A real options approach for valuating intertemporal interdependencies within a value-based IT portfolio management - A risk-return perspective

Value-based IT portfolio management requires the consideration of intertemporal interdependencies that may exist among IT projects. Therefore, several papers suggest adopting the real options approach in order to include intertemporal interdependencies within the valuation of IT projects. However, this paper shows that the standard Black-Scholes model, which is often used for valuating real options, is not appropriate to correctly account for project-specific private risks due to its restrictive assumptions. Since this can have major impacts on the value of IT projects, we develop an approach – based on the Black-Scholes model – to consider private risks properly within project valuation. A comparison of the results of the standard Black-Scholes model used today and our approach finally reveals that the neglect of private risks results in a systematic underestimation of both risk and return of IT projects, which may lead to wrong investment decisions

World without cash – changes in conventional banking and payment systems

Cash remains the dominant means of payment in most countries around the world – with its importance being highest in Africa and lowest in Oceania. With approximately 60 % of transactions being made in cash, Germany ranged in the upper midfeld in Europe in 2020. However, compared to 74 % in 2017, the decline in cash use was massive – probably also due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The main winners of this development in Germany are the providers of debit and credit cards. Tese are used as plastic cards in bricks-and-mortar trade and as virtual cards for processing mobile payments and Internet payment methods. New players such as BigTechs and FinTechs are becoming increasingly active with regard to payment transactions and ofer products and services for more convenient payments with various additional functions

Welt ohne Bargeld – Veränderungen der klassischen Banken- und Bezahlsysteme

Die TAB-Kurzstudie Nr. 2 bietet einen Überblick über Entwicklungen im Zahlungsverkehr bis einschließlich Februar 2021. Die spezifischen Eigenschaften von Bargeld sowie ausgewählter unbarer Zahlungslösungen werden darin genauso in den Blick genommen und miteinander verglichen wie das Zahlungsverhalten in Deutschland, Schweden und China. Eine Betrachtung des sich wandelnden Machtgefüges im Zahlungsverkehr durch das Auftreten neuer Akteure und die Reaktionen traditioneller Kreditinstitute und Zentralbanken hierauf runden die Kurzstudie ab

Welt ohne Bargeld – Veränderungen der klassischen Banken- und Bezahlsysteme. TAB-Fokus

Bargeld ist in den meisten Ländern weltweit nach wie vor das dominierende Zahlungsmittel, wobei seine Bedeutung in Afrika am größten und in Ozeanien am geringsten ist. Deutschland lag 2020 mit seinen rund 60 % der Transaktionen in bar in Europa im oberen Mittelfeld. Im Vergleich zu 2017 mit 74 % war der Rückgang der Bargeldnutzung jedoch massiv – vermutlich auch aufgrund der Coronapandemie. Gewinner dieser Entwicklung sind in Deutschland vor allem die Anbieter von Debit- und Kreditkarten. Diese werden als Plastikkarten im stationären Handel und als virtuelle Karten zur Abwicklung von mobilem Bezahlen und bei Internetbezahlverfahren eingesetzt. Neue Player wie BigTechs und FinTechs werden zunehmend im Zahlungsverkehr aktiv und bieten Produkte und Dienstleistungen für bequemeres Bezahlen mit verschiedenen Zusatzfunktionen an

QuaTOQ - Qualität der Arbeit, Beschäftigung und Beschäftigungsfähigkeit im Wechselspiel von Technologie, Organisation und Qualifikation - Branchenbericht: Verlags- und Medienwirtschaft

Das vom Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales (BMAS) geförderte Forschungsprojekt QuaTOQ (Qualität der Arbeit, Beschäftigung und Beschäftigungsfähigkeit im Wechselspiel von Technologie, Organisation und Qualifikation) untersucht branchenbezogen zukünftige Arbeitsformen und -inhalte vor dem Hintergrund einer weiterhin zunehmenden Technisierung, vor allem aber Digitalisierung und analysiert quantitativ wie qualitativ Fragen der Beschäftigungs- und Innovationsfähigkeit in Abhängigkeit von Technologie, Organisation und Qualifikation. Dieser Bericht untersucht das die Verlags- und Medienwirtschaft

QuaTOQ - Qualität der Arbeit, Beschäftigung und Beschäftigungsfähigkeit im Wechselspiel von Technologie, Organisation und Qualifikation - Branchenbericht: Maschinen- und Anlagenbau

Das vom Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales (BMAS) geförderte Forschungsprojekt QuaTOQ (Qualität der Arbeit, Beschäftigung und Beschäftigungsfähigkeit im Wechselspiel von Technologie, Organisation und Qualifikation) untersucht branchenbezogen zukünftige Arbeitsformen und -inhalte vor dem Hintergrund einer weiterhin zunehmenden Technisierung, vor allem aber Digitalisierung und analysiert quantitativ wie qualitativ Fragen der Beschäftigungs- und Innovationsfähigkeit in Abhängigkeit von Technologie, Organisation und Qualifikation. Dieser Bericht untersucht den Maschinen- und Anlagenbau

Afferent arteriolopathy and glomerular collapse but not segmental sclerosis induce tubular atrophy in old spontaneously hypertensive rats

In chronic renal disease, the temporal and spatial relationship between vascular, glomerular and tubular changes is still unclear. Hypertension, an important cause of chronic renal failure, leads to afferent arteriolopathy, segmental glomerulosclerosis and tubular atrophy in the juxtamedullary cortex. We investigated the pathological changes of hypertensive renal disease in aged spontaneously hypertensive rats using a large number of serial sections, where we traced and analyzed afferent arteriole, glomerulus and proximal tubule of single nephrons. Our major finding was that both afferent arteriolopathy and glomerular capillary collapse were linked to tubular atrophy. Only nephrons with glomerular collapse (n = 13) showed tubules with reduced diameter indicating atrophy [21.66 ± 2.56 μm vs. tubules in normotensive Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY) 38.56 ± 0.56 μm, p < 0.05], as well as afferent arteriolar wall hypertrophy (diameter 32.74 ± 4.72 μm vs. afferent arterioles in WKY 19.24 ± 0.98 μm, p < 0.05). Nephrons with segmental sclerosis (n = 10) did not show tubular atrophy and tubular diameters were unchanged (35.60 ± 1.43 μm). Afferent arteriolar diameter negatively correlated with glomerular capillary volume fraction (r = −0.36) and proximal tubular diameter (r = −0.46) implying reduced glomerular and tubular flow. In line with this, chronically damaged tubules showed reduced staining for the ciliary protein inversin indicating changed ciliary signalling due to reduced urinary flow. This is the first morphological study on hypertensive renal disease making correlations between vascular, glomerular and tubular components of individual nephron units. Our data suggest that afferent arteriolopathy leads to glomerular collapse and reduced urinary flow with subsequent tubular atrophy

Mineralogical and geochemical analysis of Fe-phases in drill-cores from the Triassic Stuttgart Formation at Ketzin CO₂ storage site before CO₂ arrival

Reactive iron (Fe) oxides and sheet silicate-bound Fe in reservoir rocks may affect the subsurface storage of CO2 through several processes by changing the capacity to buffer the acidification by CO2 and the permeability of the reservoir rock: (1) the reduction of three-valent Fe in anoxic environments can lead to an increase in pH, (2) under sulphidic conditions, Fe may drive sulphur cycling and lead to the formation of pyrite, and (3) the leaching of Fe from sheet silicates may affect silicate diagenesis. In order to evaluate the importance of Fe-reduction on the CO2 reservoir, we analysed the Fe geochemistry in drill-cores from the Triassic Stuttgart Formation (Schilfsandstein) recovered from the monitoring well at the CO2 test injection site near Ketzin, Germany. The reservoir rock is a porous, poorly to moderately cohesive fluvial sandstone containing up to 2–4 wt% reactive Fe. Based on a sequential extraction, most Fe falls into the dithionite-extractable Fe-fraction and Fe bound to sheet silicates, whereby some Fe in the dithionite-extractable Fe-fraction may have been leached from illite and smectite. Illite and smectite were detected in core samples by X-ray diffraction and confirmed as the main Fe-containing mineral phases by X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Chlorite is also present, but likely does not contribute much to the high amount of Fe in the silicate-bound fraction. The organic carbon content of the reservoir rock is extremely low (<0.3 wt%), thus likely limiting microbial Fe-reduction or sulphate reduction despite relatively high concentrations of reactive Fe-mineral phases in the reservoir rock and sulphate in the reservoir fluid. Both processes could, however, be fuelled by organic matter that is mobilized by the flow of supercritical CO2 or introduced with the drilling fluid. Over long time periods, a potential way of liberating additional reactive Fe could occur through weathering of silicates due to acidification by CO2