Diskussion des Beitrags: Ineffiziente Quersubventionen in internen Kapitalmärkten: Ein Erklärungsansatz auf Basis der Cummulativen Prospect Theory

Der Beitrag von Eberl/Hachmeister (2010) beschäftigt sich mit der ökonomischen Begründung der ineffizienten Quersubvention in internen Kapitalmärkten auf Basis der verhaltenswissenschaftlich geprägten Cumulative Prospect Theory (CPT). Es ist das Verdienst des vorliegenden Beitrags darauf hinzuweisen, dass die von der klassischen Theorie (Standardtheorie) bekannten Ergebnisse stets daraufhin zu überprüfen sind, ob sie sich unter den Bedingungen eines „realistischeren“ Verhaltensmusters aufrechterhalten lassen. Kritisch ist jedoch anzumerken, dass Quersubventionierung und Winner Picking als empirische Phänomene sich im vorliegenden Modellrahmen erst dann abbilden lassen, wenn man die exogen gesetzte Anfangsausstattung der Bereiche als Ausgangspunkt nimmt. Für diesen Fall werden die Ergebnisse aber trivial, weil durch die willkürliche Wahl der Ausgangssituation beliebige Ergebnisse erzeugt werden können. Weitere Kritikpunkte betreffen den im Rahmen der CPT zu wählenden Referenzpunkt, die Parametrisierung der Wert- und Wahrscheinlichkeitsfunktion, die Abbildung der Instanz als Bernoulli-Nutzenmaximierer sowie die Frage nach alternativen (pareto-superioren) Steuerungsmechanismen wie monetären Anreizsystemen

Swiss GAAP FER 41 für Krankenversicherer

Per 1.1.2012 tritt «Swiss GAAP FER 41: Rechnungslegung für Gebäudeversicherer und Krankenversicherer» in Kraft. Der vorliegende Artikel beleuchtet die wichtigsten Elemente der Swiss GAAP FER 41 für Krankenversicherer und erläutert die Ergebnisse der Studie zur Einführung dieser Fachempfehlung, welche KPMG in Zusammenarbeit mit der Universität Zürich durchgeführt hat

IFRS für KMU

Mit der Publikation des International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-Sized Entities – kurz: IFRS for SMEs – im Juli 2009 ging das bisher langwierigste Projekt des International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) zu Ende: ein einziges Regelwerk weltweit für Finanzberichte privater Unternehmen! Während die „vollen“ IFRS (full IFRS) und US GAAP immer komplexer werden, wird mit dem IFRS for SMEs eine Variante light in den Markt gebracht. Der vorliegende Beitrag erläutert Geltungsbereich, Werdegang und Wesensmerkmale des neuen Standards, dessen wesentliche Unterschiede zu den „vollen“ IFRS sowie den Swiss GAAP FER und beleuchtet das Marktpotenzial in der Schweiz

Kooperationsbeziehungen managen: Neid schafft Investitionsanreize

Kooperationen erfordern in der Praxis häufig (spezifische) Investitionen und sind daher mit dem Problem der "fairen" Aufteilung entstehender Kooperationsrenten behaftet. Der folgende Beitrag zeigt, dass die Kooperationspartner die Möglichkeit haben sollten, flexibel auf die Höhe ihrer spezifischen Investitionen zu reagieren. Starre Gewinnaufteilungsregeln hingegen werden leicht als unfair empfunden und können daher die Investitionsanreize in Kooperationsbeziehungen zerstören

Secondary users and the personal mhealth record: Designing tools to improve collaboration between patients and providers

Abstract: This paper describes a patient-centered health information technology (HIT) for primary and secondary users. Primary users are the main operators of a system and control dissemination of its information [1]. Secondary users have experiences through primary users [2]. A smartphone personal health record was prototyped for use in an experimental study with providers as secondary users. Patients are often secondary users in healthcare, but patientcentered care requires that patients have digital tools to manage their own health data to be better able to participate in healthcare decisions, making them primary users [3]

DC Electric Fields and Associated Plasma Drifts Observed with the C/NOFS Satellite

