119 research outputs found
On the Determinants of Cross Border Co-operation of Austrian Firms with Central and Eastern European Partners
No full textI analyse cross-border co-operation of Austrian firms with CEEC partners. Firm size, previous experience with co-operation and depth of integration with the most important partner are more important determinants of co-operation than distance to the closest potential partner. Firms with experience of co-operation are more likely to enter business relationships and less likely not to co-operate. Small firms are unlikely to co-operate in incentive contracts, while firms which are part of production networks typically co-operate in business and ownership relationships. Distance to the closest potential partner increases the probability of not co-operating and reduces the probability of ownership relationships.
Literarisch inszenierte Zeitreisen
No full textDie vorliegende Arbeit liefert eine Gegenüberstellung der Werke „Die Zeitmaschine“ von H. G. Wells und „Die Rückkehr der Zeitmaschine“ von Egon Friedell. Dabei stellen die gesellschafts- und sozialkritischen Themen bei Wells und die intertextuellen Bezüge sowie satirischen Techniken und Verfahren bei Friedell das Zentrum der Analyse dar. Auch der gattungstheoretischen Frage nach den Unterschieden von Roman, Novelle und Satire wird nachgegangen und gezeigt, dass sich Wells‘ Roman als „scientific romance“ besonders für eine satirische Behandlung eignet
Financing the embedded value of life insurance portfolios
No full textIn May 2004 the CFO Forum harmonized the various efforts of reporting the embedded valueof life insurance companies by issuing the European Embedded Value (EEV) Principles.In this working paper a methodology is proposed to derive a maximum lending amountfrom EEV figures without much additional data requirements from the originating insurer. The approach chosen is similar to that of other financing areas, e.g. real estate finance, where first a prudent best estimate valuation is done and later risk deductions are performed in the form of applying loan to value ratios, e.g. 60-80 % of the prudent amount. Here, this prudent value is called bankable embedded value and the loan to value analysis presented leads to the maximum lending amount. The deductions proposed to arrive at a maximum lending amount are based on parameter adjustments and risk allowances for unexpected risks. There is an analogy with insurers for determining their own capital needs. The methodology proposed is based on the stress test approach which increasingly gains popularity with insurance supervisors in Europe. --European embedded value,embedded value,life insurance policies,maximum lending amount,required capital,risk analysis,risk discount rate,value reporting and analysis,value sensitivity analysis
A speech understanding and dialog system with a homogeneous linguistic knowledge base
No full textMast M, Kummert F, Ehrlich U, et al. A speech understanding and dialog system with a homogeneous linguistic knowledge base. IEEE transactions on pattern analysis and machine intelligence. 1994;16(2):179-194.This article presents the speech understanding and dialog system EVAR. All levels of linguistic knowledge are used both to control the analysis process and for the interpretation of an utterance. All kinds of knowledge are integrated in a homogeneous knowledge base. The control algorithm used for the analysis is defined within the representation scheme and does not depend on the application. One of the aims of EVAR is to develop a system structure where linguistic and non-linguistic expectations could be used not only for the interpretation but also as predictions for the recognition process
Low Variation in the Polymorphic Clock Gene Poly-Q Region Despite Population Genetic Structure across Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) Populations
No full textPubMed ID: 22216124This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Switching hemispheres: a new migration strategy for the disjunct Argentinean breeding population of Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica).
No full textBACKGROUND: Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) breed almost exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere. However, since the early 1980's, a small disjunct breeding population has become established in eastern Argentina, presumably by birds previously derived from those breeding in North America. Currently, it is unknown where these individuals go following breeding and how they have adjusted to a reversal in phenology. Their austral wintering period corresponds to the breeding period of the northern ancestral population and so they can potentially return to these more traditional breeding sites or they may occupy other South American wintering regions left vacant by conspecifics returning to the Northern Hemisphere. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used a three-isotope (δ(13)C, δ(15)N, δ(2)H) approach to investigate potential wintering areas in Central and South America of individuals breeding in Argentina. Feather isotope values differed from those expected and measured at local breeding sites in Argentina indicating molt after the austral breeding period and away from the breeding grounds. Potential molting origins were identified applying likelihood-based assignment methods to a δ(2)H isoscape for South America and dichotomous prior information on the distribution of C3 and C4 vegetation types based on modeled vegetation-δ(13)C values. Barn Swallows now breeding in Argentina have changed their migratory behavior but presumably use the same cues as those used by the ancestral population, molting their feathers during the austral winter, likely in north-eastern South America
Recommended from our members
Switching Hemispheres: A New Migration Strategy for the Disjunct Argentinean Breeding Population of Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
No full textBackground: Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) breed almost exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere. However, since the early 1980's, a small disjunct breeding population has become established in eastern Argentina, presumably by birds previously derived from those breeding in North America. Currently, it is unknown where these individuals go following breeding and how they have adjusted to a reversal in phenology. Their austral wintering period corresponds to the breeding period of the northern ancestral population and so they can potentially return to these more traditional breeding sites or they may occupy other South American wintering regions left vacant by conspecifics returning to the Northern Hemisphere.
