Suchergebnisse

AbstractThe paper is a complex study of the history of the involvement of Woodrow Wilson (the 28th President of the USA, 1913-1921), in the fate of Armenian people after WWI and the Republic Armenia (1918-1920), especially in determining the boundary between Armenia and Turkey. It presents an analysis of Wilson's Arbitral Award according to the international law and the United Nation's official methodology. The article focuses on the historical background, legal aspects and political implications of Wilson's Arbitral Award (November 22, 1920), officially titled: Decision of the President of the United States of America respecting the Frontier between Turkey and Armenia, Access for Armenia to the Sea, and the Demilitarization of Turkish Territory adjacent to the Armenian Frontier. The Arbitration's significance goes beyond Armenian-Turkish and Armenian-US relations. Border conflicts are still relevant issues on the regional and international agenda. American involvement in the Middle East is one of the key components of the United States' present foreign policy. An accurate and a broad understanding of the nuances of the extremely complex legal situation in the region and the bases for the behaviour of the players can be vital for the security, political and economic interests of the region. Moreover, due to the active participation of the United States in the Armenian-Turkish relations through Wilson's Arbitration, the Arbitral Award becomes a logical starting point for a stronger historical, political, and legal understanding of the conflict-prone region. The article also contributes to the better understanding of President Wilson's policy towards the Middle East during the dramatic period of 1917-1921 and its possible consequences for critical relationships in the region today.

Background  The sexual lives of people with intellectual disability is made complex by the involvement and influence of social service providers, whose beliefs and values have a great impact on the support they provide. We hypothesized that social service providers' role, educational level and service in which they worked could affect attitudes towards the sexual behaviour of individuals with intellectual disability.Materials and methods  The current study describes attitudes of social service providers towards the sexuality of individuals with disability measured by 20 items of Sexuality and Mental Retardation Attitudes Inventory (SMRAI). This instrument was devised by Brantlinger [Mental Retardation (1983) Vol. 21, pp. 17–22] to assess the attitudes of the staff employed by organizations that supplied services to individuals with intellectual disability. Specifically, analysis of variance (type of service × professional role × education) was performed on participants' scores.Results  Results suggested that the social service providers participating in this research study tended to have moderately liberal attitudes. Educational level and role carried out did not produce differences in their attitudes. A significant difference emerged between those who operated in different services. It was especially the staff of the outpatient treatment services who revealed the most liberal and positive attitudes towards the sexuality of individuals with intellectual disability.Conclusions  The data reported in the present study seem to underline some differences between the data collected from the Italian and the Anglo‐Saxon social service providers. Failure to record influences associated with the role carried out and previous training could be related to the different contextual differences. Results suggest that particular attention should be paid to the training of those who hold managerial posts in Italian residential services.

Objective: To examine changes in biomechanical and motor control associated with a force-feedback computer mouse. Background: Haptic computer mice can improve the movement times for point-and-click tasks; however, changes in upper extremity biomechanics and motor control are unknown. Method: Eighteen people (ages 22-37 years) performed a point-and-click task 80 times using a force-feedback computer mouse across three different conditions: (a) no force feedback, emulating a conventional mouse; (b) a single attractive force field at the desired target that pulls the mouse to the center of the target; and (c) an attractive force field at the desired target as well as others between the two possible targets, distracting the user from the intended target. Cursor kinematics, wrist posture, and electromyographic (EMG) forearm muscle activity were recorded. Results: The point-and-click movements were 30% faster with the addition of a single force field and 3% faster with the addition of multiple force fields. The Fitts' law index of performance metrics improved from 2.9 bits/response to 4.1 bits/response for multiple attractive fields and to 6.0 bits/response for a single force field. For the distracting force fields, the cursor maximum velocities were over 50% faster. EMG amplitude values were largest for the distracting force fields. These data suggest that the operator uses increased muscle activity to accelerate the mouse through the distracting force fields. Conclusion: When implementing attractive haptic force fields, one needs to consider how to reduce these observed effects of potential distracting force fields. Application: Applications include human-computer interface design for pointing devices extensively used for the graphical user interface.

