East Germany’s Wage Gap: A non-parametric decomposition based on establishment characteristics

East German wages have been below the West German wage level since unification. Moreover, the East-West wage gap implied by the contractual wages specified in collective wage agreements is drifting ever further apart from the wage gap in terms of effective wages. This paper looks at the role of establishment-specific factors — such as sectoral affiliation and size of the labour force — in this process. A non-parametric decomposition that has played a prominent role in the gender wage-gap literature is applied to breakdown the East-West wage gap into its constituent components. Using establishment data from the German employment statistics, the paper demonstrates that the divergence between wage agreements and effective wages is probably not a consequence of a massive escape from collective wage agreements, or the intense use of opt-out clauses in such agreements in East Germany. Rather, the shift of East Germany’s economic structure towards lower-paying types of companies has caused the lagging behind in the adjustment of wages.Regional Wage Gap, Decomposition, Nonparametric Regression

COIM: An Object-Process Based Method for Analyzing Architectures of Complex, Interconnected, Large-Scale Socio-Technical Systems

There is growing evidence for the relevance of human behavioral factors in successful development of new products, processes, and services. The evidence is even clearer when the forces affecting the development and evolution of long-lived, large, and open complex socio-technical systems are examined. Methods that study the architecture of these systems can help scholars and practitioners to better understand, manage, and develop socio-technical systems. We propose an approach and a method to address these needs that is grounded in the theory of systems architecture and builds on the strengths of Object Process Methodology (OPM) and the process for representing Complex Large-scale Interconnected Open Socio-technical (CLIOS) systems. We do so by integrating these methods into the CLIOS-OPM Integrated Method (COIM). COIM is conducive to studying a system's architecture and its evolution, as it is enhanced by a set of qualitative methods for answering questions about the reasons (why) and process (how) of change in human-made systems over time.Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Communications Futures ProgramNational Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant #EIA-0306723

Earth Radiation budget satellite system studies

The scientific objectives and the associated mission analysis, instrument definition, and data analysis methods are discussed

Formal specification-based monitoring, regression testing and aspects

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Third Conference on Artificial Intelligence for Space Applications, part 2

Topics relative to the application of artificial intelligence to space operations are discussed. New technologies for space station automation, design data capture, computer vision, neural nets, automatic programming, and real time applications are discussed

15th Annual Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol

Abstract booklet from the 15th Annual Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol

Työympäristöt NewSpace-tuotekehityksessä – Tapaustutkimus nanosatelliittiyrityksessä

