"In section 2 we take an empirical look at the pattern of highly qualified migration, i.e. the migration of highly qualified persons. In section 3 we discuss some theoretical issues in order to decide under which conditions highly qualified migration exerts harm on the sending country. In section 4 we discuss whether Germany is likely to lose from a brain drain. The final section summarizes the findings and draws some conclusions." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))
In recent years, new actors from the outside the agrobusiness – the "index-oriented investors" – have entered the grain futures markets. This activity cannot be understood without considering the fact that prices for agricultural commodities have increased since the mid-1990s due to fundamental factors, both on the demand- and the supply-side. Based on this, agricultural commodities futures have become an attractive asset class for financial investors with two characteristics: first, they look for new asset classes the performance of which is not correlated with other asset classes; secondly, they believe that passive portfolio-management strategies, i.e. the "replication" of the market by distributing investments across various assets such as those being represented in popular indices, are more successful than active selection strategies. Investment in commodity futures by index-oriented investors had been facilitated by the development of new financial instruments (ETC, ETF). It has become ever more appealing as a result of falling returns on investment for traditional financial investments, such as the government bonds. However, the unconditional demand exerted by index-oriented investors on futures markets does not only lead to the reinforcement of the upward price trend on the spot market but also contributes to the emergence of short-term price bubbles (2008 and 2010/11).
"In section 2 we take an empirical look at the pattern of highly qualified migration, i.e. the migration of highly qualified persons. In section 3 we discuss some theoretical issues in order to decide under which conditions highly qualified migration exerts harm on the sending country. In section 4 we discuss whether Germany is likely to lose from a brain drain. The final section summarizes the findings and draws some conclusions." Die Untersuchung enthält quantitative Daten. Forschungsmethode: deskriptive Studie. (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku).
Der Beitrag betrachtet vor dem Hintergrund der EU-Beitrittsverhandlungen mit der Türkei die Ausgestaltung des europäischen Staatenbundes. Die Beschreibung der gegenwärtigen Situation der EU als politische Gemeinschaft und seiner Kultur basiert einerseits auf dem Artikel 'Science and Technology as Ideology' (1970) von J. Habermas. So wird zunächst im Kontext eines bestehenden Wettbewerbs zwischen Europa und den USA insbesondere die europäische Politik in den Bereichen Landwirtschaft, Forschung, Bildung beleuchtet. Im Anschluss befasst sich der Autor mit der Frage nach dem Weg zur moralischen Gemeinschaft, um so die 'wahren' Bestrebungen der EU zu realisieren. Bei der Lokalisierung der politischen Traditionen des Staatenbundes wird auf die Beschreibung Amerikas durch Tocqueville ('Democracy in America', 1835) zurückgegriffen. Nach Einschätzung des Autors besteht die große Herausforderung für Europa in der Schaffung demokratischer Institutionen, ohne dass diese im Zuge einer Politik von Interessengruppen in Absprache mit den politischen Kompetenzträger der europäischen Technokratie wirkungslos bleiben. (ICG2).
"The early writings of Emil Cioran, belonging to the years 1930, deal with the problem of the destiny of Romania. The rethinking and the reshaping of the country is configured by the young philosopher in the frame of the plan for disintegrating the old Europe in the views of a new, Imperialist, integration of it. To interpret this tendency only taking into account the increasing totalitarian Europe of the 30es is not enough. The present analysis discovers other Romanian political tendencies in the same direction." (publisher's description)
In: The 21st Century Consumer: Vulnerable, Responsible, Transparent? ; Proceedings of the International Conference on Consumer Research (ICCR) 2016, S. 267-291
In the twenty-first century, consumers have various options in terms of acting more responsibly towards their environment. One of these options is a more conscious utilisation of private durables by renting them to other consumers at times when they are not being utilised. This kind of sharing has always taken place within living memory between friends and family. However, with the emergence of the Internet, consumers can now also initiate such exchanges with likeminded strangers from far away. They can meet virtually at C2C 1 online renting platforms, which allow them to exchange the rarely utilised durables with minimum transaction costs.
