ITC/USA 2012 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Eighth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 22-25, 2012 / Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, San Diego, California / This paper discusses the current development of all-in-one telemetry displays. This system provides a self-configuring environment utilizing common telemetry display objects that setup and deploy. Often range display systems require frequent revision to reason with changing requirements. The display is rendered accordingly as a strip-chart equivalent or other element, per requirements from a flight safety officer for example. Our reusable code system approach is based on a novel abstraction of the display elements. The approach may be deployed beyond the decommutation stage as is typically done or interface directly to a plug in software decommutator. This system's plug-and-play functionality facilitates rapid deployment of interoperable Department of Defense (DOD) range displays and recorders.

Religion and music are two cultural entities that have been closely related over time (Bossius, Harris & Häger 2010:1). To investigate this close relationship the author of this paper has chosen to use two theories. The first is the secularization theory as it is presented by James A. Beckford in his book Social Theory & Religion (2003), which expresses the idea that religion will become less visible in a society as it evolves and progresses. The second theory is based on music and is brought forth by Theodor A. Adorno in his paper On Popular Music (2008); it states that popular music is highly standardized and inevitably inferior to “Serious” music. The two theories will be used in researching and trying to understand how religion and music are interrelated to each other in Fiasco’s music and to investigate if the artist uses private or public religion in his music, furthermore the standardization theory will be used to see if his music and message are standardized. The aim of this paper is use the aforementioned theories by James A. Beckford and Theodor A. Adorno and see how they work in cohesion with Lupe Fiasco.The conclusion of this paper is that religion is influential and relevant in Lupe Fiascos music. In all his songs that have been released on CD: s, a total of 54 songs; 42 of these songs contained a religious word or phrase. This shows that the secularization theory, which stated that religion, would diminish and disappear from the public sphere the more modern a society got is not the case within the investigated artist and his music. The artists’ use of religion was a mix between public and private religion depending on the theme and message of the song. The second theory, which stated that popular music is standardized, could be verified, the message in Lupe Fiascos music is not new and neither it the music that he makes use of, even though the artist tries to give it a new sound. All music is standardized within its own genre and therefore will sound similar/standardized for one who is uninitiated within the different genres. Keywords: popular music, Religion, Lupe Fiasco, secularization, standardization, rap music.

The purpose of this paper was to examine how cultural differences affect an MNC’s knowledge transfer of the concept employer branding, and what support subsidiaries need from headquarters for the MNC to become a global employer brand. The result is based on theoretical findings of employer branding, knowledge transfer and culture, applied to interview results at Scania. The knowledge transfer of the concept employer branding involves the implementation of a global employer branding communication platform. Findings show that Scania face challenges in employer branding awareness within the MNC, knowledge transfer internalization in subsidiaries, and balance of standardization and adaptation in connection to cultural dimensions of the markets. To overcome these challenges, Scania needs to further develop relational, social and organizational contexts for the MNC to become a global premium employer brand. The thesis has high originality since it gives implications to a specific MNC regarding the specific topic employer branding in a certain time of the implementation process.

The implementation of the 1994 GATT accords on technical barriers to trade led to an unprecedented level of trade liberalisation. Most countries have increased their economic interdependence. The role delegated to multinational enterprises has been considerably extended. It is suggested that they could become subjects of international law. Their participation in standardisation, eco-labelling and consultation programs increased. They also adopted private codes of conduct and have modernised the way they dialogue with regulatory authorities. One of the impacts of the Uruguay Round Agreements is a subtle reorganisation of forces within national economies. Tremendous responsibilities are progressively undertaken by private entities in domains where the state used to regulate unilaterally. The shift of power from public entities to private ones is discreet but has effects on all traditional sources of law. New forms of regulation on multinational enterprises need to be created. One of the main sources of innovation is a negotiated self-regulation

