Politischer Personalismus in Deutschland

Verwaltungsstäbe waren bislang Gegenstand von Analysen diktatorialer Regime oder Demokratien mit schwacher Parteienstruktur (USA). Der Beitrag versucht den Weber’schen Typus der Verwaltungsstäbe auf das politische System der Bundesrepublik am Beispiel des sog. Systems Kohl auszuweiten. Im Mittelpunkt steht das SpannungsVerhältnis von Personalisierung und Institutionalisierung. Die These ist, dass hoch bürokratisierte Staatsapparate und Massenparteien in parlamentarischen Systemen der Öffnung von Willkürräumen für den Kanzler und Parteiführer nicht widersprechen. Es erfolgt eine Art Zweiteilung, die Erledigung des politischen Routinegeschäfts wird durch die Regelorganisation der Regierung bzw. Partei geleistet, gleichzeitig erfolgt eine Auslagerung politisch wichtiger Sachverhalte aus der Regelstruktur heraus in personalistisch kontrollierte Einzelkontakte. Deren Steuerung erfolgt über einen dezidierten personalistischen Machtanspruch. Als wichtigste Merkmale werden Verparteilichung, Personalisierung, die ?politische Tischgemeinschaft“, Verpfründung und ?Bimbes“ behandelt.     

Identification and characterization of JWH-122 used as new ingredient in "Spice-like" herbal incenses

This preliminary communication describes seven babies with β-amyloid precursor protein (βAPP) positive axonal swellings in nerve roots at multiple levels of the spinal cord. All seven babies died of natural causes. Two died in utero providing evidence for nerve root injury in the absence of trauma, two died within one day of birth and the possibility of birth related injury has to be considered. Three babies were over one month of age and had no history or pathological evidence of trauma. These findings show that if axonal injury is carefully sought in every infant death, not just in babies where trauma is suspected, it will be found in a proportion of babies dying from natural diseases. While spinal nerve root axonal injury in infants may suggest trauma, it is not, in itself, diagnostic of trauma.     

Fitness to drive in spite (because) of THC

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by a lack of concentration and/or an altered activation level. People with ADHD are found to violate traffic regulations, to commit criminal offences and to be involved in traffic accidents more often than the statistical norm. Furthermore, they show more deviant behaviour and have an increased co-morbidity regarding substance abuse and dependence. Hence, this disorder is of some forensic importance. The purpose of this case study is to demonstrate that in some cases people with ADHD may show unusual effects after the consumption of THC. A 28-year-old male, who showed abnormal behaviour and seemed to be significantly maladjusted and inattentive while sober, appeared to be completely normal with a very high plasma level of THC. Performance tests conducted with the test batteries ART2020 and TAP provided average and partly above-average results in functions related to driving. Thus, it has to be taken into account that in persons with ADHD THC may have atypical and even performance-enhancing effects.     

Visualization of bridging veins by means of postmortem computed tomography

At autopsy, visualization of lesions of the bridging veins, a frequent source of subdural bleeding, is difficult due to their anatomical localization. On the other hand their demonstration is of great importance for the assignment to a chronologically defined trauma. For this reason a postmortem method using computed tomography was developed to visualize the intracranial venous system by means of X-ray contrast media. In subdural bleedings, in which the skull had not been opened up, ruptured vessels could be accurately localized with this method, so that targeted dissection was possible during the subsequent autopsy.     

The prisoner's dilemma: Theory and reality

The prisoner's dilemma has become the classic example of a situation in which the process of cooperation itself produces incentives to not cooperate. An implication of the dilemma is that the prosecutor can obtain leverage in cases involving codefendants not available in other cases, by exchanging a prospect of reduction in sentence by way of plea bargaining in return for information or testimony against other codefendants. The prisoner's dilemma is described, previous analyses of the dilemma are reviewed, and then the implication stated above is tested against available data. For a cohort of defendants in robbery cases, it is found that neither the plea rate, conviction rate, nor incarceration rate is significantly higher in cases involving codefendants than in other cases.     

Changes in Discrepancies Between Desired and Present States of Developmental Tasks in Adolescence: A 4-Process Model

Individuals direct their own development by setting developmental goals and striving for goal attainment. Human development includes reductions in discrepancies between desired and actual states, as is the case in goal attainment and reduction of aspirations, as well as increases of discrepancies, for example, when individuals increase their aspirations or face setbacks. The present study analyzed how ways of changing discrepancies between desired and actual states of solving developmental tasks relate to changes in adolescents' self-esteem across a 2-year period. With regard to discrepancy-reducing processes we found that increases in goal attainment were associated with increased self-esteem whereas reductions of aspirations were not systematically associated with self-esteem change. With regard to discrepancy-producing processes, diminishing of the present state was consistently associated with declines in self-esteem, whereas increases in aspirations showed inconsistent associations with self-esteem changes. The results indicate similarities and differences between developmental regulation in adolescence and adulthood.