缺乏的自然環境下，經濟成長有賴 於對外貿易的貢獻，在這資訊洪流泛濫的時代裡，外銷企業如何蒐尋資訊 、需要何種類型的資訊、資訊供應商及外貿輔導機構在企業蒐集資訊的過 程中各該扮演什麼樣的角色，是本研究的探討重點。本研究採個案研究法 ，研究範圍界定在企業高階主管（董事長、總經理等）對資訊需求的認知 ，共有五個個案，產業別橫跨紡織業、成衣製造業、資訊電子業與通訊電 子業。研究結論可分資訊的需求與供給兩方面來談。在資訊的需求面，研 究發現我國外銷企業對資訊的需求，受到企業本身策略形態、所屬產業、 外銷地區產業生命週期階段、資訊專屬性、資訊蒐集成本與決策者成熟度 的影響。在資訊的供給面，研究發現個別企業、資訊供應商與外貿輔導機 構對資訊蒐集工作的分工，可以資訊專屬性與蒐尋之成本兩大構面做為劃 分的依據；而對於外貿輔導機構，本研究亦建議其在資訊蒐集的功能，應 以產業為劃分單位，並以產業特性為選擇標準，且應配合政府產業升級政 策所蒐集之資訊要具有前瞻性，以及進行對企業的資訊需求教育，除讓企 業了解外貿輔導機構所提供之資訊服務外，亦擴大企業獲取資訊的管道， 增加決策的正確性與預測未來趨勢的能力。

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The main purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of entrepreneurial team demographics, environmental scanning and networking on innovativeness. For this purpose, small and medium enterprises in Bursa region were chosen. A total of 74 general managers/owners filled out the questionnaire. Information about company, team members and firms&rsquo / environmental scanning, innovativeness and networking activities was collected. As hypothesized, findings supported the view that entrepreneurial team demographics (age heterogeneity and average educational level), environmental scanning and networking (networking with customers, competitors and particularly with public agencies) play a significant role in innovativeness of SMEs after controlling the significant effect of team size. The results were discussed together with the implications of the findings for managers and on the policies of government, public organizations and educational institutions, strengths and limitations of the study. Some suggestions for future research were made.

The behaviour of spontaneous environmental scanning is influenced by organisational factors. The focus of the scanning behaviour is influenced by organisational precepts in the working conditions as well as by the general situation in the organisation. Motivational factors, especially intrinsic motivation, have an effect on the intensity of the scanning behaviour. The author argues that organisations´environmental scanning ability is primarily based on the possibilities for the members to scan the environment in a directed manner. This is also an important prerequisite for the establishment of organised environmental scanning. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk.

Diversos estudos exploram temas relacionados ao monitoramento do ambiente com o intuito de auxiliar empresas a se protegerem contra ameaças e a aproveitarem oportunidades provenientes do ambiente externo. Outros pesquisadores se dedicaram aos tópicos relacionados à gestão do conhecimento, colocando o conhecimento como elemento central para o desenvolvimento e o sucesso empresarial. Contudo, identificaram-se poucos estudos que explorem as temáticas de monitoramento do ambiente e gestão do conhecimento em conjunto. Com o propósito de contribuir para o preenchimento desta lacuna, o presente estudo investiga o desenvolvimento da capacidade absortiva em processos de exploração de sinais fracos, sob a perspectiva da criação do conhecimento organizacional. Para tal investigação se utilizou método qualitativo e exploratório; tendo como técnicas de coleta de dados entrevistas semiestruturadas e análise de conteúdo para exploração dos mesmos. Constatou-se que o desempenho do processo de Inteligência pode contribuir para o desenvolvimento da capacidade absortiva, além de propiciar a criação, expansão e renovação de conhecimentos individuais e organizacionais. Observou-se, também, que a realização das atividades de Inteligência incentiva a ação e influencia na tomada de decisão de colaboradores e gestores. Os profissionais ao se sentirem melhor informados sobre oportunidades e ameaças provenientes do ambiente externo à organização passam a refletir e se responsabilizar mais por ações e decisões. / Many studies explore topics related to the environmental scanning process in order to assist companies with protecting themselves against threats and seizing opportunities that arise from external environments. Furthermore, a number of researchers have focused broadly and deeply on topics related to knowledge management, placing knowledge as a central resource to a business’s development and success. Nevertheless, there are few studies that combine the themes of environmental scanning and knowledge management. Aiming contribute to fill this gap, this study investigates the absorptive capacity developing in weak signals’ exploration process through the organization knowledge creation’ perspectives. The employed method to this qualitative and explorative research will be interviews by means of techniques for collecting data; and a content analysis for an exploitation of these data. It was found that the Intelligence process performance contributes to the development of absorptive capacity. Futhermore, the practice of Intelligence process facilitates the creation, expansion and renewal of individual and organizational knowledge. It was also observed that the realization of intelligence activities encourages action and influence in employees and managers decision making. Professionals who feel better informed about opportunities and threats from the external environment in regards to the organization start to further reflect and be more accountable for actions and decisions.

