INTEGRATING SUSTAINABILITY IN AGRICULTURE - TRADE-OFFS AND ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES DEMONSTRATED WITH A FARM MODEL IN BAVARIA

Within the German "Research Alliance on Agroecosystems Munich" (Forschungsverbund Agrarökosysteme München, FAM) optimal land use strategies are investigated since 1990 in terms of minimization of environmental impacts and maximization of profit from agricultural lands (Auerswald et al. 2000). For this purpose a conventional agricultural land use system was converted into two more sustainable forms of land use. One part of the farm was converted into an integrated land use system with reduced tillage, direct seeding methods and catch crops to minimize nutrient losses and to prevent soil erosion hazards. The other part of the farm was converted into a biological land use system with the omission of mineral fertilizers and pesticides and the enrichment of crop rotation. In order to evaluate changes in the state of the agroecosystem a goal and indicator system was elaborated which was aimed to represent important issues of sustainable agriculture. With the help of the goal and indicator system the impact of land use on issues of sustainability can be assessed. The indicators are furthermore integrated into a farm model to assess the implications of the realization of environmental issues in agriculture. For this purpose the model system MODAM (Zander & Kächele 1999) was used to compare different land use options at the farm level. The model system simulates agricultural land use, calculates the economic returns and runs farm optimizations with a linear programming tool. The integration of agro-environmental indicators in the model framework enables a multiple goal optimization and the calculation of trade-offs. For this study soil erosion was assessed with the algorithms of a site-specifically adapted version of the USLE (ABAG, Schwertmann et al. 1987). Optimization runs show, that e.g. soil conservation measures may not only improve soil conservation, but also the economic situation. A slight improvement of soil conservation results in marginal opportunity costs for the farm. With the realization of a higher level of soil protection opportunity costs rise exponentially. The calculated opportunity costs can give valuable hints on bottlenecks of the realization of sustainable agriculture and help to identify reasonable incentives for a better agriculture. Furthermore conflicts between divagating goals can be identified to find optimal pathways of a sustainable development of agriculture.Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management,

Transport Policy, Acceptance and the Media

The last two decades have seen a substantial change in the basic philosophy underlying European transportation policy. Due to the Commission's efforts and due to supporting jurisdiction by the European Court of Justice the dominant approach to transportation policy has become far more market oriented. This change of approach in transportation policy will only be successful and sustainable if the problem of acceptability will be solved. For researchers this entails that their perspective must change from the normative to the positive aspects of transportation policy-making. This paper reports work undertaken within research project TIPP (Transportation Institutions in the Policy Process) funded by the European Commission. In this work it has been attempted to develop a theoretical structure that merges the positive economic theory of regulation with cognitive psychology and traffic psychology. This theoretical structure offers a matrix of actors and factors that are seen to be essential for success or failure in the implementation of a certain measure of transport policy. Four case studies were carried out in order to check the plausibility of this approach. The case studies are the failure of the German Railway (Deutsche Bahn AG) to introduce a new tariff system in passenger transport in the period 2002-2003, the attempt to introduce a toll for HGVs in Germany, the failure to operate a private tolled motorway in Hungary (M1/M15), the failure to introduce a road-pricing system in the densely populated Randstad area in the Netherlands. --Transportation Policy,Europe,Common Transport Policy,Transport Regulation,Acceptability

