L’industrie des réplicateurs des disques optiques est menacée dans son existence et se trouve en face d’un déclin permanent. Son produit cœur, CD et DVD, est remplacé par des services virtuels. L’Internet facilite la dématérialisation de ces produits physiques : Une technologie, qui a créée des formes de consommation différente. Cette recherche par étude de cas présente le cas des firmes européennes de cette industrie et de leurs innovations dans l’effort de fuir la menace de l’obsolescence. Le but de cette dissertation est de trouver une réponse aux questions centrales, « comment » et « pourquoi » les réplicateurs des disques optiques innovent pendant le déclin et si leurs innovations sont efficaces pour faciliter la survie. Les découvertes de cette recherche qualitative sont catégorisées dans plusieurs façons : Elles sont étudiées sous les concepts de la logique conventionnelle vs la logique d’innovation de valeurs, le transilience map et un corps d’autres théories (Kim et al. 2005, Abernathy et al. 1984). Le système des géométries de la stratégie sert comme grille d’analyse des résultats (Keidel. 2010). Le résultat principal résultante est, que si cette industrie ne peut pas survivre dans sa structure présente, la majorité de ses innovations subit un effet de lock-in multiple : Technologie, liaisons au marché et motivation/qualification des managers manquante, qui empêche de renverser la donne majoritairement à n’être qu’incrémental. L’innovation nécessaire en phase du déclin et ici étouffée. / The replication industry of optical discs is threatened in its existence and confronted with permanent decline. Its core product, CD and DVD, is replaced by virtual services. The Internet facilitates the dematerialisation of the physical product: A new technology has shaped a different form of consumption.This research by case study presents the case of European firms of this industry and their innovations in the effort to escape the threat of obsolescence. The objective of this research is to find an answer to the central questions, “how” and “why” the replicators of optical discs innovate during decline and whether their innovations are effective to enable the firms’ survival.The discoveries of this qualitative study are categorised in various ways: They are studied by the concepts of conventional logic vs logic of value innovation, the transilience map and further relevant theories (Kim et al. 2005, Abernathy et al. 1984). The system of geometries of strategy is used as analytical structure (Keidel. 2010). The main result is that this industry cannot survive in its present structure, since the majority of its innovations is subject to the effect of a multiple lock-in: Technology, market linkages and the lack of managerial motivation/qualification are the main reason that this industry’s innovation is by its majority incremental. The necessary innovation during decline is eliminated here.

La notion d’obsolescence met en jeu notre rapport aux objets et à l’action, nos représentations de l’histoire et du temps. Elle questionne le devenir des techniques, la négativité à l’œuvre dans l’histoire des pratiques. C’est une notion controversée, dont les enjeux sociaux, économiques et écologiques font débat. La controverse actuelle, focalisée sur la notion d’ «obsolescence programmée», tend cependant à réduire l’obsolescence à une pratique dissimulée, sur la base de discours postulant toute sorte de déterminismes historiques. Cette thèse propose d’élargir la réflexion à l’ensemble des produits éphémères et des notions qui les désignent, afin d’étudier l’histoire de leur mise en marché et en discours. Par une enquête historique et philosophique, on montre que la réduction de la durée de vie des objets est depuis deux siècles une pratique courante qui a fait l’objet de théorisations publiques, tantôt critiques, tantôt apologétiques, en Europe et aux États-Unis. L’obsolescence, mise en récit, est traitée tantôt comme une conséquence de l’activité humaine, tantôt comme une loi de l’économie, de la nature ou de l’histoire. Critiquant cette approche, comme celle qui réduit l’obsolescence à un vice caché, cette thèse étudie des objets officiellement conçus, vendus et achetés pour leur durée de vie limitée — les produits jetables — et montre comment la jetabilité a été construite comme une propriété distinctive et valorisante de produits fort divers, et fort utilisés. À partir du cas du gobelet jetable, on analyse la réduction de la durée de vie des objets comme limitation de leur présence au monde, occultation de leur réalité économique, matérielle et environnementale. / The notion of obsolescence adresses our relationship with objects and human action, our representations of history and time. It challenges technological and social change. It is a controversial topic, raising environmental, economic and social issues.However, focused as it is in France on the notion of "programmed obsolescence”, the current controversy tends to confine the debate to concealed practices, on the basis of considerations conveying a deterministic view of history. This dissertation broadens the scope of reflection and discusses all commercial short-lived products and all the notions used to qualify them. Since they have been on the market for two centuries, we argue on the basis of a historical and philosophical inquiry that shortening the lifespan of objects has been a common and open practice in Europe and the United States. Throughout the XIXth and XXth centuries, obsolescence has been theorized, criticized or promoted publicly in various narratives, which often define it as an effect of human activity, or uses it as a law of economics, nature or history. In order to criticize these approaches and reinforce the demonstration that commercializing obsolescent products has been a public and accepted practice, this dissertation examines the case of objects publicly designed with a limited lifespan : disposable products. We argue that disposability has been constructed as a distinctive and positive feature of a wide range of various products. Through the case study of disposable cups, we ultimately consider some pathways for further research on the shortened lifespan of objects, as devices used to conceal their own social, material and environmental reality.