Initial DC electric field observations and associated plasma drifts are presented from the Vector Electric Field Investigation (VEFI) on the Air Force Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) satellite. We present statistical averages of the vector fields for the first year of operations that include both the zonal and radial components of the resulting E x B plasma flows at low latitudes. Magnetic field data from the VEFI science magnetometer are used to compute the plasma flows. The DC electric field detector reveals zonal and radial electric fields that undergo strong diurnal variations, typically displaying eastward and outward-directed fields during the day and westward and downward-directed fields at night. There is considerable variation in the large scale DC electric field data, in both the daytime and nighttime cases, with enhanced structures typically observed at night. In general, the measured zonal DC electric field amplitudes include excursions that extend within the 0.4 - 2 m V/m range, corresponding to E x B drifts of the order of 30-150 m/s. The average vertical or radial electric fields may exceed the zonal fields in amplitude by a factor of 1.5 to 2. Although the data compare well, in a general sense, with previous satellite observations and statistical patterns of vertical ion drifts, the E x B drifts we report from C/NOFS rarely show a pronounced pre-reversal enhancement after sunset. We attribute this to a combination of extreme solar minimum conditions and the fact that the C/NOFS orbit of 401 by 867 km carries the probes essentially above the lower altitude regions where the wind-driven dynamo might be expected to create enhanced upwards drifts in the early evening. Evidence for wavenumber 4 tidal effects and other longitudinal signatures have been detected and will be presented. We also discuss off-equatorial electric fields and their relation to the ambient plasma density

DC and Structured Electric Fields Observed on the C/NOFS Satellite and Their Association with Longitude, Plasma Density, and Solar Activity

Observations of DC electric fields and associated E x B plasma drifts gathered by the Vector Electric Field Investigation (VEFI) on the Air Force Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) satellite are presented. We show statistical averages of the vector fields and resulting E x B plasma flows for the first three years of operations as a function of season, longitude, local time, and Fl 0.7 conditions. Magnetic field data from the VEFI science magnetometer are used to compute the plasma flows. Although typically displaying eastward and outward-directed fields during the day and westward and downward-directed fields at night, the data from DC electric field detector often reveal variations from this pattern that depend on longitude, solar activity, and plasma density. Clear "wave-4" tidal effects in both electric field components have been detected and will be presented. Zonal plasma drifts show a marked variation with solar activity and may be used as a proxy for neutral winds at night. Evidence for pre-reversal enhancements in the meridional drifts that depend on solar activity is present for some longitudes, and are corroborated by clear evidence in the plasma density data that the spacecraft journeyed below the F-peak during evenings when the rise in the ionosphere is most pronounced. In addition to DC electric fields, the data reveal considerable electric field structures at large scales (approx 100's of km) that are usually confined to the nightside. Although such electric field structures are typically associated with plasma density depletions and structures, what is surprising is the number of cases in which large amplitude, structured DC electric fields are observed without a significant plasma density counterpart structure, including their appearance at times when the ambient plasma density appears relatively quiescent. We investigate the mapping of structured electric fields along magnetic field lines from distant locations and consider tropospheric thunderstorm sources to explain some of the observations. The dependence of the structuring on season and solar activity will be reported and discussed

The Transcriptional Landscape of Marek’s Disease Virus in Primary Chicken B Cells Reveals Novel Splice Variants and Genes

Marek’s disease virus (MDV) is an oncogenic alphaherpesvirus that infects chickens and poses a serious threat to poultry health. In infected animals, MDV efficiently replicates in B cells in various lymphoid organs. Despite many years of research, the viral transcriptome in primary target cells of MDV remained unknown. In this study, we uncovered the transcriptional landscape of the very virulent RB1B strain and the attenuated CVI988/Rispens vaccine strain in primary chicken B cells using high-throughput RNA-sequencing. Our data confirmed the expression of known genes, but also identified a novel spliced MDV gene in the unique short region of the genome. Furthermore, de novo transcriptome assembly revealed extensive splicing of viral genes resulting in coding and non-coding RNA transcripts. A novel splicing isoform of MDV UL15 could also be confirmed by mass spectrometry and RT-PCR. In addition, we could demonstrate that the associated transcriptional motifs are highly conserved and closely resembled those of the host transcriptional machinery. Taken together, our data allow a comprehensive re-annotation of the MDV genome with novel genes and splice variants that could be targeted in further research on MDV replication and tumorigenesis