Die Verteilung der Abstimmungsmacht im Bundesrat

Die Stimmanteile der Bundesl?nder im Bundesrat basieren auf einem Stufenmodell in Abh?ngigkeit von der Einwohnerzahl. Da die Abstimmungsmacht nicht dem relativen Stimmanteil eines Bundeslands entspricht, analysieren die Autoren die Verteilung der Abstimmungsmacht im Bundesrat mit Hilfe von Machtindizes. Sie untersuchen darüber hinaus, wie sich die Abstimmungsmacht ver?ndert, wenn die Abstimmungsregel variiert wird oder es zu L?nderfusionen kommt.     

A Note on Relevant Comparisons of Corporations and Countries

A bstract . Attempts to compare the magnitude of corporations and countries are frequently biased by the use of inconsistent measures. While Gross National Product reflects the output obtained from a nation's land, labor and capital resources, corporate sales reflect not only the firm's output but also that of its suppliers. A more realistic picture can be obtained by comparing corporate value added to national output. While available information permits only an approximation of the former, it appears that the average company is responsible for less than 50 percent of the value of the product it sells. The basic conclusion that some firms are in this sense comparable to Nation-States remains valid. However, the rank of the largest companies relative to countries is reduced substantially.     

The Impact of Technological Change on Work and Wages

This review begins with a discussion of how technology affects wage structures. The literature reviewed is divided into two segments—studies of the impact of technological change on wages (and growing inequality), productivity, and employment and studies of the interrelationship of technology, human resource systems, and labor productivity. We conclude with suggestions for future research topics. Overall, we find that technological change accounts for only part of the changing wage structure in the United States, whereas changes in institutional forces that affect the creation of industry rents and the distribution of rents are also an important factor.     

Clustering and visualization of earthquake data in a grid environment

We present a web client-server service WEB-IS, which we have developed for remote analysis and visualization of seismic data consisting of both small magnitude events and large earthquakes. We show that the problem-solving environment (PSE) intended for prediction of large magnitude earthquakes can be based on this WEB-IS idea. The clustering schemes, feature generation, feature extraction techniques and rendering algorithms form a computational framework of this environment. On the other hand, easy and fast access both to the seismic data distributed among distant computing resources and to computational and visualization resources can be realized in a GRID framework. We discuss the usefulness of NaradaBrokering (iNtegrated Asynchronous Real-time Adaptive Distributed Architecture) as a middleware, allowing for flexibility and high throughput for remote visualization of geophysical data. The WEB-IS functionality was tested both on synthetic and the actual earthquake catalogs. We consider the application of similar methodology for tsunami alerts.     

Encouraging Best Practice in Quantitative Management Research: An Incomplete List of Opportunities*

abstract The paper identifies some common problems encountered in quantitative methodology and provides information on current best practice to resolve these problems. We first discuss issues pertaining to variable measurement and concerns regarding the underlying relationships among variables. We then highlight several advances in estimation methodology that may circumvent issues encountered in common practice. Finally, we discuss approaches that move beyond existing research designs, including the development and use of datasets that embody linkages across levels of analysis, or combine qualitative and quantitative methods.     

Narrating the Power of Non‐Standard Employment: The Case of the Israeli Public Sector*

abstract Applying a critical discourse analysis approach, this study shows how the argument equating non‐standard employment (NSE) with organizational efficiency gains dominance over the contesting argument that views NSE as reducing organizational efficiency. We interviewed 24 senior‐level HR managers in the Israeli public sector, where NSE is used extensively, in order to shed light on the discursive order and the power struggle between these contesting arguments. Findings point to two story‐lines that helped discredit the argument in which NSE reduces organizational efficiency: (1) a statement of loyalty to organizational efficiency, accompanied by a gesture of concern for employees in non‐standard arrangements; and (2) subordinating an implied preference for eliminating NSE to organizational constraints.