AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS OF VERTICAL COORDINATION VERSES VERTICAL INTEGRATION: THE CASE OF THE US BROILER INDUSTRY

This paper analyzes the situation, structure and performance of broiler production. The inherent interdependence in broiler production is high transactions costs. Two types of transactions costs, asset specificity with uncertainty and high information costs, are identified and explored. The performances of the alternative structures, vertical integration and vertical coordination, are outlined. In broiler production, vertical coordination is preferred by both firms and growers because it minimizes transactions costs. These conclusions are extended to other agricultural commodities, using pork and rice as examples.Livestock Production/Industries,

Modulation-mode and power-assignment for SVD-and GMD-assisted downlink MIMO systems

Multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) downlink (DL) transmission schemes experience both multiuser interference (MUI) as well as inter-antenna interference. However, instead of treating all the users jointly as in zero-forcing (ZF) multiuser transmission techniques, the investigated singular value decomposition (SVD) and geometric mean decomposition (GMD) assisted DL multiuser MIMO systems take the individual user's channel characteristics into account. The performed joint optimization of the number of activated MIMO layers and the number of bits per symbol along with the appropriate allocation of the transmit power shows that not necessarily all user-specific MIMO layers have to be activated in order to minimize the overall BER under the constraint of a fixed data throughpu

The ecology, conservation and management of Nile crocodiles Crocodylus niloticus in a human dominated landscape

Nile crocodiles were extensively persecuted throughout much of the 20th century. The extinction of the species was only averted by the timely intervention of conservationists and by the beginning of the 21st century most populations had recovered. Many of the conservation measures designed to curb the original extinction threats remain unchanged and are now perceived by some to be outdated. The recovery of Nile crocodile populations has been accompanied by rapid human population growth and demands for freshwater resources. This phenomenon has resulted in a converging conflict crisis between Nile crocodiles and humans. The aim of this thesis is to (a) quantify the extent of human crocodile conflict (HCC) and (b) establish the implications for conservation and development. (a)The extent of HCC was assessed by (i) analysing losses incurred by local communities (ii) analysing the demographics of crocodiles in relation to human activities (iii) analysing the relationship between humans and crocodile prey species. Nile crocodiles pose a substantial threat to subsistence livelihoods whilst rural communities have significant negative impacts on crocodiles (i) Estimates suggest an annual loss of between ~255 and ~6864 cattle per year and damage to an estimated 71500 fishing nets per year in North Eastern Namibia. (ii) All crocodile size classes showed a negative relationship with people at the inter- and intra-river levels. (iii) Crocodile prey species showed a significant negative spatial relationship with cattle. (b) Conservation and management implications were assessed by estimating the spatial patterns of HCC explanatory variables on a continental scale. Protected areas are important for crocodile conservation. The use of crocodile habitat as boundaries for protected areas raises important questions relating to HCC

Performance Analysis of SVD-assisted Downlink Multiuser MIMO Systems

Multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) downlink (DL) transmission schemes experience both multiuser interference as well as inter-antenna interference. Instead of treating all the users jointly as in zero-forcing (ZF) multiuser transmission techniques, the investigated singular value decomposition (SVD) assisted DL multiuser MIMO system takes the individual user’s channel characteristics into account. This translates to a choice of modulation constellation and transmitter power and, in our proposed system, to a choice of number of activated user-specific MIMO layers. The performed joint optimization of the number of activated MIMO layers and the number of bits per symbol along with the appropriate allocation of the transmit power shows that not necessarily all user-specific MIMO layers has to be activated in both frequency-selective and non-frequency selective MIMO channels in order to minimize the overall BER under the constraint of a given fixed data throughput

Risk Profiles in Individual Software Development and Packaged Software Implementation Projects: A Delphi Study at a German-Based Financial Services Company

The aim of this paper is to compare risk profiles of individual software development (ISD) and packaged software implementation (PSI) projects. While researchers have investigated risks in either PSI projects or ISD projects, an integrated perspective on how the risk profiles of these two types of information system (IS) projects differ is missing. To explore these differences, this work conducted a Delphi study at a German-based financial services company. The results suggest that: First, ISD projects seem to be more heterogeneous and face a larger variety of risks than the more straightforward PSI projects. Second, ISD projects seem to be particularly prone to risks related to sponsorship, requirements, and project organization. Third, PSI projects tend to be predominantly subject to risks related to technology, project planning, and project completion. Finally, in contrast to available lists of risks in IS projects and irrespective of the project type, the paper found a surprisingly high prominence of technology and testing-related risks

Les changements d'échelle à l'épreuve du terrain. Le cas des politiques d'implantation universitaire dans l'agglomération lyonnaise (1958-2004)

Les travaux scientifiques, s'ils ne sont pas unanimes sur l'appréciation de l'ampleur du phénomène, s'accordent sur la remise en cause du monopole de l'Etat dans la conduite de l'action publique. Le renforcement des collectivités territoriales [D. Lorrain, 1991], l'affirmation de la Commission européenne [F. Scharpf, 2000] aboutissent à une inflation des niveaux de gouvernement qui peuvent intervenir dans l'action publique (...)

