Commercial and Regulatory Aspects of Reverse Hybrid Mail

Driven by market opening and increased competition from electronic communication, postal operators have started extending their scope of business by offering hybrid mail services in addition to physical mail conveyance. This paper discusses commercial and regulatory aspects of reverse hybrid mail, i.e. the electronic delivery and archiving of physical mail messages. It argues that postal operators are well positioned to offer hybrid services due to their established brands and their reputation. The introduction of reverse hybrid mail is able to significantly reduce the cost of postal operations while at the same time fitting customers' needs better than traditional postal services. However, these effects rely on the assumption that a postal operator is actually allowed to introduce an electronic delivery system of letters to entire regions and to thereby partially substitute the physical delivery to the doorstep.Reverse hybrid mail, Regulation, Postal market, Substitution, Intermodal competition

Not Eternal Love but Differentiation About the Possibilities for Optimizing Business of Paid Services on Dating Websites

Customers are increasingly demanding for paid services on the Internet, supplementing as well as cannibalizing on existing services. While there is a growing amount of scientific literature concerning the economics of the Internet and paid services empirical studies are scarcely to be found. This paper discusses research in the field of price and product differentiation concerning paid services for dating websites. Considering the literature and examining a huge data base two hypotheses are deployed to highlight the willingness to buy and willingness to pay in this evolving field

Adoption and Diffusion of Digital Information Goods: An Empirical Analysis of the German Paid Content Market

The rapid growth of the Internet and electronic commerce stimulates new digital innovations. Electronic markets can influence both adoption and diffusion processes of digital innovations in significant ways. The difficulties for market transactions of information goods and the change from free to paid content on websites in the last years has led to research questions about how individuals decide whether and when to adopt paid content innovations and how this innovation diffuses throughout a population. This article presents empirical evidence about the adoption and diffusion process of paid content. It focuses on the differences of the adoption and diffusion process of different paid content product types if there exists an established, non-digital counterpart. The results in this paper help media managers to design business models for paid content by forecasting the adoption and diffusion process of the offered digital content product

Job creation and job destruction in a regulated labor market: The case of Austria

We study Austrian job reallocation in the period of 1978 to 1998, using a large administrative dataset where we correct for "spurious" entries and exits of firms. We find that on average 9 out of 100 randomly selected jobs were created within the last year, and that about 9 out of randomly selected 100 jobs will be destroyed within the next year. Hence, Austrian job flows seem to be of comparable magnitude as in other countries, similar to the well-known results of Davis et al. (1996) for the United States. Job reallocation appears to be driven primarily by idiosyncratic shocks. However, job creation increases significantly during cyclical upswings whereas job destruction rises in downturns. We also find substantial persistence of job creation and destruction. We show that the pronounced pattern of job reallocation rates falling with firm size and age continues to hold when we use a set of controls. Finally, we show that - controlling for sector and for firm size composition - Austrian job reallocation rates are only half the rates for the U. S. This result is not surprising given the impact of tighter regulation and labor law in Austria.Labor reallocation; job flows; labor market regulation

Techniques for the Generation of Arbitrary Three-Dimensional Shapes in Tile-Based Self-Assembly Systems

A big challenge in nanorobotics is the construction of nanoscale objects. DNA is a bio-compatible tool to reliably and constructively create objects at the nanoscale. A possible tool to build nano-sized structures are tile-based self-assembly systems on the basis of DNA. It is challenging and time-consuming to efficiently design blueprints for the desired objects. This paper presents basic algorithms for the creation of tilesets for nxnxn-cubes in the aTAM model. Only few publications focus on three-dimensional DNA crystals. Three-dimensional shapes are likely to be of more use in nanorobotics. We present three variations: hollow cubes, cube-grids and filled cubes. The paper also presents a basic algorithm to create arbitrary, finite, connected, three-dimensional and predefined shapes at temperature 1, as well as ideas for more efficient algorithms. Among those are algorithms for spheres, ellipsoids, red blood cells and other promising designs. The algorithms and tilesets are tested/verified using a software that has been developed for the purpose of verifying three-dimensional sets of tiletypes and was influenced by the tool ISU TAS. Others can use the simulator and the algorithms to quickly create sets of tiletypes for their desired nanostructures. A long learning process may thus be omitted

Copulation patterns in captive hamadryas baboons: a quantitative analysis

For primates, as for many other vertebrates, copulation which results in ejaculation is a prerequisite for reproduction. The probability of ejaculation is affected by various physiological and social factors, for example reproductive state of male and female and operational sex-ratio. In this paper, we present quantitative and qualitative data on patterns of sexual behaviour in a captive group of hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas), a species with a polygynous–monandric mating system. We observed more than 700 copulations and analysed factors that can affect the probability of ejaculation. Multilevel logistic regression analysis and Akaike’s information criterion (AIC) model selection procedures revealed that the probability of successful copulation increased as the size of female sexual swellings increased, indicating increased probability of ovulation, and as the number of females per one-male unit (OMU) decreased. In contrast, occurrence of female copulation calls, sex of the copulation initiator, and previous male aggression toward females did not affect the probability of ejaculation. Synchrony of oestrus cycles also had no effect (most likely because the sample size was too small). We also observed 29 extra-group copulations by two non-adult males. Our results indicate that male hamadryas baboons copulated more successfully around the time of ovulation and that males in large OMUs with many females may be confronted by time or energy-allocation problems

A Classification Framework for Beacon Applications

Beacons have received considerable attention in recent years, which is partially due to the fact that they serve as a flexible and versatile replacement for RFIDs in many applications. However, beacons are mostly considered from a purely technical perspective. This paper provides a conceptual view on application scenarios for beacons and introduces a novel framework for characterizing these. The framework consists of four dimensions: device movement, action trigger, purpose type, and connectivity requirements. Based on these, three archetypical scenarios are described. Finally, event-condition-action rules and online algorithms are used to formalize the backend of a beacon architecture

Karies - Korrelation quantitative lichtinduzierte Fluoreszenz, Mikrohärte und Mikroradiographie

The aim of this in-vitro study was to investigate the extent of autofluorescence in carious human dentine in comparison to the established caries diagnostic methods of microhardness testing, microradiography and histology. For this, 21 extracted, permanent human teeth with dentine lesions were chosen and embedded in methylmethacrylate. Then they were sectioned through the centre of the lesion, and approximately 150 µm thin slices were prepared parallel to the cut surface. The microhardness was tested on the block surfaces; the slices of the teeth were used to test the other investigative techniques. The fluorescence analysis was performed at an emission of over 515 nm due to 450 nm – 490 nm excitation and an emission of over 615 nm due to 530 nm – 585 nm excitation. The fluorescence scans corresponded to the mineral loss profiles as well as to the microhardness profiles and the carious expansion seen in the histological analysis. The differences between the two tested fluorescence filter systems were very small. The correlation between lesion depth, derived from microhardness testing and microradiography, and fluorescence plots were between 0.85 and 0.90. The results for histopathology were even better. It can be concluded from these outcomes that fluorescence can be used as a marker for carious dentine