Foreign Direct Investment in China: Determinants and Effects

This paper attempts to assess the determinants of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in China and its effects on the whole economy. After presenting the main theoretical contributions and the previous works done about China’s inward-FDI, an empirical study has been implemented extending the previous ones with a different data set (more recent) and with different methodologies. The traditional determinants of FDI seem to be relevant for China: domestic market size, cost advantages and openness to the rest of the world. Concerning the consequences of FDI on the Chinese economy, our empirical evidence supports the view that FDI affects China’s growth through the diffusion of ideas. Through the introduction of new ideas, multinational firms develop technical progress and hence long-run economic growth. The transmission of ideas seems to have had a positive effect on the Chinese growth.     

Wandel von Arbeit — Chancen für Frauen?

Der Artikel greift aktuelle Debatten zum Wandel der (Erwerbs-)Arbeit auf. Aus einer gesellschafts- und geschlechterpolitischen Perspektive werden Problemakzentuierungen vorgenommen und Interpretationsangebote unterbreitet. Dies betrifft zunächst die Veränderungsprozesse auf der makrosozialen Ebene, die als ?Umbruch der gesellschaftlichen Betriebsweise“ gedeutet werden. Die Veränderungen auf der Unternehmensebene (?Vermarktlichung“) und auf der Ebene des Subjekts (?Subjektivierung“, ?Arbeitskraftunternehmer“) werden mit gleichstellungs- und geschlechterpolitischen Positionen konfrontiert und mit der Frage verknüpft, ob der arbeitspolitische Umbruch auf eine neue Qualität von Arbeit und Leben hinweist.     

Berufliche Bildung. Der deutsche Sonderweg und die Geschlechterfrage

Die Übergangswege von der Schule in den Beruf in der Bundesrepublik sind als spezifischer nationaler Sonderweg in Europa nicht unumstritten. Sie verleihen der beruflichen Bildung Gestaltungsbedeutsamkeit für horizontale und vertikale Schließungen auf dem Arbeitsmarkt, sichern berufsspezifische Qualifikationsprofile und gelten als Baustein der Existenzsicherung und Sozialisation des Humankapitals von morgen. In diese Übergangswege sind zugleich Geschlechterverhältnisse eingelagert, die männliche und weibliche Lebensläufe sehr viel stärker rahmen, als dies im europäischen Ausland der Fall ist. Der Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit Herkunft, Folgen und Bedeutung dieser Rahmungen unter dem Gesichtspunkt von Geschlecht als gesellschaftlicher Strukturkategorie. Ziel ist es, sowohl den Zusammenhang zwischen historisch verfestigten Weichenstellungen und normativen Postulaten der Gleichstellung zwischen den Geschlechtern als auch zwischen männlich und weiblich konnotierten Berufen aufzuklären. Dazu werden berufs- und bildungssoziologische Betrachtungen der sozialstrukturellen Zementierung/Labilisierung von Berufen zwischen An-/Ungelerntentätigkeit und Profession ebenso betrachtet wie die Verbindungslinien zwischen Erstausbildung und späteren Entscheidungen in der Familien- und Erwerbsgestaltung zwischen den Geschlechtern.     

Blaming the victim: Belief in control or belief in justice?

The attribution of responsibility to victims of bad fate (“blaming the victim”) is discussed under the perspective of Just World Theory (Lerner, 1980) and the Defensive Attribution Hypothesis (Walster, 1966; Shaver, 1970). Whereas Just World Theory suggests that the belief in a just world is the decisive motive of increased attributions of responsibility, the Defensive Attribution Hypothesis assumes that these attributions are motivated by the need to believe in internal locus of control. Research evidence shows both motives as conceptually linked and empirically correlated. The central question is whether belief in a just world and belief in internal control are facets of the same latent variable or empirically distinguishable constructs, and whether they contribute independently to attributions of responsibility and blame to victims of misfortune. Results of a questionnaire study assessing opinions about cancer and cancer victims are reported. There is evidence from factor analyses that the two motives are indeed distinguishable constructs. The correlation patterns and the results of multiple regression analyses show that both motives are meaningfully related to attributions of responsibility. Moreover, it is suggested that belief in a just world is not a homogeneous construct. Belief in immanent justice according to which present misfortune is seen as a consequence of prior faults and sins is differentiated from belief in ultimate justice according to which one can be sure that present misfortune will be compensated in the long run. Whereas belief in immanent justice is the most important predictor for attributions of responsibility, the suggested emotional consequences of such attributions, like belief in invulnerability or confidence in coping, can be predicted by belief in internal control and belief in ultimate justice. Finally, suggestions are made to extend Just World Theory to clarify the function of justice motives in the person's search for meaning in his or her life.     