<span class="fett">Zielsetzung:</span> Die Deutsche Suchthilfestatistik für stationäre Einrichtungen erfüllt seit 1980 die Aufgaben der Dokumentation von Einrichtungs-, Patienten- und Behandlungsmerkmalen, der Angebotsevaluation und Qualitätssicherung sowie Trendanalysen, und dient zudem als praktische Arbeitshilfe für Einrichtungsmitarbeiter (www.suchthilfestatistik.de). </p><p> <span class="fett">Methodik:</span> Die Auswertung für das Jahr 2005 basiert auf den nach den Vorgaben standardisierter Datensätze aggregierten Daten von 36.102 Patienten (davon 31.569 Beender) in 140 stationären Einrichtungen für die Rehabilitation von Alkohol-, Drogen- und Medikamentenabhängigen (2004: 29.081 Patienten in 102 Einrichtungen). Es werden Angaben zu Patienten-, Behandlungs- und Ergebnischarakteristika erhoben. </p><p> <span class="fett">Ergebnisse:</span> Mit 77 % liegt der Anteil der Patienten mit alkoholbezogenen Störungen (schädlicher Gebrauch und Abhängigkeit nach ICD-10) niedriger als im Vorjahr (2004: 81 %), der Anteil von Patienten mit opiatbezogenen Störungen (2005: 8 %; 2004: 6 %) sowie cannabisbezogenen Störungen (2005: 3 %; 2004: 2 %) liegt dagegen höher als 2004. Die Absolutzahl Pathologischer Glücksspieler (2005: n=341; 2004: n=337) sowie der Anteil an den Hauptdiagnosen (2005: 1,1 %; 2004: 1,3 %) sind relativ konstant im Vergleich zum Vorjahr. Die häufigste zusätzliche Diagnose zu einer Hauptdiagnose ist eine cannabisbezogene Störung (zwischen 13 % und 80 %). 75 % aller Patienten sind männlich. Patienten mit alkoholbezogenen Störungen sind durchschnittlich 45 Jahre alt, Patienten mit opiatbezogenen Störungen 31 Jahre. Die Behandlungsdauer liegt in der Regel zwischen drei und sechs Monaten (MW=12 Wochen). Etwa 75 % der Patienten mit alkohol- und 38 % der Patienten mit opiatbedingten Behandlungen werden planmäßig entlassen. </p><p> <span class="fett">Schlussfolgerungen:</span> Trotz der starken Vergrößerung der Einrichtungsstichprobe (+37 %) hat sich an ihrer Zusammensetzung (Rehabilitationseinrichtungen +3 Prozentpunkte; Krankenhäuser +/-0 Prozentpunkte; Heime und Übergangseinrichtungen –3 Prozentpunkte) prozentual gesehen kaum etwas verändert. Trendanalysen können daher fortgeführt werden. Aufgrund einer neuen Schätzung von 245 stationären Suchthilfeeinrichtungen wird für 2005 eine Erreichungsquote von 57 % berechnet. Eine verbindliche Auflistung aller stationären Einrichtungen ist dringend erforderlich. Die zahlreichen Fehlkodierungen von Kostenträgern in Zusammenhang mit der Umbenennung der Bundesversicherungsanstalt für Angestellte in Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund belegt, dass künftig auf derartige Veränderungen umgehend reagiert werden muss.

Geographically distributed teams are increasingly prevalent in the workplace, and research on distributed teams is ever more available. Despite this increased attention, we still know surprisingly little about how the dynamics of distributed teams differ from those of their collocated counterparts and how existing models of teams apply to this new form of work. For example, although it has been argued that distributed as compared with collocated teams have more severe conflicts that fester longer and resist resolution, few comparative studies investigate dynamics such as conflict in both distributed and collocated teams. In this study, we examine conflict, its antecedents, and its effects on performance in distributed as compared with collocated teams. Our goal is to understand how conflict plays out in distributed and collocated teams, thus providing insight into how existing models of conflict must be augmented to reflect the trend toward distributed work.We report the results of a field study of 43 teams, 22 collocated and 21 distributed, from a large multinational company. As expected, the distributed teams reported more task and interpersonal conflict than did the collocated teams. We found evidence that shared identity moderated the effect of distribution on interpersonal conflict and that shared context moderated the effect of distribution on task conflict. Finally, we found that spontaneous communication played a pivotal role in the relationship between distribution and conflict. First, spontaneous communication was associated with a stronger shared identity and more shared context, our moderating variables. Second, spontaneous communication had a direct moderating effect on the distribution-conflict relationship, mitigating the effect of distribution on both types of conflict. We argue that this effect reflects the role of spontaneous communication in facilitating conflict identification and conflict handling.

