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The objective of this study is to develop a general understanding of the evolution of the commercial communication satellite industry. Initial information classifies the industry as an oligopoly with the vendors as price setters. The approach to this thesis is to examine the supply and demand of satellites as a capital good. Assuming the demand curve slopes downwards, the study examines the change in the price of a standard unit satellite. The underlying motivation is the conventional identification problem. Over three generations, the technical attributes of communication satellites are advancing. Taking the hedonic regression approach, the price of satellites is shown to decrease over time. Exploring the relationship between price and complexity, it is demonstrated that in the short-run the oligopoly structure of this industry is accompanied by a simple form of cost-plus price-setting. This finding solves the identification problem, so that simultaneous equation methods are not required. Assuming a constant degree of monopoly power in the industry, changes in multi-factor productivity are estimated. Productivity growth increases until 1980, but decreases slightly afterwards. The learning coefficients estimated for this industry are smaller than those found for the airframe industry. The fall in quality-corrected prices, however, is not big enough to support the interpretation that the expansion of satellite capacity was due to supply shifts along a stationary market demand schedule. Factors driving demand lead to a faster rate of expansion outside the original western world, but in the second half of the period, the ability to use software data compression moderated the rate of growth of demand for new satellites. The study explains the adjustment of the stock of satellite capacity in response to the desired stock: the speed at which countries adjust their stock depends on their characteristics and regional profile.

Thesis (M.S.C.I.T.)--Regis University, Denver, Colo., 2006. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on May 25, 2006). Includes bibliographical references.

The present study evaluates the psychometric properties of the TEAM Assessment Tool. The assessment was developed to evaluate work team effectiveness as a basis for providing developmental feedback for work teams. The proposed TEAM Assessment Tool includes 12 dimensions of work team effectiveness with 90 items total. The dimension names are (a) Communication, (b) Decision-Making, (c) Performance, (d) Customer Focus, (e) Team Meetings, (f) Continuous Improvement, (g) Handling Conflict, (h) Leadership, (i) Empowerment, (j) Trust, (k) Cohesiveness/Team Relationships, and (l) Recognition and Rewards. Data were collected from employees of a large aerospace organization headquartered in the United States who are participating in work teams (N= 554). Factor analysis guided development of six new scales of team effectiveness as follows: (1) Teamwork, (2) Decision-Making, (3) Leadership Support, (4) Trust and Respect, (5) Recognition and Rewards, and (6) Customer Focus. Reliability of scales was demonstrated using Cronbach's coefficient alpha. Construct validity was demonstrated through subject matter expert (SME) input, exploratory factor analysis, and scale reliability analysis. Criterion validity was demonstrated by significant correlations at the p<.01 level comparing two measures of team member opinion of team performance and level of performance as indicated by the six subscale scores and overall scale scores of the final TEAM Assessment Tool.

Work measurement systems are widely used by American manufacturers in establishing labor standards as inputs for budgeting, estimating, planning, evaluating, and managing production. These systems are used by defense related and non-defense related contractors alike. However in 1987, their use was required in United States Air Force major procurement contracts through Military Standard 1567A.

