The Development in Germany of Archival Processing – The Vertical and Horizontal Appraisal

Based on a discussion about appraisal which has been going on for over a 100 years, the so-called vertical and horizontal appraisal have been developed and tested since the middle of the 1990s. During this process the tasks, functions and competences of the agencies, which are to be appraised were analysed. The appraisal of the content itself is undertaken only when multiple archival processing has been eliminated by this method and the most significant records identified. Actual tasks and functions of single administrative branches of different institutions (federal government, states, counties, and municipalities) are appraised, apart from already closed records. In this way, agencies creating archives and records today receive written decisions on the appraisal of records, which will be offered to the archives in future. Archivists of different institutions are involved in this appraisal procedure. The experience gained here has continually developed the techniques of vertical and horizontal appraisal. This appraisal procedure is being further developed in a constant balance between theory and practice.     

Trends in the Creation and Appraisal of Government Records in Germany

While archivists in western and eastern Germany may have different traditions, they face the same challenges presented by the use of information technology in government offices in recent years. Documentation strategies and goals in advising agencies must be developed in consideration of current professional debate and limited resources. The following article presents tendencies in governmental records management, advising strategies of archives, and schemes for broad-scale appraisal based on observations at the level of the governments of the German Länder and includes case studies from Saxony.     

Impact absorption of tennis shoe-surface combinations

The aim of this study was to investigate, for typical shoes and surfaces used in tennis, the relative role of the shoe and surface in providing cushioning during running. Five test surfaces ranging from concrete to artificial turf were selected, together with two shoe models. Impact absorbing ability was assessed mechanically using drop test procedures and biomechanically using peak magnitude and rate of loading of impact force and peak in-shoe pressure data at the lateral heel. Differences in biomechanical variables between shoe-surface combinations were identified using a two-way ANOVA (p < 0.05). Mechanical test results were found to rank the surfaces in the same order regardless of the shoe model, suggesting that the surface is influential in providing cushioning. However, for all mechanical and biomechanical (p < 0.05) variables representing impact absorbing ability, it was found that the difference between shoes was markedly greater than the differences between surfaces. The peak heel pressure data were found to rank the surfaces in the same order as the mechanical tests, while impact force data were not as sensitive to the changes in surface. Correlations between mechanical and biomechanical impact absorption highlighted the importance of testing the shoe-surface combination in mechanical tests, rather than the surface alone. In conclusion, mechanical testing of the shoe-surface combination was found to provide a strong predictor of the impact absorbing ability during running if pressure data were used. In addition, for typical shoe-surface combinations in tennis, the shoe was found to have more potential than the surface to influence impact loading during running. Finally, in-shoe pressure data were found to be more sensitive than force plate data to changes in material cushioning.     

A mathematical model for power output in rowing on an ergometer

A mathematical model relating power output of rower to stroke rate on an ergometer (the Concept II Indoor Rower TM, Model C) is studied. The model is used to analyse the ergometer performance of a particular rower. It is determined that he can be more efficient (i.e. decrease power output while maintaining fixed velocity) by decreasing stroke rate, but at the expense of increasing force during the drive. It is also shown that he can be more efficient by increasing the drag factor (using higher vent setting) without increasing force. Dependence of power output on rowing style (the shape of the force curve) is also examined. It is shown that variation of force during the drive has little effect on efficiency, but efficiency is reduced by asymmetry of the force curve that favours the legs.     

Strategic fit among knowledge attributes,knowledge management systems,and service positioning

Knowledge management systems (KMSs) support high-quality services while shaping and improving positioning of services. Given such strategic importance of KMS, this study explores the effects of different types of KMS, which respond to the attributes (i.e., diversity and tacitness) of collective knowledge, on service (re-)positioning. Through a case study of a financial consulting company at the core of KMSs, combinations of the two knowledge attributes are used to determine which type of KMS (i.e., information library, deepened stock, thought islands, and shared brain) offers the greatest efficiency and effectiveness in service (re-)positioning. The joint concerns of service innovation scope and specificity are also considered. Finally, the study discusses the theoretical and practical implications on KMS design and functionality in the new business age of service innovation.     

Application of association and decision rules on intellectual capital

Intellectual capital (IC), leading to sustainable competitiveness shapes the patterns of business reality nowadays. IC disclosure has become a critical necessity in this new framework. Being a novel interdisciplinary study, the aim of this paper was to examine IC disclosure by Greek publicly traded firms implementing association and decision rules. Firms were divided into three classes (low, medium and high) according to their IC disclosure, measured by the content analysis methodology. The association rules of each class were specified, highlighting IC reporting profile and focus of the firms belonging to each class. Firms in the high class were shown to have strongly realised the crucial need for a reporting change. Teamwork, corporate culture and extra-firm potential appeared to be underlined. Applying the decision tree methodology, the paper succeeded in proving the remuneration–incentive system, R&D and business collaborations items as the IC reporting-related factors differentiating classes.