Soziotechnischer Wandel als graduelle Transformation

Processes of socio-technical change that are triggered by new technological opportunities do not occur as radical fractures over short periods of time, which then quickly lead to new periods of technological, institutional and organizational continuity. What appears to be radical socio-technical change is in fact the result of longer search and restructuring processes that are influenced by a number of related technological and socio-economic changes. Once these changes accumulate they lead to substantial adjustments within the technological, institutional and (inter-)organizational foundations of society, the economy or other sectors. How can an analysis of processes of both radical and gradual change be introduced? What modes are involved in their occurrence, which patterns do they follow and what variations do they assume? Against the background of technology-driven change within economic sectors, this paper develops a concept of gradual socio-technical transformation. This concept can be used to analyze and structure multi-phased, often erratic and non-linear processes of socio-technical change that only over time evolve into substantial sectoral adjustments.     

Pathos and Patina: The Failure and Promise of Constitutionalism in the European Imagination

Legal studies react to the Union's social legitimacy deficit either by funnelling the problem to empirical sociology (accompanied by the familiar call for more transparency and democracy), or by ignoring it altogether. This article argues that the crisis in social acceptance can be traced back to the texture of EU law. Law is more than a body of rules: it is a social practice, a structure of meaning, and a system of beliefs. In this light, national law has a richly textured fabric of cultural resources to rely on, which makes it 'ours'. In contrast, EU law embodies the fluid surface of consumer identity and appears less 'ours'. The Union's counter–measures—adding pathos and patina to neutralise our distrust—have proven unsuccessful. Neither will a new written Constitution be particularly helpful. The way out, rather, is coming to terms with the market citizen, rather than believing in, and forcing upon the consumer, stories of shared values and historically situated commonality.     

The endogenous public choice theorist

Public choice theory has effectively explored defects in collective action and political processes. However, little attention has been given to the fact that any recommendations as to how to improve the situation can only be realized on the basis of precisely those defective institutions. What turns up here can be identified as a problem of self-reference. Normative contributions by Buchanan and Hayek may serve as an example. In order to clear up the seemingly paradoxical situation, “endogenization” of the public choice theorist within an extended theory is suggested. A straight-forward extension is briefly outlined.     

Tongue bite injuries--a diagnostic criterium for death in epileptic seizure?

Bite marks of the tongue are often associated with epileptic seizures, although information about the real frequency of bite marks of the tongue is hard to find. This is also true for their presence in deaths of epileptics or in deaths in general. The purpose of this investigation was to analyze the frequency of bite marks of the tongue in deaths of epileptics in comparison to a control group. Further points of interest were the spectrum of the causes of death recorded, toxicological data as well as the presence and localization of external head injuries. The study group consisted of 105 individuals with a known history of epilepsy, the control group of 107 individuals with sudden cardiac death. Autopsy reports were analyzed retrospectively. In the first group bite marks of the tongue were seen in 21% (in the subgroup "observed death during seizure" even in 64%) and were thus significantly more frequent than in the control group (2%). In 35 cases of the study material an unnatural manner of death was found (trauma, especially craniocerebral trauma, drowning, asphyxia, intoxication) and in 70 cases a natural death was assumed. However, in 41 of these the exact cause of death was not ascertainable. According to the SUDEP criteria (Ficker 2000, Nilsson 1999) 29 of these cases could be categorized as possible or probable SUDEP (sudden unexpected death in epilepsy) with 17 showing bite marks of the tongue. The fact that half of the remaining 12 cases showed bite marks of the tongue suggests at least for these cases that death occurred during the seizure. Head injuries were reported in 41% of the epilepsy group--in the subgroup "observed death during seizure" in 73%. Our investigation did not produce evidence for a higher frequency of bite marks of the tongue in cases in which resuscitation had been attempted. In our experience the presence of fresh bite marks of the tongue--according to histological findings--is a useful signs for the assignment of death to an epileptic seizure and especially for death during acute convulsion.     

