@phdthesis{MacPhail2013, author = {MacPhail, Jean C.}, title = {LEARNING IN DEPTH. A CASE STUDY IN TWIN 5X5 MATRICES OF CONSCIOUSNESS}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:521-opus-836}, school = {Europa-Universit{\"a}t Viadrina Frankfurt}, year = {2013}, abstract = {In this study consciousness involves experience of five non-verbal states documented in Indian tradition, and also of five levels, verbal exemplifications of the content of the states. When these two aspects are related to each other orthogonally, twin, obverse 5x5 matrices of consciousness emerge, one pertaining to the verbal „logical" side of consciousness and the other to the holistic „experiential" side, which together make up the whole picture of the development of the human psyche. These findings are generated from a database on the transformation of consciousness (yoga) of Vivekananda, the nineteenth century Indian monk who modernized India and introduced yoga to the West. He progresses through five states sequentially while continually interrelating with five levels held up as an integrated, co-extensive unity by his instructor, Ramakrishna. When state experience at any particular stage connects with a level of the same stage, what supervenes is samadhi, a radical and permanent transformation of Vivekananda's consciousness that apparently gave the authority to his views that later proved to be so powerful in transforming both India and the West. In addition, Vivekananda's own method of teaching ten years later in both locations corresponds to the matriceal pattern. These phenomena may relate to the accession of a fifth state of consciousness characterized by the ability to integrate all preceding levels and states into the fully developed matrices. This is the origin of the term Integral Vedanta that permeates all of Vivekananda's work.}, language = {en} } @book{Knoedler2012, author = {Kn{\"o}dler, Annette}, title = {Quantifying the Economic Effects of a European Smart Grid. A Survey on Costs and Benefits}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:521-opus-776}, publisher = {Europa-Universit{\"a}t Viadrina Frankfurt}, year = {2012}, abstract = {This study analyzes whether the introduction of a European smart grid, comprising of a compound of national smart grids, is economically worthwhile. Therefore, ten national cost-benefit-analyses are analyzed, which either address solely the implementation of smart meters or the implementation of national smart grids. Smart meters are regarded as a necessary precondition for the implementation of national smart grids involving private households. Thus, also an analysis of those studies, whose scope is limited, is beneficial. The studies are evaluated in regards to type, height, and distribution of the respective cost- and benefit-parameters. Although distributional effects are not subject to classical cost-benefit-analyses, considering them is significant for this study. Only thereby policy recommendations can be framed that offer state incentive regulations to those actors bearing the highest financial burden. In addition, own calculations are made in order to corroborate the cost- and benefit-analysis of smart grids. These analyze on the one hand the energy saving effect in private households fostered by smart grids, and on the other hand the capacity effect, which quantifies monetarily the reduction of peak load capacities through load shift during off-peak times. Finally, the costs for the necessary infrastructure update for grids are quantified. This study is based on the hypothesis that the future energy system needs to be able to integrate a higher share of renewable energy sources. This allows the following thesis: the costs of a so called dumb grid with a high share of renewable energy sources are higher then those of a smart grid as in the second case synergies can be exploited, load shift can take place, and, therefore, less infrastructure update is necessary. Under the premises that the future energy mix has to include a significant share of renewable energy sources smart grids, hence, create opportunity benefits.}, subject = {Energiepolitik}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Wolf2007, author = {Wolf, Nicole}, title = {Make it Real. Documentary and other cinematic experiments by women filmmakers in India.}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:521-opus-663}, school = {Europa-Universit{\"a}t Viadrina Frankfurt}, year = {2007}, abstract = {This project explores documentary film practices in India with a specific focus on the relation between documentary film, social movements and political thought and practice. The book concentrates on historical moments significant both in terms of political—referring to state politics as well as non-state activism—and documentary film developments, between the mid 1970s and the present. Hereby, the main body of this anthropological and interdisciplinary research foregrounds the work of women documentary filmmakers and argues that their negotiations of their socio-political and film cultural contexts has led them to, time and again, provoke crucial shifts in and the expansion of documentary modes present today. Hence, Make it Real! argues for feminist film/politics not as a sub-cultural realm, but as making propositions for the political as such and here in particular supported through the continuous discourses in and around documentary mode film. The Make