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To authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8586.2009.00321.x Byline: Yoshinari Miyamoto (*) Keywords: capital commitment; homothetic production technology; labour-managed firm; reaction functions Abstract: ABSTRACT Developing a Cournot two-stage game model with strategic capital interaction, we compare two different kinds of equilibrium in a labour-managed (LM) duopoly. An LM firm's reaction function is negatively sloped when capital and output are simultaneously determined, while the slope of its reaction function in the second stage changes in sign depending on the magnitude of its labour-expansion elasticity. Hence, whether the LM firms employ more capital and produce greater output at the equilibria in the two-stage game model than at the equilibria resulting from the simultaneous selection of capital and output depends on the magnitude of their labour-expansion elasticity. Author Affiliation: (*)Faculty of Economics, Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan Article note: Correspondence: Faculty of Economics, Osaka City University, 3-3-138 Sugimoto, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka 558-8585, Japan. Tel: +81-6-6605-2251; Fax: +81-6-6605-3066; Email: yoshinari_miyamoto@nifty.com. Previous versions of this paper were presented at the Annual Meeting of the Japanese Economic Association at Chuo University, and seminars at Osaka City University, the University of Warwick, Fudan University, Chonnam National University, the University of Tokyo and Okayama University. The author is grateful to S. Haruna, N.J. Ireland, S.-H. Lee, T. Nakajima, seminar participants and anonymous referees for their valuable comments. The usual disclaimer applies.

Experimental studies and finite-difference time-domain simulations of electromagnetic (EM) response of the second-stage Menger sponge dielectric structures have been performed with different types of excitation in order to gain deeper insight into the phenomenon of EM wave localization in these fractals. Analysis of simulated amplitude distributions of electric field oscillations in the Menger sponges has revealed bandgap-like effects caused by resonances in the front part of the structures, as well as formation of the full-wave resonance mode in the central cavity at the localization frequency. It is demonstrated that penetration of the waves inside the structure at the localization frequency leads to equalizing of the EM response from different parts of the 3-D fractal, however, no high-Q eigenmode is formed in the second-stage Menger sponge. Simulations of the modified fractal structures have been used to show the potential of formation of a bandgap with defect-related localized photon states by 3-D fractals. Index Terms--Ceramics, electromagnetic (EM) fields, finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, fractals, resonance.

This paper uses two versions of a vertical product differentiation model with price competition to investigate how strategic behavior between rival firms influences which organizational production mode each firm adopts: that is, either vertical integration or outsourcing. We show that not only a symmetric configuration, where both high‐ and low‐quality firms outsource, but also an asymmetric configuration, where the high‐quality firm produces in‐house whereas the low‐quality firm outsources, are acceptable as a subgame‐perfect equilibrium outcome. We explore the implications of these results in light of the recent slump in business of Japanese electronics enterprises in the flat‐panel television industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three-dimensional microphotonic crystal with diamond structure, in which a cube cavity of the stage 2 Menger sponge fractal is embedded, was designed in order to localize effectively terahertz waves. The crystal was fabricated from alumina ceramics by a computer aided design/computar aided manufacturing microstereolithography and sintering process. The localization frequency was in good agreement with both the simulated frequency determined by the transmission line modeling method and the calculated frequency by using the empirical equation. The simulated amplitude distribution of electric field oscillations showed that three different resonance modes exist in substructures of the sponge with each half wavelength oscillation. The wave leakage from the single sponge fractal was effectively blocked by the outer diamond structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Unique porous SiC ceramics with a honeycomb structure were fabricated by a sintering-decarburization process. In this new process, first a SiC ceramic bonded carbon (SiC/CBC) is sintered in vacuum by spark plasma sintering, and then carbon particles in SiC/CBC are volatized by heating in air at 1000°C without shrinkage. The honeycomb structure has at least two different sizes of pores; ∼20μm in size resulting from carbon removal; and smaller open pores of 2.1μm remaining in the sintered SiC shell. The total porosity is around 70% and the bulk density is 0.93mg/m3. The bending and compressive strengths are 26MPa, and 105MPa, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A dense SiC coating on carbon particles has been developed using SiO powders as the Si source and a chemical vapor reaction method. The coating process was controlled by atmosphere, coating temperature, time, and weight ratio of SiO/C. The SiC-coated carbon particles, with a mean particle size of 20 μm, were sintered at 2000°C under 40 MPa for 20 min by spark plasma sintering ( SPS). The product, called ceramic bonded carbon ( CBC), had a unique microstructure, with a 3D micro-network structure consisting of carbon particles covered with 1~5 μm thick SiC boundary layers. The sintering behavior of SiC/ CBCs was analyzed in terms of the network formation of SiC boundary layers at over 1800°C and the grain growth of SiC at 2000°C. SiC/ CBCs showed a bending strength of 150 MPa and a low shore hardness of 40. These materials could also be easily joined to SiC ceramics using SPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]