Planned obsolescence is a worldwide phenomenon which includes the fact that companies deliberately shorten the life-span of products through updates, poor quality and design. As environmental and sustainability issues have received more and more focus in recent decades it is believed that planned obsolescence has an important role to fill in order to achieve a more sustainable consumer society. There is an uncertainty about the extent of planned obsolescence within different industries and how aware consumers are regarding this. This study contains research surrounding planned obsolescence through a consumer perspective with people from three different countries: Sweden, South Korea and The United States. The study focuses on consumers' awareness of planned obsolescence and their attitude towards it. In addition to this, the focus is also on finding out to what extent planned obsolescence is used today and what direction it might take in the future, as well as its effect on the environment and sustainability. Research data has been gathered through a combination of quantitative and qualitative studies, including an internet-based survey and semistructured interviews with consumers and experts in planned obsolescence and sustainability. The results have shown that the term “planned obsolescence” is less familiar than the phenomenon itself, which is well known among consumers. The attitude towards planned obsolescence has mainly been negative due to financial, ethical and environmental reasons. The study shows that planned obsolescence is being used to quite a large degree today but is believed to decrease due to increased policies. Although this will require that the right policies are instituted so that consumers and companies will change their behavior. Otherwise, it can be assumed that the use of planned obsolescence will remain unchanged. / Planerat åldrande är ett världsomfattande fenomen som handlar om att företag medvetet förkortar produkters livslängd genom uppdateringar, bristfällig kvalité och design. Då miljö- och hållbarhetsfrågor har fått mer och mer fokus under de senaste årtionden fyller planerat åldrande en viktig funktion i att uppnå ett mer hållbart konsumtionssamhälle. Det råder idag en osäkerhet kring utsträckningen av planerat åldrande inom olika industrier samt hur medvetna konsumenterna är gällande detta. I den här studien undersöks planerat åldrande ur konsumentperspektiv från tre olika länder, Sverige, Sydkorea och USA. I undersökningen ligger fokus på konsumenters medvetenhet om planerat åldrande samt deras attityd. Utöver detta studeras även i vilken omfattning planerat åldrande används idag och i vilken riktning denna väntas ta i framtiden samt dess hållbarhets- och miljöpåverkan.  För insamlingen av empiri har en triangulering använts i form utav en kvantitativ enkätundersökning samt kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med konsumenter i respektive undersökningsland och experter inom områdena planerat åldrande och hållbarhet.  Resultaten har visat på att begreppet “planerat åldrande” är mindre bekant för konsumenterna men att medvetenheten kring fenomenet är relativt omfattande. Attityden gällande planerat åldrande har i huvudsak varit negativ, mycket på grund av ekonomiska och etiska skäl samt den hållbarhet- och miljöpåverkan som planerat åldrande innebär. Studien visar på att planerat åldrande idag används i relativt stor grad men att det tros vara på väg att minska till följd av ökade styrmedel. Detta kräver dock att rätt styrmedel införs så att konsumenter och producenter ändrar sitt beteende, annars kan antagandet göras att planerat åldrande fortsätter i liknande grad som idag.

L’objet de la thèse est de comprendre la façon dont l’urbanisme et la mobilité aérienne se sont mutuellement nourris, et en quoi ces rencontres incessantes ont façon notre culture contemporaine. Le point de départ de l’enquête se situe en 1909, date à laquelle de grands spectacles de masse révèlent l’invention du vol dirigé au public. A partir de cette date, les relations entre les développements de la culture aérienne et le champ de l’urbanisme ne cesseront de consolider un discours sur la ville du futur. Dans cette perspective, la thèse montre de quelle façon les dispositifs de ville aérienne ou d’aéroport-ville fonctionnent comme un miroir pour la ville en devenir. En retraçant une histoire de ces distorsions complexes, la recherche montre que l’aéroport n’est finalement pas le prototype du non lieu mais un espace spécifique et concret, résultat d’une alchimie complexe nuançant l’assertion selon laquelle la globalisation induirait une homogénéisation de l’espace urbain / The aim of this thesis is to understand how urbanism and aerial mobility fed off each other and how the ongoing encounters between the two have shaped contemporary culture. We begin in 1909 which marked a major turning point. This was the year of the mass air shows that unveiled the invention of controlled flight to the general public. From this time on, developments in aerial culture combined with city planning to forge a utopian view of the city of the future. As such, the research shows the extent to which the features of the ‘aerial city’ or the ‘airport-city’ mirrored what cities were becoming. Providing and account of these complex distortions, the research demonstrates that airports are not ultimately the prototype of the anonymous « non-place », but specific, concrete spaces with their own place in history – the result of a complex local/global alchemy that qualify the assertion whereby globalisation standardises urban space