it Real! of the chosen title refers to the book's theoretical approach, which perceives documentary film not as a tool to represent political issues but as a social, political and artistic practice, which continuously opens out the new—new debates on local and global citizenry. This translates into working from the politics that documentaries make through the realities that they imagine and engender and which are often political by thinking and arguing beyond what is thought within the "limits of the possible" (Ranci{\`e}re). Those contextual proposals for the real and the intelligible develop throughout the book into an interrogation of the ethics of documentary mode filmmaking in the context of contemporary regional and global conflict. Herein the themes discussed include the constitution of movements as such, questions of gender and public space, sexuality and the nation, presentations of the female body, as well as, and interrelated, debates on the politics of historicity, on the question of Human/Rights, victimhood and citizenship and the ethics of listening. The book chapters elaborate on singular moments in which particular historical-political constellations and the discourse and practice of documentary mode filmmaking generate points of emergence or a so called turn, which redefine relations between image making, the political and collectivity. Crucial nodes are: The rise of a new independent documentary film movement in the mid 1970s under a State of Emergency and therefore its particular relation to the nation state, to Marxist ideologies as well as its affinities to the Latin American Third Cinema movement. The particular development of mutual impact between documentary filmmaking and the Indian women's movements in the 1980s, the influence of national and international development organisations on film productions in the 1990s as well as the changing media scene post market liberalisation in 1989, up to the moment of a recent significant turn during the years 2002 to 2004. The latter can be seen as a key moment for filmmakers to rethink the relation between documentary film and its possibilities to address pressing contemporary issues such as the communal violence in Gujarat against the minority Muslim population in 2002, which was followed by increasing pressures through censorship regulations of the state. Both challenges spurred new networks for debate as well as state alternative screening and distribution possibilities and, together with and dependent on preceding developments, paved the way for what might be called 'the new Indian documentary'. Make it Real! addresses those moments of emergence through the prism of in-depth portraits of selected film examples - where the production process has in most cases been followed ethnographically. Film projects have been chosen for their innovative formal contributions, while recognizing that the focus on urban contexts as well as the personal selection does not at all lead to a representative description. Nevertheless, the examples are perceived as relevant moments of density from where legacies and genealogies are traced. The very writing of film histories is hereby thematized and the subjective views of individuals and institutions, including of the author herself, are implicated and reflected upon. Furthermore, this text argues for the theorizing that arises from conversations (also as media practice) as well as for an ethnography which does not merely describe and analyze the present but seeks to be attuned to the signals of the future present. Filmmakers whose works are addressed in more detail, next to many others mentioned, are: Monica Bhasin, Madhusree Dutta, Deepa Dhanraj, Sherna Dastur, Pooja Kaul, Surabhi Sharma, Soudhamini, Paromita Vohra.}, subject = {Dokumentarfilm}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Nourallah2011, author = {Nourallah, Riad}, title = {Taxation and International Capital Asset Pricing Theory}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:521-opus-511}, school = {Europa-Universit{\"a}t Viadrina Frankfurt}, year = {2011}, abstract = {Adler and Dumas (1983) laid the foundation for pricing international assets under deviation from Relative Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). Only Lally (1996) regards the spectrum of international taxation but in his model - he disregards the tremendous impact of exchange gains taxation in International Capital Asset Pricing Theory (IntCAPT). Furthermore, the consensus in economic literature that exchange rates show evidence of a non-linear behavior as elaborated by Dumas (1992), Grauwe (1993) and Ser{\c{c}}u and Uppal (1995) and that monetary policy ultimately determines inflation as determined by McCallum (1990) is ignored. In addition to this, a realistic version of the Tax International Capital Asset Pricing Model (Tax - IntCAPM) should incorporate the fact that dividends are stochastic, as developed in the Tax Capital Asset Pricing Model (Tax - CAPM) of Lally (1998), Wiese (2006b) and Mai (2006a). This dissertation develops a theory of taxation in pricing international assets. To understand this theory, in the first part we introduce and discuss the research question and the conceptual procedure of the dissertation. The review of the status of research provides an extensive overview on research pertaining to taxation in IntCAPT. In the second part, the framework of international taxation is introduced, and