An Annular Plate Model in Arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian Description for the DLR FlexibleBodies Library

The bending deformation of rotating annular plates and the associated vibration behaviour is important in engineering applications which range from automotive or railway brake systems to discs that form essential components in turbomachinery. In order to extend the capabilities of the DLR FlexibleBodies library for such use cases, a new Modelica class has been implemented which is based on the analytical description of an annular Kirchhoff plate. In addition the so-called Arbitray Langrangian-Eulerian (ALE) representation has been adopted so that rotating and non-rotating external loads may be applied conventiently to rotating plates. Besides these particularities the new class AnnularPlate completely corresponds to the concept of FlexibleBodies library with the two already available model classes Beam and ModalBody. This paper gives an overview on the theoretical background of the new class AnnularPlate, explains the usage and presents application examples

Spatial transmit diversity techniques for broadband OFDM systems

Abstract — In this paper, we investigate different spatial transmit diversity concepts for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. The idea is to artificially increase the frequency and time selectivity of the resulting channel transfer function at the receiver antenna by specific time-variant phase rotations of the signal at the transmit antennas. The achievable performance gains with the proposed transmit diversity concepts are presented for convolutionally coded OFDM systems in typical indoor and outdoor environments. The new concepts can be implemented in already standardized and existing OFDM systems like DAB and DVB-T or HIPERLAN/2, IEEE 802.11 and MMAC, without changing the standards and the receivers. Moreover, we show further performance improvements by combining the spatial transmit diversity concepts for OFDM with code division multiplexing (CDM). I

On the Geographic and Cultural Determinants of Bankruptcy

This paper examines the role of geography and culture in explaining bankruptcy. We adopt survival analyses to model the bankruptcy risk of a firm, allowing for time-varying covariates. Based on a large sample from all major sectors of the Swiss economy, we find the following results: (i) The geographic location of a firm, which is characterized using a core-periphery approach, has a significant impact on its bankruptcy risk; (ii) Variables proxying for the cultural environment of a firm have significant explanatory power; (iii) The results of the previous literature on the standard determinants of bankruptcy are confirmed.bankruptcy, geography, culture, exit

Merge or Fail? The Determinants of Mergers and Bankruptcies in Switzerland, 1995-2000

This paper examines the determinants of mergers and bankruptcies, using firm level data from the Swiss Business Census and the Dun & Bradstreet exit database for Switzerland (1995-2000). Employing duration analysis, we find considerable differences in the determinants of mergers and bankruptcies, in particular with respect to firm size, location and the impact of macroeconomic conditions. Our results support the notion that mergers are often undertaken to seize growth opportunities.merger, bankruptcy, failure, survival, exit

Development of an information programme for addressing imperfections in the production of sausages

