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This article discusses the circulation of information extracted from François Valentyn's Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën (1724-1726) during the eighteenth century, both with regards to the central organs of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the Netherlands and the VOC establishments in the East Indies. First, three documents are analysed that were part of five VOC directors' personal archives, with the aim to determine the way these directors made use of Valentyn's book. It is concluded that for these directors Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën was probably the most important source of information about the VOC's trading empire, while at the same time their epistemic interest was limited to matters of trade. Second, the usage of Valentyn's book in various VOC establishments in the East Indies is assessed on the basis of correspondence between these establishments with the VOC central government in Batavia. Because of the fact that Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën was used simultaneously as a source of information by several actors, both in the Netherlands and in the East Indies, this might have resulted in standardising the operational knowledge of the East Indies within the VOC network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its central location the Chaghadaid ulus played a key role in the interregional diplomatic connections in the Mongol period. Unfortunately, comparing to the other three ulus es of the Mongol Empire we have a very limited number of written sources concerning the Chaghadaid realm. The aim of the present paper is to show how the new results of the philological study of the Old Uyghur and Middle Mongolian documents can throw new light upon our knowledge about the diplomatic practices in the Chaghadaid ulus. The paper concentrates on the two most important institutions which facilitated diplomatic relations: the chancelleries and the postal system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper occupies a special place in histories of knowledge. It is the substrate of communication, the stuff of archives, the bearer of marks that make worlds. For the early-modern period in particular we now have a wealth of studies of ‘paper tools’, of the ways in which archives were assembled and put to use, of the making of lists and transcribing of observations, and so on. In other fields, too, attention has turned to the materiality of information. How far is it possible to draw a stable methodology out of the insights of literary and book historians, bibliographers, anthropologists, and those working in media studies? Do these diverse fields in fact refer to the same thing when they talk of paper, its qualities, affordances and limitations? In attempting to answer these questions, the present essay begins in the rich territory of early-modern natural philosophy – but from there opens out to take in recent works in a range of disciplines. Attending to the specific qualities of paper is only possible, I argue, if it is understood that paper can be both transparent and opaque depending on the social world it inhabits and helps to constitute. Paper flickers into and out of view, and it is precisely this quality that constitutes its sociomateriality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

this paper, we consider the Fourier spectral approximation for numerically solving the Kolmogorov-Spiegel-Sivashinsky equation. The semi-discrete and fully discrete schemes are established. Moreover, the existence, uniqueness and the optimal error bound are also considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work the acoustic emission (AE) technique is applied to examine some aspects influencing concrete failure in compression. By monitoring a structure by means of the AE technique, it proves possible to detect the occurrence of stress-induced cracks. Cracking, in fact, is accompanied by the emission of elastic waves that propagate within the bulk of the material. These waves can be received and recorded by transducers applied to the surface of the structural elements. This technique can be used for diagnosing structural damage phenomena. The current paper presents a mixed experimental and theoretical approach to evaluate the energy density dissipated during compression at each value of strain. Through this method, the two semi-empirical Gutenberg-Richter (GR) laws, well-known in seismology, are verified, the fractal interpretation results of which are very close to the essence of the AE phenomenon. Furthermore, the mentioned approach allows the parameter of ‘magnitude’ to be identified, appearing in the laws, with the number of oscillations larger than a given threshold measured in volts. Finally, the developed concepts are applied to the study of the compression phenomenon. In particular, by this approach, it is possible to distinguish between the energy progressively dissipated or stored in a compressed structural element. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Services form an important part of the economy today. Innovation for service firms is as important as for manufacturing, but the innovation process for service firms is comparatively little studied. In this paper, I review the literature there is on the innovation process for service firms, and make two suggestions for formalizing that process. The common thought that service firms do not innovate does not hold. Innovation is, however, often ad hoc for services, and it can therefore be difficult to measure firms' innovation efforts. These points are related to issues of appropriability of the benefits of innovation in services. The two issues primarily discussed in this paper — the possibilities of formalizing and appropriating in case of new service development — are central issues for service firms. It is here that this paper offers some contributions to the existing literature; it does not so much present an overview thereof. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]