AbstractEvidence suggests that autism is associated with impaired emotion perception, but it is unknown how early such impairments are evident. Furthermore, most studies that have assessed emotion perception in children with autism have required verbal responses, making results difficult to interpret. This study utilized high‐density event‐related potentials (ERPs) to investigate whether 3–4‐year‐old children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show differential brain activity to fear versus neutral facial expressions. It has been shown that normal infants as young as 7 months of age show differential brain responses to faces expressing different emotions. ERPs were recorded while children passively viewed photos of an unfamiliar woman posing a neutral and a prototypic fear expression. The sample consisted of 29 3–4‐year‐old children with ASD and 22 chronological age‐matched children with typical development. Typically developing children exhibited a larger early negative component (N300) to the fear than to the neutral face. In contrast, children with ASD did not show the difference in amplitude of this early ERP component to the fear versus neutral face. For a later component, typically developing children exhibited a larger negative slow wave (NSW) to the fear than to the neutral face, whereas children with autism did not show a differential NSW to the two stimuli. In children with ASD, faster speed of early processing (i.e. N300 latency) of the fear face was associated with better performance on tasks assessing social attention (social orienting, joint attention and attention to distress). These data suggest that children with ASD, as young as 3 years of age, show a disordered pattern of neural responses to emotional stimuli.

Differences in the prevalence of obesity between adjacent regions are quite common, but usually unexplained. This study examined whether birth place, selective migration, intelligence or education – which are both inversely and possibly causally related to obesity – are determinants of such differences. This population-based case-control study (case-cohort design) took place in the greater Copenhagen area (region 1) and surrounding provincial areas of Zealand (region 2), Denmark. A total of 2948 men with a median age of 19 years from two draft board regions during 1966–1977 were examined. The odds ratio (OR) for being obese (defined as body mass index ≥31 kg/m2) was investigated using multiple logistic regression analyses. The OR for being obese in region 2 compared with region 1 was 1·74 (1·50–2·03). Adjustment for birth place, intelligence test score and educational level reduced the OR to 1·42 (1·10–1·82). The OR for being obese for those born in region 2 compared with region 1 was 1·71 (1·46–2·01). Adjustments for intelligence test score, educational level and examination region reduced this OR to 1·13 (0·87–1·46). Irrespective of birth place, men examined in region 2 had a higher OR for being obese than those examined in region 1; this effect was most pronounced for those born in region 2 and examined in either region 1 or 2, with an OR of 1·06 (0·71–1·57) and 1·87 (1·58–2·22) respectively. In conclusion, the regional differences in the prevalence of obesity could not be explained by birth place or later selective migration, but educational level and intelligence test score did explain some of the difference.