Titelblatt, Druckgenehmigung, Selbständigkeitserklärung, Lebenslauf, Danksagung, Inhaltsverzeichnis Einleitung Literatur Material und Methode Ergebnisse Schlußfolgerungen Zusammenfassung Summary Schrifttum AnhangDie Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft (DLG) führte bereits 1887 die erste Prüfung an Lebensmitteln im Rahmen eines Preisausschreibens durch. Nicht erst seit ihrer Wiedergründung im Jahr 1945 verfolgt die DLG das Ziel, den Qualitätsstandard deutscher Lebensmittel anzuheben. Die erklärte Aufgabe der freiwilligen Qualitätswettbewerbe für Fleischerzeugnisse, Fertiggerichte, Tiefkühlkost und Feinkost, die Herstellung und den Absatz hochwertiger Erzeugnisse zu fördern, soll durch eine vergleichende sensorische Analyse realisiert werden. Bisher erhielten die Teilnehmer der DLG- Qualitätswettbewerbe zwar ein standardisiertes Expertengutachten über die Beschaffenheit der geprüften Produkte und ihrer Mängel, aber keine Hinweise, auf welche Weise erkannte Fehler behoben werden könnten. Um hier Abhilfe zu schaffen und die Qualität von Fleischerzeugnissen durch konkrete Ratschläge weiter zu verbessern, hat die Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft (DLG) gemeinsam mit dem Institut für Lebensmittelhygiene an der Freien Universität Berlin die Entwicklung des hier vorgestellten Programmes angeregt. Die vorliegende Arbeit beschreibt die bei der Programmerstellung gemachten Erfahrungen und dokumentiert das endgültige Ergebnis. Das "Informationsprogramm zu Mängelansprachen bei der Herstellung von Brühwürsten" stellt ein multimediales Kompendium der Brühwursttechnologie dar. Für jeden der in den DLG-Prüfbestimmungen für Brühwürste aufgelisteten ca. 160 Mängel werden Hinweise zur Fehlerbehebung bzw. -vermeidung bei der Herstellung derartiger Produkte gegeben. Dieses multimediale Lehrbuch wurde für die Unterweisung an Universitäten, Fachhochschulen, Berufsschulen, handwerklichen Ausbildungszentren, aber auch als praktische Hilfe für das Fleischerhandwerk und die Fleischwarenindustrie konzipiert. Folgende Vorgaben wurden bei der Umsetzung des Programmes realisiert: 1\. Die in den DLG-Prüfbestimmungen für Brühwürste aufgelisteten ca. 160 namentlich genannten Mängel bilden die Grundlage für die einzelnen Kapitel. Der gesamte Text umfaßt ca. 150 Druckseiten. 2\. Das Suchen und Auffinden von Informationen wurde über eine Seite mit Suchfunktion und einer übersichtlichen Anzeige von Suchergebnissen möglichst einfach und benutzerfreundlich gestaltet. 3\. Inhaltlich zusammenhängende Probleme bzw. Mängel sind durch Hyperlinks miteinander verknüpft, sodaß diese in ganzheitlichem Zusammenhang und direkt nacheinander betrachtet werden können. 4\. Fachbegriffe sind ebenfalls als Hyperlink in den Text eingebunden, damit die dazugehörige Erklärung bzw. Definition jederzeit abrufbar ist. Dieses "Lexikon der Begriffe" beläuft sich auf 12 Druckseiten. 5\. Die derzeit gültigen DLG-Prüfbestimmungen, die in das Lehrbuch mit eingearbeitet wurden, vermitteln einen Einblick in den Ablauf der DLG- Qualitätsprüfungen. 6\. Um einen möglichst großen Kreis von Anwendern anzusprechen und um der derzeitigen Entwicklung in der Computerbranche Rechnung zu tragen, wurde die Programmierung dieses multimedialen Lehrbuches so vorgenommen (in HTML und JavaScript), daß es auf CD-ROM und auch im Internet dargestellt werden kann. Da die Zielgruppe von Fleischerlehrlingen, über Studenten und Lebensmitteltechnologen bis hin zum praktisch tätigen Fleischer reicht, wurde im gesamten Programm eine einfache, leicht verständliche Sprache, ohne Akronyme und Abkürzungen verwendet. Lebensmitteltechnologische Fachbegriffe stellen jedoch einen Teil des zu vermittelnden Wissens dar, weshalb auch die einschlägige Nomenklatur bewußt einbezogen wurde.As early as 1887 the German Agriculture Society (Deutsche Landwirtschafts- Gesellschaft DLG) carried out the first examination of food with a competition. Since the DLG was refounded in 1954 it has continued to pursue its goal to improve the quality standard of German food. The stated objective of the voluntary quality competitions for meat products, ready-to-serve meals, frozen food and delicacies, to support manufacturing and sales of highquality products, is realized by a comparative sensory analysis. Up to now, participants of the DLG Quality Competitions receive standardized expert?s reports about the condition of the product tested and any imperfections noted, but give no indication in which way these could be improved. In order for food producers to take remedial action and to further improve the quality of meat products with more definitive advice, the German Agriculture Society together with the Institute of Food Hygiene at the "Freie Universität Berlin" has suggested the development of the programme summarised below. This body of work describes the experience gained in developing the programme and documents the final results. The "Information Programme for addressing imperfections in the production of sausages" has been developed to be a multimedia compendium of "sausage technology". For each of the approximately 160 imperfections listed in DLG?s examination regulations, suggestions to remedy any imperfections in the manufacturing process are offered. This multimedia textbook was conceived for the instruction at universities, universities for applied science, vocational schools, and technical training centres, but also as a practical help for the butcher?s trade and for the meat product?s industry. The following issues have been experienced during the creation of this programme: 1\. As there are approximately 160 individually mentioned imperfections listed in DLG?s examination regulations for sausages, these were assigned individual chapters. The entire text contains approximately 150 printed pages. 2\. Searching for and finding information has been laid out as simply and as userfriendly as possible by a page with search function and a clear indication of search results. 3\. Associated errors in sausage production are listed in entirity and hyperlinked with each other, in such a way that you can read through them in sequence. 4\. Technical terms are also integrated into the text with hyperlinks to their definition, and indeed a complete dictionary of all technical terms. This "Encyclopedia of Terms" amounts to 12 printed pages. 5\. The examination regulations of DLG valid at present, which have been included in the textbook, give an insight into the process of the quality examinations of DLG. 6\. In order to interest as wide a group of users as possible with and elicit a good response, and taking into account current development within the IT community, programming of this multimedia textbook has been performed in such a way (in HTML and JavaScript) to allow for both online and offline usage by Internet and CD-ROM. As the target group stretches from butcher?s apprentices, through students and food technologists to butchers, in the entire programme a simple, easily comprehensible language without acronyms and abbreviations has been used. Food technology terms, however, represent key knowledge to be imparted, and for this reason the appropriate nomenclature has been deliberately included

