Zwischen pragmatischem Verstehen und theoretischen Perspektiven. Politikwissenschaftliche Forschung zur Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Since 1949 we have witnessed paradigmatic changes in political science research concerning the field of German politics. The focus of this article is on the most important political institutions in Germany: Federal President, Federal Government, Federal Parliament, Bundesrat (quasi second chamber)/federalism and Federal Constitutional Court. German political science has produced an impressive number of publications on the German political system with a wide range of approaches and of high quality. What is to some extent lacking, however, is an innovative combination of the improved knowledge created with regard to the functioning of institutions in Germany on the one hand and of middle-range theories of political science on the other, especially of theories developed in international and comparative discourses.     

The determination of drugs of abuse in whole blood by means of FPIA and EMIT-dau immunoassays--a comparative study

Six groups of common drugs of abuse (cannabinoids, benzoylecgonine, opiates, barbiturates, benzodiazepines and amphetamines) were determined in whole blood after acetone precipitation, using enzyme multiplied immunoassay (EMIT dau) and fluorescence polarisation immunoassay (FPIA--Abbott TDx and ADx) methods. Both methods, designed primarily for urine, allowed the determination of all above mentioned class of drugs but amphetamine. Only 1 ml of a pre- or postmortem blood sample was needed. The sensitivity of cannabinoids determination was higher by FPIA. The FPIA method gave more precise results, particularly in the case of autopsy blood. The method was applied for drug screening in autopsy and police blood samples. The results (both positive and negative) were in agreement with those obtained with chromatographic methods.     

Suicide with chloroquine combined with maprotiline and trimipramine]

Report on suicide with chloroquine in combination with maprotiline and trimipramine. Chloroquine and his metabolite monodesethylchloroquine could be determined in organs and body fluids. The highest organ-concentrations of chloroquine were found in liver and kidney. The survival time and dose are discussed.     

Literatur

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

The Black-White Test Score Gap Through Third Grade

This article describes basic facts regarding the Black-Whitetest score gap over the first four years of school. Black childrenenter school substantially behind their White counterparts inreading and math, but including a small number of covariateserases the gap. Over the first four years of school, however,Blacks lose substantial ground relative to other races; averaging0.10 standard deviations per school year. By the end of thirdgrade, there is a large Black-White test score gap that cannotbe explained by observable characteristics. Blacks are fallingbehind in virtually all categories of skills tested, exceptthe most basic. None of the explanations we examine, includingsystematic differences in school quality across races, convincinglyexplain the divergent academic trajectory of Black students.     

Asian security and China's energy needs

With China's increasing dependence on imports of oil and gas,the Chinese government has been engaged in defining and implementingan energy security policy. This paper examines the implicationsof this policy for the security interests of its regional neighbours.It is certainly plausible to construct alarming and realist-drivenscenarios whereby China's quest for energy security leads tocompetition and regional confrontation. However, this paperargues that the prospect for energy interdependence promotingco-operation and an improved regional environment is an equallyprobable outcome. China's neighbours, and the West more generally,should promote policies that support this more benign outcome.     

Identifying background microbiomes in an evidence recovery laboratory: A preliminary study

16S rRNA profiling of bacterial communities may have forensic utility in the identification or association of individuals involved with criminal activities. Microbial profiling of evidence may, in the future, be performed within environments currently utilised for human DNA recovery, such as a forensic biology laboratory. It would be important to establish the background microbiome of such an environment to determine the potential presence of human or environmental microbial signatures to assist forensic scientists in the appropriate interpretation of target microbial communities. This study sampled various surfaces of an Evidence Recovery Laboratory (ERL) on three occasions including (a) before a monthly deep-clean, (b) immediately following the deep-clean, and (c) immediately after the laboratory’s use by a single participant for the purposes of routine item examinations. Microbial profiles were also generated for the involved participant and researcher for comparison purposes. Additionally, human nuclear DNA was profiled for each of the samples collected, using standard forensic profiling techniques, to provide a prospective link to the presence or absence of a background microbial signature within the ERL after its use. Taxonomic distributions across ERL samples revealed no consistent signature of any of the items sampled over time, however, major phyla noted within all ERL samples across the three timepoints were consistent with those found in human skin microbiomes. PCoA plots based on the Unweighted Unifrac metric revealed some clustering between participant microbial reference samples and surfaces of the ERL after use, suggesting that despite a lack of direct contact, and adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPs) suitable for human DNA recovery, microbiomes may be deposited into a forensic setting over time. The reference samples collected from the involved participant and researcher generated full STR profiles. Human DNA was observed to varying degrees in samples taken from the ERL across each of the sampling timepoints. There was no correlation observed between samples that contained or did not contain detectable quantities of human nuclear DNA and microbial profile outputs.     

Why Does Citizens' Knowledge of New Policy Vary Between Municipalities? The Case of the Social Support Act

Providing information to citizens is an important first step in the implementation of new policy. In this study we explain differences in the knowledge of citizens between municipalities of a newly introduced law in the Netherlands, the Social Support Act, 10 months after it became into force. This law is especially important for older people that need support in their daily functioning and participation. We focused on two aspects of knowledge related to the act, i.e. having heard of the new act, and knowing how voice with regard to policy on support is organised in the place of residence. Given that socialist local governments focus more on social topics than liberal local governments, we expected citizens of municipalities with socialist councils to have more knowledge about the new Social Support Act. Contrary to our expectations, citizens from municipalities where a liberal party or a collaboration of liberal/socialist parties is the largest, have a better understanding of how voice is organised. On the other hand, citizens in municipalities with an alderman from a combination of liberal/socialist parties have a lower chance of having heard of the Social Support Act. We argue that in view of the Social Support Act, the ideology of a local government related to citizens' responsibilities (liberal view) may have more influence on citizens' knowledge than being a government that pays attention to social issues (socialist view). As far as individual differences between citizens are concerned, as expected, older people that are more educated but in poorer health status have more knowledge about the new act. A higher educational level and an excellent mental health status are related to more knowledge about voice. Educational level is the most powerful predictor for knowledge about the act.     

On party attachment in Western Europe and the utility of eurobarometer data

An analysis of 25 Eurobarometer surveys conducted between 1974 and 1988 in each of the European Community member‐countries shows that there is no single trend discernible throughout Western Europe. Although levels of party attachment are decreasing in most member‐states, four different patterns have emerged, and they closely relate to more general developments in the respective party systems. These patterns are: strong dealignment (Ireland); peripheral dealignment (United Kingdom and Italy); post‐realignment (Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Belgium); and stable alignment (West Germany).