Diversos estudos exploram temas relacionados ao monitoramento do ambiente com o intuito de auxiliar empresas a se protegerem contra ameaças e a aproveitarem oportunidades provenientes do ambiente externo. Outros pesquisadores se dedicaram aos tópicos relacionados à gestão do conhecimento, colocando o conhecimento como elemento central para o desenvolvimento e o sucesso empresarial. Contudo, identificaram-se poucos estudos que explorem as temáticas de monitoramento do ambiente e gestão do conhecimento em conjunto. Com o propósito de contribuir para o preenchimento desta lacuna, o presente estudo investiga o desenvolvimento da capacidade absortiva em processos de exploração de sinais fracos, sob a perspectiva da criação do conhecimento organizacional. Para tal investigação se utilizou método qualitativo e exploratório; tendo como técnicas de coleta de dados entrevistas semiestruturadas e análise de conteúdo para exploração dos mesmos. Constatou-se que o desempenho do processo de Inteligência pode contribuir para o desenvolvimento da capacidade absortiva, além de propiciar a criação, expansão e renovação de conhecimentos individuais e organizacionais. Observou-se, também, que a realização das atividades de Inteligência incentiva a ação e influencia na tomada de decisão de colaboradores e gestores. Os profissionais ao se sentirem melhor informados sobre oportunidades e ameaças provenientes do ambiente externo à organização passam a refletir e se responsabilizar mais por ações e decisões. / Many studies explore topics related to the environmental scanning process in order to assist companies with protecting themselves against threats and seizing opportunities that arise from external environments. Furthermore, a number of researchers have focused broadly and deeply on topics related to knowledge management, placing knowledge as a central resource to a business’s development and success. Nevertheless, there are few studies that combine the themes of environmental scanning and knowledge management. Aiming contribute to fill this gap, this study investigates the absorptive capacity developing in weak signals’ exploration process through the organization knowledge creation’ perspectives. The employed method to this qualitative and explorative research will be interviews by means of techniques for collecting data; and a content analysis for an exploitation of these data. It was found that the Intelligence process performance contributes to the development of absorptive capacity. Futhermore, the practice of Intelligence process facilitates the creation, expansion and renewal of individual and organizational knowledge. It was also observed that the realization of intelligence activities encourages action and influence in employees and managers decision making. Professionals who feel better informed about opportunities and threats from the external environment in regards to the organization start to further reflect and be more accountable for actions and decisions.

Les aciers inoxydables à haute teneur en molybdène présentent une excellente résistance à la corrosion et ont été récemment utilisés dans des applications marines. L'acier inoxydable de type 254 SMO contient du molybdène (6% Mo) et des quantités plus élevées en éléments d'alliages que les aciers inoxydables plus classiques tels que 304, 316 et 316L. Alors que Anees Uddin Malik et al. montrent que l’acier 254 SMO est moins sensible à la corrosion par piqûre en eau de mer du golfe persique, Abdulsalam et al. démontrent que bien que cet acier présente une bonne résistance à la corrosion, il reste encore sensible à une corrosion caverneuse (surtout en milieu à 16% en masse d’ion chlorure ou à plus de 30°C).La première partie de ce travail traite du comportement électrochimique de l’acier inoxydable 254 SMO immergé dans l’eau de mer naturelle en laboratoire. Ainsi deux sites de la Guyane ont été choisis pour effectuer des prélèvements d’eau. Des analyses physicochimiques de ces eaux sont réalisées et montrent que l’eau du site du Port Larivot contient une quantité en ions chlorures plus importante que celle de l’eau du site du Mahury. Une colonisation par des bactéries et crustacés (balanes) a été mise en évidence, à l’aide du microscope électronique à balayage environnemental. Les mesures électrochimiques, notamment la voltammétrie cyclique a montré l’existence d’une zone de passivation et l’augmentation du courant de passivation par un facteur de 10 en présence d’un biofilm pour l’acier inoxydable immergé en eau du Mahury durant 22 jours. La deuxième partie propose une étude approfondie du comportement de l’interface complexe métal/couche passive/biofilm. Trois différents coupons d’aciers inoxydables (brut, poli et grenaillé) ont été déposés sur site (in-situ) dans un premier temps. Dans une seconde étape, nous avons réalisé des expérimentations mixtes (incubation in-situ et croissance en laboratoire). L’évolution du potentiel d’abandon de ces aciers est très proche pour l’acier brut et l’acier poli. En revanche, celui de l’acier grenaillé, de par la présence des grains d’alumine à sa surface, affiche un comportement différent. Une étude comparative des deux expérimentations montre des différences concernant les paramètres électriques de l’interface complexe métal/couche passive/biofilm. / Stainless steels with high content in molybdenum present an excellent corrosion resistance and were recently used in marine applications. The stainless steel 254 SMO contains molybdenum (6 %) and higher amounts of alloying elements than conventional stainless steels such as 304, 316 and 316L. While Anees Uddin Malik et al. show that 254 SMO steel is less likely to be susceptible to pitting corrosion in Arabian Gulf sea water, Abdulsalam et al. demonstrate that although this steel has good resistance to corrosion, it remains still susceptible to crevice corrosion (especially in environment with 16 chloride percent weight or more than 30 ° C).The first part of this work deals with the electrochemical behaviour of stainless steel 254 SMO immersed in natural seawater at laboratory. Two sites in French Guyane were chosen to take samples of seawater. Physicochemical analyses of these waters are made and show than the in Port Larivot site seawater contains a higher quantity of chloride ion than to Mahury seawater. Colonization by bacteria and crustaceans (barnacles) was highlighted, using the environmental scanning electron microscope. The electrochemical measurements, including cyclic voltammetry showed the existence of a passivation region and increasing the passivation current by a factor of 10 in the presence of biofilm on stainless steel immersed in Mahury seawater during 22 days.The second part offers a detailed study of the behaviour of the interface metal/passive film/biofilm. Three different coupons of stainless steel (crude, polished and blasted) were deposited on the site (in-situ) in the first time. In a second step, we performed experiments mixed (in-situ incubation and growth in the laboratory). The evolution of the free potential of these steels is very close for crude steel and polished steel. Conversely, the blasted steel, by the presence of alumina grains on its surface, shows a different behaviour. A comparative study of those two experiments shows differences in the electrical parameters of the interface metal/passive film/biofilm.

