Market Competition and Lower Tier Incentives

The relationship between competition and performance-related pay has been analyzed in single-principal-single-agent models. While this approach yields good predictions for managerial pay schemes, the predictions fail to apply for employees at lower tiers of a firm’s hierarchy. In this paper, a principal-multi-agent model of incentive pay is developed which makes it possible to analyze the effect of changes in the competitiveness of markets on lower tier incentive payment schemes. The results explain why the payment schemes of agentslocated at low and mid tiers are less sensitive to changes in competition when aggregated firm data is used.Cournot competition, contract delegation, moral hazard, entry, market size, wage cost

Bericht über die Ausreise von FS "Poseidon" vom 2.7. bis 9.7.82, Reise Nr. 90a [POS90/1]

Die Ausreise von FS "Poseidon" vom 2.7. bis 9.7.82 fand in das Skagerrak statt, um die dort auf FS "Gauß" im Jahr 1980 begonnenen mehrkanaligen reflexionsseismischen Messungen fortzusetzen. Dabei sollte vor allem die Struktur der Norwegischen Rinne im westlichen Skagerrak aufgenommen werden. Gleichzeitig diente diese Ausreise der praktischen Ausbildung von sieben indischen Gastwissenschaftlern im Bereich der marinen Geophysik, die als begleitende Maßnahme zum Bau eines indischen Forschungsschiffes bei der Schlichting Werft in Travemünde durchzuführen war. Die Gastwissenschaftler kamen von verschiedenen Institutionen des "Geological Survey of India" (=GSI) und vom "National Institute of Oceanology" in Goa. Obwohl dies Training der indischen Gastwissenschaftler ein wichtiger Bestandteil des Programms war, ließ es sich doch gut mit der Durchführung des Forschungsvorhabens verbinden

Fahrtprogramm für die Ausreise von FS "Poseidon" No. 110 [POS110] vom 14. Juni bis 6. Juli 1984, Vorhaben: EUGENO-S

Das Vorhaben EUGENO-S umfaßt ein kombiniertes See-Land-Programm zur Erkundung der Übergangszone zwischen dem skandinavischen Schild und dem mitteleuropäischen Festland. Diese übergangszone, auch Thornquist-Linie genannt, ist im Bereich des Kattegats, des Skagerraks und in Nordjütland in ihrer Struktur noch wenig bekannt. Sie erfaßt in ihrer Tiefe die gesamte Erdkruste und dürfte auch den oberen Erdmantel erreichen. Die geplanten Untersuchungen werden mit tiefenseismischen Methoden durchgeführt. Dazu werden an Profilen, die mit etwa 50 seismischen Stationen gleichzeitig besetzt sind, Sprengungen mit Ladungen von etwa 1 to Sprengstoff abgetan und die Wellenausbreitung im Untergrund beobachtet. Zur Überbrückung der Seegebiete (Skagerrak, Kattegat, Nordsee, Vänern-See) werden Luftpulser-Schüsse abgetan und sowohl auf See mit reflexionsseismischen Verfahren und gleichzeitig an Land mit refraktionsseismischen Verfahren aufgenommen. Zur Verdichtung des Profilnetzes werden auch Ozeanboden-Seismometer ausgesetzt, die in der Lage sind, während mehrerer Tage automatisch zu arbeiten. Im Rahmen des Gesamtvorhabens besteht die Aufgabe von RS "Poseidon" darin, die Luftpulser-Schüsse und die reflexionsseismischen Messungen und den Einsatz der Ozeanboden-Seismometer durchzuführen

Possible immunoenhancement of persistent viremia by feline leukemia virus envelope glycoprotein vaccines in challenge-exposure situations where whole inactivated virus vaccines were protective.

Kittens immunized with purified native FeLV-gp70 or -gp85 envelope proteins developed ELISA, but not virus neutralizing, antibodies in their serum to both whole FeLV and FeLV-gp70. Kittens vaccinated with envelope proteins and infected with feline sarcoma virus (FeSV) developed smaller tumors than nonvaccinates, but a greater incidence of persistent retroviremia. Similarly, FeLV-gp70 and -gp85 vaccinated kittens were more apt to become persistently retroviremic following virulent FeLV challenge exposure than nonvaccinates. Kittens vaccinated with inactivated whole FeLV developed smaller tumors after FeSV inoculation and had a lower incidence of persistent retroviremia than nonvaccinates. The protective effect of inactivated whole FeLV vaccine against persistent retroviremia was also seen with FeLV challenge-exposed cats. Protection afforded by inactivated whole FeLV vaccine was not associated with virus neutralizing antibodies, although ELISA antibodies to both whole FeLV and FeLV-gp70 were induced by vaccination

Gender, Race, Power and Religion: Women in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa in Post-apartheid Society

Situationsanalyse mittels Feldforschung (1995-1997) über die Position von Frauen und Frauenorganisationen in der Methodistischen Kirche Südafrikas in Kapstadt nach dem Ende der Apartheid. Interviews mit Frauen in Führungspositionen, Fragebögen in der rein schwarzen Frauenorganisation der Manyano. Zusätzliche Informationen, die von Belang sind: - Ein historischer Abriss über die Entstehung des Methodismus in England - Eine Beschreibung der Anfänge des Methodismus in Südafrika - Zusatzinformation über heute noch gebräuchliche afrikanische Riten und Bräuche in Kapstadt