This thesis analyzes and argues how implementing lean principles and tools affect an organization’s architectural innovation. Introducing new product architectures and modifying existing architectures is often difficult for companies. Architectural innovation requires extensive company resources for experimentations and new learning.    Applying lean principles and tools in an  innovative organization often make difficulties since innovation focus on active exploration for new solutions within a constantly changing environment (high risks). Whereas, lean focus on eliminating all kind of waste in the system (low risks). Little is known about how lean principles and tools might affect architectural innovation in organizations. Therefore, this research explores the relationship between lean and architectural innovation in manufacturing industries. The data sample use for this study is Swedish manufacturing companies in seventeen different industry types.  The types of industries consist on system level product type such as electrical or/and mechanical integrated products.  Results suggest that in lean principles and tools, standardization, value stream and human resource management (HRM) have significantly positive effect on organization’s architectural innovation capability. Whereas, lean design for manufacturability (DFM) has no significant effect on an organization’s architectural innovation capability. This study’s findings suggest companies that have not implemented lean thinking and practices yet can adopt lean concepts not only for efficiently utilizing the resources but for improving the architectural innovation also.  Furthermore, lean companies should increase their focus on customer involvement in product development as well as in cross-functional training of employees and on job training programs to improve the architectural innovation. Findings suggest that those companies that have strategic focus on architectural innovation can adopt lean concepts and procedures from manufacturing and production departments in order to dramatically increase the architectural innovation.

Abstract Title: Services Marketing in a Cross-Cultural Environment: Elekta in Germany Level: Master Thesis in Business Administration Author: Katrina Dietrich & Giorgos Angelakis Supervisor: Maria Fregidou-Malama Examiner: Akmal Hyder Date: 2014-January   Aim: This study aims to examine how culture, trust, network and standardization/adaption are applied within the Service Marketing of Elekta in Germany and if they overcome the characteristics of Services within a culturally different environment.   Method: The research uses qualitative data, applies a single case study, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to collect primary data.   Result & Conclusions: The applied model shows that Elekta uses a balance between adaptation and standardization as well as applies trust and network under awareness and use of the German culture. These factors are used in combination and are influencing each other in order to create a homogeneous and tangible service.   Suggestions for future research: The case study indicates that one company is subject of the study in one country, hence generalization cannot be achieved. Therefore future research of other countries and other service industries can extend this research.   Contribution of the thesis: This research stresses the importance of culture, adaptation/ standardisation and trust and networks in cross-cultural services marketing of Elekta. It shows how heterogeneity and intangibility are influenced by the variable trust, network, adaptation/ standardization and culture.

Before Turkey starts lamentation about her residents&rsquo / poor state of health due to lack of regular physical activity, the fitness facilities should be recognized as means of exercise and recreational activities for all. Yet the lack of studies regarding the status of the health and fitness industry of Turkey such as the credentials of education and certification of the fitness professionals surges the fitness industry into the unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of the health and fitness industry in Turkey. In order to investigate the current status of the health and fitness industry in Turkey, a pilot study was conducted to adopt the &ldquo / Survey of the Health and Fitness Industry&rdquo / developed by Dean Mantia (2000). Participants (N=167) were queried in the areas of business operations, professional development, growth opportunities and consumer influences. Using SPSS frequency counts and percentile rankings were used to analyze and compare responses of the three sub-groups (18 % managers, 62 % instructors, 20 % consumers) that were surveyed. The findings of the study demonstrates that although the industry seems to be in a rapid growth phase, there are problems that would not allow the future success of the industry. The consumers overestimate the credentials of the fitness professionals, and at the same time quickly withdraw if their goals are not met. The industry lacks standardization, and regulations are not adequate to save it from abuse. Although the Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation emerged as the major certification body, it holds less than half (38 %) of the industry, and lacks trust and respect by the fitness professionals due to illegalities. The industry is driven by fad and fashion and the role of the media, and marketing practices seems to be underrated despite their educational value to make the consumers take responsibility of their own health and well being. Future growth of the industry requires investigation of the fitness professionals at all levels and in all provinces of Turkey. In order to develop standardization for the licencing of the health and fitness centers, and certification of the fitness professionals within the industry, it is recommended that the federation should act in a joint effort with the other federations, academia, and the leading international certifying organizations to meet the needs of the fitness industry towards a continuous development and growth.

