Workplace drug testing in a military organization: Results and experiences from the testing program in the Finnish Defence Forces

In the military environment drug abuse is a particular risk for occupational safety. In the Finnish Defence Forces a drug testing program was conducted in 2002–2005; soldiers, professional civilians, and military students were tested when applying for a work or right to study; furthermore, annually 5% of the personnel were subjected to random testing. In total, over 2000 urine samples were analyzed in an accredited laboratory for cannabis, opiates, amphetamines, or cocaine. In this article, the drug testing program as a part of the anti-drug strategy of the Finnish Defence Forces is described, and the findings including practical experiences and financial expenses are reported. Only one person applying for a civilian post tested positive for amphetamine and cannabis. In seven other samples codeine and morphine were detected; these were, however, due to prescribed medication, not drug abuse. In the execution of the program, no particular difficulties were reported. In conclusion, it seems that the use of illicit drugs in the Finnish military is extremely rare, at least partly due to the successful anti-drug strategy. After an elaborate planning, even an extensive drug testing program can be executed without substantial setbacks. In the future, the effectiveness of drug testing programs as a means of improving occupational safety needs to be investigated in controlled studies using comparative design.     

Ausgewählte Rechtsfragen zur Vertretungsbefugnis nächster Angehöriger nach dem SWRÄG 2006

Mit dem am 1. 7. 2007 in Kraft getretenen Sachwalterrechts-?nderungsgesetz (SWR?G) 2006 wurden die §§ 284b bis 284e in das ABGB eingefügt und damit die Vertretungsbefugnis n?chster Angeh?riger geschaffen. Der Beitrag er?rtert einige dogmatisch interessante, zugleich aber auch praxisrelevante Fragen, die dieses vollkommen neuartige Rechtsinstitut aufwirft.     

To adapt or to defend? Comparing position shifts among Bundestag candidates between 2013 and 2017

In this research note, candidate survey data from the German Longitudinal Election Study (GLES) is used to analyse positional shifts of German Bundestag parties between 2013 and 2017. Two developments make Germany a particularly interesting case: (1) the liberal but also controversial policies of the Merkel cabinet during the European refugee crisis and (2) the change of leadership within the right-wing populist party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). Applying scaling techniques to locate candidates of both elections in the same two-dimensional policy space, the analysis demonstrates that in 2017 the AfD took a distinct radical right position in the party system of Germany. Moreover, the study finds that almost all parties moved to the right on the cultural left–right dimension in 2017, whereas for the economic left–right dimension this has not been the case. Contrary to the mantra of an ideological delineation against right-wing populism, there has been a robust socio-political conservative shift in the German party system.     

Towards an Explanatory Taxonomy of Adolescent Delinquents: Identifying Several Social-Psychological Profiles

Taxonomic structure is examined in two large samples of delinquent youth in a domain of socio-psychological and personality factors. This paper offers a partial empirical test of the overlapping theoretical taxonomies of Moffitt (Pshycol Rev 100:674–701, 1993), Lykken (The antisocial personalities, 1995) and Mealey (1995). The first sample consisted of juvenile offenders (n = 1,572) from three state systems. Multiple cluster analysis methods were applied (Wards method, standard K-means, bootstrapped K-means and a semi-supervised pattern recognition technique). Core or exemplar cases were identified by means of a voting procedure. Seven clusters recurrently emerged across replications. While clear analogues of Moffitt’s two main categories were found, several additional stable subtypes emerged that were clearly reminiscent of Lykken’s sociopathic, neurotic-internalizing and “normal” types. However, boundaries between types were fuzzy and unstable, and many unclassified cases existed. Internal validation was assessed by cross-method verification. External validation assessed type differentiation on several delinquent behaviors. Finally, generalizability was assessed by repeating the clustering on a large replication sample (n = 1,453) from another state. Six of the seven initial types re-emerged.     