Das Bild von der Sowjetunion und von Russland hat sich nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg in der finnischen Presse dramatisch verändert. Der vorliegende Text basiert auf einer Frequenzanalyse, in der das Vorkommen verschiedener Länder, Staatengruppen und internationaler Organisationen kodiert wurde (z. B. Sowjetunion/Russland, Vereinigte Staaten, NATO, UNO etc.). Um diese Analyse aussagekräftiger und interessanter zu machen, wurde eine Unterscheidung gemacht, ob die Bezugnahme erfolgte im Kontext von (1) Bündnis, Freundschaft und Kooperation, oder (2) Distanz, Restriktion und Feindbild, oder (3) sowohl in einem positiven als auch in einem negativen Kontext. Der Zeitrahmen wurde von 1945 bis zum Ende des Jahrhunderts gesetzt. Untersucht wurde die Berichterstattung an den Nationalfeiertagen. Die ausgewählten Zeitungen repräsentieren das gesamte Spektrum der finnischen Medien. Die Studie zeigt deutlich auf, was Hauptgegenstand der finnischen Außenpolitik nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg war: In dem gesamten kodierten Zeitungsmaterial wurde die Sowjetunion/Russland 222 Mal erwähnt, was 37.5 Prozent aller Erwähnungen ausmacht. Andere wichtige Staaten oder Staatengruppen waren die Vereinigten Staaten (5.3 Prozent), EC/EU/WEU/Westeuropa (12.6 Prozent), die Vereinten Nationen (9.0 Prozent) und die Nordischen Staaten (11.2 Prozent). Mit sehr wenigen Ausnahmen sind alle Bezugnahmen auf die UNO und die nordischen Staaten positiv. Auch die Sowjetunion wird ziemlich positiv beschrieben. Der Anteil der negativen Erwähnungen liegt bei 8.1 Prozent, und der der sowohl positiven als auch negativen Erwähnungen bei 14.4 Prozent. Die Vorstellungen von den Vereinigten Staaten und von den Europäischen Verbündeten sind die gegensätzlichsten. 54.8 Prozent der die USA betreffenden Erwähnungen sind positiv, während 45.2 Prozent negativ sind. Was die EC/EU etc. betrifft, so gibt es 54.1 Prozent positive Bezugnahmen, 28.4 Prozent negative, und 17.6 Prozent sind sowohl positiv als auch negativ. Bemerkenswert sind die Einstellungsänderungen gegenüber der Sowjetunion. Der Anteil negativer Erwähnungen der Sowjetunion war durchgehend sehr gering. Einzige Ausnahme bildet das Jahr 1995 (30 Prozent), als Finnland bereits Mitglied der EU war. Jedoch war die Anzahl der Fälle, in denen auf die Sowjetunion sowohl positiv als auch negativ Bezug genommen wurde, zwischen 1945 und 1948 ziemlich hoch (27 Prozent und 22 Prozent). Die Bezugnahmen auf die Sowjetunion/Russland waren 1945, 1948 und 1989 am häufigsten. Die Abnahme der Erwähnungen zwischen 1989 (als die Sowjetunion am Rande des Zusammenbruchs stand) und 1993 ist sehr deutlich. Interessant ist, dass das Ausmaß der Berichterstattung über die Sowjetunion 1968 (Einmarsch in die Tschechoslowakei) auf einem sehr niedrigen Niveau angesiedelt war; man könnte vermuten, dass es nichts Positives zu sagen gab, dass aber auch niemand den Mut hatte, etwas Negatives zu schreiben. So lange die Sowjetunion existierte und Finnland in ihrem Schatten leben musste, tat die Presse nichts, um das Boot ins Wanken zu bringen. Im heutigen Mediendiskurs kann das schlimme Erbe des Kalten Krieges in seiner zynischen Haltungen gegenüber einer Rhetorik der Freundschaft und der Zusammenarbeit gesehen werden.

Background  The Challenging Behaviour Interview (CBI) was developed as an assessment of the severity of challenging behaviour. The CBI is divided into two parts. Part I of the interview identifies the occurrence of five clearly operationalized forms of challenging behaviour that have occurred in the last month. Part II of the interview assesses the severity of the behaviours identified on 14 scales measuring the frequency and duration of episodes, effects on the individual and others and the management strategies used by carers. In this paper we report upon its psychometric properties and discuss potential clinical and research uses of the new scale.Methods  The CBI was administered to 40 adults and 47 children. Test–retest and inter‐rater agreement was assessed for 22 participants in the adult sample. Concurrent validity was assessed by correlating total scores for the child sample with the subscale and total scores of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC). Content validity was assessed by comparing scores for each behaviour on specific items relating to relevant aspects of severity of impact that would be expected to differ based upon the topographies of the behaviour.Results  Mean inter‐rater and test–retest reliability kappa indices for the behaviours in Part I of the interview were 0.67 (range: 0.50–0.80) and 0.86 (range: 0.70–0.91), respectively. Mean inter‐rater and test–retest reliability Pearson's correlation indices for the behaviours in Part II of the interview were 0.48 (range: 0.02–0.77) and 0.76 (range: 0.66–0.85), respectively. Correlations with the ABC varied between 0.19 and 0.68. The majority of content validity comparisons were in line with prediction.Conclusions  The potential of the interview for clinical assessment, as an outcome measure for services and individual interventions and research purposes, is discussed.