What are the essential characteristics that constitute historic American neighbor- hoods? Do current regulations promote developments that exhibit these essential characteristics? In this thesis I analyze two historic neighborhoods in an effort to un- cover their architectonic principles. By identifying the key components that comprise these places, we can critically analyze whether regulations, such as Historic Preserva- tion Ordinances and the SmartCode, are adequately designed to govern development practices of residential neighborhoods.

In this paper we describe DSpace™, an open source system that acts as a repository for digital research and educational material produced by an organization or institution. DSpace was developed during two years’ collaboration between the Hewlett-Packard Company and MIT Libraries. The development team worked closely with MIT Libraries staff and early adopter faculty members to produce a ‘breadth-first’ system, providing all of the basic features required by a digital repository service. As well as functioning as a live service, DSpace is intended as a base for extending repository functionality, particularly to address long-term preservation concerns. We describe the functionality of the current DSpace system, and briefly describe its technical architecture. We conclude with some remarks about the future development and operation of the DSpace system.

La normalisation est l'activité de production des règles qui prescrivent des pratiques productives par une obligation de résultat (caractéristiques d'un produit) ou de moyens (caractéristiques d'une procédure productive), elles peuvent être élaborées au sein des entreprises ou à un niveau sectoriel. Notre recherche contribue à éclairer deux types d'enjeux économiques de la normalisation identifiés dans l'amont pétrolier : le premier renvoie à l'évaluation des coûts et des avantages du recours à des normes sectorielle dans l'élaboration des systèmes de règles applicables par les opérateurs de l'entreprise ; le second renvoie à l'évaluation des modes de normalisation, notamment à l'idée que, plus que la normalisation interne à l'entreprise, l'investissement dans la normalisation sectorielle permettrait la structuration concurrentielle de l'amont pétrolier.Tout d'abord, l'usage de règles est indispensable pour pouvoir opérer, notamment dans la durée (assurer un niveau de sécurité et d'efficacité permettant l'accès à la ressource et réduisant les risques d'accident majeur) ; ensuite l'identification des vecteurs de gains de la normalisation – couplée à l'analyse conventionnaliste de la qualité et des mondes de production – aide à distinguer quatre types de produits correspondant à quatre situations d'interfaces pour lesquelles différents mix de normalisation (sectorielle, interne,…) doivent être recherchés. Enfin la prévention des risques (parfois extrêmement coûteux) et plus généralement la gestion de la qualité sont impactées positivement par la normalisation sectorielle.Néanmoins les gains obtenus dans notre cas pratique ne peuvent pas être transposés à d'autres cas pratiques puisque la question des gains de la normalisation ne peut trouver de réponse universelle compte tenu de la diversité des types de normes d'une part, et des types d'interfaces et de situations productives concernées d'autre part. / Standardization activities are dedicated to the elaboration of rules which are used to prescribe practices through obligations of results (product characteristics) or obligations of means (production processes characteristics). These rules can be elaborated by firms or by industry associations. Our study contributes to answer two economic questions of the oil upstream industry. The first one is the measurement of the added value of the use of industry standards in the elaboration of the firm references documents collections (its technical specifications). The second one is related to the different types of standardizations and the idea that industry standardization is a tool to organize concurrency of the market in the oil industry.Firstly, the use of standards is essential to produce efficiently, safely (without accident) for many years and often essential in order to access natural resources. Secondly the identification of the main sources of standardization benefits, in addition to the conventionalist analyze of quality and of the “mondes de production” help us to identify four productive interfaces for which a mix of standardization (with internal and external standardization) is more adapted. Finally the prevention of risks, and more globally the quality management, is positively impacted by industrial standardization.Nevertheless, the gains observed in our case study cannot be transposed to other case studies because, as the institutionalism theory and the conventionalism theory explain, the interrogation about the benefits of standardization cannot be completely resolved because of the diversity of the type of standards in one side, and the diversity of production situations in the other side.