Suchergebnisse

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to introduce the upcoming symposium on experimental macroeconomics in the November issue.Design/methodology/approach– Experimental, survey of articles in the symposium.Findings– The paper describes how experiments can be used in macroeconomics.Originality/value– The paper discusses the rationale for using behavioral experiments in macroeconomics, and summarizes the papers in the symposium.

Hauptbeschreibung: Seit dem amerikanischen SDI-Projekt, besser bekannt unter dem Namen ""Krieg der Sterne"", und der weiten Verbreitung von Computer-Ballerspielen sind futuristische Waffensysteme wie Coil- und Railguns einem breiten Publikum zwar bekannt, wurden aber noch nicht zusammenfassend beschrieben. Dieses Buch bietet eine Übersicht über die historische Entwicklung und erläutert die zu Grunde liegenden technischen und physikalischen Prinzipien dieser Waffen

Natural experiments help to overcome some of the obstacles researchers face when making causal inferences in the social sciences. However, even when natural interventions are randomly assigned, some of the treatment–control comparisons made available by natural experiments may not be valid. We offer a framework for clarifying the issues involved, which are subtle and often overlooked. We illustrate our framework by examining four different natural experiments used in the literature. In each case, random assignment of the intervention is not sufficient to provide an unbiased estimate of the causal effect. Additional assumptions are required that are problematic. For some examples, we propose alternative research designs that avoid these conceptual difficulties.

"The term "innovation" has become commonplace. We are surrounded by "innovations", in our daily life. Who develops innovations? Even more importantly, how are they developed? Research approaches for finding answers to these questions regarding social innovations in an organizational context is the focus of this article. Under the assumption that social innovations are a result of learning, action, and social processes in organizations, practitioners are seen as developers of social innovations. To provide insight into the developmental process of innovation, I will compare the grounded theory methodology that Tom Kehrbaum utilizes for innovation research to the qualitative-heuristic methodology by Gerhard Kleining. Both methodologies are chosen because they enable researchers to analyze social processes, which lead to the solution of a problem. The main focus of this discussion lies in the quali-tative-heuristic methodology and its use of the qualitative experiment. The reason for this emphasis is anchored in the interactive approach of the researchers with the field, which is well-suited for examining the process of improving strategies for searching and finding solutions for problems." (author's abstract)