Workspaces, along with work culture, are constantly evolving. The ongoing trend of creating inviting working environments and increasing productivity by fulfilling individual needs is reaching to all the fields, including the most conventional ones, such as space industry. During the past few decades, this traditionally inflexible and conservative industry has seen an emerging transition towards agile and market-driven direction. In the professional world, this growing phenomenon of commercialisation and privatization of space technology is referred as NewSpace. The purpose of this study was to determine what kind of working environment supports NewSpace. To get there, differences between conventional space industry and NewSpace were highlighted, serving as a basis of needs for entrepreneurial space activities. Additionally, the concept of working environment was analysed to determine the attributes which create a desirable basis for working. These needs and desirables provided a framework of working environment design for a NewSpace company. The study starts with a comprehensive literature review and proceeds to practical part, consisting of observations, interviews and a practical re-arrangement setup for the case company, Reaktor Space Lab (RSL), a new-found startup that spun off from a university project. Emphasis was put to measurability and its difficulties, therefore an online survey was conducted and the results were analysed. The goal of the survey was not only to evaluate the current state of RSL, but to assess the importance of comprehensive working environment design and evaluate its relevance to NewSpace industry. The study produced findings that can be summarized into following statements: 1) In space industry, modern and comprehensive design of working environment is only seldom taken into consideration and it is often seen as a cost rather than necessity, 2) workspace as such does not provide an extensive solution for environmental change, therefore emphasis should be put into understanding case-specific needs and approaching organisational change on a systematic level and 3) Working environment design does have impact to NewSpace companies, however the approach applies only to certain sort of space projects, so it shouldn’t be taken as a platitude in space industry. Based on these findings, this thesis provides fundamental suggestions for space technology companies that aim to develop its procedures towards agile NewSpace methodology. In addition, practical improvement proposals for RSL are proposed.Työpaikat ja työkulttuuri kehittyvät jatkuvasti. Kutsuvien, käyttäjien tarpeita mukailevien työympäristöjen luominen on yleistynyt alaan katsomatta – myös perinteisemmillä aloilla, kuten avaruusteollisuudessa. Tämä verrattain jäykkä ja täsmällinen teollisuudenhaara on kohdannut uuden ilmiön, jossa yksityiset avaruustoimijat yhdistävät ketterät toimintatavat ja markkinalähtöisyyden. Tästä yrittäjähenkisestä lähestymistavasta käytetään nimitystä NewSpace. Tämän diplomityön tarkoituksena oli selvittää, minkälainen työympäristö tukee NewSpace-toimintaa. Tämän määrittelemiseksi selvitettiin perinteisen avaruusteollisuuden ja NewSpace-tavan eroja, minkä perusteella määriteltiin kaupallisen avaruustoiminnan tarpeet. Lisäksi määritettiin työntekoa tukevan ympäristön ominaisuuksia tutkimalla modernia työympäristöä konseptitasolla. Näiden tarpeiden ja toivottujen ominaisuuksien avulla luotiin puitteet NewSpace-työympäristölle. Tutkimus alkaa kirjallisuuskatsauksella, joka luo pohjan käytännön osiolle. Tutkimusmetodeina käytetään kirjallisuuskatsauksen lisäksi havainnointia, haastatteluita sekä käytännön uudelleenjärjestelyjä kohdeyrityksessä Reaktor Space Lab. Tämän yliopistoprojektista liikkeelle lähteneen pienyrityksen työympäristöä ja sen muutoksia mitataan online-kyselyllä, jonka avulla saatiin tuloksia ja johtopäätöksiä sekä kohdeyrityksestä, että avaruusyrittäjyydestä yleisellä tasolla. Tutkimustuloksista tehtiin yhteenvetoja, jotka voidaan tiivistää seuraavasti: 1) Avaruusalalla otetaan harvoin huomioon työympäristö kattavasti siten, että se tukee henkilöstön tarpeita ja organisaation yhteisiä tavoitteita. 2) Työtilat eivät sellaisenaan tue ympäristön muutosta, joten muutoksessa tulee ottaa huomioon tapauskohtaiset organisaation ja yksilöiden tarpeet sekä toiminnan tavoitteet. 3) Kattavalla työympäristösuunnittelulla on vaikutusta NewSpace-toimintaan, mutta NewSpace ei sellaisenaan sovellu kaikkeen avaruustoimintaan. Tuloksien perusteella laadittiin ehdotus yleisistä toimintatavoista, jonka avulla voidaan kehittää työympäristö tukemaan ketterää NewSpace-avaruustoimintaa. Lisäksi tuotiin esille ehdotuksia kohdeyrityksen työympäristön kehittämiselle

Challenging Party Hegemony: Identity Work in China’s Emerging Virreal Places

The Chinese Communist Party has chosen to base the legitimacy of its rule on its performance as leading national power. Since national identity is based on shared imaginations of and directly tied to territory – hence place, this paper analyses both heterodox models for identification on the national and potentially competing place-based collective identities on the local level. This analysis, based on communication within a number of popular communication forums and on observation of behavior in the physical reality of today’s urban China, shows that communication within the virtual and behavior in the real world are not separated realities but form a new virreal spatial continuum consisting of imagined places both online and offline. I argue that ties to place are stronger and identities constructed on shared imaginations of place are more salient the more direct the experience of place is – be the place real, virtual or virreal. Hence in China challenges to one-party rule will probably accrue from competing localized collective identities rather than from heterodox nationalism.to explore the variety and complexity of functional antagonisms in the social subsystems.China, Internet, political power, collective identity, nationalism, place, bulletin, board system, online communication, online community

The evolution of business analytics : based on case study research

While business analytics is becoming more significant and widely used by companies from increasing industries, for many the concept remains a complex illusion. The field of business analytics is considerably generic and fragmented, leaving managers confused and ultimately inhibited to make valuable decisions. This paper presents an evolutionary depiction of business analytics, using real-world case studies to illustrate a distinct overview that describes where the phenomenon was derived from, where it currently stands, and where it is heading towards. This paper provides eight case studies, representing three different eras: yesterday (1950s to 1990s), today (2000s to 2020s), and tomorrow (2030s to 2050s). Through cross-case analysis we have identified concluding patterns that lay as foundation for the discussion on future development within business analytics. We argue based on our findings that automatization of business processes will most likely continue to increase. AI is expanding in numerous areas, each specializing in a complex task, previously reserved by professionals. However, patterns show that new occupations linked to artificial intelligence will most probably be created. For the training of intelligent systems, data will most likely be requested more than ever. The increasing data will likely cause complications in current data infrastructures, causing the need for stronger networks and systems. The systems will need to process, store, and manage the great amount of various data types in real-time, while maintaining high security. Furthermore, data privacy concerns have become more significant in recent years, although, the case study research indicates that it has not limited corporations access to data. On the contrary, corporations, people, and devices will most likely become even more connected than ever before.nhhma