by introducing the features of exchange gains taxation a new income type in IntCAPT is presented. The analysis of the international tax system with the features of exchange gains taxation leads to the new result that under the hypothesis of Relative PPP certain constellations of international taxation lead to a Tax-IntCAPM that would be equal to the Tax - CAPM. With the features of exchange gains taxation and the modeling of deviation from Relative PPP by non-linear behavior of exchange rate and inflation determined by monetary policy, an extended model of taxation in IntCAPT - the Tax - IntCAPM - is developed and interpreted. The new result is that the integration of exchange gains taxation into the Tax - IntCAPM leads to an international pricing relationship composed of the risky asset's excess return and its world risk premium, which is adapted by exchange gains tax factors. The non-linear deterministic behavior of exchange rates and the determination of inflation by monetary policy lead to the integration of the market equilibrium exchange and inflation rate into the Tax - IntCAPM. International tax arbitrage opportunities lead to the derivation of the Tax - IntCAPM under short sale and borrowing restrictions. To implement this new international capital market model, the Tax - IntCAPM with homogeneous expectations is derived and interpreted. The third part concludes the dissertation with an extensive critique elaborating the boundaries of the models and a conclusion summarizing the main results and analyzing the implications of the findings.}, subject = {Steuer}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Ohm2007, author = {Ohm, Britta}, title = {The Televised Community. Culture, Politics, and the Market of Visual Representation in India}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:521-opus-469}, school = {Europa-Universit{\"a}t Viadrina Frankfurt}, year = {2007}, abstract = {This book is essentially an ethnography of television production in a situation of acute change. In late February 2002, when the fieldwork for this thesis commenced, an Express train carrying many Hindu-nationalist activists caught fire outside a small-town station in the West-Indian state of Gujarat. The incident set off the most brutal and most clearly state-sponsored violence against the Muslim minority (more than 2000 dead, 200 000 displaced) in India's post-Independence history. It was the first communal violence that was 24x7 reported nation-wide by commercial television, and it was the first pogrom on a global scale that was covered live and uncensored by competing networks from the same country (rather than international media "uncovering" such a form of organised violence and persecution). Researched under this impression of mediated real violence, this thesis provides, firstly, an analysis of the interplay of transnational media corporations, particularly Rupert Murdoch's Star TV, in their pursuit of creating profitable national consumer markets, preferably in a democracy like India, with the anti-minority politics, modes of popular/populist mobilisation and discursive strategies of Hindu nationalism. It looks at the economic, technological, medial, political, social, visual/iconographic and legal aspects of this interplay and delineates their concrete manifestations in news as well as in entertainment programming of everyday television (particularly in very popular shows and channels at the time). These aspects are set into the larger framework of globalisation, privatisation, commercialisation and neo-liberal policies, the related thrusts of social upward mobility (especially in the new middle classes), 'good governance' (instead of socio-economic justice) and shifting class-, caste-, majority-minority and national-regional relations in the context of a re-formulation of nation and state that defines and legitimises new logics of inclusion and exclusion. Secondly, this work is a study of "Indianisation" and lingual/representational politics in the context of the growing precariousness of the liberal-secular discourse and of democratic, independent mass media in India. Especially English-language journalists, whose largely critical coverage of the anti-Muslim violence experienced an hitherto unknown rejection on the part of TV audiences (and consequently produced a slump in advertising revenues), turned with the Gujarat crisis out to epitomise the ambivalence of challenging the definitional power of a privileged postcolonial class: its rightful critique carries the danger of vindicating and naturalising anti-minority cultural nationalism. The study follows and examines, before the background of a normative construction of a Hindi-speaking, 'authentic' media consumer, the changing position of both English and Hindi-producing journalists and producers, their respective perceptions of alienation, speechlessness and empowerment, their unwanted role as activists in the context of shifting meanings of 'neutrality' and 'objectivity', their difficulties or agility in assessing their options and maintaining, changing or even developing their convictions, and the strategies they find or reject for adapting to the circumstances. In this context, thirdly, this book engages in a critical debate of anthropological assessments of globalisation and media change and theories of postcolonialism on the one hand and conventional modes of ethnography on the other hand. It attempts to show