The research focuses on the utilisation of open-source information in augmentation of the all-source counterespionage endeavour. The study has the principal objective of designing, contextualising and elucidating a micro-theoretical framework for open-source environmental scanning within the civilian, statutory counterespionage sphere. The research is underpinned by the central assumption that the environmental scanning and the contextual analysis of overt information will enable the identification, description and prioritisation of espionage risks that would not necessarily have emerged through the statutory counterespionage process in which secretly collected information predominates. The environmental scanning framework is further assumed to offer a theoretical foundation to surmount a degenerative counterespionage spiral driven by an over-reliance on classified information. Flowing from the central assumption, five further assumptions formulated and tested in the research are the following: (1) A methodically demarcated referent premise enables the focusing and structuring of the counterespionage environmental scanning process amid the exponential proliferation of overt information. (2) Effective environmental scanning of overt information for counterespionage necessitates a distinctive definition of ‘risk’ and ‘threat’, as these are interlinked yet different concepts. It is therefore asserted that current notions of ‘threat’ and ‘risk’ are inadequate for feasible employment within an overt counterespionage environmental scanning framework. (3) A framework for overt counterespionage environmental scanning has as its primary requirement the ability to identify diverse risks, descriptively and predicatively, on a strategic as well as a tactical level. (4) The degree of adversity in the relationship between a government and an adversary constitutes the principal indicator and determinant of an espionage risk. (5) The logical accommodation of a framework for overt counterespionage environmental scanning necessitates a distinctive counterintelligence cycle, as existing conceptualisations of the intelligence cycle are inadequate. The study’s objective and the testing of these five assumptions are pursued on both the theoretical and pragmatic-utilitarian levels. The framework for counterespionage, open-source environmental scanning and risk assessment is presented as part of a multilayered unison of alternative theoretical propositions on the all-source intelligence, counterintelligence and counterespionage processes. It is furthermore advanced from the premise of an alternative proposition on an integrated approach to open-source intelligence. On a pragmatic-utilitarian level, the framework’s design is informed and its application elucidated through an examination of the 21st century espionage reality confronting the nation state, contemporary statutory counterintelligence measures and the ‘real-life’ difficulties of open-source intelligence confronting practitioners. Although with certain qualifications, the assumptions are in the main validated by the research. The research furthermore affirms this as an exploratory thesis in a largely unexplored field. / Thesis (Ph.D)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Political Sciences / Unrestricted

In the last five years, the US has experienced a significant number of unprecedented events, many of which will have long-term impact on its business environment. Given this fact and the rapid pace of change in the world today, there is a new imperative for understanding and managing these complex dynamics and associated emergent risks. This dissertation, therefore, focused on analyzing the current state of the US business environment; the analysis creates a basis for further examination of the various aspects of the studied problems. The author undertook a comprehensive environmental scan, using a broad set of information resources, in order to look at its present status and the factors affecting it as well as the perceived level of risk. During this process, the author also attempted to verify whether the current method of PEST analysis is still a relevant and useful tool given today's complex, intertwined and quickly evolving global business environment. The first chapter is devoted to the theoretical background of information seeking and environmental analysis as well as classifying international business risks. Chapter two takes a broad look at the US macro economy, including the following areas: Political, Legal, Economic, Socio-Cultural and Technological. Chapter three is a business application, and the bulk of its content is devoted to the specifics of the current US business environment; the perceived risks affecting it are also investigated. Final conclusions are drawn based on the research conducted.