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The purpose of this paper is to provide a new theory of adjustable speed decoupled generation which has the potential to challenge existing coupled generation based on a classical synchronous generator operating with fixed speed.

The paper's approach is a theoretical consideration of the drawbacks of conventional fixed speed generation based on a synchronous generator and proposal of problem solutions by the introduction of a decoupled generation system with additional degree of freedom. Computer calculations are used as design and for preliminary verification. Tests in a real laboratory system equipped with modern components such as electrical machines and power electronic converters proved the theory.

Decoupled generation is realized in a very original way using new blocks, integration method and control. The developed system has been awarded more than six world patents. The system has additional degrees of freedom in speed and grid connection operation.

The research team has concentrated its research over many years and developed a generation system which has been awarded a great number of patents. A special axial flux, light and simple permanent magnet generator was developed and integrated to the prime mover. A three‐phase AC/AC power electronic converter and a DSP controller are integrated to a very small size and low weight. The invented topology provides a very reliable operation, high‐quality AC voltage in fully three‐phase non‐symmetrical load. There were also presentations on world conferences (EPE, PESC, EPE‐PEMC).

The application of activity based costing (ABC); calculating the cost of a CNC Process using ABC; designing a pricing strategy.

The case can be used in the following courses: MBA program with specialisation in finance (to teach students the application of costing in services sector); MBA program in general management (to highlight the concept of activity based costing and its application); and under an elective course on management control systems in MBA programs (to highlight the strategy to determine price effectively).

The case highlights the application of activity based costing in arriving at cost and finally leading to development of price to be charged by KK Metals. The company wishes to compute the activity based cost of CNC process and develop the selling price for 194 precision turning services scientifically as opposed to the present strategy of being a price taker, largely on the basis of what essentially is prevalent in the local market within which KK Metals operates. The case gives an insight to numerous control variables that the management can consider while pricing its services.

The case can be used to understand management concepts such as ABC, pricing and the role of efficiency in business processes. It can be used to: teach complexities involved in identifying activity driver(s) in case of ABC as far as application to service sector is concerned; help understand the use of costing as an effective tool in pricing strategy of the company; and help students realize the significance of inputs used for calculating per hour cost.

Teaching notes are available. Consult your librarian for access.

This paper aims to find out accredited social health activists’ (ASHA) communication competence and effectiveness while working as leaders with groups in the rural setting. ASHA, as the “first point of contact” for pregnant women in rural areas, plays a significant role in building awareness and disseminating key information at critical times (e.g. antenatal and post-natal period), promotes healthy maternal and newborn care practices and facilitates identification and referral of maternal and newborn complications. ASHA plays critical role of a leader in bridging the gap between health system and community. In the entire process, effective communication competency is the key to her effectiveness.

The study adopts seven items from the farmers communication (FACOM) scale of communication measures developed by Udai Pareek and Y.P Singh. Preliminary editing of the items was done keeping certain points in mind such as the items should not be judgemental, should be acts of behaviour, should be observable and should be simple. This scale was adopted for the study, as it was designed to measure farmers’ communication competence and suited the context. The evaluation criteria included the seven essential elements of communication identified in the FACOM scale.

Results from the study identified a need to sensitise ASHAs on the critical role of effective communication and need for investing more in building her capacity for health communication. The trainings being imparted to ASHAs have to be strengthened in terms of communication skills. They should focus upon developing all three variables of communication skills equally and integrating them to get desired results.

The study was conducted in one state while the programme is running across the country. The sample size was small.

The learning of the study will help in developing a better understanding of the beneficiaries’ perspectives and their expectations regarding ASHAs communication process in the leadership role which she performs. Such understanding will not only be instructive but may also prove transformative for the benefit of both ASHAs and her community, whose support is critical to the success of the programme. This learning will feed into the policy planning and communication and capacity building strategy of the ASHA programme and may lead to better and more effective strategies and tools of communication.

Research study is original. Keeping the observers’ status in mind, questionnaire was translated in Hindi language. Twenty ASHAs were selected randomly from small villages of Uttar Pradesh, the largest state in India. The scale was presented to at least five observers (all females) for one ASHA. These observers/judges were the ones who knew ASHA well and with whom she had communicated at some point of time as part of her work.

Existing scholarship indicates that more research is needed to explore beneficial spillovers from public entrepreneurship. The purpose of this paper is to fill the gap in that literature by examining a case of public entrepreneurship by a corporation. While political engagement by private firms frequently reduces to rent-seeking, this paper explores an instance in which public entrepreneurship by a private firm lead to beneficial spillovers – specifically, positive externalities resulting from the engagement of Cummins Engine Company with city government in Columbus, Indiana. In the case study, these spillovers consist of improved infrastructure, altered norms, and the reintroduction of economic calculation.

This case study uses publications in popular outlets, newspapers, and historical documents to understand the relationship between Cummins Engine Company and its local government.

Contrary to the presumption that public engagement by private firms necessarily reduces to rent-seeking, the activities of the Cummins Engine Company lead to beneficial public spillovers by way of improved infrastructure and norms, as well as by restoring a degree of economic calculation to the production of public buildings in Columbus, Indiana.

The authors illustrate the precise mechanisms that generate the potential spillovers from public entrepreneurship that Klein et al. (2010) explore theoretically.

Our study explores friction costs in terms of competition and market structure, considering factors such as market share, industry leverage levels, industry hedging levels, number of peers, and the geographic concentration that influences reinsurance purchase in the Property and Casualty insurance industry in China. Financial factors that influence the hedging level are also included. The data are hand collected from 2008 to 2015 from the Chinese Insurance Yearbook. Using panel data analysis techniques, the results are interesting. The capital structure shows a significant negative relationship with the hedging level. Group has a negative relationship with reinsurance purchases. Assets exhibit a negative relationship with hedging levels. The hedging level has a negative relation with the individual hedging level. Insurers have less incentive to hedge because it provides less resource than leverage. The study also robustly investigates the strategic risk management separately by the financial crises.

While bilinguals frequently mix languages in everyday conversation, these hybrid language practices have often been viewed from a deficit perspective, particularly in classroom contexts. However, an emerging literature documents the complexity of hybrid language practices and their usefulness as an academic and social resource for bilingual students. This chapter examines hybrid language practices among English- and Spanish-speaking high school students in an astronomy/oceanography classroom in southern Arizona. Microethnography, or fine-grained analysis of video recordings from long-term ethnographic observation, is used to reveal what bilingual students accomplished with hybrid language practices in the classroom and to outline implications for teachers who want to engage their students’ hybrid repertoires. Specifically, the analyses reveal that careful attention to hybrid language practices can provide teachers with insights into students’ academic learning across linguistic codes, their use of language mixing for particular functions, and their beliefs about language and identity. The research is necessarily limited in scope because such in-depth analysis can only be done with a very small amount of data. Nevertheless, the findings affirm that hybrid language practices can enrich classroom discourse, academic learning, and social interaction for emergent bilinguals. The chapter highlights a teacher’s story in order to offer practical guidance to other teachers who seek to capitalize on the promise of hybrid language practices in their own classrooms.