Marie-Laure Legay, The End of Provincial Power (4 August 1789 - 21 September 1791).
Provincial history came to an end between 4 August and 22 December 1789, when the members of the National Assembly adopted the principle of uniform division of the kingdom. Nonetheless, it survived administratively beyond that period until the decree of 21 September 1791 which abolished the commissariats established in the former provincial estates. We can thus follow, from 4 August 1789 to 21 September 1791, the ups and downs of its history, no longer as a political entity but as an administrative framework. Indeed, the executive organs were extended to avoid a hazardous power vacuum. Pending the effective formation of the départements, it was necessary to set up provisional committees to represent the inland revenue in each province, give them the required clout to maintain law and order in the face of popular unrest, appoint and encourage men of goodwill whose political legitimacy was soon undermined by the ballot-box. In short, at Dijon, Cambrai, Aix, Lille, Montpellier..., the continuity of the state needed to be upheld at a time when its very foundations were being called into question. The maintenance of provincial executives in competition with the new département and district authorities resulted here and there in political infighting, reflecting the balance of power in the upper reaches of the state. While the former officials brandished their letters of appointment, the new nominees appealed to the National Assembly to revoke the powers of their competitors. The ill will of the former, combined with the perfectly legitimate impatience of the latter to govern their constituencies, bred a pernicious climate hardly conducive to orderly transition.

Abstract:In this article, the author examines how the concept of burden of proof applies to substantive issues governed by EC directives. Two decisions of the European Court of Justice give rise to the question of how national substantive and procedural law must accommodate EC policy and principle. Drawing on a general understanding of the concept of burden of proof, and a specific understanding with respect to the Directive in English and German law, the author puts forward how the burden of proof should be seen as regards to issues arising from Directive 93/13, in particular on the test of unfairness. In English law the concept of burden of proof follows a different approach and applies to a wider range of issues than a proper understanding of Directive 93/13 and other EC directives concerning contract law requires. The author proposes that Directive 93/13 demands a restrictive application of national concepts of burden of proof, so that burden of proof applies only to the existence of facts but not to their legal characterization. This proposed autonomous interpretation of burden of proof is then used to guide the English existing approach so as to conform to community law's more interventionist role for the court.
Résumé:La présente contribution tend à déterminer dans quelle mesure les règles sur la charge de la preuve sont applicables au droit matériel transposant les directives de l'UE. Deux décisions de la CJCE soulèvent la question de savoir comment le droit national, tant matériel que formel, doit être harmonisé avec le droit et les principes européens. En se basant les règles de droit anglais et de droit allemand en la matière, l'auteur examine de quelle manière la charge de la preuve doit s'appliquer dans le cadre de la Directive 93/13, en particulier lors de l'examen du caractère abusif des clauses contractuelles. Le droit anglais de la procédure conçoit la charge de la preuve différemment que le droit allemand. Il en résulte que cette notion a une portée plus large que celle qu'exigent la Directive 93/13 et d'autres directives de droit européen des contrats. C'est pourquoi, l'auteur soutient que la Directive 93/13 impose une application restrictive des règles anglaises sur la charge de la preuve, de façon à ce que celles-ci ne concernent que l'existence des faits, et non la portée légale de ces derniers. Cette interprétation autonome de la charge de la preuve est ensuite comparée à la conception actuelle du droit anglais sur le sujet pour démontrer comment celle-ci peut être harmonisée avec les exigences du droit européen, en particulier celle du rôle actif du tribunal.
Zusammenfassung:Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht, inwieweit Regeln der Beweislast auf von EG-Richtlinien beeinflusstes materielles Recht anwendbar sind. Zwei Entscheidungen des EuGH geben Anlass zu der Frage, auf welche Weise nationales materielles und prozessuales Recht mit EG-Recht und EG-Prinzipien in Einklang gebracht werden müssen. Auf Grundlage des jeweiligen Verständnisses der Beweislast im englischen und deutschen Recht erarbeitet der Autor, wie die Regeln der Beweislast auf einzelne im Rahmen von Richtlinie 93/13 auftauchende Fragen, insbesondere auf die Prüfung der Missbräuchlichkeit von Vertragsbedingungen, anzuwenden sind. Vor dem Hintergrund des englischen Zivilverfahrens liegt der Beweislast im englischen Recht ein gegenüber dem deutschen Recht abweichender Ansatz zu Grunde. Bei diesem Ansatz ist der Anwendungsbereich der Beweislast weiter&com