The Organizational Engine of Rankings: Connecting “New” and “Old” Institutionalism

Ringel L, Brankovic J, Werron T. The Organizational Engine of Rankings: Connecting “New” and “Old” Institutionalism. Politics and Governance. 2020;8(2):36–47.When explaining the ubiquity of rankings, researchers tend to emphasize macro or contextual phenomena, such as the power of or the trust in numbers, neoliberal forces, or a general spirit of competition. Meanwhile, the properties of rankers are rarely, if at all, taken into account. In contrast to the received wisdom, we argue that the institutionalization of rankings in different fields is also contingent upon another, often-neglected factor: over time, rankers have become increasingly more organized. To investigate the role of ranking organizations, we look into the distinct properties of present-day rankings and highlight three dimensions along which rankings have evolved over the course of the twentieth century, namely, publication frequency, handling complex tasks, and audience engagement. On this basis, we argue that these dimensions have to a large extent been affected by formal organization and we show how ranking organizations have over time developed capacities to (a) publish rankings on a continual basis, (b) handle the often complex production process by means of division of labor, and (c) generate considerable degrees of attention by addressing large and diverse audiences. On a more general note, we argue that accounting for the role of organization in the instutionalization of rankings requires a combination of insights from both “old” and “new” strands of thinking in institutional theory

Achromatic, planar Fresnel-Reflector for a Single-beam Magneto-optical Trap

We present a novel achromatic, planar, periodic mirror structure for single-beam magneto-optical trapping and demonstrate its use in first- and second-stage cooling and trapping for different isotopes of strontium. We refer to it as Fresnel MOT as the structure is inspired by Fresnel lenses. By design, it avoids many of the problems that arise for multi-color cooling using planar structures based on diffraction gratings, which have been the dominant planar structures to be used for single-beam trapping thus far. In addition to a complex design process and cost-intensive fabrication, diffraction gratings suffer from their inherent chromaticity, which causes different axial displacements of trap volumes for the different wavelengths and necessitates tradeoffs in their diffraction properties and achievable trap depths. In contrast, the Fresnel reflector structure presented here is a versatile, easy-to-manufacture device that combines achromatic beam steering with the advantages of a planar architecture. It enables miniaturizing trapping systems for alkaline-earth-like atoms with multiple cooling transitions as well as multi-species trapping in the ideal tetrahedral configuration and within the same volume above the structure. Our design presents a novel approach for the miniaturization of cold-atom systems based on single-beam MOTs and enables the widespread adoption of these systems.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Rankings: Conceptual remarks

The paper discusses conceptual basics of a comparative perspective on rankings. The main aim is not to advocate a particular sociological theory but to provide a conceptual framework for a discussion on rankings across the established theoretical and empirical camps in the social science literature. For this purpose, we define rankings as the interplay of four elements: (1) zero-sum comparison, (2) quantification, (3) visualization, and (4) publication. While distinguishing these elements analytically, we also argue that it is the particular way in which rankings combine these elements that is at the heart of modern rankings. In short, for the social operation ranking to exist and succeed, all of these elements have to work together and be institutionalized in societal fields. This definition allows for a wide array of possible combinations, theoretically as well as empirically

Rankings in a comparative perspective: Conceptual remarks

Ringel L, Werron T. Rankings in a comparative perspective: Conceptual remarks.; 2016

Performing Identities. Perspektiven aktueller Festspiel- und Musiktheaterforschung im Dialog

Die Veranstaltung befasst sich mit einer Lücke in der Schweizer Theaterhistoriographie: Die Bedeutung der Oper für die kulturelle Selbstdefinition unserer Nachbarländer, etwa im Prozess des europäischen nation building, wurde vielfach erforscht. Da sich in der Schweiz bis heute keine eigenständige Operntradition entwickelt hat, bleibt zu untersuchen, inwieweit hierzulande andere Musiktheaterformen ähnliche identitätspolitische Funktionen übernehmen. Ansatzweise wurde diese Frage in jüngster Zeit in Bezug auf das populäre Festspiel erörtert, etwa in der gross angelegten Studie «Abschied von den Mythen. Das neuere politische Festspiel in der Deutschschweiz», die unser Gast Tobias Hoffmann 2018 veröffentlicht hat. Gemeinsam mit ihm wagen wir uns an einen genreübergreifenden Vergleich zur Veranstaltungspraxis des experimentellen Musiktheaters und gehen der These nach, dass volkskulturelle und avancierte Musiktheaterformen in der Schweiz zwar komplementäre soziokulturelle Gegenpole bilden, hinsichtlich künstlerischer Revisionen gesellschaftlicher Selbstbilder aber mehr gemein haben als bislang angenommen

Method for the development of a functional adaptive simulation model for designing robust products

Products have to ensure their function under the inuence of internal and external noise factors in order to remain competitive in the current market. Therefore the step of designing robust products should be integrated in early stages of the Product Development Process (PDP). Robust products are developed using the Robust Design Method SMART (Systematic Method for Axiomatic Robustness-Testing). Thus far, SMART was applied and veri ed based on a simple mechanical machine element. In this paper, the method will be applied to a complex technical system. Additionally, the confict of aiming between the high e orts and the level of detail in the creation of a simulation model are discussed. This confict is brought about owing to the complex functionality of the design. In order to solve the conict, an approach is given for the creation of an adjusted simulation model. Short simulation times are an advantage for the analysis of parameters regarding robustness. The adaptive simulation model discussed in this paper is based on a exible and equation-based model, which is extended with local -structural-mechanical SUB-models for a more detailed analysis. This approach o ers the option of obtaining rst insights about the functionality of the product and the opportunity to complement the simulation model iteratively for the following design phases. This approach complements SMART on the one hand in the simulative design of robust design parameters and, on the other hand, in their reliability prediction in both the Parameter Design and Tolerance Design phase