Reconstructing Diplomacy

Contemporary diplomatic functions have outgrown the typological embassy building. The barricaded sidewalks and streets are evidence that additional space is required to conduct business safely. Retrofitted embassies in London, Paris, and Berlin expand their security perimeter into the urban condition to maintain the architectural icon of diplomacy. New embassies should utilize the contested zone between the building and the city instead of relocating in rural neighborhoods. It is the purpose of this thesis to enable functional and symbolic diplomatic exchange at the location of intersecting sovereignty

Deconstructing the American Embassy

Contemporary diplomatic functions have outgrown the typological embassy building. The barricaded sidewalks and streets are evidence that additional space is required to conduct business safely. Retrofitted embassies in London, Paris, and Berlin expand their security perimeter into the urban condition to maintain the architectural icon of diplomacy. New embassies should utilize the contested zone between the building and the city instead of relocating in rural neighborhoods. It is the purpose of this thesis to enable functional and symbolic diplomatic exchange at the location of intersecting sovereignty

Internationalisation strategies for small and medium-sized enterprises: a study of UK and German joint ventures in the people’s republic of China

This thesis studies internationalisation strategies for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). For most SMEs internationalisation means, predominantly, exporting. Only a few SMEs are involved in foreign direct investment. However, growing pressure from globalisation increasingly means that SMEs must extend their business activities beyond sole export strategies. Internationalisation imposes an above-the-average financial and managerial resource burden upon SMEs. This is particularly true in the case of foreign direct investment which requires the highest resource commitment of all market entry strategies. Frequently, thus, SMEs cannot commit the resources necessary for success in international markets. Not without reason internationalisation, in the form of foreign direct investment, is often considered the domain of large multinational enterprises. This thesis regards the joint venture strategy as a means to overcome the resource scarcity of SMEs and so make foreign market entry in the form of a direct investment commitment feasible for these firms. Joint ventures can open doors to markets that otherwise would not be open to SMEs. The joint venture strategy can be a vehicle for SMEs to penetrate a foreign market with only a reduced financial and managerial resource commitment. The results of this investigation suggest that joint ventures are a feasible strategy for UK and German SMEs to enter the vast market of the People's Republic of China. The joint venture strategy permits SMEs to establish a market presence in the Chinese market and so better reap the benefits of the impressive economic development of the country. The UK and German joint venture entrepreneurs studied expressed overall satisfaction with their joint investment projects in China. However, the study has also detected various size-related resource scarcities which restrict the SMEs in their joint venturing efforts. Short cut planning procedures and partner selection processes are resultant from that, as well as a weak bargaining position in negotiations and less influence in the control and management ofthe investment project