The impact of online media on stakeholder engagement and the governance of corporations

Online tools such as social media provide new opportunities for citizens and stakeholder groups to be informed, identify common interests, express and share opinions and demands, organize, and coordinate interventions. Therefore, the Internet could be expected to increase stakeholder engagement in corporate affairs and facilitate good governance. In order to provide an overview of current findings on the impact of online media on governance and stakeholder engagement, we conduct a systematic literature review. Our analysis reveals five topical categories of inquiry. We analyze studies from the field of business participation and find a strong bias towards consumer engagement and marketing issues. Only few studies are found to critically explore the effect of online media on power and value distribution between corporations and stakeholders. We then turn to the more established field of political and civic participation in order to further analyze antecedents, forms, and outcomes of online engagement in civic affairs, and derive a framework for future research. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Do Ukrainian Firms Benefit from FDI?

All countries are eager to attract as much foreign direct investments (FDI) as possible. At the same time FDI may have not only positive, but also negative economic effects for receiving countries. Positive effects are associated with technology transfer, efficient allocation of resources, and training of domestic workers. However, the entry of foreign firms could, e.g., lead to a decrease of labor productivity at domestic firms, which is a negative effect. The main purpose of this paper is to estimate direct and indirect effects of FDI. First, we test for direct influence of foreign direct investments on firms’ performance, where the latter is estimated alternatively as labor productivity and as exports. FDI notably increases both labor productivity and export volumes. Second, we look for spillover or indirect effects. There is statistical evidence that the levels of FDI in certain regional industries are associated with higher performance indicators of firms’ not receiving FDI in those same regional industries.     

Y-chromosomal STR haplotypes in Kalmyk population samples

Seventeen Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (STRs), DYS19, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS385ab, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, GATA-H4, DYS448, DYS456, DYS458, DYS635 were typed in DNA samples from the Kalmyk population (n=99). The population is characterized by a high proportion of duplicated DYS19 alleles and deletions of the locus DYS448 on the background of the Central Asian haplogroup C*. AMOVA analysis reveals a close vicinity to Mongolian and Kazakh populations and large genetic distance to geographical neighbours from Russia, Ukraine and the Caucasus.     

From Calculated Cruelty to Casual Violence – The United Nations War Crimes Commission and the Prosecution of Torture and Ill-Treatment

The article looks at the records of both the United Nations War Crimes Commission (UNWCC) and national courts with respect to the post-World War II prosecution of the crimes of torture and ill-treatment. It illustrates how the UNWCC and national courts dealt with the relevant legal questions, applicable laws, crimes at hand, as well as issues of retroactivity and defenses. The article also discusses the UNWCC’s contribution to the development of relevant international law, both in terms of state practice and precedent. Finally, it acknowledges the legacy of the UNWCC and post-World War II prosecutions, which constituted a collaborative effort to bring perpetrators of international crimes to justice.     

Firm performance and privatization in Ukraine

Investigating the effects of privatization in transition countries is the focus of a large body of current research. Generally, privatization stimulates private sector development, attracts foreign direct investment, fosters competition and contributes to the formation of stock markets. In addition, privatization may improve individual enterprises’ performance. This paper investigates the impact of privatization on Ukrainian firms’ productivity. The empirical research is based on a sample of 466 Ukrainian joint-stock enterprises for the period of 1997–1999. Estimation results indicate that privatization positively influences labor productivity, sales and profitability, but also that these effects diminish over time.

Strategische Umweltprüfung für die Offshore-Windenergienutzung – Großräumige Wirkungen und Monitoring – Tagung an der Universität Lüneburg, Professur für Öffentliches Recht, 20.4.2006

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

The Danzig Question in British Foreign Policy, 1918–1920

Among the many and often bitter territorial disputes following the collapse of Germany and Russia in Central and Eastern Europe — to mention only the questions of Vilna, Memel, Teschen, or Lemberg — the problem of the Polish sea access was particularly explosive and became the most vexing territorial problem of the whole conference. This paper examines the question of Danzig and the lower Vistula within the context of contradicting Polish, German and Western, mainly British ambitions and preferences. The author shows that the proclamation of the Free City of Danzig and the creation of the Polish Corridor, dividing Germany into two parts, was a compromise not liked in Warsaw and Berlin and one the British, always fearing fatal repercussions to future stability, only considered to be the lesser choice of evils.     

Jagdrecht von Bund und Ländern – Ausgewählte Bereiche der Landesjagdgesetze Brandenburgs, Mecklenburg-Vorpommerns und Sachsen-Anhalts unter der Lupe

Zusammenfassung  In Bund und L?ndern gibt es insgesamt 17 Jagdgesetze. Dazu kommen zahlreiche Rechtsverordnungen auf Bundes- und Landesebene, mannig faltige naturschutz-, tierschutz- und waffenrechtliche Regelungen, die das Jagdrecht beeinflussen oder aber durch das Jagdrecht selbst beeinflusst werden. Eine solche “Regelungsflut” hat selbstverst?ndlich auch auf die t?gliche Jagdpraxis nicht zu untersch?tzende Auswirkungen. Hierzu ein Beispiel: Ein Revierinhaber bewirtschaftet ein Jagdrevier, dass sich über die Grenzen zweier Bundesl?nder erstreckt. In jedem dieser L?nder gelten unterschiedliche gesetzliche Bestimmungen. Dies kann dazu führen, dass in jedem der zwei L?nder andere Tierarten zu verschiedenen Jahreszeiten bejagt werden dürfen, es kann unterschiedliche Regelungen zu sachlichen Verboten, verschiedenartige Bestimmungen zur Wildfolge und Nachsuche sowie anders geartete Verpflichtungen des Revierinhabers bei t?glichen Arbeiten im Revier (z.B. Jagdliche Einrichtungen, Kirrungen, Fütterungen etc.) geben. Für uns Grund genug, das Jagdrecht des Bundes und der L?nder (hier: Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern und Sachsen-Anhalt) etwas n?her zu beleuchten und anhand weniger beispielhaft herausgegriffener Regelungen, sowohl Unterschiede als auch Gemeinsamkeiten darzustellen. Nach einer kurzen Einleitung zu den Gesetzgebungskompetenzen im Bereich des Jagdwesens (A.), werden schwerpunktartig drei Themengebiete untersucht, die nicht nur für den am Jagdrecht interessierten Leser spannend, sondern auch in der jagdlichen Praxis relevant sind. Zun?chst widmen wir uns den nach Landesrecht jagdbaren Tierarten und ihren Jagd- und Schonzeiten (B.), danach betrachten wir die sog. “befriedeten Bezirke” (C.). Im Anschluss daran nehmen wir die unterschiedlichen L?nderregelungen zu Fütterungen und Kirrungen unter die Lupe (D.). Der Aufsatz endet mit einem Appell an die Legislative und Exekutive (E.).     

Globalization,risk-taking and violence: too much too soon in the late Roman Republic and pre-Renaissance Italian cities

Past research has found that globalization and political violence have been linked in both modern and less modern times. Normally, groups that have been disadvantaged or displaced by globalization are seen as responsible for these outbreaks of violence. In the case of the Late Republic of Rome and medieval Italy before the Renaissance, violence was actually prompted by major increases in wealth among those who benefited when control of the political system became much more valuable. The increased value raised the stakes of political control and underlay the resulting higher levels of violence.