the 'blind spot' of the mutual linkage between Hindu nationalism and economic liberalisation in the approaches specifically of Arjun Appadurai and the Subaltern Studies Group and argues for a stronger reflection and consideration in anthropological research on the cooperation between 'the global' and 'the local' in terms of disabling and anti-emancipatory mechanisms rather than focussing mainly on aspects of empowerment and negotiation of identity. At the same time it proposes, by introducing an 'ethnographic moment' instead of the 'ethnographic present', a flexibility in ethnography that is aware of its increasingly ephemeral character and that takes account of the pace of change in the media as well as of the grown likelihood, in a global era of post-traditional wars and genocidal politics, of the field researcher to be confronted with incalculable situations of conflict and violence.}, subject = {Fernsehschaffender}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Oeser2010, author = {Oeser, Gerald}, title = {Methods of Risk Pooling in Business Logistics and Their Application}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:521-opus-458}, school = {Europa-Universit{\"a}t Viadrina Frankfurt}, year = {2010}, abstract = {Purpose/topicality: Demand and lead time uncertainty in business logistics increase, but can be mitigated by risk pooling. Risk pooling can reduce costs for a given service level, which is especially valuable in the current economic downturn. The extensive, but fragmented and inconsistent risk pooling literature has grown particularly in the last years. It mostly deals with specific mathematical models and does not compare the various risk pooling methods in terms of their suitability for specific conditions. Approach: Therefore this treatise provides an integrated review of research on risk pooling, notably on inventory pooling and the square root law, according to a value-chain structure. It identifies ten major risk pooling methods and develops tools to compare and choose between them for different economic conditions following a contingency approach. These tools are applied to a German paper merchant wholesaler, which suffers from customer demand and supplier lead time uncertainty. Finally, a survey explores the knowledge and usage of the various risk pooling concepts and their associations in 102 German manufacturing and trading companies. Triangulation (combining literature, example, modeling, and survey research) enhances our investigation. Originality/value: For the first time this research presents (1) a comprehensive and concise definition of risk pooling distinguishing between variability, uncertainty, and risk, (2) a classification, characterization, and juxtaposition of risk pooling methods in business logistics on the basis of value activities and their uncertainty reduction abilities, (3) a decision support tool to choose between risk pooling methods based on a contingency approach, (4) an application of risk pooling methods at a German paper wholesaler, and (5) a survey on the knowledge and utilization of risk pooling concepts and their associations in 102 German manufacturing and trading companies.}, subject = {Risikomanagement}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Bednarski2010, author = {Bednarski, Mikołaj}, title = {The Adequate Level of Public Broadcasting Regulation and the Polish Television Market}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:521-opus-389}, school = {Europa-Universit{\"a}t Viadrina Frankfurt}, year = {2010}, abstract = {The dissertation "The Adequate Level of Public Broadcasting Regulation and the Polish Television Market" analyzes and evaluates the overall significance of public market involvement in general and specifically in the Polish TV signal transmission segment. Public broadcasting as the sector's most distinct form of governmental involvement receives special consideration in this context. The dissertation's theoretical fundament consists on the one hand of the major technological parameters accompanying the market, and on the other hand of the two main theoretical approaches influencing this industry: the theories of competition policy and media policy. Based on the technological preconditions of the television sector, its natural markets and products are identified, thereby connecting the technological sphere with a market model terminology. The theoretical approaches examine the TV market's economic and socio-political specifics with the focus on the question of public market regulation, its justification, configuration, and extend. Based on the technological and theoretical foundations, Poland's television market is presented in its broader context. Country-specific characteristics as to the market's integration into its wider socio-political framework implies considering the Polish television sector's historical development, beginning at the country's major political transition in 1989. Poland's audiovisual broadcasting market is subsequently analyzed empirically from three interrelated angles: from the legislative, the political, and the economic perspective. The detailed analysis of the market's broad framework allows for a definition of its factual public market involvement level and for the elaboration of its shortcomings according to the previously derived theoretical postulates. Based on the multi-perspective analysis, refinement suggestions as to the adequate extent and configuration of Poland's public involvement in the broadcasting market are formulated.