"Eviola Prifti takes up the issue of the Commission as a political Leader versus technocratic manager with a sociological analysis of the institution. Her study of the Commission's internal organisation rejects the intergovernmentalist-versus-neofunctionalist debate and applies a 'microscopic' level of analysis that targets individual Commissioners. She argues that while the Commission possesses substantial technical capital (consistent with those arguing for a more managerial function), this was not augmented as a result of the Lisbon Treaty. On the other hand, the Treaty does strengthen its political capital, implying a latent potential for the Commission to exercise a stronger political role in the future." (contract)
"Center of attention in the chapter is EU trade. According to the author, this is arguably the EU's most highly centralized policy domain. It is for this reason that EU trade represents a significant case study for characterizing the EU as a global actor. This chapter examines EU trade policy with regard to its objectives, instruments, style and decision-making procedures. A variety of examples, including the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations with developing countries, will be emphasized. The author comes to the conclusion that, concerning trade policy, the EU's actions bear more resemble to a great power than a civilian or normative power." (author's abstract)
Von den 2005 in Deutschland registrierten 4,86 Millionen Arbeitslosen gehörten 36 Prozent zu den sogenannten Langzeitarbeitslosen. Diese Quote gehört zu den höchsten Europas. Die in der Jahren 2003 bis 2005 durchgeführten Arbeitsmarktreformen zielten auf die Überwindung dieses Zustandes. Die Reformgesetze Hartz I - IV verfolgen eine dreistufige Strategie: 1. Verbesserung der Leistungen der Arbeitsvermittlung, 2. Aktivierung der Arbeitslosen, 3. Stärkung der Nachfrage nach Arbeitskräften durch Deregulierung des Arbeitsmarktes. Ausgangspunkt und Kernstück der Reformen war die Reorganisation der öffentlichen Arbeitsvermittlung mit der Neuordnung der Zuständigkeiten der Bundesagentur für Arbeit (BA) gemäß SGB III und den lokalen und kommunalen Behörden (ARGE) nach SGB II. Die Autoren erläutern die politischen Maßnahmen und ihre Umsetzung und die wissenschaftlichen Instrumente zur Messung und Evaluierung unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des in Kooperation mit der Harvard-University entwickelten Evaluierungssystems 'Treatment Effect and Prediction (TrEffeR)'. Nach ihrer Einschätzung können die TrEffeR-Programme durch eine Verbesserung des effektiven Einsatzes maßgeschneiderter Maßnahmen zur Aktivierung des Arbeitsmarktes dazu beitragen, die individuelle Dauer von Arbeitslosigkeit zu verkürzen und damit das Abgleiten in die Langzeitarbeitslosigkeit zu verhindern. Forschungsmethode: deskriptive Studie. (IAB).
Using the Hungarian-Romanian border as a solid example, this paper will attempt to prove how borders have changed from the hard, close, exclusive border to the soft, open, inclusive frontier. We have highlighted the Hungarian and Romanian authors' scientific contributions, with a special emphasis on the members of the Debrecen-Oradea Euroregional Studies Institute (IERS), the "Jean Monnet" European Centre of Excellence, as well as on the developed joint projects. These contributions have created a certain level of expertise in the development of cross-border cooperation that could be transferred for the benefit of similar situations, arisen with the EU enlargement eastwards, such as the EU's eastern frontier on the Hungarian- Romanian-Moldovan-Ukrainian-section.
Dass Waren erst durch ihr kulturelles Umfeld Wert und Bedeutung erhalten, und beides umkämpft ist und immer wieder hergestellt werden muss, verdeutlichen die Autorinnen und Autoren in diesem Band. Mit dem Konzept der »kulturellen Aneignung« bieten sie eine theoretisch reflektierte wie auch empirisch angereicherte Begrifflichkeit für kulturwissenschaftliche Studien globaler Warenzirkulation. In the past years, Cultural Studies has begun to analyze the global world of economy, supplementing existing studies of economists. This edition highlights the concept of 'trans-cultural appropriation' as a tool for understanding cultural dimensions of modern consumption, especially when it comes to transnational economic processes. Presenting a rich variety of empirical studies, ranging from the introduction of Chinese food in the USA to Ford cars in Germany and American schoolbooks in the Philippines, the collection brings processes of cultural exchange to the fore that the post-war paradigm of 'Americanization' neglects.
