Outsourcing and Employment: A Decomposition Approach

In this paper we study the employment effects of changes in the levels and patterns of outsourcing in the Austrian economy over the periods 1995-2000 and 2000-2003. Based on an input-output framework we apply a hierarchical decomposition analysis to disentangle the employment effects of changes in labour productivity, technical input coefficients and final demand components. Outsourcing is modelled as changes in the shares of domestically produced intermediates. For this some further details can be derived by distinguishing between intermediate imports of energy, material and service products or according to educational intensities of the imported intermediate products. Following this approach first allows to study the direct and indirect effects of changes in the levels and structures of outsourcing.Second, the framework takes account of all 60 sectors (products) of the economy and thus also includes employment effects of service offshoring. Third, we also calculate the employment effects for three employment groups distinguished by educational attainment levels. This paper thus provides a comprehensive picture of employment effects of outsourcing in the Austrian economy.Foreign Direct Investment, outsourcing, offshoring, employment effects, hierarchical decomposition, input-output modelling

The influence of the Prohibition era on the structure of the whiskey industry

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University, 1948. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

User Acceptance of Multifunctional Smart Cards

The introduction of smart cards in the Austrian public sector has been discussed since the late 1980s. Public organisations including the national health insurance institute and the national citizen registration office are in the conceptual phase of the introduction. One of the pilot projects was the roll-out of the multifunctional student ID card to the students of the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration (WU Vienna) in autumn 2000. To assess the pilot and to gain insight into further projects, it is necessary to investigate the students’ point of view and their acceptance of the WU smart card. Furthermore it would be interesting to gain knowledge about the integration of further functionalities such as payment services or health insurance data. In this paper, which is a co-operation of three departments at the WU Vienna, we want to give a report on the current status of the research project focused on investigating the issues affecting the introduction of new functionalities of the multifunctional student ID card at the WU Vienna. While the research reported here is still at an early stage of analysis, we have already gained significant findings on students’ attitude towards usage of current as well as of potential extended functionalities of the student ID card. The main focus of our research is to gain knowledge about the general students’ acceptance. The data collection was carried out through an online questionnaire and the data analysis was based on a sample of 417 students. Evaluating the findings of the first phase of our research project, we have been able to draw implications for the next stage of our investigation

Deafferentation of the superior colliculus abolishes spatial summation of redundant visual signals

Two visual signals appearing simultaneously are detected more rapidly than either signal appearing alone. Part of this redundant target effect (RTE) can be attributed to neural summation that has been proposed to occur in the superior colliculus (SC). We report direct evidence in two neurological patients for neural summation in the SC, and that it is mediated by afferent visual information transmitted through its brachium. The RTE was abolished in one patient with a hemorrhage involving the right posterior thalamus that damaged part of the SC and that disrupted its brachium; and in another patient in whom the SC appeared intact but deafferented due to traumatic avulsion of its brachium. In addition reaction time for unilateral targets in the contralesional field was slowed in both patients, providing the first evidence that visual afferents to the SC contribute to the efficiency of target detection

Circadian circuits in humans:White matter microstructure predicts daytime sleepiness

The suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus is the chief circadian pacemaker in the brain, and is entrained to day-night cycles by visual afferents from melanopsin containing retinal ganglion cells via the inferior accessory optic tract. Tracer studies have demonstrated efferents from the suprachiasmatic nucleus projecting to the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, which in turn project to first-order sympathetic neurons in the intermedio-lateral grey of the spinal cord. Sympathetic projections to the pineal gland trigger the secretion of the sleep inducing hormone melatonin. The current study reports the first demonstration of potential sympathopetal hypothalamic projections involved in circadian regulation in humans with in vivo virtual white matter dissections using probabilistic diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography. Additionally, our data shows a correlation between individual differences in white matter microstructure (measured with fractional anisotropy) and increased daytime sleepiness [measured with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS, Johns, 1991)]. Sympathopetal connections with the hypothalamus were virtually dissected using designated masks on the optic chiasm, which served as an anatomical landmark for retinal fibres projecting to the suprachiasmatic nucleus, and a waypoint mask on the lateral medulla, where hypothalamic projections to the sympathetic nervous system traverse in humans. Sympathopetal projections were demonstrated in each hemisphere in twenty-six subjects. The tract passed through the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus and its trajectory corresponds to the dorsal longitudinal fasciculus traversing the periaqueductal region and the lateral medulla. White matter microstructure (FA) in the left hemisphere correlated with high scores on the ESS, suggesting an association between circadian pathway white matter microstructure, and increased daytime sleepiness