M&A driven IT transformation

Technological, economical, cultural, and political changesconstantly lead to new opportunities and challenges in today\u27shighly dynamic business environment. Increasingly,modern enterprises leverage the strategic instrument ofMergersand Acquisitions (M&A) to seize these tempting opportunitiesand adapt to the altering market conditions. AsInformation Technology (IT) penetrates the business of almostall enterprises, it has to be considered during virtuallyany M&A endeavor. Particularly the resulting need for ITtransformation in the course of the M&A post merger integration(PMI) phase represents a complex and intricate taskin which problem-specic models and tangible methods areof utmost importance. In all cases, the design of such helpfulartifacts requires a solid foundation and a profound understandingwith regards to the specic context, drivers, andinuence factors in reference to the IT transformation.Based on related literature in the eld of M&A, we conducted15 explorative expert interviews with industry partnersfrom the German banking industry, who were involvedin a bank merger. In doing so, the interview partners revealedilluminative insights into possible problems, solutions,and pitfalls occurring during the transformation of IT. Thisarticle summarizes the key ndings of the semi-structuredtalks and compares them with approaches and statementssuggested by current M&A literature resources. In this vein,the stage is set for future research in the realm of IT transformationduring M&A situations which can benet from theempirical grounded results presented within this document

Transport Policy, Acceptance and the Media

The last two decades have seen a substantial change in the basic philosophy underlying European transportation policy. Due to the Commission's efforts and due to supporting jurisdiction by the European Court of Justice the dominant approach to transportation policy has become far more market oriented. This change of approach in transportation policy will only be successful and sustainable if the problem of acceptability will be solved. For researchers this entails that their perspective must change from the normative to the positive aspects of transportation policy-making. This paper reports work undertaken within research project TIPP (Transportation Institutions in the Policy Process) funded by the European Commission. In this work it has been attempted to develop a theoretical structure that merges the positive economic theory of regulation with cognitive psychology and traffic psychology. This theoretical structure offers a matrix of actors and factors that are seen to be essential for success or failure in the implementation of a certain measure of transport policy. Four case studies were carried out in order to check the plausibility of this approach. The case studies are the failure of the German Railway (Deutsche Bahn AG) to introduce a new tariff system in passenger transport in the period 2002-2003, the attempt to introduce a toll for HGVs in Germany, the failure to operate a private tolled motorway in Hungary (M1/M15), the failure to introduce a road-pricing system in the densely populated Randstad area in the Netherlands

Parking Cash-Out - ein innovativer Ansatz zur betrieblichen Effizienzsteigerung und Verkehrslenkung

Parking Cash-Out wird als eine neue und interessante unternehmerische Strategie zur Realisierung von Kosteneinsparungen, aber auch zur Verkehrslenkung propagiert. Zu den besonderen Vorteilen dieses Konzepts zählt die erhöhte Akzeptanz für preispolitische Maßnahmen, da die Verkehrsteilnehmer vom Unternehmen für den Verzicht auf einen vom Betrieb bereit gestellten Parkplatz kompensiert werden. In diesem Beitrag testen wir die theoretischen Effekte des Parking Cash-Out. Unter Anwendung eines multinomialen Probit-Modells finden wir signifikante Effekte sowohl der Parkplatzkompensation als auch der -gebühr. Unsere Ergebnisse hinsichtlich der Veränderung des Anteils der PKW-Nutzung liegen im Rahmen der Erwartungen und lassen sich in die US-amerikanische Literatur zu diesem Thema vorbehaltlos einordnen

Parking Cash-Out - ein innovativer Ansatz zur betrieblichen Effizienzsteigerung und Verkehrslenkung

Parking Cash-Out wird als eine neue und interessante unternehmerische Strategie zur Realisierung von Kosteneinsparungen, aber auch zur Verkehrslenkung propagiert. Zu den besonderen Vorteilen dieses Konzepts zählt die erhöhte Akzeptanz für preispolitische Maßnahmen, da die Verkehrsteilnehmer vom Unternehmen für den Verzicht auf einen vom Betrieb bereit gestellten Parkplatz kompensiert werden. In diesem Beitrag testen wir die theoretischen Effekte des Parking Cash-Out. Unter Anwendung eines multinomialen Probit-Modells finden wir signifikante Effekte sowohl der Parkplatzkompensation als auch der -gebühr. Unsere Ergebnisse hinsichtlich der Veränderung des Anteils der PKW-Nutzung liegen im Rahmen der Erwartungen und lassen sich in die US-amerikanische Literatur zu diesem Thema vorbehaltlos einordnen. --