Das gefährdete, das gefährliche und das Risiko-Individuum

Der Beitrag zeigt auf, dass Individualisierung kein Phänomen ist, dass erst die gegenwärtige Soziologengeneration thematisiert. Vielmehr lässt sich die Beschäftigung mit der Individualisierung bis zu den Klassikern um die Jahrhundertwende zurückverfolgen. Dabei lassen sich drei Argumentationsstränge unterscheiden, die sich ausgehend von den Klassikern bis in die Gegenwart verfolgen lassen. Der erste Argumentationsstrang reicht von Max Weber über die Kritische Theorie bis Michel Foucault. Diese Richtung fasse ich unter dem Namennegative Individualisierung zusammen; das hier im Mittelpunkt stehende Individuum bezeichne ich alsgefährdetes Individuum. Einer dieser Argumentationslinie entgegengesetzte zweite Richtung bringe ich mit Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons und Niklas Luhmann in Verbindung. Diese zweite Richtung firmiert in meinem Beitrag alspositive Individualisierung, das von ihr behandelte Individuum bezeichne ich alsgefährliches Individuum. Zwischen diesen beiden Richtungen vermittelt gleichsam eine dritte Argumentationslinie, die sowohl Gefährdungen für das Individuum ausmacht und auf Belastungen verweist als auch Chancen und Möglichkeiten für die Individuen betont. Simmel, Elias und Beck stehen in meiner Argumentation für diese Richtung. Diese Linie wird unter dem Namenambivalente Individualisierung vorgestellt; das dort behandelte Individuum alsRisiko-Individuum bezeichnet. Der Beitrag schließt mit einigen Überlegungen zur zukünftigen Erforschung von Individualisierungsprozessen.     

Compassionate conservatives or conservative compassionates? US political parties and bilateral foreign assistance to Africa

Conventional wisdom about US foreign policy towards Africa contains two popular assumptions. First, Democrats are widely considered the party most inclined to care about Africa and the most willing to spend resources on assistance to the continent. Second, the end of the Cold War was widely thought to have led to a gradual disengagement of the US from Africa and reduced American attention toward the continent. This article analyses data on US foreign assistance flows from 1961?–?2000 and finds that neither of these assumptions is true. Rather, we find that the configuration of party control over Congress and the Presidency matters significantly, with aid to Africa substantially reduced when the two branches are in opposition.     

What is the Use of a Human Right to Development? Legal Pluralism, ‘Participation’, and a Tentative Rehabilitation

The human right to development divides academic thought. On the one hand, it is mistrusted as an apology for human rights (and other) abuses. On the other, it remains a central pillar of the UN‐led campaign against poverty. Building on the concept of the right to participate in development framed in the UN General Assembly Declaration of 1986, this article seeks to show that there is some scope for the rehabilitation of that right. It demonstrates how the development discourse has tended to exclude minority and subaltern groups. Drawing on the insights of legal pluralism, it then outlines ways in which, for example, indigenous communities have reasserted some control over the development process, before suggesting how this could lay the basis for the wider rehabilitation of the idea of a human right to development.     

Technikfassaden in hoch-technisierten Unternehmen? Entkopplung bei der Einführung von E-Business in Unternehmen der Automobilzulieferindustrie

In the beginning of the internet age, companies were confronted with sometimes contradictory expectations regarding the use of e-business technologies. Using the concept of decoupling from new institutionalistic organization theory, the article examines under what conditions companies chose a decoupling strategy. In this way, the study aims to expand the empirical knowledge about decoupling processes and contribute to the new institutionalist theory debate on forms and conditions of strategic responses to institutional requirements. On the basis of data collected in 2002, influences on decoupling are analyzed by means of multivariate methods. The findings show that the choice of a decoupling strategy is influenced by external and internal factors as well as by the characteristics of the institutionalized model itself. They support the thesis that institutional constraints are actively processed by actors based on existing structures.     

Not all campaign panels are created equal: Exploring how the number and timing of panel waves affect findings concerning the time of voting decision

This paper addresses the impact of the number and timing of panel waves in campaign panel surveys on findings concerning the prevalence of early, campaign, and late deciding as well as on the determinants of the time of voting decision. Using data from a seven-wave online campaign panel survey conducted during the 2009 German federal election, we demonstrate that the number and timing of panel waves affect results concerning the time of voting decision considerably. Whereas the number and timing of panel waves strongly affect the marginal distribution of decider types they do not impinge heavily upon the determinants of the time of voting decision.