Optimization Algorithms for Integration of Design, Control, and Scheduling for Chemical Processes Subject to Disturbances and Uncertainty

Optimization of multiproduct processes is vital for process performance, especially during dynamic transitions between operating points. However, determining the optimal operating conditions can be a challenging problem, since many aspects must be considered, such as design, control, and scheduling. This problem is further complicated by process disturbances and parameter uncertainty, which are typically randomly distributed variables that traditional methods of optimization are not equipped to handle. Multi-scenario approaches that consider every possible realization are also impractical, as they quickly become computationally prohibitive for large-scale applications. Therefore, new methods are emerging for generating robust solutions without adding excessive complexity. This thesis focuses on the development of two of those optimization methods for the integration of design, control, and scheduling for multi-product processes in the presence of disturbances and parameter uncertainty. Firstly, a critical set method is presented, which decomposes the overall problem into flexibility and feasibility analyses. The flexibility problem is solved under a critical (worst-case) set of disturbance and uncertainty realizations, which is faster than considering the entire (non-critical) set. The feasibility problem evaluates the dynamic feasibility of the entire set, and updates the critical set accordingly, adding any realizations that are found to be infeasible. The algorithm terminates when a robust solution is found, which is feasible under all identified scenarios. To account for the importance of grade transitions in multiproduct processes, the proposed framework integrates scheduling into the dynamic model by the use of flexible finite elements. The critical set method is applied to two case studies, a continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) and a plug flow reactor (PFR), both subject to process disturbance and parameter uncertainty. The proposed method is shown to return robust solutions that are of higher quality than the traditional sequential method, which determines the design, control, and scheduling independently. This work also considers the development of a back-off method for integration of design, control, and scheduling for multi-product systems subject to disturbances and parameter uncertainty. The key feature of this method is the consideration of stochastic random variables for the process disturbance and parameter uncertainty, while most works discretize these variables. This method employs Monte Carlo (MC) sampling to generate a large number of random realizations, and simulate the system to determine feasibility. Back-off terms are determined and incorporated into a new flexibility analysis to approximate the effect of stochastic uncertainty and disturbances. The back-off terms are refined through successive iterations, and the algorithm converges, terminating on a solution that is robust to a specified level of process variability. The back-off method is applied to a similar CSTR case study for which optimal design, control, and scheduling decisions are identified, subject to stochastic uncertainty and disturbance. Another scenario is analyzed, where the CSTR is controlled in open-loop, and the control actions are determined directly from the optimization. The back-off method successfully produces solutions in both scenarios, which are robust to specified levels of variability, and consider stochastic representations of process disturbance and parameter uncertainty. The results from the case studies indicate that there are interactions between optimal design, control, scheduling, disturbance, and uncertainty, thus motivating the need for integration of all these aspects using the methods described in this thesis. The solutions provided by the critical set method and the back-off can be compared, since the methods are applied to the same CSTR case study, aside from the differences in disturbance and uncertainty. The back-off method offers a slightly improved solution, though the critical set method demands much less computational time. Therefore, both methods have benefits and limitations, so the optimal method would depend on the available computational time, and the desired quality and robustness of the solution

A dynamic optimization framework for integration of design, control and scheduling of multi-product chemical processes under disturbance and uncertainty

The final publication is available at Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compchemeng.2017.05.007 © 2017. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/A novel dynamic optimization framework is presented for integration of design, control, and scheduling for multi-product processes in the presence of disturbances and parameter uncertainty. This framework proposes an iterative algorithm that decomposes the overall problem into flexibility and feasibility analyses. The flexibility problem is solved under a critical (worst-case) set of disturbance and uncertainty realizations, whereas the feasibility problem evaluates the dynamic feasibility of each realization, and updates the critical set accordingly. The algorithm terminates when a robust solution is found, which is feasible under all identified scenarios. To account for the importance of grade transitions in multiproduct processes, the proposed framework integrates scheduling into the dynamic model by the use of flexible finite elements. This framework is applied to a multi-product continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) system subject to disturbance and parameter uncertainty. The proposed method is shown to return robust solutions that are of higher quality than the traditional sequential method. The results indicate that scheduling decisions are affected by design and control decisions, thus motivating the need for integration of these three aspects.Natural Sciences & Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC)Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS