Do Anti-Dumping Rules Facilitate the Abuse of Market Dominance?

We discuss the effects of AD-protection in a standard Dixit model of entry deterrence. In an AD-regime, the newcomer is constrained by a minimum-price rule in addition to existing irreversible entrance costs. For minimum prices which lie below the Stackelberg one, we find that AD-rules distort competition. We show that AD-protection increases the advantages of entry deterrence for a wide range of combinations of sunk costs and minimum prices. When entrance costs are high, consumer welfare is lower in an AD-regime than under free trade. Consequently, AD-protection facilitates the abuse of market dominance.Anti-dumping; abuse of market dominance; strategic firm behaviour

Considering Team Development Stages in Virtual Collaboration for Feedback Optimization

Learning collaboratively in virtual groups is seen as a promising alternative to the outcome of an individual (Breen,2013). However, working in a virtual group does not guarantee a good solution and performance of the individuals. Rather, working in groups presents several hurdles that need to be overcome to realize the full potential of the group and allow it to focus on performance (Peters & Manz, 2008). Franceschi et al. (2007) also state that learning in virtual groups has a positive impact on student learning and engagement, but that there is a lack of pedagogical concepts to guide the groups on their way to performance. Also Gabelica et al. 2012 state:” providing teams with adequate support is needed to secure teamwork. Research on team learning and performance has increased our understanding of how teams learn but is still in its development phase and in search for leverage points that can be used to trigger team learning” (Gabelica et al., 2012, p.124). Within this scope, Krause et al. (2009) make clear that groups use feedback more efectively than individuals and that this has a benefcial efect on the learning behavior of the group members. Concerning feedback research, it should be noted that feedback can have a positive efect on learning behavior and outcome, provided that it is implemented correctly (Shute,2007). ... To include multiple perspectives, an explanatory mixed methods approach from Hanson et al. (2005) with the support of Ivankova et al. (2006) has been chosen. In the frst step, a superordinate quantitative survey was conducted among the students of the virtual collaboration case study work in the virtual classroom. The results of the survey have then been examined and explained in more detail by e-tutors in a qualitative focus group discussion to deepen the understanding. Subsequently, the results were classifed and interpreted within the scope of recent feedback research. Based on the combination of a quantitative survey and the qualitative focus group discussion, seven concrete recommendations for the design of feedback guidelines in virtual group work were subsequently derived. ... [Aus: Introduction

Was anderen noch bevorsteht: Ländliche Regionen in Ostdeutschland als Beobachtungslabor für den demographischen Wandel

Der demographische Wandel ist seit über 40 Jahren gesamteuropäische Realität. Relativ geringe Geburtenzahlen und eine immer weiter steigende Lebenserwartung verändern die Altersgliederung der Bevölkerung nachhaltig. In Ostdeutschland wird dieser Prozess spätestens seit der Wiedervereinigung fast flächendeckend von lang anhaltenden, selektiven Abwanderungen überlagert und verstärkt. Besonders betroffen sind viele ländliche Räume, in denen die Abwanderung seit Mitte der 1960er Jahre der dominante demographische Prozess ist. Die Folge ist eine tiefgreifende, komplexe und nachhaltige demographische Erosion. Ostdeutschland stellt durch eine besonders hohe Dynamik dieser Entwicklung gleichsam eine Art Beobachtungslabor des demographischen Wandels dar: Hier kann studiert werden, was andere europäische Regionen noch erwartet. Im Folgenden greifen wir einige wichtige Themen auf, bei denen aktueller wissenschaftlicher Forschungsbedarf besteht. Sie betreffen die Wechselwirkungen zwischen Wanderungs- und Fertilitätsentscheidungen, die rasche Zunahme der älteren Bevölkerungsanteile in ländlichen Regionen sowie die künftige Bedeutung der Landwirtschaft als einzig verbleibendem Wirtschaftszweig. Wir schlagen vor, künftig eine regional angemessene Lebensqualität statt der verfassungsgemäß gebotenen gleichwertigen Lebensbedingungen als Richtschnur für politisches Handeln zu verwenden. --