DECISION SUPPORT FOR SELECTING AN APPLICATION LANDSCAPE INTEGRATION STRATEGY IN MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) represent a powerful strategic instrument increasingly applied in today\u27s business environment. Besides juridical, financial, and organizational challenges, it is crucial to rapidly integrate the existing application landscapes in order to capitalize the aspired synergies. Literature documents four commonly agreed strategies: \u27best-of-breed\u27, \u27absorption\u27, \u27co-existence\u27, and \u27new-build\u27. However, no consolidated set of criteria exists to ease the selection of an integration strategy most suitable for the merger or the acquisition. Based on the results of a literature study, this paper proposes four integration profiles enabling a structured decision support for selecting the appropriate application landscape strategy during M&A. Each profile comprises relevant driving factors and resulting consequences as selection criteria. The identified literature statements regarding the criteria are validated by means of 12 confirmatory interviews with M&A experts. Furthermore, collected findings from an additional exploratory interview part with the practitioners complement the devised strategy profiles

Investigations of Ratio-Based Integrated Influence Lines as Features for Bridge-Damage Detection

Prestressed concrete bridges built between 1960 and 1990 no longer meet today’s requirements due to loads and increasing mileage of higher loads that have increased since the bridges were designed. Prestressed concrete bridges are representative of Germany’s existing bridges. In order to deal with the large number of ageing bridges, recalculations and measurements for control as well as bridge monitoring are an important means of support. For both, it is important to find features that are damage-sensitive as well as robust against measurement noise, vehicle parameters (dynamics, geometry, weight, etc.) and environmental influences (temperature, wind, etc.). In this paper, we present features for damage detection based on the influence line, which are investigated with respect to the above requirements by using the analytical solution of the Euler–Bernoulli beam and more complex numerical bridge simulations. In this context, we restrict ourselves to the damage caused by bending stress. The features are calculated on the basis of single vehicle crossings over the bridge for the strain in the longitudinal direction as well as for the deflection of the bridge at different sensor positions. The ratio-based features are compared with raw data and natural frequencies in a classification. Additionally, the sensor positioning is considered. The investigations shows that the ratio-based integrated influence lines are equivalent to or better than the modal parameters, especially when noise and temperature changes are taken into account

Berufe und soziale Ungleichheit – Thematische Einführung und Inhalte des Sonderhefts

Die Untersuchung der Bedeutung des Berufs für die soziale Ungleichheit hat eine lange Tradition. In diesem einleitenden Beitrag werden die im hier vorliegenden Sonderheft der Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie gesammelten Aufsätze in den Kontext der bisherigen Berufsforschung gestellt. Der Anspruch des Sonderhefts besteht darin, Berufe nicht wie andernorts als „Blackbox“ zu betrachten, sondern explizit danach zu fragen, welche sozialen Mechanismen den Berufen ihre ungleichheitsrelevante Wirkung verleihen. Der erste Themenblock des Sonderhefts verschafft den Leserinnen und Lesern einen Zugang zu theoretischen Grundlagen und Messkonzepten im Forschungsfeld „Berufe und soziale Ungleichheit“. In den anschließenden Themenblöcken wird anhand konkreter Forschungsfragen aufgezeigt, welches Potenzial in der hier vorgestellten Perspektive auf Mechanismen im Themenfeld Berufe und soziale Ungleichheit steckt. Die Themenblöcke befassen sich mit Fragen von Berufswahl und beruflichen Karrieren, mit dem Zusammenhang von Berufen und Geschlechterungleichheit, mit der Bedeutung von Berufen im Kontext der Debatten um Migration und Zuwanderung sowie mit dem Thema Berufe im Zeitalter der Digitalisierung und Globalisierung. Dabei handelt es sich explizit um theoretisch fundierte, empirische Beiträge, die gleichzeitig die Vielfalt der für diese Art von Analysen verwendbaren Datengrundlagen und methodischen Zugänge aufzeigt