Selected indicators for evaluation of eco-innovation projects

This paper addresses a particular innovation projects category, that is, eco-innovation, in line with the fact that a lot of research has been recently carried out in this area, due to increasing attention. Eco-innovation projects are related to development and introducing the new products, processes and services that reduce the overall negative impact on the environment, putting the business and innovation together to create sustainable solutions. The aim of our research is developing a model for prioritization of the most frequent eco-innovation projects in the recycling field. It should be one of the key challenges for national economies as it happens to be one of the current priorities and burning issues for the European Commission (Horizon 2020, CIP, COSME, etc.), giving the proposed model framework. The ranking has been established with regard to common national economy benefits defined through identified criteria, by applying the well-known analytic hierarchy process method of multi-criteria decision-making.     

k-Means Algorithm in Statistical Shape Analysis

In this work it is shown how the k-means method for clustering objects can be applied in the context of statistical shape analysis. Because the choice of the suitable distance measure is a key issue for shape analysis, the Hartigan and Wong k-means algorithm is adapted for this situation. Simulations on controlled artificial data sets demonstrate that distances on the pre-shape spaces are more appropriate than the Euclidean distance on the tangent space. Finally, results are presented of an application to a real problem of oceanography, which in fact motivated the current work.     

Fast Random Number Generation Using 128-Bit Multimedia Extension Registers on Pentium Class Machines

In this article, it is shown how 128-bit SSE2 multimedia extension registers, present in Pentium IV class 32-bit processors, may be used to generate random numbers at several times greater speed then when regular general purpose registers are used. In particular, a 128-bit algorithm is presented for the Marsaglia MWC1616 generator from the DIEHARD battery of random number generator tests, and its performance is compared to that of the conventional approach.