Habilitationschrift--Humboldt-Universität, Berlin, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 343-381).

published_or_final_version / Urban Design / Master / Master of Urban Design

published_or_final_version / abstract / Sociology / Master / Master of Philosophy

Space activities are increasingly undertaken by private companies. Space law, however, was mainly developed in the beginning of the space age, at a time where space activities were predominantly state activities. The rules that developed were thus focusing on the duties of states and concerned private entities only through the intermediary of states. / This thesis explores the applicable principles of space law and of the international law of responsibility. Taking into account the recent practice of private companies engaged in space business, the work also focuses both on its impact on the responsibility and liability regime as well as on the legal efficiency of the links between private entities and states. / In conclusion, the thesis makes several recommendations to improve the responsibility regime for space activities.

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The commercial space transportation industry is growing with the technology that creates more capable spacecrafts to access space. However, there are still some academic discussions related to the delimitation of the outer space and the definition of space objects that could interfere with the regulation of this growing space activity. Because these discussions are not predicted to be solved soon, the developing space policies must attempt to clarify these issues between the parts avoiding the retard in the development of the industry. Moreover, these policies have to promote public-private partnerships and the emersion of private entrepreneurs for a faster development of a safe, reliable, and affordable commercial space transportation.

Outer Space no longer represents a quiet mean where governments place their satellites in order to cover the communications needs of their people. Technological developments and the increase of economic benefits deriving from telecommunications have caused the proliferation of megacarriers located on a world-wide basis and the treatment of telecommunications as a business product. In this scenario, the International Telecommunication Union and the World Trade Organization separately rule the development of telecommunications via satellite, affecting national regulations and, at the same time, the evolvement of the pattern in commercial relations among the companies who develop satellite telecommunications in outer space. This thesis illustrates the state of the liberalization of telecommunications and the main national obstacles for its achievement. This study thoroughly analyzes the functioning of the two leader organizations, ITU and WTO, and the regulations that they are enacting. Additionally, the thesis analyzes the most practical and new problems that influence their structure, such as the new technological developments, the role of national regulations of some countries, and the privatization of intergovernmental organizations. Moreover, the thesis examines the increase in the demand of space resources and the introduction of market mechanisms to the attribution of orbital slots and frequencies, due to the increase of private actors, and concludes with the proposal of possible models of cooperation between the two leader organizations. ITU and WTO, in order to rationally and efficiently deal with ruling telecommunications.

For manufacturing companies active on the global market, high-performance production systems that contribute to the growth and competitiveness of the company are essential. Among a wide range of industries it is increasingly acknowledged that superior production system capabilities are crucial for competitive success. However, the process of designing the production system has received little attention, ignoring its potential for gaining a competitive edge. Designing production systems in an effective and efficient manner is advantageous as it supports the possibility to achieve the best possible production system in a shorter time. One way to facilitate the design of the production system is an effective management of design information. Without managing design information effectively in the production system design process the consequences may be devastating including delays, difficulties in production ramp-up, costly rework, and productivity losses. The objective of the research presented in this thesis is to develop knowledge that will contribute to an effective management of design information when designing production systems. The empirical data collection rests on a multiple-case study method and a survey in which the primary data derive from two industrialization projects at a supplier in the automotive industry. Each industrialization project involved the design of a new production system. The findings revealed ten categories of design information to be used throughout the process of designing production systems. The identified design information categories are grouped in the following way: (1) design information that minimizes the risk of sub-optimization; (2) design information that ensures an alignment with the requirements placed by the external context; (3) design information that ensures an alignment with the requirements placed by the internal context, and (4) design information that facilitates advancements in the design work. In order to improve the management of the broad variety of design information required, a framework is developed. The framework confirms the necessity to consider the management of design information as a multidimensional construct consisting of the acquiring, sharing, and using of information. Further, the framework is based on six characteristics that influence the management of design information. These characteristics are information type, source of information, communication medium, formalization, information quality, and pragmatic information. Supported by the findings, guidelines for the management of design information are outlined to facilitate an effective and efficient design of the production system and thus contribute to better production systems. The guidelines are of value to those responsible for or involved in the design of production systems.

Based on a case study of the export informatic$ sp1$ services industry, this dissertation examines the prospects for industrial development in Jamaica in the twenty first century. It contends that the island's current strategy of neo-liberal industrial restructuring will not bring about sustained development because it embodies macro-economic reforms that are incompatible with local, cultural and structural realities. Under structural adjustment, Jamaica has embarked upon policies that have been short-term in vision, un-coordinated and subject to the demands of local and global hegemonic groups. These policies have limited the expansion of this export sector and has encouraged forms of work organisation that are deeply exploitative of labour. In the case of the informatics sector, the pressure to satisfy IMF and World Bank macro-economic restructuring requirements, together with, inadequate finance and marketing support, and technical labour, has limited the potential of the sector to become a growth catalyst. Instead of becoming an industry that provides foreign exchange earnings, jobs and technical skills, informatics in Jamaica remains low in value added content, and reliant on sweated, female, low cost labour. The current organisation of work is particularly exploitative of women and their households who provide them with support. The strain that workers and their households sustain creates a vicious cycle, because as workers find ways to resist their employers demands, the industry loses its ability to compete globally. This dissertation concludes that the future of the industry will depend on the extent to which the industry is able to: provide local and foreign firms with equal opportunities to compete in global markets; develop higher value-added services and provide workers with better opportunities for personal and occupational development. I argue that improving the skills and knowledge base of the industry's labour force represents a first step in thi

In this thesis, I argue the case for putting the industrial revolution back into literary accounts of the Romantic period. Writers of fiction played an important part in disseminating knowledge about the changes to technology and society, as well as helping to form the image of the newest social class: that of the industrial workers. Literature aspired to educate and integrate this class, as well as to influence the parallel process of educating the upper classes about the advent of the new manufacturing order. I have taken as the governing metaphor for industrialization that of 'white slavery', drawing the contrast to the contemporary movement to abolish black slavery. To illustrate the thesis, I have chosen six writers: three Romantic poets - Coleridge, Southey and Wordsworth - and three women educationalists - Hannah More, Maria Edgeworth and Harriet Martineau, each of whom represents a significant philosophical approach to a manufacturing society and who each made an important contribution to imaginative literature. Whilst the Romantic poets analysed industrialization as a divisive and demoralizing phenomenon and looked to the past for solutions, the educationalists responded to the challenge presented by the factory system by suggesting new visions of social relationships which bound moral and economic behaviour together. The thesis aspires to restore the voices of neglected women writers in the industrial debate with the aim of promoting a deeper understanding of the dynamics of the Romantic period and a fuller comprehension of its creative expression.