Detection of Karst Features in the Black Hills Area in South Dakota/Wyoming, USA, Based on Evaluations of Remote Sensing Data

Landsat 8, Sentinel 2, Aster, RapidEye and PlanetScope data and Sentinel 1- and Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS)-Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR)-radar images have been evaluated for a karst feature inventory in the Black Hills area in Wyoming/South Dakota, USA. The GeoInformation System (GIS) integrated evaluation of the different satellite data included as well World Imagery files of ESRI and Bing Maps high resolution satellite data of Microsoft. The satellite data revealed several types of circular features related to karst such as enclosed depressions and collapsed dolines as well as traces of tectonic/structural features (visualized by lineament analysis) cutting through youngest sediments, influencing karstification processes. The origin of the circular features is complex and partly unknown, needing further investigations. Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data, such as Aster- and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) DEM data with 30 m and ALOS PASAR DEM with 12.5 m spatial resolution contributed to the detection of depressions, partly related to karst phenomena (sinkholes). Time series of satellite data reveal seasonal changes of the landscape and provide a data base for the documentation of the impact of climate change

Diary of a Downfall

A diary study is an intense, reflective look at teaching experiences or learning experiences kept in a journal by an individual and analyzed for recurring patterns or themes. When done by teachers, these studies can show how teachers\u27 perceptions of themselves and their attitudes about teaching change over time. I started keeping a personal diary of my teaching experience when I began my first teaching job in a small, rural district in southwestern Minnesota. As the district\u27s first ESL teacher and coordinator, I faced many problems, frustrations, and setbacks. The way I dealt with my negative experiences was to write about them in a teaching diary. Keeping a teaching diary allowed me to document my hopes, goals, small triumphs, frustrations, and insecurities as a first-year teacher and in the two years that followed. I have discovered the diaries to be a personal account of my transformation from ESL teacher to student advocate or counselor over the span of three years. They document the frustrations and challenges I faced as a first-year teacher placed into a leadership role I was not prepared for and my subsequent experiences in that leadership role in the two years that followed. The focus of this thesis is to analyze my personal identity transformation using my teaching diaries as my research data. Although this study focuses on entries of personal teaching diaries, the information garnered may be of interest to novice teachers going into the field of ESL or going to teach in small districts in rural areas

Exercise preconditioning and TFAM overexpression diminish skeletal muscle atrophy.

This dissertation is an analysis of skeletal muscle atrophy and a molecular assessment of potential preventative treatments. Chapter I begins with a background of skeletal muscle atrophy along with an analysis of associated molecular pathways. Here, we discuss how skeletal muscle atrophy is the consequence of protein degradation exceeding protein synthesis and can occur when a muscle is abnormally disused. The development of therapies prior to skeletal muscle atrophy settings to diminish protein degradation is scarce and could be useful to prevent negative clinical outcomes of patients who must unload and disuse musculature over extended periods. Mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with skeletal muscle atrophy and contributes to the induction of protein degradation and cell apoptosis through increased levels of ROS. This damages mtDNA, leading to its degradation and mutation resulting in dysfunctional mitochondria. Mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) protects mtDNA from ROS and degradation while increasing mitochondrial function and the transcription of mitochondrial proteins. Exercise stimulates mitochondrial function by activating cell signaling pathways that converge on and increase PGC-1α, a well-known activator of the transcription of TFAM and mitochondrial biogenesis. Therefore, we first hypothesize exercise training prior to muscle unloading and disuse will prevent skeletal muscle atrophy. Additionally, we hypothesize this protective effect of exercise in preventing skeletal muscle atrophy is associated with increased mitochondrial markers. In Chapter II, we test these hypotheses by first inducing skeletal muscle atrophy using hindlimb suspension (HLS) and exercising mice prior to this suspension. The results indicated exercising prior to HLS reduced many of the morphological and molecular changes within the muscle associated with atrophy. Also in Chapter II, we follow up these findings through mitochondrial molecular analyses with results showing exercise increasing mitochondrial-associated markers and redox balance. We also find decreases in TFAM after HLS, which led to further analyses through the use of a TFAM overexpression transgenic mouse model in HLS. We reason if HLS induces excessive ROS accumulation and decreases TFAM, overexpressing this gene may prevent mitochondrial dysfunction mechanisms associated with atrophy. Therefore, we hypothesize the overexpression of TFAM diminishes skeletal muscle atrophy and, secondarily, TFAM overexpression combined with exercise training will synergistically prevent atrophy caused by HLS. To assess these hypotheses, in Chapter III we subject TFAM mice to HLS as well as exercising TFAM mice prior to entering HLS. Results here reveal TFAM overexpression diminishes skeletal muscle atrophy caused by HLS and combining exercise and TFAM overexpression resulted in no significant difference compared to exercising prior to HLS in wild-type mice. Collectively, the data indicate an important role for exercise and TFAM in diminishing skeletal muscle atrophy