The last buy problem is a stochastic inventory management problem that occurs at the end of a product's life cycle. When production of a given product ceases, it may become necessary to shut down manufacture of all parts of the product. However, there will likely still be demand for spare parts of the product, due to part failure from the product still in use. To meet this demand, a one-time order of spare parts - a last buy - is made to satisfy the demand for all spare parts going forward. Thus, the last buy problem seeks to maximize a company's products with respect to the number of spare parts manufactured. Several different forms of the last buy problem exist, depending on the relationship between the manufacturer and the customer and the type of cost that occurs once the inventory has been depleted. In some cases, law or contract defines and limits the costs and revenues the manufacturer incurs due to the last buy order; in other cases, a manufacturer's own policies dictate the costs and revenues involved. As a result, we explore three main types of last buy problem, and the different methods used to solve for each. In the last buy problem with incremental replenishment, individual parts demanded beyond the last buy are fabricated individually at significantly greater cost; as the total product is concave with respect to the order amount, the optimal order amount can be found by analysis of the rate of change of the product. The last buy problem with no replenishment occurs when there is no effective way to replenish part inventory beyond the last buy; as the total product is not concave, an upper bound on the optimal order amount is determined, thus limiting the candidate solutions. Difficulties exist in calculating the optimal order amount in the last buy problem with batch replenishment, as the size of the replenishment batch is itself a last buy problem; we solve for a special case of the problem using renewal theory. We also examine the possibility of contract extensions in last buy problems, and their effect on the optimal order amount calculations.

Archiving the Archive is an exploration of the changing ways we hold our memories through media. As digital technology becomes ever more present in daily life, many old analog media are becoming obsolete. Throughout history, these media technologies have done significant cultural work through their ability to hold and share the content that formed collective memory and shared identity. But the way we view content is changing. This project aims to serve as remembrance to this symbolic work and the physical uniqueness of these media through illustrative prints imbued with a movement and life otherwise overlooked. These memories are then fractured and abstracted onto postcards that visitors are encouraged to take with them to create a new sort of collective memory of these media objects.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2009. / Open access. Includes bibliographical references (p. 142-149). Print copy also available.

Thesis (M.S.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2003. / Title from title screen (viewed Oct. 10, 2003). "June 2003." Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-71). Also issued in paper format.

Component obsolescence in the "high-tech" electronics industry has become a problem that cannot be ignored. Although recent attention has been given to component obsolescence, in general this issue is still dealt with reactively. This often results in sustainment of a long-life system such as ships, airplanes, power plant, and space based programs to be extremely costly. In addition, delayed schedules, extended downtimes, and technology lags are common occurrences in approaches that deal with obsolescence as it occurs. In wake of the rapid pace of technology innovation, turbulent markets and growing globalization, developing proactive approaches for dealing with obsolescence is a necessity for companies to remain competitive in the marketplace. Thus this dissertation focuses on three fundamental objectives that highlight the importance, provide new insight, and offer solutions to the problem of component obsolescence. The first objective concentrates on the importance of prediction models in determining the life cycle of a component. Obsolescence prediction is key in identifying the items most vulnerable and allows the company to effectively hedge against future uncertainty long before the problem arises. The second objective concentrates on proactive management approaches. This is accomplished through a case study with an industry partner. The purpose of an obsolescence management strategy is to ensure that, issues of obsolescence are anticipated, identified, analyzed, mitigated, reported, and dealt with in a cost effective and timely manner. In addition, it provides life cycle "support and guidance" to the management team. Dealing intelligently with flexibility and uncertainty is characteristic of the Real Options Pricing approach. Thus, the third objective concentrates on options pricing as a decision making tool for mitigating the effects of obsolescence. Making strategic decisions about when to invest, what technology to invest in, waiting until a future point in time when a new technology may be available, are all complex questions to answer. Real options pricing offers a novel approach to addressing issues of obsolescence in sustainment based technologies. Thus this dissertation demonstrates that obsolescence prediction, proactive management and mitigation and the use of real options is key in determining optimal decisions and staying competitive in the "high-tech" electronics industry.

Thesis (M.S. in Program Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2002. / Thesis advisor(s): David F. Matthews, Amy J. Grover. Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-86). Also available online.