Criminal poisoning of commuters in Bangladesh: prospective and retrospective study

Travel-related poisoning is an emerging social and public health emergency in Bangladesh but its cause and significance have not been determined. To investigate this syndrome we performed a prospective clinical study and retrospective analysis of hospital records in a general medicine unit of a public tertiary care teaching hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh, using toxicological analysis by fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) and liquid chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-TOF MS). The participants of the prospective study were 130 consecutive patients aged 16-80 years who were admitted with central nervous system depression (Glasgow Coma Score 3-14) after using public transportation, in the absence of other abnormalities, from January through June 2004, and a convenience sample of 15 such patients admitted during 3 days in May 2006. In 2004-2006, travel-related poisoning increased from 6.1 to 9.5% of all admissions (210-309 of 3266-3843 per year), representing 46.6-55.7% of all admitted poisoning cases. Incidents were associated with bus (76%), taxi, train, and air travel, or local markets; 98% of patients remembered buying or accepting food or drinks before losing consciousness. Direct financial damage (missing property) was diverse and frequently existential. Among 94 urine samples analyzed by FPIA, 74% tested positive for benzodiazepines. Among 15 urine samples analyzed by LC-TOF MS, lorazepam was detected in all; five also contained diazepam or metabolites; nitrazepam was present in three. FPIA results obtained for these 15 samples were below the recommended cut-off in eight (53%; lorazepam only). Our findings show that the massive medicosocial emergency of travel-related poisoning in Bangladesh is the result of drug-facilitated organized crime and that benzodiazepine drugs are used to commit these crimes, suggesting modifications to the local emergency management of the victims of this type of poisoning. They also highlight the need for more research in the neglected field of acute poisoning in Bangladesh, and for criminal investigations of the use of benzodiazepine drugs in this country.     

On the rationale of leniency programs: a game-theoretical analysis

In order to enhance the enforcement of Antitrust Law, leniency policies were introduced in nearly all industrialized countries. These programs aim at deterring and eliminating cartels. In this paper we analyze the rationale of the current European and German leniency regulation. We challenge the contemporary view that the standard leniency privilege is incentive-compatible with respect to its aim to enhance competition. Instead, we argue for it to be used as a preemptive strike against competitors under circumstances where cartels become unstable. This implies a tightening of markets in subsequent periods and, thus, a potential reduction in competition intensity. Given strategic reasoning by agents, the principal witness may assure an economically privileged position in the future. This consequence might not be intended by the bonus regulations. Nevertheless if the leniency policies lead to more competition in the market the results should be welcomed by the national cartel offices. We give anecdotal evidence of the German cement case and base our arguments on a game-theoretical model.

Eating Regulation Styles, Appearance Schemas, and Body Satisfaction Predict Changes in Body Fat for Emerging Adults

Obesity and high body fat percentages are a major public health issue. The percentage of obese and overweight Americans has increased over the past 30 years. On average, overweight individuals with higher percent body fat than normal weight individuals are at increased risk for numerous negative outcomes both physically and mentally. A prime time to investigate changes in body composition and associated psychological influences on decision making is during the emerging adulthood period. The first few years of college are a time when adolescents begin to regulate for themselves their own eating behaviors. Previous research shows that freshmen gain weight and increase in percent body fat during their first year of college. The current study addresses the limitations of previous research by investigating (1) individual growth in percent body fat over a longer period of time in college than previous available research and (2) important psychological and sex differences in this growth. This study measures percent body fat across the first 3 years of college at 8 time points for 542 undergraduates (351 females, 65 %; 191 males, 35 %). Longitudinal data analysis was conducted to identify changes in percent body fat, psychological predictors of those changes, and how changes differ for males and females. Our study found that significant increases exist in percent body fat during undergraduates' college years and that change differs for males and females. In addition, through the use of nested hierarchical models, eating regulation style (autonomous or controlled regulation), appearance schema (self-evaluative salience or motivational salience), and body satisfaction were identified as influential predictors of change in percent body fat. For example, young females, who do not feel in control of their physical appearance yet spend a great deal of time maintaining their appearance, have the highest initial body fat percentage and the steepest increase in percent body fat. Overall, males and females with high autonomous regulation and high motivational salience are likely to maintain (instead of increase) percent body fat over the college years. Knowing the influence of these predictors can be useful for promoting health and intervening with young adults in the college setting and other emerging adults who are not enrolled in postsecondary institutions.     

Does transformational leadership stimulate user orientation? Evidence from a field experiment

While doing good for specific citizens and users is often considered a powerful motivator among public service employees, little research has rigorously evaluated how public managers can promote individualized prosocial motivation. We follow recent studies on the behavioural implications of ‘user orientation’ to explore how public managers can use a specific leadership strategy—transformational leadership—to reinforce employees' individualized prosocial motivation. Combining a field experiment with 80 childcare centre managers and survey reports from their 590 preschool teachers, we assess the effect of a transformational leadership training programme on user orientation. The results show a positive effect on user orientation three months after the training programme but no persistent effect 15 months after the intervention. This implies that, at least in the short term, public managers can use transformational leadership behaviours to stimulate user orientation.