Von Hippel, Eric (2017). Free Innovation

Book review ofVon Hippel, Eric (2017). Free Innovation. Cambridge, Mass. and London: MIT Press. Hardcover; Free e-book: https://evhippel.mit.edu/books

Ridley, M. (2020). How Innovation Works: And Why It Flourishes in Freedom

Book review of the bookRidley, M. (2020). How Innovation Works: And Why It Flourishes in Freedom. HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY. ISBN 978-0062916594

Book Review: Muller, Jerry Z. (2018). The Tyranny of Metrics

After extensive discussions at several lengthy meetings, and deep deliberations by its elected part‐time officials, the faculty eventually introduced a new mechanism for distributing to departments and professors its rather meager research funds: To each according to his or her publishing performance! Theessential element of the mechanism was a point system for publications of various types ‐ many points for articles in high‐impact journals (don't ask!), and few points for contributions in trade journals. It didn't take long for a faculty member to expose a weakness of the new rules. He published one and the same a paper in a network of syndicated farm journals and, by that rule, collected points for each appearance of that paper. He thereby collected more points ‐ and research funds ‐ than he would have received had he published a paper in the most highly ranked research journal in his field. Eyebrows had been raised at the time. With this episode in my memory, I was intrigued by Muller's book "The tyranny of metrics" of which the publisher claims, "In this timely and powerful book, Jerry Muller uncovers the damage our obsession with metrics is causing—and shows how we can begin to fix the problem." Let’s see how much truth is in this advertising

Norberg, Johan (2016). Progress. Ten reasons to look forward to the future

Book review of Norberg, Johan (2016). Progress. Ten reasons to look forward to the future. London: Oneworld Publications. Hardcove

Munger, Michael C. (2018). Tomorrow 3.0. Transaction Costs and the Sharing Economy

In the mid-1950s Erich Geiersberger, a journalist of the Bavarian rural radio, pioneered machinery rings. He had noticed that many family farms in Germany had over-invested in farm machinery compared to farms of similar size in France and in the Netherlands. This, Geiersberger worried, would threaten their competitiveness in the coming European Economic Community. Geiersberger suggested 'machine rings' as a solution to this predicament.Michael Munger, a professor of economics at Duke University in Durham, NC, USA, is probably totally unaware of machinery rings; they are certainly not mentioned in his book. Like Geiersberger, Munger is concerned with institutions that improve the utilization of durable goods. Yet, whereas Geiersberger acted as an organization designer and builder, Munger is a keen economic observer of changes in the organization of markets, changes which he expects to become revolutionary

Marketing Wine on the Web

E-commerce is penetrating agriculture, particularly for selling products directly to consumers. The wine industry is a case in point. The industry has long-term experience in direct marketing. Many wineries welcome patrons at their premises for wine tasting and for selling wine to them. Moreover, where the practice is allowed, shipping wine directly to consumers without the assistance of trade intermediaries is a significant sales channel. E-commerce was adopted early in the wine industries of wired high-income countries and the wine industry provides an opportunity for studying the adoption, use, and impact of e-commerce. Moreover, because e-commerce has not spread evenly through all branches of agriculture, lessons learned from the wine industry may provide useful insights for entrepreneurs and policy makers concerned with sections of agriculture or the food industry where e-commerce adoption lags behind. The specific objectives of the dissertation research project which we report here therefore were: (1) to assess the extent of e-commerce diffusion in the wine industries of Australia, California, Germany; (2) to identify e-commerce practices used by wineries for marketing wine; (3) to explain differences in wineries' e-commerce practices, and (4) to derive insights and implications for sections of agriculture that lag behind in ecommerce adoption.Marketing,

Information and Communication Technology and the Global Flow of Wine: A Gravity Model of ICT in Wine Trade

International Relations/Trade,

On the relevance of the methane oxidation cycle to ozone hole chemistry

High concentrations of active chlorine are clearly responsible for the observed ozone depletion during the Antarctic polar spring. However, the mechanism behind the activation of chlorine from the reservoirs species HCl and ClONO2 and the maintenance of extremely high levels of active chlorine after polar sunrise is less well understood. Here, we focus on the influence of the methane oxidation cycle on 'ozone hole' chemistry through its effect on HOx and ClOx radicals. We demonstrate the great potential importance of the heterogeneous reaction HCl + HOCl yields Cl2 + H2O and the gasphase reaction ClO + CH3O2 yields ClOO + CH3O under sunlight conditions in polar spring. Under these conditions, the heterogeneous reaction is the main sink for HOx radicals. Through this channel, the HCl reservoir may be almost completely depleted. The gas phase reaction may control the levels of the CH3O2 radical, provided that high levels of ClO exist. Otherwise this radical initiates a sequence of reactions leading to a considerable loss of active chlorine. Moreover, the production of HOx radicals is reduced, and thereby the efficiency of the heterogeneous reaction limited. The two reactions together may accomplish the complete conversion of HCl into active chlorine, thereby leading to a rapid destruction of ozone

Payload operations management of a planned European SL-Mission employing establishments of ESA and national agencies

Spacelab (SL)-missions with Payload Operations (P/L OPS) from Europe involve numerous space agencies, various ground infrastructure systems and national user organizations. An effective management structure must bring together different entities, facilities and people, but at the same time keep interfaces, costs and schedule under strict control. This paper outlines the management concept for P/L OPS of a planned European SL-mission. The proposal draws on the relevant experience in Europe, which was acquired via the ESA/NASA mission SL-1, by the execution of two German SL-missions and by the involvement in, or the support of, several NASA-missions