How does digitalization affect headquarters and what does it mean for CEE-focused headquarters in Austria?

Headquarters (HQs) represent central units within corporationsi and their goal is to add value to the firm and its respective subunits. They do so by taking over various responsibilities, such as allocating resources within the firm, coordinating and monitoring subunits, and identifying and realizing synergies, among others. HQs are also important for the economy of the countries they are located in, as they offer for example high-value employment, increased demand for related business services (e.g., legal and financial services), and represent a non-trivial source of tax income. Additionally, there is scientific evidence suggesting that the location of the HQ influences its investment decisions and consequently adjacent economies (e.g., investments that are in regions close to the HQ are favoured). Thus, many countries consider it important to attract and maintain HQsii. In this article, we will focus on a topic that has not received much attention yet. Specifically, we discuss how digitalization (i.e., recent advancements in areas such as big data analytics, automation, artificial intelligence, the internet of things, etc.) influences HQs in Austria, most of which have a strong focus on CEE countries. Companies are dealing with a variety of issues stemming from digitalization, which results in changes to business models, firm processes, and company culturesiii. Yet, digitalization also affects the role and value added of the HQs but we still lack a clear understanding of thativ. In the following, we first discuss Austria as a location for HQs, then the impact of digitalization on HQs, and finally, we explore how the digitalization might influence the attractiveness of Austria for CEE-oriented HQs. Thereby, we refer to recent empirical material that we have collected

Assessing functional novelty of PSI structures via structure-function analysis of large and diverse superfamilies

The structural genomics initiatives have had as one of their aims to improve our understanding of protein function by providing representative structures for many structurally uncharacterised protein families. As suggested by the recent assessment of the Protein Structure Initiative (Structural Genomics Initiative, funded by the NIH), doubts have arisen as to whether Structural Genomics as initially planned were really beneficial to our understanding of biological issues, and in particular of protein function.
A few protein domain superfamilies have been shown to account for unexpectedly large numbers of proteins encoded in fully sequenced genomes. These large superfamilies are generally very diverse, spanning a wide range of functions, both in terms of molecular activities and biological processes. Some of these superfamilies, such as the Rossmann-fold P-loop nucleotide hydrolases or the TIM-barrel glycosidases, have been the subject of extensive structural studies which in turn have shed light on how evolution of the sequence and structure properties produce functional diversity amongst homologues. Recently, the Structure-Function Linkage Database (SFLD) has been setup with the aim of helping the study of structure-function correlations in such superfamilies. Since the evolutionary success of these large superfamilies suggests biological importance, several Structural Genomics Centers have focused on providing full structural coverage for representatives of all sequence families in these superfamilies.
In this work we evaluate structure/function diversity in a set of these large superfamilies and attempt to assess the quality and quantity of biological information gained from Structural Genomics.
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Modeling disc non-axisymmetries: multiple patterns, radial migration, and thick discs

Disc non-axisymmetrc components, such as spirals and central bars, are nowadays known to play an important role in shaping galactic discs. Here we use Tree-SPH N-body simulations to examine the effect of these perturbers on two aspects: the occurrence of multiple patterns in discs and the effects of radial migration on disc thickening. We find that, in addition to a central bar, multiple spiral patterns and lopsided modes develop in all models. Interaction among these asymmetric features results in a large scale stellar migration. However, we show that, despite the strong radial mixing, discs cannot be thickened sufficiently to match observed thick discs. We relate this to the adiabatic cooling as stars migrate radially outwards. We also find that the bulge contribution to a thick-disc component for an Sa-type galaxy at ~2.5 disc scale-lengths is less than 1% and zero in the case of a Milky Way-like, Sb-type. Our findings cast doubt on the plausibility of thick disc formation via stellar radial migration.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to appear in the proceedings of "Assembling the Puzzle of the Milky Way", Le Grand Bornand (Apr. 17-22, 2011), C. Reyle, A. Robin, M. Schultheis (eds.

Simulations of particle acceleration beyond the classical synchrotron burnoff limit in magnetic reconnection: An explanation of the Crab flares

It is generally accepted that astrophysical sources cannot emit synchrotron radiation above 160 MeV in their rest frame. This limit is given by the balance between the accelerating electric force and the radiation reaction force acting on the electrons. The discovery of synchrotron gamma-ray flares in the Crab Nebula, well above this limit, challenges this classical picture of particle acceleration. To overcome this limit, particles must accelerate in a region of high electric field and low magnetic field. This is possible only with a non-ideal magnetohydrodynamic process, like magnetic reconnection. We present the first numerical evidence of particle acceleration beyond the synchrotron burnoff limit, using a set of 2D particle-in-cell simulations of ultra-relativistic pair plasma reconnection. We use a new code, Zeltron, that includes self-consistently the radiation reaction force in the equation of motion of the particles. We demonstrate that the most energetic particles move back and forth across the reconnection layer, following relativistic Speiser orbits. These particles then radiate >160 MeV synchrotron radiation rapidly, within a fraction of a full gyration, after they exit the layer. Our analysis shows that the high-energy synchrotron flux is highly variable in time because of the strong anisotropy and inhomogeneity of the energetic particles. We discover a robust positive correlation between the flux and the cut-off energy of the emitted radiation, mimicking the effect of relativistic Doppler amplification. A strong guide field quenches the emission of >160 MeV synchrotron radiation. Our results are consistent with the observed properties of the Crab flares, supporting the reconnection scenario.Comment: 15 pages, 16 figures, Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Perspectives on IT Outsourcing Success: Covariance Structure Modelling of a Survey of Outsourcing in Australia

Australia has been at the forefront of the adoption of outsourcing as a means for delivering IT services, but the success of IT outsourcing in Australia has been mixed. With two hundred and forty one responses from the top 1000 IT users in the country, the survey reported in this paper is one of the largest and most representative IT outsourcing studies in the world. Covariance structure modelling and confirmatory factor analysis has shed new light on the concept of outsourcing success, highlighting its complex, multidimensional nature. It has also confirmed many insights gained to date from qualitative research. Analysis also emphasises the importance to the outsourcing relationship of the management processes adopted by the client organization. L'Australie a été un pionnier dans l'adoption de l'impartition pour les services informatiques. Toutefois, les résultats ont été mitigés. Avec plus de deux cent répondants, provenant des 1000 plus grandes entreprises australiennes, cette étude et une des plus larges et représentatives faites jusqu'à0501ntenant. Une analyse des structure de co-variance, de même qu'une anlayse factorielle confirmatoire jettent un regard neuf sur la notion de succès de l'impartition. L'étude met en lumière le caractère complexe et multi-dimensionel de ce succès.Outsourcing, Australia, survey research, success, information systems, Impartition, Australie, enquête, succès, services informatiques

Apports et limitations de la stratégie du greffage pour le stockage de l’électricité

For over two decades, the electrochemical storage of electricity has embarked upon its organic revolution. Pseudo-supercapacitors, redox supercapacitors and fully organic hybrid systems have already won the scientific and industrial communities, although further efforts are needed regarding their energy density and stability in order to be integrated into structures having a long service life (aeronautic, automotive, building industry, etc.). A recent strategy consists in grafting fast redox-active small molecules to a porous carbon network. Assembling these generic modular elements to infinity yields a wide range of possible combinations and specific rules must be followed in order to ensure that this grafting is beneficial. This article presents the contributions and limitations of grafting and concludes with a novel alternative to the grafting on carbon