The Concealed Information Test is Susceptible to Misleading Information

An approach toward detecting hidden knowledge is the Concealed Information Test (CIT). It relies on the memory of crime‐relevant information. This study investigated whether its validity is susceptible to memory distortion by misleading information. A misleading information paradigm was employed to distort memory prior to an interrogation with a CIT. Forty‐one participants watched a video with specific crime‐related information. After a 1‐week retention interval, misleading information was introduced. Afterward, a CIT was performed, followed by a threefold memory test. When misleading information was presented, memory performance was reduced, and no physiological response differences between crime‐relevant and crime‐irrelevant information were found. Without presenting misleading information, physiological responses differed between responses to crime‐relevant and crime‐irrelevant information. However, responses in all physiological measures also differed between misleading and irrelevant information. The results indicate that the CIT is susceptible to misleading information, which reduces its validity in specific constellations.     

Soziale Gerechtigkeit und die drei Welten des Wohlfahrtskapitalismus

Der Aufsatz verbindet die normative Diskussion über Soziale Gerechtigkeit in der politischen Philosophie mit empirischen Ergebnissen aus der Sozialstaatsforschung. Damit verknüpft er zwei Diskussionsstränge, die bisher meist isoliert voneinander verlaufen sind. Die Argumentation wird über die Beantwortung von vier Fragen entfaltet. Der normativen Frage: welche regulativen Leitideen liefert die Gerechtigkeitsdebatte in der politischen Philosophie? Der handlungstheoretischen Frage: welche Urteilskriterien und Handlungspräferenzen lassen sich für eine gerechtigkeitsorientierte Politik gewinnen? Der empirischen Frage: Wie lassen sich die drei Welten des Wohlfahrtskapitalismus auf dem Hintergrund der hierarchisch geordneten Gerechtigkeitskriterien beurteilen? Sowie schließlich der institutionellen Frage: welche institutionelle Logik eine (notwendig gewordene) Reform des Sozialstaats tragen soll, wenn diese gleichzeitig sozial gerecht sein und eine realistische Aussicht auf ihre Verwirklichung haben soll.     

德国医疗卫生改革：行为体、利益与立法过程分析——以《加强法定医保竞争法》（2007）为例

2007年3月德国《加强法定医保竞争法》（GKV-WSG）出台。本文分析了该法出台前后德国医疗卫生改革所带来的新的行为体格局以及2009年1月1日起生效的改革内容。笔者认为,《加强法定医保竞争法》在多个方面承袭了“渐变”的发展模式,但同时该法也带来了德国医疗卫生体制的深刻变革,尤其在行为体格局方面。因此本文主要探讨实验治理的新形式、对立的利益格局、艰难的谈判进程以及倾向于否决的行为体结构。     

Evolutionarily stable preferences in contests

We define an indirect evolutionary approach formally and apply it to (Tullock) contests. While it is known that the direct evolutionary approach in the form of finite population ESS yields more aggressive behavior than in Nash equilibrium, it is now shown that the indirect evolutionary approach yields the same more aggressive behavior, too. This holds for any population size N, if the evolution of preferences is determined by behavior in two-player contests. The evolutionarily stable preferences (ESP) of the indirect approach turn out to be negatively interdependent, thereby “rationalizing” the more aggressive behavior.     

Towards a broad understanding of innovation and its importance for innovation policy

This paper considers the changes in the concept of innovation during recent decades and the degree to which such changes have been of significance to innovation policy. We observe that: (1) the notion of innovation in research, statistics, and policy is becoming increasingly broad; (2) while this broader notion is conceptually more adequate for understanding the complexity of innovation activity, it also makes it increasingly difficult to gain a clear, unambiguous picture of innovation activity; (3) policy concepts built upon this extended understanding of innovation are becoming more complex in terms of governance capacities, coordination capabilities, and evidence-based policy formulation. The broad perception of innovation will, in fact, require substantial innovations in political and administrative systems to apply.     

Politische Steuerung und akteurzentrierter Institutionalismus

Der vorliegende Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit Aspekten der steuerungstheoretischen Debatte. In traditioneller Hinsicht wurde, insbesondere ausgeprägt in der kontinentaleuropäischen Diskussion, den staatlichen Administrationen eine steuerungspolitische Bedeutung beigemessen. Heute geht es jedoch darum, sich auf die steuerungspolitischen Fähigkeiten zu beziehen, die in grossen gesellschaftlichen Teilsystemen angelegt sind und Überlegungen über die Qualität von "gesellschaftlicher Selbstkoordination und -steuerung" anzustellen. Es zeigt sich ferner, wie bedeutsam die in Verhandlungssystemen (Föderalismus; Europäische Union) angelegten, polyvalenten steuerungspolitischen Potentiale und Instrumente sind.     

Electrospray-ionization MS/MS library of drugs as database for method development and drug identification

An ESI MS/MS library of 800 compounds has been developed and a collection of data is now available for Analyst 1.4 and higher. Compounds include forensically important drugs, such as illegal drugs, some deuterated analogues, hypnotics, amphetamines, benzodiazepines, neuroleptics, antidepressants and many others. For setting up the library of product ion spectra, 20-200 ng of the compounds have been injected either by flow injection or via a short LC-column, the precursor ions were chosen from the Q1 scan spectra, and product ion spectra were generated by CID in the collision cell using three different collision energies (20, 35 and 50 eV). Three spectra of each compound have been collected and compound names, CAS numbers, formulas and molecular weights have been added in the database, which has been generated by the Analyst software. The library can be used for compound identification during general unknown screening analysis by combination of Q1 scan techniques and subsequent MS/MS analysis in a second analytical run. Quantitative procedures for multi drug analysis using Multiple Reaction Monitoring can be established by selection of product ions and suitable collision energies from the library. For publication of the spectra, PDF-files have been generated and can be viewed on-line as supplementary data or from the website in alphabetical order: (supplementary data, should be made available via ELSEVIER-WEBSITE or via ).     

An optional European contract law code: Advantages and disadvantages

Should the EU introduce an Optional European Contract Law Code and what should it look like? By applying economic theories of federalism and regulatory competition (legal federalism), it is shown why an Optional Code would be a very suitable legal instrument within a two-level European System of Contract Laws. By allowing private parties’ choice of law to a certain extent, it can combine the most important advantages of centralisation and decentralisation of competences for legal rules. Through differentiated analyses of three kinds of contract law rules (mandatory substantive rules, mandatory information rules and facilitative law), important conclusions can be reached: which kinds of contract law rules are most suitable to be applied on an optional basis (e.g. facilitative law) and which might be less so (e.g. a core of information regulations). Furthermore a number of additional general conclusions about the design and scope of an Optional EU Code and some conclusions in regard to sales law are derived.