Principal Findings: We used a three-isotope (δ ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, δ²H) approach to investigate potential wintering areas in Central and South America of individuals breeding in Argentina. Feather isotope values differed from those expected and measured at local breeding sites in Argentina indicating molt after the austral breeding period and away from the breeding grounds. Potential molting origins were identified applying likelihood-based assignment methods to a δ²H isoscape for South America and dichotomous prior information on the distribution of C3 and C4 vegetation types based on modeled vegetation-δ¹³C values. Barn Swallows now breeding in Argentina have changed their migratory behavior but presumably use the same cues as those used by the ancestral population, molting their feathers during the austral winter, likely in northeastern South America
The Persian social novel from 1900 to 1941.
No full textThis research investigates the novel in the Persian context and in particular the social novel, which is based on social rather than romantic or historical issues and events. The emphasis is on the growth and development of the social novel in the first four decades of the twentieth century. Existing scholarship considers the European novelistic genre as the only model of modern Persian narrative, regardless of indigenous and Islamic, Iranian literary interaction. This study uncovers the influence of the Arabic literary heritage on modern Persian fiction. Therein, I have established for the first time a relation between modern Persian fiction on the one h and , and the Arabic maqama genre and the Spanish picaresque narrative on the other. Chapter I is an historical and literary introduction. Chapters II through V provide a detailed study of four works of fiction of the time. Chapter VI is the conclusion. The historical introduction provides the background of the Constitutional movement (1905-11), World War I and the following period of political turmoil under the influence of, and then the occupation of Iran by, Russia and Britain, followed by the despotic reign of Reza Shah (1925-41). The literary introduction provides and investigates a general survey of Persian literature at its transition from traditionalism to modernity and the reflections in literature of the multiple confrontations between the Iranian heritage and modern Western ideologies. A concern of the literary introduction is the societal attitudes towards political authority and the clergy. The rise of the Persian novel and the circumstances that accompanied it are discussed in detail. Four works of fiction have been selected as representatives of Persian fiction in four decades: Siyahat-name-ye Ebrahim Beg (Ebrahim Beg's Travelogue, vol.I, Cairo, s.d.) by Haji Zayno-l Abedin Maraghe-i; Tehran-e makhuf (Horrible Tehran, Tehran, 1922) by Mortaza Moshfeq Kazemi; Tafrihat-e shab (Nocturnal Amusements, Tehran, 1932) by Mohammad Mas'ud; and Daro-l majanin (Lunatic Asylum, Tehran, 1942) by M. A. Jamalzade. An analysis of both form and content of these novels is presented. The conclusion provides a definition of both the Arabic maqama genre and the Spanish picaresque narrative, and the circumstances under which they emerged in Persian literature. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)PhDMiddle Eastern literatureAsian historyModern languageUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162008/1/8906989.pd
Boxplots of <i>δ</i><sup>2</sup>H, <i>δ</i><sup>13</sup>C and <i>δ</i><sup>15</sup>N values (‰) of Barn Swallow feathers.
No full text<p>Letter A represents a sample of birds whose feathers were sampled once and were grown on unknown austral wintering grounds. Letter B and C represent feathers forced to grow on the breeding grounds in Argentina and those initially plucked (grown on unknown austral wintering grounds), respectively. Star symbol denotes significant differences in mean using independent (A vs C) or paired (B vs C) t-tests as appropriate (P<0.05). Numbers in brackets represent sample sizes. <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0055654#s3" target="_blank">Results</a> indicate that feathers grown on the breeding grounds were isotopically different from those grown on the austral wintering grounds for <i>δ</i><sup>2</sup>H and <i>δ</i><sup>15</sup>N values.</p
- …