Researchers have recognized that interpersonal trust consists of different dimensions. These dimensions suggest that trust can be rational, cognitive, or affective. Affect, which includes moods and emotions, is likely to have a direct impact on the affective dimension. On the other hand, there are also studies showing that affect indirectly influence cognitive judgments. Nonetheless, in this chapter we argue that the impact of affect on judgment will not be the same on all individuals. In effect, the impact varies, depending on the individual's attention to affect, motivation to use or guard against affect, or regulation of affect. All this may suggest that an individual's abilities or tendencies to manage affect will have implication on his or her trust relationships with others.
Investigates the differences between the average male & female mind to argue for a mutual respect of difference. The male & female brain types are explained by a dichotomous system of "Empathizing"(E) & "Systematizing"(S). The male & female brains are distinguished by tendencies toward the two characteristics. Analysis of various survey data finds that the female brain is characterized by type E, & the male brain by type S, identifies 5 broad types of brain, & finds that more females than males have an equal S-E balance. A discussion of the extreme Systematizing brain identifies autism as the case of the extreme male brain. Implications of this research to concepts of "gender" question expectations of equal sex ratios in occupations, & the danger of stereotypes and prejudice on the basis of sex. References. J. Harwell
Eine Bestandsaufnahme der Mobilitätsforschung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland kommt zu dem Schluss, dass bislang nur recht wenig bekannt ist über die Erfahrungen der deutschen Bevölkerung mit berufsbedingter Mobilität und die damit verbunden Anforderungen. Auch die Auswirkungen von Mobilität auf Gesundheit, Familienleben und Lebensqualität sind bislang wenig erforscht. Das Projekt 'Job Mobilities and Family Lives in Europe' ermöglicht erstmals profunde Einsichten in das mobile Leben in Deutschland. Der Beitrag präsentiert die wichtigsten Ergebnisse und Aussagen der im Rahmen dieses Projekts für Deutschland vom Sozialwissenschaftlichen Umfragezentrum (SUZ) Duisburg durchgeführten Regionalstudie. Danach haben 47 Prozent aller Deutschen im Alter von 25 bis 54 Jahren Erfahrungen mit berufsbedingter Mobilität. Weitere fünf Prozent sind von den Auswirkungen der Mobilität des Partners oder der Partnerin betroffen. Dabei vermeiden es die meisten der betroffenen Deutschen, Mobilität mit Verlassen der Region gleichzusetzen. Anstatt umzuziehen, entwickeln die Deutschen eine Vielzahl von Strategien, um Berufs- und Privatleben sowie die Anforderungen der Mobilität und die persönlichen lokalen Bindungen in Einklang zu bringen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen darüber hinaus, dass der Wunsch nach Mobilität in Deutschland weit verbreitet, jedoch nach Ausbildungsgrad verschieden ist. Geringer Qualifizierte sind zwar bereit zu pendeln, nicht aber umzuziehen, während Hochqualifizierte eher dem Umzug als dem Pendeln zuneigen. Die Untersuchung enthält quantitative Daten. Forschungsmethode: empirisch-quantitativ; empirisch; Befragung. Die Untersuchung bezieht sich auf den Zeitraum 2007 bis 2007. (IAB).
"Most classical political theorists agree that politics should aim at achieving 'the common good'. They also agree that the content of this common good can be known. This conclusion seems to have potentially undemocratic consequences. A popular response to this perceived problem by theorists of democracy is that the democratic process itself is a means of determining the content of the common good. There are two possible versions of this thesis: either the supposed common good is something which only emerges within the democratic process itself, or the common good exists independently of the process, and the process is the best means of determining its content. The latter version is often supported by de Condorcet's famous Jury Theorem. Both versions have their weaknesses. The constitutive version leads into a pragmatic inconsistency, while the indicative version cannot justify the role of the Opposition. My conclusion is that a plausible defence of democracy cannot be based solely on the epistemic considerations. It has to be based on egalitarian considerations: democratic processes are fair because they treat all citizens as equals. However, the notion of the common good may still play an indirect role in justifying democratic processes. Even though democratic majorities do not possess any specific epistemic virtues, democratic processes may still, in the long run, be more likely to reach the common good than experts or philosopher-kings." (author's abstract).
