ALBERT

Notes: 1. Since zebra mussel invaded Lake Constance in the 1960s the number of wintering waterbirds increased fourfold. We studied the impact of predation by waterbirds (tufted duck Aythya fuligula, pochard Aythya ferina and coot Fulica atra) on the population of Dreissena polymorpha in winter 2001/2002. These three species, with monthly peak numbers of approximately 230 000 individuals, currently comprise up to 80% of the waterbird population wintering at Lake Constance.2. Four different study sites and four depths, that represent typical and characteristic habitats of mussels in Upper Lake Constance, were chosen.3. Zebra mussels were sampled before, during and after predation by waterbirds. Their biomass in shallow areas decreased by 〉90%; the biomass reduction in deeper areas was highly variable and dependent on the substratum. With one exception, no changes could be detected at the greatest depth (11 m).4. Concurrent exclosure studies revealed that the decrease in zebra mussels was caused by waterbird predation. A GIS-based approximation revealed that in an area of 1 km2 a total of approximately 750 t mussel fresh mass was removed by birds, which is equivalent to 1390 g mussels per bird per day.5. Wintering waterbirds have a strong structural impact on the littoral community of Lake Constance and could be the key predator of zebra mussels.

Notes: Purpose - In the internet economy, the business model of web portals has spread rapidly over the last few years. Despite this, there have been very few scholarly investigations into the services and characteristics that transform a web site into a portal as well as into the dimensions that determine the customer's evaluation of the portal's service quality. Design/methodology/approach - Based on an empirical study in the field of e-banking, the authors validate a measurement model for the construct of web portal quality based on the following dimensions: security and trust, basic services quality, cross-buying services quality, added value, transaction support and responsiveness. Findings - The identified dimensions can reasonably be classified into three service categories: core services, additional services, and problem-solving services. Originality/value - The knowledge of these dimensions as major determinants of consumer's quality perception in the internet provides banks a promising starting point for establishing an effective quality management for their e-businesses.

Notes: Purpose - Synthesis of the customer lifetime value and the shareholder value (SHV) approach in order to develop an integrated, marketing-based method for corporate valuation. Design/methodology/approach - Discusses the limitations and assumptions of existing methods to estimate customer value components and examines the limitations of the SHV concept. By linking the customer equity (CE) and the SHV approach, a formal model to calculate corporate value is developed. The discounted cash flow method is used for modelling the profit streams. Findings - Provides formulas for the estimation of both the individual lifetime value of a customer and CE. Provides a comprehensive model to estimate corporate value based on customer-related cash flows and traditional financial metrics. Introduces typical cases, in which the use of a customer-based valuation seems beneficial. Illustrates how our approach can be applied by using a simple case study on M&A in the telecommunication industry. Gives suggestions on how to obtain the necessary data, partially even from publicly available sources. Research limitations/implications - Advancement of the quantitative techniques for modelling the customer value components would allow for relaxing some restrictive assumptions. The explicit modelling of the future growth of the customer base (the acquisition rate) would increase the applicability of the model. Additionally, taking into account heterogeneity within the customer cohorts is a task for future research. Finally, our model needs to be applied more extensively using real data for the input variables. Practical implications - A CE-based valuation approach can guide marketing investments and helps to avoid misallocation of resources. Based on an example in the field of M&A, we demonstrate the usefulness of the approach for obtaining a realistic indicator of firm value. It helps to assess whether an acquisition is economically sensible. We provide evidence for the superiority of a customer-based approach over traditional financial methods. Originality/value - While the traditional SHV method considers cash flows at a highly aggregated level, our approach employs disaggregated cash flows on the level of individual customers. Thereby we do incorporate the lifetime values of future customers by considering different cohorts. We do capture customer defection by incorporating retention rates. Our model enables a more detailed and valid estimation of corporate value by accounting for the single customer activities that drive marketing actions. This enables a better forecasting of the free cash flow. Incorporating customer-related drivers into financial valuation models makes easier to assess the return on marketing investments.

Notes: Purpose - The paper aims to refine existing customer-based brand equity models for the team sport industry and examine the importance of brand equity in the professional German soccer league Bundesliga. Design/methodology/approach - After assessing brand equity on the basis of actual consumer responses, we relate the brand equity measure on an aggregate level to objective means of economic success. Online sampling with a total database of 1,594 usable questionnaires is utilized for analysis. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (including multi-group analysis) as well as structural equation modeling and regression analysis are applied. Findings - Results highlight the adequacy of a parsimonious brand equity model in team sport (BETS) model and the importance of the brand in team sport for economic success. Research limitations/implications - The main limitations of this research are sample constraints; test persons are highly involved in and knowledgeable about the product category under research. Future research should address a more diverse population. Practical implications - Teams and their management have to realize the relevance of their brand in economic success. They have to recognize the significance of the stadium visit and the individual spectators in the stadium. Originality/value - First, a parsimonious BETS model is presented. Second, it was found that special attention should be devoted to the brand equity-component "brand awareness" when researching brand equity. Third, this is one of the few studies that uses actual economic data to show the impact of brand equity based on direct consumer responses on company success.

Notes: Zusammenfassung 1. Bestimmte Verlängerung der Hydrolysedauer ergibt maximale Nuklealfärbung nach den meisten Fixierungsverfahren. 2. Der Grad der Strukturschädigung durch die Hydrolyse ist von der Fixierungsart abhängig. Eine Reihe von Methoden, besonders Chromosmium-und Chromformolgemische, fixiert die Chromatinstrukturen derart, daß keine veränderungen an ihnen eintreten. Damit ist die Verwendung der Nuklealfärbung als morphologische Methode gesichert. 3. Die Auswertung als mikroskopisch-chemische Reaktion läßt in der Mehrzahl der Fälle sichere Entscheidung über die Chromatinnatur der untersuchten Struktur zu. 4. Chromatinreaktion wurde am Diminutionschromatin vonAscaris megalocephala und am chromatischen Ring in den Oogonien vonDytiscus marginalis festgestellt. 5. Wachsende Eikerne mehrerer Tierarten und das Eliminationschromatin vonEphestia kühniella gaben keine Reaktion. 6. Die fuchsinschweflige Säure bewirkt Rotfärbung der Stärke in mit Chromsäure fixierten Keimwurzeln.

Notes: Zusammenfassung 1. Die Schleifenkerne der Malpighischen Gefäße von Bibio hortulanus enthalten stets fünf Kernschleifen. Diese Zahl entspricht der haploiden Chromosomenzahl. Jede Kernschleife besteht aus zwei längsgepaarten Elementen. Die Längen der Schleifen eines Kerns sind untereinander konstant verschieden in der gleichen Weise, in der sich auch die Längen der prophasischen Chromosomenpaare untereinander unterscheiden. 2. Drei der Schleifen sind außer durch bestimmte Länge auch durch konstante Formbesonderheiten gekennzeichnet. Eine mittellange trägt nahe einem Ende einen Nukleolus, der in seinem Innern chromatische (Nuklealfärbung) Einschlüsse enthält. Eine andere, die längste, besitzt eine scheibenartige Endverdickung. Eine weitere, die zweitkleinste Schleife, ist terminal zu einem Endbäumchen aufgespalten. 3. Aus der Gesamtheit der Tatsachen ergibt sich, daß die Kernschleifen die stark vergrößerten Chromosomenpaare darstellen. 4. Die Kernschleifen besitzen chromomerenartige, qualitativ ungleiche Scheibenstrukturen, deren Auftreten an bestimmten Stellen der jeweiligen Schleifen konstant ist.