Orientador: Samuel Alves Soares / Banca: Eduardo Mariutti / Banca: Daniel Blinder / O Programa de Pós-Graduação em Relações Internacionais é instituído em parceria com a Unesp/Unicamp/PUC-SP, em projeto subsidiado pela CAPES, intitulado "Programa San Tiago Dantas" / Resumo: A presente dissertação é baseada na temática da cooperação entre Argentina e Brasil no setor aeroespacial e foi estruturada a partir do seguinte problema de pesquisa: de que modo a busca pela autonomia e a existência da histórica rivalidade influenciam os projetos de cooperação entre Argentina e Brasil no campo aeroespacial? Buscou-se, enquanto objetivos específicos, compreender os fatores que promoveram o início das atividades aeroespacial dos dois países e o que significa a busca pela autonomia nesse setor; desenvolver uma visão diacrônica do histórico do âmbito aeroespacial brasileiro e argentino, de modo a identificar os atores e as questões políticas e econômicas que se destacam no processo e; analisar a dinâmica histórica da relação bilateral e a presença da noção de rivalidade na mesma. Com base na síntese desses elementos, propõe-se um modelo de análise sobre os projetos conjuntos no setor aeroespacial, tendo em vista as duas questões de fundo que constituem a relação bilateral: a busca pela autonomia e a noção de rivalidade. Para tanto, foram utilizados como fontes documentos primários disponibilizados pelo Ministério das Relações Exteriores, principalmente os acordos de cooperação, e os relatórios anuais de gestão das instituições envolvidas. Ademais, por meio da Lei de Acesso à Informação, foram encaminhadas solicitações com o propósito de solucionar dúvidas mais específicas dos projetos que não constavam nos acordos disponíveis online e para ter acesso às atas dos... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The present dissertation is based on the cooperation between Argentina and Brazil in the aero-space sector and was structured according to the following research problem: how the quest for autonomy and the historical existence of rivalry influence the cooperation projects be-tween Argentina and Brazil in the aerospace field? It was sought, as specific objectives, to understand the factors that contribute to the beginning of the aerospace activities of the two countries and what means the quest for autonomy in this sector; develop a diachronic vision of the argentinean and brazilian aerospace history, in order to identify the actors and the polit-ical and economic issues that stand out in the process; the analysis of the bilateral relationship and the presence of the notion of rivalry. Based on the synthesis of these elements, it is pro-posed an analysis model of the joint projects in the aerospace sector, considering the two fun-damental issues that constitute the relationship: the quest for autonomy and the notion of ri-valry. For this purpose, primary documents provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, mainly cooperation agreements, and annual management reports of the institutions involved were used as sources. In addition, through the Access to Information Law, requests were sent with the purpose of solving more specific questions of the projects that were not included in the agreements available online and to have access to the minutes of the working groups re-sponsib... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Resumen: La presente disertación se basa en la temática de la cooperación entre Argentina y Brasil en el sector aeroespacial y se ha estructurado a partir del siguiente problema de investigación: ¿de qué modo la búsqueda por la autonomía y la existencia de la rivalidade histórica influencian los proyectos de cooperación entre Argentina y Brasil en el campo aeroespacial? Se buscó, como objetivos específicos, comprender los factores que promovieron el inicio de las actividades aeroespaciales de los dos países y lo que significa la búsqueda de la autonomía en ese sector; desarrollar una visión diacrónica del histórico del ámbito aeroespacial brasileño y argentino, para identificar a los actores y las cuestiones políticas y económicas que se destacan en el proceso y; analizar la dinámica histórica de la relación bilateral y la presencia de la noción de rivalidad. Con base en la síntesis de estos elementos, se propone un modelo de análisis sobre los proyectos conjuntos en el sector aeroespacial, teniendo en cuenta las dos cuestiones de fondo que constituyen la relación bilateral: la búsqueda por la autonomía y la noción de rivalidad. Para esto, se utilizaron como fuentes documentos primarios ofrecidos por el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, principalmente los acuerdos de cooperación, y los informes anuales de gestión de las instituciones implicadas. Además, por medio de la Ley de Acceso a la Información, se encaminaron solicitudes con el propósito de solucionar dudas más específicas de... (Resumen completo clicar acceso eletrônico abajo) / Mestre

This thesis brings statistical analyses techniques to bear on data derived from an extensive database of satellite launches and on-orbit anomalies and failures. The data collected is analyzed from two different perspectives and addresses, in two separate studies, two research objectives. The first study proposes to identify trends and cyclical patterns in the space industry, and to forecast the volume of launches for the next few years. Satellites have been rightfully described as the lifeblood of the entire space industry and the number of satellites ordered or launched per year is an important defining metric of the industry's level of activity. The structure of the space industry, its financial health and its workforce retention and development is dependent on the volume of satellites contracted. As such, trends and variability in this volume have significant strategic impact on the space industry. Over the past 40+ years, hundreds of satellites have been launched every year. Thus, an important data set is available for time series analysis and identification of trends and cycles in the various markets of the space industry. For the purpose of this first study, we collected data for over 6,000 satellites launched since 1960 on a yearly basis. We separated the satellites into three broad segments: 1) defense and intelligence satellites, 2) science satellites, and 3) commercial satellites. Several techniques are available for the analysis of time series data, both in the time domain and in the frequency domain. In this first study, we conducted spectral analysis of the time series for each of the three satellite populations and identified cycles contained in the data. In addition, once harmonic models were derived and fitted to the data, we built forecasting models of satellite launch volumes in the different market segments for the next few years. The potential implications of the results are discussed as a number of strategic matters for the space industry are contingent on the predictions or forecast of the volume of satellites contracted (the example of the U.S. auto industry is a solemn reminder of such possible strategic issues). The second study uses the previously collected launch data, confined to Earth-orbiting satellites launched between 1990 and 2008, and expanded with the failure information and retirement of each satellite to conduct a comparative analysis of satellite reliability in GEO, LEO, and MEO orbits. Reliability has long been recognized as an essential consideration in the design of space systems. However, there is limited statistical analysis of satellite reliability based on actual flight data. The objective of this second study is to conduct nonparametric satellite reliability analysis, with orbit type as a covariate, and to explore appropriate parametric fits (Weibull, lognormal, and mixture distributions). The results indicate for example that differences exist between the failure behaviors of satellites in different orbits, or that satellite infant mortality exists or dominates more clearly in a particular orbit type. The findings can be useful to satellite manufacturers as they would provide an empirical basis for reviewing and adjusting satellite testing and burn-in procedures.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2008. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2008. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2008. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.