Sudden natural death 'at the wheel': a retrospective study over a 15-year time period (1982-1996).

In order to investigate the incidence and implications of sudden natural death at the wheel, a retrospective study was carried out over a 15-year time period ranging from 1982 until 1996. During this time period 147 drivers of motor vehicles were found out of 34,554 cases examined at the Institute of Legal Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany. There were 13 females and 134 males and the mean age was 56.8 years (range 20-86 years). The main cause of death was ischemic heart disease which was found in 113 cases. There were mainly minor injuries to the driver, or to other passengers, or to other road users and only minor property damage. Our study confirms previous investigations that sudden natural death at the wheel is a rare event in proportion to unnatural death at the wheel and is not a substantial threat to other road users. Despite existing guidelines for granting a driving licence, medical screening to exclude high risk patients from driving cannot prevent the occurrence of sudden natural death at the wheel.     

Unexpected death in persons with symptomatic epilepsy due to glial brain tumors: a report of two cases and review of the literature.

Two cases of unexpected death in persons with epileptic seizures due to a brain tumor are presented which encompassed an astrocytoma WHO grade II and an anaplastic astrocytoma WHO grade III. A 35-year-old man was found somnolent and disoriented at home. A computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a tumor of the right frontal lobe suggestive for an oligodendroglioma. During an angiographic examination the patient experienced an epileptic seizure. Some weeks later, the man was found dead in front of his house with a fresh bite mark of the tongue. Neuropathological examination revealed an astrocytoma WHO grade II of the right frontal lobe. A 47-year-old man plunged into a swimming-pool and was found submerged some minutes later. After resuscitation he survived comatose for 8 days but finally died due to severe hypoxic brain damage. He had been operated on a brain tumor of the temporal lobe 1 year before the accident. Neuropathological examination revealed residual tumor tissue at the operation site corresponding to an anaplastic astrocytoma WHO grade III. Although rare, death in persons with epileptic seizures due to brain tumors is an important mechanism of death encountered by the forensic pathologist.     

Analysis of psilocybin and psilocin in Psilocybe subcubensis Guzmán by ion mobility spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A new method has been developed for the rapid analysis of psilocybin and/or psilocin in fungus material using ion mobility spectrometry. Quantitative analysis was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry after a simple one-step extraction involving homogenization of the dried fruit bodies of fungi in chloroform and derivatization with MSTFA. The proposed methods resulted in rapid procedures useful in analyzing psychotropic fungi for psilocybin and psilocin.     

Juvenile Justice and the 'Shift to the Left'

The notion of 'shift' is used as a symbol for procedure in criminal cases, understood as a sequence of legal interferences by the police, the prosecution and by proceedings in court. If this sequence is symbolised by a horizontal line, the procedural stages move from left to right. But the distribution of competences has recently lost its prior balance, due to 'modern' crime and society: The functions of the judge appear reduced, whereas the range of action of the prosecution has widened; also the police has gained more influence. On the symbolic line of procedural stages this all makes for a 'shift to the left'. This paper deals with the question as to whether juvenile justice is undergoing the same changes. The first answer is 'yes', based on the enlarged diversionary competence of prosecutors and the police. From a different perspective, however, juvenile offending is a 'natural' phenomenon connected with young age, which a priori places juvenile justice on a 'left' position of the imagined line. A plea is made for this juvenile justice to stick to its inherent concern for young offenders individually and not to sacrifice this to collective interests in public order and safety.