The Impact of Electronic Commerce on the Automotive Industry

The diffusion of the Internet (and comparable communication infrastructures) has led to the emergence of a virtual global marketspace in which products and services are sold electronically. As a result, traditional intermediaries, such as travel agents or retailers, are being bypassed. This development effects not only products and services which can be digitized but also the marketing and distribution of physical products. We have scrutinized the interdependencies of product characteristics and traditional distribution structure, electronic commerce andthe emergence of new services and distribution structures trends in the automotive industry. The auto manufacturers are facing difficult choices on several fronts at a time: cybermediaries, independent (mega-)dealers and their own direct sales operations on the Web are competing with their exclusive dealers. Based on this analysis which reveals patterns of exacerbated competition, we will discuss strategic options for a business network redesig

A taxonomic revision of ten whitefish species from the lakes Lucerne, Sarnen, Sempach and Zug, Switzerland, with descriptions of seven new species (Teleostei, Coregonidae)

The taxonomy of the endemic whitefish of the lakes of the Reuss River system (Lucerne, Sarnen, Zug) and Lake Sempach, Switzerland, is reviewed and revised. Lake Lucerne harbours five species. Coregonus intermundia sp. nov. and C. suspensus sp. nov., are described. Coregonus nobilis Haack, 1882, C. suidteri Fatio, 1885, and C. zugensis Nüsslin, 1882, are redescribed. Genetic studies have shown that C. suidteri and C. zugensis are composed of several distinct species endemic to different lakes. The names C. suidteri and C. zugensis are restricted to the species of lakes Sempach and Zug, respectively. The whitefish populations previously referred to as C. suidteri and C. zugensis from Lake Lucerne are described as C. litoralis sp. nov. and C. muelleri sp. nov., respectively. Furthermore, the whitefish from Lake Zug that were previously referred to as C. suidteri are described as C. supersum sp. nov. A holotype is designated for C. supersum that was previously one of two syntypes of C. zugensis. The other syntype is retained for C. zugensis. Coregonus obliterus sp. nov. is described from Lake Zug, and C. obliterus and C. zugensis from Lake Zug are extinct. Finally, we describe C. sarnensis sp. nov. from lakes Sarnen and Alpnach. Coregonus suidteri from Lake Sempach shows strong signals of introgression from deliberately translocated non-native whitefish species, which questions if the extant population still carries a genetic legacy from the original species and thus may need to be considered extinct. Coregonus suspensus is genetically partially of allochthonous origin, closely related to the radiation of Lake Constance. It is therefore compared to all known and described species of Lake Constance: C. wartmanni Bloch, 1784, C. macrophthalmus Nüsslin, 1882, C. arenicolus Kottelat,1997, and C. gutturosus Gmelin, 1818

Wirkungen des demographischen Wandels auf die Verkehrsnachfrage in Mitteldeutschland

Wenn die Bevölkerungszahl abnimmt, dann gelten zunächst einfache Zusammenhänge: weniger Menschen benötigen weniger Wohnraum und weniger Schüler auch weniger Schulplätze. Kann diese Kausalität auch auf den Verkehr übertragen werden? Bedeutet eine verringerte Bevölkerungszahl schlicht und einfach auch, dass es weniger Verkehr geben wird? Schaut man sich die verschiedenen nationalen, regionalen und auch kommunalen Verkehrsentwicklungspläne an, ist man geneigt zu glauben, dass im Verkehr das genaue Gegenteil gilt: Angebotsverbesserungen im Öffentlichen Verkehr, Lückenschlüsse im klassifizierten Straßennetz, Ortsumgehungen, aufwändige und kostspielige innerstädtische Verkehrslösungen, die sehr häufig mit einer immensen Flächenneuinanspruchnahme verbunden sind. Hier werden die Qualität der Verkehrsnetze respektive die Erreichbarkeit deutlich verbessert – ist das die richtige und effizienteste Strategie? Wozu soll dieser Aufwand dienen, wenn die Region schrumpft? Es leitet sich die Notwendigkeit ab, Antworten auf eine ganze Reihe von Fragen zu geben, wie z. B. Wird weniger oder mehr gefahren werden? Werden die Wege kürzer oder länger und wohin können/müssen sich die einzelnen Verkehrssysteme entwickeln

Active Learning in Nursing Education

ALINE is a pedagogical model developed to aid nursing faculty transition from passive to active learning. Based on constructionist theory, ALINE serves as a tool for organizing curriculum for online and classroom based interaction and permits positioning the student as the active player and the instructor, the facilitator to nursing competency

Olivier MARTIN, L’Empire des chiffres. Une sociologie de la quantification

Si le livre d’Olivier Martin évoque bien, au fil des pages, l’envahissement par les chiffres de tous les espaces de notre société comme le titre nous y fait penser, il parle aussi de beaucoup d’autres choses : depuis leur naissance d’aussi loin que l’on peut les repérer jusqu’à leur utilisation contemporaine, il décortique leur fabrication, montre comment s’élabore la quantification. Il s’agit en fait de l’histoire de leur empire sous de multiples aspects. Tout d’abord il est peut-être néces..

Teaching Aids in Astronomy

Three teaching aids in astronomy are described. The first consists of a star locator with features of a transit, equatorial mount, and revolving star map for teaching celestial coordinates and identification of stars. The second is a set of black flash cards of common constellations, and the third is a rotating disc for practice in estimating standard time by the Big Dipper

Space Travel to the Moon and Kepler\u27s Dream

Johann Kepler advocated Copernicus\u27s heliocentric theory in his Dream and Notes. He imagined how a moon dweller would see the solar system and the conclusions he would draw. Then by reversing the point of view to the earth, Kepler showed that the same conclusions would follow. This involved concepts of mass, inertia, gravity, acceleration, velocity, and the driving force in a trip to the moon. Twelve years before Newton\u27s birth in 1642, Kepler published in this little known dream ideas which Newton later developed. Kepler\u27s ideas concerning the moon\u27s distance, motion, and conditions to be met in space are reviewed