Zeitarbeit — ein Muster für die Arbeits- und Betriebsorganisation der Zukunft?

Vielfach wird Zeitarbeit als Muster für die Arbeits- und Betriebsorganisation der Zukunft gesehen, das heißt, für die Verknüpfung von Flexibilität im Personaleinsatz und von Beschäftigungssicherheit für Zeitarbeitnehmer. Wenngleich diese Beschäftigungsform in Deutschland erst ein Prozent der Beschäftigungsformen ausmacht, lassen sich an ihr, einem Dreiecksverhältnis zwischen Verleih-, Entleihunternehmen und Zeitarbeitnehmer, generelle Entwicklungstendenzen von Arbeit und Betrieb aufzeigen: die Erosion des Normalarbeitsverhältnisses, der Übergang von Arbeitsauf ?Kaufverträge“ von Arbeit, die Hybridisierung von Arbeitsverträgen und die Bearbeitung der Risiken für Unternehmen durch ihre Externalisierung. Damit einher geht ein Wandel der Betriebsorganisation durch horizontale Netzwerke und der Organisationsrolle der Arbeitnehmer durch ?just in time“-Abruf anstelle dauerhafter Inklusion. Entspricht die geforderte Mobilität zwischen Betrieben und Arbeitsorten einem Trend im Lebensstil? Worin bestehen Auswirkungen auf die berufliche, personale und soziale Identität? Ausgehend von theoretischen Überlegungen über die Institution des Normalarbeitsverhältnisses und die Segmentierung von Arbeitsmärkten untersucht der Beitrag diese Fragen auf der Basis europäischer und deutscher Daten zu Diffusion, Struktur und Wirkungen von Zeitarbeit. Die Folgen für das deutsche Modell der Arbeitsorganisation werden mit den Stichworten Hybridisierung, Pfadabhängigkeit und Einpassung in das deutsche Modell zusammengefasst.     

Warum Mittelmaß? Deutschlands Bildungsausgaben im internationalen Vergleich

Ohne Zusammenfassung Der vorliegende Beitrag ist die überarbeitete und erweiterte Fassung der Antrittsvorlesung des Verfassers an der Ruprecht-Karls-Universit?t Heidelberg am 13. Dezember 2001.     

Friedrich Engels and the Origins of German Revisionism: Another Look

The precise nature of Friedrich Engels' theoretical role following Marx's death in 1883 has remained a hotly disputed topic among historians of socialist thought. However, despite their intellectual disagreements, the exponents of various perspectives frequently share a serious interpretive deficiency: the failure to anchor their readings of crucial texts in an analysis of specific political contexts. Situating Engels' later writings—his 1890s Letters on Historical Materialism, and his 1895 Introduction to Marx's The Class Struggles in France —within the dramatically changed political situation in fin de siècle Germany, this essay seeks to recast the entire gestalt of the quarrel over Engels' alleged revisionism by illuminating the historical and political framework that shaped his late Marxism and its theoretical premises.     

A hopeless case?

In a hollow covered with earth, a herb gatherer discovered a severely decomposed corpse mutilated by scavenging animals. Only small areas of the skin had remained intact. A conspicuous tattoo could still be distinguished on the left upper arm. Despite concrete evidence of violence (fracture in the occipital bone, subdural hemorrhage with a volume of 20 ml), the exact cause of death could no longer be established. Police enquiries identified a person in whom such a conspicuous tattoo had been photographed in an earlier criminal case. Eventually, the deceased person could be identified by DNA analysis of a stored blood alcohol specimen. Considered together, the autopsy findings and the results of the investigation of traces of blood on the putative tool used in the crime indicated that the man had been struck dead and the body had afterwards been buried in the wood. Although the prospects of success had been initially slight, it was not only possible to identify the victim, but also to reconstruct the crime.     

Maximizing utility at the polls? A replication of Himmelweit's 'Consumer Model of Voting' with German election data from 1983

Abstract. A rational choice model of voting behaviour suggested by Himmelweit et al. is put to an empirical test in the context of the 1983 West German general election. Compared to the traditional measure of party identification, an indicator based on multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT) considerations fails to be as dominant as in the original British data. However, specific context effects were at work in the German 1983 election. Also, the party identification measure is problematic itself. It is concluded that the MAUT approach deserves further elaboration; several methodological improvements are discussed.     

Distinctiveness of Adolescent and Emerging Adult Romantic Relationship Features in Predicting Externalizing Behavior Problems

Romantic relationship involvement has repeatedly been associated with the incidence of externalizing behavior problems, but little is known about the nature and developmental significance of this relation. The current study extends previous research by investigating whether and through what processes romantic relationships distinctively predict externalizing behavior problems during adolescence compared to emerging adulthood. Data came from the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. As predicted, higher levels of romantic relationship security at 16 years were associated with lower levels of externalizing behavior problems during both adolescence and emerging adulthood, but this inverse relation was stronger for emerging adults than for adolescents. This relation was not attributable either to earlier quality of family and peer relationships or emerging adulthood competence. Thus, security of romantic relationships may become increasingly predictive of individual differences in externalizing behavior problems as individuals move from adolescence to emerging adulthood.

Can tax evasion tame Leviathan governments?

This paper asks to what extent institutional features that facilitate tax evasion may keep Leviathan governments at bay. The specific feature we look at is banking secrecy abroad. The analysis draws on a 16-generation OLG model in which tax rates are determined in a repeated game between voters and a rent-seeking Leviathan government. Key insights are: (1) Effects on any generation alive when change takes place may differ substantially from steady-state effects that accrue for generations yet to be born. (2) There is considerable intergenerational diversity in these effects that is not monotonic as we move from young to old. Combined, these results suggest that the political economy of pertinent institutional change may be quite complex.     

"Natural" death of a person under the care of a custodian

An ambulance service doctor was called to the death of a 76-year-old woman and attested cardiac arrest and psycho-organic brain syndrome as the cause of death on the death certificate. At the second external examination mandatory before cremation, extensive hematomas were detected on the right thorax and multiple haematomas in the face and on the forehead. The autopsy initially ordered by the public health officer revealed serial rib fractures and a fractured skull. After notifying the prosecutor, a forensic autopsy was ordered and death was found to have been caused by fat embolism following massive blunt force to the thorax with serial rib fractures and haematopneumothorax. After that, the adopted son, who had been appointed care custodian for the woman, and his wife were suspected, because they had given contradictory explanations for the injuries. At first, they were only suspected of failure to render assistance, but in the end they were both charged with murder. Only because of the second external examination prescribed by the law still in force could the errors of the improper first external examination be corrected.