Forestry Crane with Electrohydraulic Flow-on-Demand System

The major issue developing sophisticated hydraulic systems is to significantly improve the energy efficiency without sacrificing the ease of control and operability. The present paper illustrates the upgrade of a mobile forestry crane from a hydraulic-mechanical Load-Sensing system to an innovative electrohydraulical Flow-on-Demand system

Extraction and analysis of nuclear fuel fragments from the Chernobyl exclusion zone

To this day, the radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident contaminates the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) in the form of spent fuel fragments, so called hot particles. For precise prediction of particle leaching and subsequent mobilization of radioecologically relevant radionuclides, such as U, Pu, 137Cs, 90Sr or 241Am, in-depth knowledge about these particle’s nature needs to be gathered. This work consists of several parts. First, methods for particle separation from soil and sediment samples are tested and developed into an optimized routine sequence, which is then used to identify a number of hot particles. In the following step, a Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)-based micromanipulation technique is applied to image and extract single micron-sized particles. Individual specimen are glued to fine tungsten needles for easier and safer handling. Using such separately mounted particles, a range of non-destructive analytical techniques is applied to achieve a wide set of data for each particle. These techniques include SEM imaging and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) analysis and γ spectrometry for quantification of 137Cs, 241Am and 154Eu in single particles. To analyze isotopic ratios with lateral resolution, static Time Of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) is applied, which can also be used to image the isotope distribution on a particle’s surface. General feasibility and capability of resonant Laser-Secondary Neutral Mass Spectrometry (SNMS) analysis on individual particles is demonstrated. To investigate uranium speciation non-destructively within the samples, three particles were analyzed at the Swiss Light Source (SLS) beamline at the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) in Switzerland. Here, µ-focus X-ray Fluorescence (µ-XRF), µ-focus X-ray Absorption Near Edge Spectroscopy (µ-XANES) and finally µ-focus X-ray Diffraction (µ-XRD) were applied to yield extensive data about oxidation states of uranium and the internal structure of the particles. Finally, an incremental dissolution sequence was tested for feasibility. A single tungsten needle-mounted particle was subsequently exposed to increasingly aggressive acidic leaching steps. After each step, the leaching progress was monitored by measuring the leachant with γ spectrometry and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) for 137Cs and plutonium quantification as well as particle SEM imaging after each step

Eye-Tracking-Based Classification of Information Search Behavior Using Machine Learning: Evidence from Experiments in Physical Shops and Virtual Reality Shopping Environments

Classifying information search behavior helps tailor recommender systems to individual customers’ shopping motives. But how can we identify these motives without requiring users to exert too much effort? Our research goal is to demonstrate that eye tracking can be used at the point of sale to do so. We focus on two frequently investigated shopping motives: goal-directed and exploratory search. To train and test a prediction model, we conducted two eye-tracking experiments in front of supermarket shelves. The first experiment was carried out in immersive virtual reality; the second, in physical reality—in other words, as a field study in a real supermarket. We conducted a virtual reality study, because recently launched virtual shopping environments suggest that there is great interest in using this technology as a retail channel. Our empirical results show that support vector machines allow the correct classification of search motives with 80% accuracy in virtual reality and 85% accuracy in physical reality. Our findings also imply that eye movements allow shopping motives to be identified relatively early in the search process: our models achieve 70% prediction accuracy after only 15 seconds in virtual reality and 75% in physical reality. Applying an ensemble method increases the prediction accuracy substantially, to about 90%. Consequently, the approach that we propose could be used for the satisfiable classification of consumers in practice. Furthermore, both environments’ best predictor variables overlap substantially. This finding provides evidence that in virtual reality, information search behavior might be similar to the one used in physical reality. Finally, we also discuss managerial implications for retailers and companies that are planning to use our technology to personalize a consumer assistance system

Formation processes in the Antarctic snow and superficial firn

第6回極域科学シンポジウム[OG] 地圏11月16日（月）　国立極地研究所３階セミナー