Le sacre des présidents d’université. Une analyse de l’application des plans Université 2000 et Université du troisième millénaire en Rhône-Alpes

Les politiques d'implantation universitaire apparaissent a priori emblématiques des tendances récentes de l'action publique. Elles sont en effet marquées par l'investissement croissant des collectivités locales, la décentralisation des scènes de définition des objectifs et le recours au contrat pour formaliser les liens entre partenaires. Pourtant si les configurations d'acteurs sont plus polycentriques, les acteurs du ministère de l'Éducation nationale conservent la maîtrise de la détermination des objectifs. L'investissement croissant des collectivités locales, en allégeant la dépendance financière des universités à l'égard du centre étatique, renforce cependant les présidents des établissements.Policies of higher education provide evidence of recent trends in the actions undertaken by public authorities. Local authorities are ever more implicated, since the places for defining objectives are being decentralized and contracts are more often being used to formalize relations between partners. Despite the increasingly “polycentric” patterns of the parties involved, civil servants in the Ministry of Education still maintain control over setting objectives. The greater investment made by local authorities, who allege that universities depend financially on the central government, reinforces the presidents of universities

Oberti (Marco). – L’École dans la ville. Ségrégation, mixité, carte scolaire

L’École dans la ville invite le lecteur à une réflexion sur un sujet qui a été au cœur de la dernière campagne présidentielle, la carte scolaire. Ce dispositif, initialement construit pour gérer les effectifs, est devenu au fil du temps l’un des moyens essentiels d’assurer la mixité dans les établissements. S’il est avant tout l’ouvrage d’un spécialiste de l’urbain, le livre prolonge le dialogue fécond entre sociologie urbaine et sociologie de l’école en s’attachant à comprendre comment les classes sociales qui composent la société française cohabitent dans les espaces scolaires et résidentiels. [Premières lignes

Quand l’université s’ancre aux territoires:Collaborations académiques et territoriales à Lyon (1958-2009)

L’article analyse le développement des relations entre universités et territoires dans l’agglomération lyonnaise. En adoptant une perspective historique (1958-2009), il montre que l’intensification des relations entre universités et territoires prend sens au carrefour de logiques internationales, nationales et locales. Le renouvellement des exécutifs locaux et académiques, l’internationalisation de la concurrence universitaire et urbaine, les recompositions de la gestion publique territoriale et des politiques universitaires incitent universitaires et élus locaux à renforcer leur coopération. L’article montre ensuite que les coopérations académiques et territoriales sont aussi marquées par des évolutions progressives dans leur contenu. En s’institutionnalisant au fil du temps, ces collaborations se redéfinissent partiellement pour donner de nouveaux visages aux liens entre universités et territoires.The article analyses the growth of relationships between universities and territories of the urban area of Lyons. Using a historical approach (from 1958 to 2009), it shows that the intensification of relations between universities and territories makes sense at the crossroad of international, national and local logics. The election of new local and academic executives, the internationalisation of academic competition, the reshuffles of public local management and of university policies led academics and local elected representatives to strengthen their cooperation. Then the article shows that the contents of such cooperation gradually shifted. As they became institutionalised over time, these collaborations were partly redefined to give new faces to the links between universities and territories

Compte rendu de l’ouvrage de Christine Musselin, 'Le marché des universitaires. France, Allemagne, Etats-Unis'

Dans son dernier ouvrage, Christine Musselin s'attache à comprendre les modalités de recrutement des universitaires en France, en Allemagne et aux États-Unis. Le marché des universitaires rompt avec une posture, commune à certaines analyses et aux essais polémiques, qui pense ces procédures comme étant (ou n'étant pas assez selon le point de vue) dominées par l'évaluation des qualités de chercheur des candidats. Adoptant une posture compréhensive, Christine Musselin s'attache à isoler les moyens qui permettent aux membres des commissions de choisir leur futur collègue et identifie des récurrences dans le fonctionnement des instances de recrutement (...)