Nabil Sultan

Bio: Nabil Sultan is an academic researcher from IFREMER. The author has contributed to research in topics: Clathrate hydrate & Pore water pressure. The author has an hindex of 38, co-authored 128 publications receiving 6244 citations. Previous affiliations of Nabil Sultan include University Campus Suffolk & University of Hyderabad.

On the thermal consolidation of Boom clay

Abstract: When a mass of saturated clay is heated, as in the case of host soils surrounding nuclear waste disposal at great depth, the thermal expansion of the constituents generates excess pore pressures. T...

Understanding the determinants of cloud computing adoption

Abstract: – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that affect the adoption of cloud computing by firms belonging to the high‐tech industry. The eight factors examined in this study are relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, top management support, firm size, technology readiness, competitive pressure, and trading partner pressure., – A questionnaire‐based survey was used to collect data from 111 firms belonging to the high‐tech industry in Taiwan. Relevant hypotheses were derived and tested by logistic regression analysis., – The findings revealed that relative advantage, top management support, firm size, competitive pressure, and trading partner pressure characteristics have a significant effect on the adoption of cloud computing., – The research was conducted in the high‐tech industry, which may limit the generalisability of the findings., – The findings offer cloud computing service providers with a better understanding of what affects cloud computing adoption characteristics, with relevant insight on current promotions., – The research contributes to the application of new technology cloud computing adoption in the high‐tech industry through the use of a wide range of variables. The findings also help firms consider their information technologies investments when implementing cloud computing.

Winning through Innovation: A Practical Guide to Leading Organizational Change and Renewal

Abstract: Winning Through Innovation: A Practical Guide to Leading Organizational Change and Renewal Tushman, Michael L. and O'Reilly, Charles A., 256 pp., Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1997. Reviewed by Subodh P. Kulkarni, Assistant Professor in School of Business at Howard University, Washington, D.C. Professors Tushman and O'Reilly are well known for their research on innovation and organizational culture. In this book, the authors address a fundamental and interesting issue underlying organizational change and innovation: that of how firms can achieve a balance between stability and change. Businesses are not likely to prosper or survive in the long run without this balance. One of the book's key premises is that short-term success may constrain a firm's ability to change. Short term successes often occur in larger, older, more structured organizations, the source of structural and cultural inertia, which yields success in stable environments and failure when environments change. Therefore, a company's culture holds the key to success (or failure) in the long run. To create and sustain a competitive edge in the long run, companies must learn how to manage incremental and revolutionary change. The key, according to the authors, is to develop an "ambidextrous organization." Tushman and O'Reilly define ambidextrous organizations as those having internally consistent structures and an internal operating culture that provides for excelling today, while also planning for the future. The ambidextrous organizations are, thus, engaged in a balancing act between the management of incremental and revolutionary technologies. Further, these organizations have very different cultures within a company (or even a business unit, for that matter). Vision is vital to ambidextrous organizations, often displaying one vision that hosts multiple cultures in the unit. Of course, a firm can have multiple cultures under one roof by spinning off different business units and managing them independently. This is unacceptable to the authors. It is important to manage them as a whole, or as a system. The thing that holds the system components together is the overarching vision for the technology firm. That is why the book emphasizes strategic intent or competitive vision; because without a common, overarching purpose and set of values, the ambidextrous company just does not hold together. So it is not only different cultures, but different structures, systems, rewards, and competencies that need to be managed together. Drawing on their extensive research, consulting practice, as well as the experiences of managers from several "ambidextrous companies," the authors develop a model that can be used by executives to understand the dynamics of change necessary for long-term success. Toward this end, the book provides several tools for identifying and diagnosing the causes of performance gaps and for developing action plans to attain, and maintain, industry leadership. The book is divided into nine chapters. Chapter 1 is introductory, and it outlines the concepts underlying the authors' model. Chapter 2 highlights the significance of the concepts introduced earlier in the context of global change and innovation. Chapters 3 through 6 focus on the building of capabilities, competencies, and cultures that can generate a sustainable competitive advantage. Chapter 4 develops a model that highlights the congruence among an organization's strategies and four distinct factors: critical tasks, culture, structure, and people. A lack of congruence often results in performance gaps. Chapter 5 outlines how organizational culture-the selecting, socializing, and rewarding of workers consistent with the company's goals-promotes this congruence. It also illustrates how to assesses an organization's culture. Chapters 7 and 8 stand out in particular because in these chapters the authors introduce techniques for building an ambidextrous organization. …

Physical properties of hydrate-bearing sediments

Abstract: [1] Methane gas hydrates, crystalline inclusion compounds formed from methane and water, are found in marine continental margin and permafrost sediments worldwide. This article reviews the current understanding of phenomena involved in gas hydrate formation and the physical properties of hydrate-bearing sediments. Formation phenomena include pore-scale habit, solubility, spatial variability, and host sediment aggregate properties. Physical properties include thermal properties, permeability, electrical conductivity and permittivity, small-strain elastic P and S wave velocities, shear strength, and volume changes resulting from hydrate dissociation. The magnitudes and interdependencies of these properties are critically important for predicting and quantifying macroscale responses of hydrate-bearing sediments to changes in mechanical, thermal, or chemical boundary conditions. These predictions are vital for mitigating borehole, local, and regional slope stability hazards; optimizing recovery techniques for extracting methane from hydrate-bearing sediments or sequestering carbon dioxide in gas hydrate; and evaluating the role of gas hydrate in the global carbon cycle.