}, subject = {Audiovisuelle Medien}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{SchmidtEhmcke2009, author = {Schmidt-Ehmcke, Jens}, title = {Technology, Firm Performance and Market Structure}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:521-opus-313}, school = {Europa-Universit{\"a}t Viadrina Frankfurt}, year = {2009}, abstract = {In an increasingly competitive environment, firms have to optimally adjust both their allocation of input factors and their technology portfolio. The latter determines economies of scope and scale in future research and production. The aim of this dissertation is to achieve better insight into the strategies that firms employ and the impact of these strategies on performance. Hence, this thesis can be seen as having two parts. Chapters 2 and 3 center on the question of outsourcing, market structure and productivity, while Chapters 4 and 5 focus on the strategic alignment of firms and the efficient use of inputs in the knowledge production process, given product market entry restrictions. In Chapter 2 I evaluate whether firms experience significant productivity gains which decide to rearrange their production process by subcontracting in-house activities to outside suppliers. Here, I focus on the influence of service outsourcing, measured by the costs of external contract work. The chapter is based on a unique micro dataset for the German manufacturing sector. My findings suggest that service outsourcing can contribute significantly to a better performance of firms. Firms starting to outsource exhibit a seven percentage points higher growth rate than firms that decide to continue all production activities in-house. Chapter 3 looks at specific market characteristics that favor the outsourcing decision of firms. I test two main hypotheses which I derive from both transaction costs and production costs considerations. My empirical analysis focuses on the German automobile industry, which offers a particularly interesting example in this context since German-car makers have played an active role in restructuring the industry by means of outsourcing. Chapter 4 aims to examine the supply side in greater detail. More specifically, I discuss the impact of a firm's technology portfolio on its performance, measured in terms of its market value. Based on an expanded Tobin's q approach, I present evidence for a negative relationship between the number of fields and the market value, combined with a counterbalancing effect of relatedness. Enlarging the technology portfolio in unrelated fields negatively influences the market value of a firm due to the fact that it reduces the ability to exploit future economies of scale and scope. In contrast, diversifying into related areas increases the possibility to benefit from economies of scope, which reduces future costs and thereby increase future profits. The last chapter - at least to some extent - turns back to the question of optimal input allocation and puts the knowledge production process at the center of the analysis. In contrast to Chapter 4, where the focus lies on the alignment of the technology portfolio and the market value of firms, Chapter 5 takes a macroeconomic perspective and assesses the relative efficiency of knowledge production on the country level. Countries are exposed to an increasingly competitive environment, both in domestic and foreign markets for innovative products and future technologies. This process forces nations to continuously update their technological capabilities. Thus, in a globalized world, the efficient usage of the scarce resources devoted to R\&D becomes more and more important. While most of the empirical literature affirms a positive link between R\&D expenditure, the number of researchers and innovative output, far less attention has been paid to the question of whether the input factors in the knowledge creation process are allocated to their most efficient use. In Chapter 5 I fill the gap in two ways: First, I calculate the relative efficiency of public and private R\&D expenditures in the OECD using a nonparametric efficiency analysis approach, the data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique. Using country level R\&D and patent information, I present efficiency scores based on intertemporal frontier estimation for the period 1995 to 2004. Secondly, I take a closer look at the different market structures of these countries. In particular, I test the hypothesis that regulation reduces competition by raising barriers to entry, thereby lowering competitive pressure and the incentives to innovate efficiently. I examine the impact of countries' product market regulation on their relative R\&D efficiency by applying a consistent two stage truncated regression approach proposed by Simar and Wilson (2007).