Iphimediidae of New Zealand (Crustacea, Amphipoda)

New Zealand species of Iphimediidae, Amphipoda, are revised. Based on new material from the Chatham Rise, east of New Zealand, two new species are described in detail: Labriphimedia meikae sp. nov. and Labriphimedia martinae sp. nov. A key to the six species belonging to three genera of New Zealand Iphimediidae is provided

Broadband Infrastructure and Economic Growth

We estimate the effect of broadband infrastructure, which enables high-speed internet, on economic growth in the panel of OECD countries in 1996-2007. Our instrumental-variable model derives its non-linear first stage from a logistic diffusion model where pre-existing voice-telephony and cable-TV networks predict maximum broadband penetration. We find that a 10 percentage-point increase in broadband penetration raises annual per-capita growth by 0.9-1.5 percentage points. Results are robust to country and year fixed effects and controlling for linear second-stage effects of our instruments. We verify that our instruments predict broadband penetration but not diffusion of contemporaneous technologies like mobile telephony and computers.broadband, high-speed internet, technology diffusion, economic growth

Do circum-Antarctic species exist in peracarid Amphipoda? A case study in the genus Epimeria Costa, 1851 (Crustacea, Peracarida, Epimeriidae)

The amphipod genus Epimeria is species rich in the Southern Ocean and at present eight of its 19 species are reported with circum-Antarctic distributions. For the first time, specimens of epimeriid species from the Antarctic Peninsula, the Weddell Sea and the Ross Sea were analysed using partial COI genes sequences and morphological characters. In total 37 specimens of 14 species of Epimeria and two species of Epimeriella were analysed and the resulting molecular topology checked by critically reviewing taxonomic characters. The genus Epimeriella, genetically grouping within Epimeria is synonymised with the genus Epimeria. Sequences distances between populations of the nominal species Epimeria robusta from the Weddell and Ross Sea led to detailed morphological investigations, resulting in the description of Epimeria robustoides sp. n. from the Weddell Sea. Epimeria robusta Barnard, 1930 from the Ross Sea is redescribed. Sequences of a damaged Epimeria specimen of a species new to science from the lower continental shelf of the eastern Weddell Sea were included. Based on the current study, the hypothesis of circum-Antarctic species' distributions in brooding amphipods proved to be unlikely

Investitionen in das Breitbandnetz im Spannungsfeld zwischen Wettbewerb und Regulierung

Im Bereich der IKT-Infrastruktur wurde der Ausbau des Telekommunikationsnetzes in den siebziger und achtziger Jahren in den meisten OECD-Staaten durch die öffentliche Hand vollzogen. Demgegenüber vollzieht sich der derzeitige Umbau des alten Telekommunikationsnetzes zu einem modernen digitalen Datennetz in einem durch Wettbewerb geprägten Umfeld, für das nationale Regulierungsbehörden die Rahmenbedingungen setzen. In ihrem Beitrag gehen Nina Czernich und Oliver Falck, ifo Institut, auf die Notwendigkeit ein, bei staatlicher Regulierung die technologische Dynamik beim Umbau der IKT-Infrastruktur zu berücksichtigen. Dabei schätzen sie die Notwendigkeit versus Hinderlichkeit von Regulierung in den Bereichen bestehender Netzkomponenten, neuer Netze in Agglomerationsräumen und neuer Netze in ländlichen Räumen mit geringer Bevölkerungsdichte unterschiedlich ein und diskutieren verschiedene Arten der Regulierung.Infrastrukturinvestition, Breitbandkommunikation, Makroökonomischer Einfluss, Regulierung, Deutschland

Towards a Framework for Predictive Maintenance Strategies in Mechanical Engineering – A Method-Oriented Literature Analysis

Industrial machines are amongst Germany’s main export products and contribute to the increasing revenue of Mechanical Engineering. However, in the course of globalization, services for such machines have become costly and inflexible due to long distances between vendors and customers. Consequently, companies seek to avoid unexpected failures and long down times by the development of data-based “smart” service solutions, including Predictive Maintenance (PM). In contrast to reactive or preventive measures, PM refers to the proactive planning of required maintenance services based on data sampled from the machinery. Although PM has been conceptualized decades ago and various methods have been proposed ever since, there is no standard strategy. By analyzing existing literature, we shed light on the knowledge base in PM. We provide an overview of methods and discuss their respective context, including preconditions and applications. Our work constitutes a first step towards a framework that guides the implementation of PM-strategies

How Human-AI Collaboration Affects Attribution of Responsibility for Failure and Success

Individuals increasingly seek algorithmic advice to optimize their decision making. This study aims to investigate the effects of receiving algorithmic advice on individuals’ attribution of responsibility for their achievements. The study is based on an experiment with a 2 x 5 design of two dimensions: achievement (success vs. failure) and advice (no advice; human-based advice with high and low expertise; and algorithmic advice with high and low accuracy). The findings from a pilot study suggest that the experimental design is largely appropriate, given that we found answers to our hypotheses. This short paper provides valuable insights for future research on the attribution of responsibility for success and failure when receiving algorithmic advice

Breitbandinfrastruktur und wissensbasiertes volkswirtschaftliches Wachstum

Nach den Ergebnissen einer neuen Studie des ifo Instituts hat der Ausbau von Breitbandnetzen positive Effekte auf das Wirtschaftswachstum. Die Analyse der jährlichen Daten von 25 OECD-Ländern über den Zeitraum 1996 bis 2007 zeigte, dass nach der Einführung von Breitbandinfrastruktur in einem Land das Pro-Kopf-Einkommen durchschnittlich um 2,7 bis 3,9% höher liegt als vor der Einführung. D.h. durch eine Erhöhung der Breitbandnutzerrate in der Bevölkerung um 10 Prozentpunkte steigt das jährliche Pro-Kopf-Wirtschaftswachstum um 0,9 bis 1,5 Prozentpunkte. Diese 10 Prozentpunkte entsprechen ungefähr dem Abstand, um den die Breitbandnutzerrate in Deutschland im Jahr 2003 geringer war als in den führenden OECD-Ländern. Hätte Deutschland im Jahr 2003 seine Breitbandnutzerrate um 10 Prozentpunkte gesteigert, wäre das BIP pro Kopf im Jahr 2007 um 3,7 bis 5,9% höher gewesen.Breitbandkommunikation, Wirtschaftswachstum, Investition, Telekommunikationsnetz, Deutschland, OECD-Staaten