}, subject = {{\"O}konometrie}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Lejpras2009, author = {Lejpras, Anna}, title = {Essays on the Determinants of Firm Innovativeness, Performance, and Internationalization}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:521-opus-307}, school = {Europa-Universit{\"a}t Viadrina Frankfurt}, year = {2009}, abstract = {This dissertation investigates the forces driving firm innovativeness, performance, and internationalization, focusing on the effects of firm location by employing survey data from approximately 6,200 East German firms. The impact of firm environment is captured through three aspects: locational conditions, collaboration activities, and competition situation. What makes this thesis unique is that it uses firms' perceptions of the importance and quality of 15 different locational factors to assess the influence of locational characteristics. This approach takes into consideration that not all locational factors affect the performance and operations of all firms equally. The analysis also includes firm-related factors that allow consideration of firm heterogeneity in terms of size, age, and industry affiliation.}, subject = {Innovation}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Kneiding2007, author = {Kneiding, Christoph}, title = {Financing Small Businesses in Western Europe - A Micro-Level and an Institutional Perspective}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:521-opus-241}, school = {Europa-Universit{\"a}t Viadrina Frankfurt}, year = {2007}, abstract = {Improving the access to finance for entrepreneurial endeavours is crucial in fostering competition, innovation and growth in Europe. A series of studies has shown that small companies and start-up firms play an important role for an economy's growth and development perspectives. However, access to sufficient capital to either start operations or grow and further develop their activities is a difficulty faced by many small businesses in Europe. Most financial providers consider small business finance a high-risk activity that generates high transaction costs and/or low returns on investment, and therefore refrain from extending loans to this potential client group. Solving this dilemma has become a major concern to entrepreneurs, financial institutions, and public policymakers. Based on three different data sets, this thesis provides new insights into the issue of small business finance from a micro-level as well as an institutional perspective. The results contribute to further the understanding of the financial needs and behaviours of small businesses and offer some practical recommendations for those involved in improving the access to finance for these enterprises. These findings can be summarised as follows. (1) There is a demand for microlending products in Germany. The target group is typically made up of retail business owners, foreign business owners, and persons with a loan history on the private market rather than the bank market. Key product features include fast access to these loans and flexibility in the repayment schemes. Demand for these products also arises in the periods after the foundation of the business. Therefore, adequate products should particularly focus on those businesses that are already operating. (2) Self-employed households tend to intermingle their household and business finance by transferring funds obtained through consumer loans to their businesses. This behaviour is particularly pronounced for those households that are credit constrained, which indicates an evasion strategy: business loans that cannot be obtained regularly are substituted through consumer loans. (3) Organisations that provide access to finance for small businesses are diverse. Any performance measurement of these entities must therefore be based on a theoretical rationale that takes into account the heterogeneous nature of this sector. A useful typology differentiates these institutions along three dimensions: organisational structure, type of lending, and orientation towards the client or the funder market. Social and financial aspects of performance are closely related to these dimensions and should be evaluated accordingly. Therefore, a policy aimed at improving the finance of small businesses should take the following into consideration. (1) Federal and local government activities on supporting Microfinance institutions (MFIs) should be refocused. Instead of developing own products (which are then distributed through local MFIs) or the provision of loan capital with heavy restrictions on the access to their special loan funds, policy should concentrate on the provision of risk capital available without any restrictions except for a maximum loan size and outreach-oriented targets. Banks and MFIs which aim to use these special funds should then be incentivised to do so. (2) MFIs are important in improving the access to finance for small businesses in Western Europe. Policy has to acknowledge, though, that an MFI sector cannot do the whole job. Consumer lending products of banks are an important source of business finance, which prevents these entities from establishing a credit history and thereby entering the formal banking market. Banks should therefore be incentivised to identify "hidden" business customers and promote them into their business department. (3) Policy makers are interested in identifying MFIs that use public funds in the most efficient way. Peer groups of these institutions could be created using the three dimensions mentioned above to enable more appropriate comparison. After identifying MFIs that perform within each peer group, their lending activities should not be restricted to overwhelming rules and regulations. Rather, they should be supported with sufficient capital to achieve scale and be given the opportunity to operate for some years with a minimum of restrictions on their lending activities.}, subject = {Kleinunternehmen}, language = {en} }