Impacts of anthropogenic and environmental factors on the occurrence of shallow landslides in an alpine catchment (Urseren Valley, Switzerland)

Changes in climate and land use pose a risk to stability of alpine soils, but the direction and magnitude of the impact is still discussed controversially with respect to the various alpine regions. In this study, we explicitly consider the influence of dynamic human-induced changes on the occurrence of landslides in addition to natural factors. Our hypothesis was that if changes in land use and climate have a significant influence on the occurrence of landslides we would see a trend in the incidence of landslides over time. We chose the Urseren Valley in the Central Swiss Alps as investigation site because the valley is dramatically affected by landslides and the land use history is well documented. Maps of several environmental factors were used to analyse the spatial landslide pattern. In order to explain the causation of the temporal variation, time-series (45 years) of precipitation characteristics, cattle stocking and pasture maps were compared to a series of seven landslide investigation maps between 1959 and 2004. We found that the area affected by landslides increased by 92% from 1959 to 2004. Even though catchment characteristics like geology and slope largely explain the spatial variation in landslide susceptibility (68%), this cannot explain the temporal trend in landslide activity. The increase in stocking numbers and the increased intensity of torrential rain events had most likely an influence on landslide incidence. In addition, our data and interviews with farmers pointed to the importance of management practice

Wage Differentials, Fairness, and Social Comparison: An experimental study of the Co-Employment of Permanent and Temporary Agency Workers†

Recent experimental literature in labor economics shows that fairness concerns make a substantial difference for working decisions. Our study systematically explores how the existence of multiple fairness foci influences wage setting and acceptance thresholds. Particularly, we focus on the effect of horizontal fairness concerns, i.e., the wage comparison among employees. For our experiment, we use an institutional design of wage negotiations among employers, employees and temporary agency workers. Working agencies hire these workers and rent them out to firms. Thereby, we create a heterogeneous background of the labour force. Although temporary agency workers do the same work, typically, they receive lower wages due to the intermediate agency. The results of our laboratory experiments indicate that the availability of information concerning co-employee’s wage offers strongly influences the wage set and participants’ acceptance of contracts. Whereas the relation of average wages is not influenced by the order of the decisions, the absolute level of wages is dependent on the decisions. We find that temporary agency workers who decide on a wage offer after permanent employees receive a premium in addition to their wages, while permanent employees take a cut in wages if they get their wage offer after temporary workers have decided on their offers. These results are more influenced by self-regarding social comparison preferences than by other-regarding horizontal fairness concerns.Experimental economics, horizontal fairness norms, labour economics, social preferences, vertical fairness norms

The International Regulation Of Maternity Leave: Leave Duration, Predictability, And Employer-Co-financed Maternity Pay

Provisions for maternity leave are common among industrialized countries, but their institutional design varies distinctly from country to country. In this paper we analyze the costs of maternity leave legislation in the US, Germany, Denmark and the UK by comparing the legal provisions on leave durations and on employer-co-financed maternity pay. We argue that the costs of re-organi­zation in response to maternity leave will not simply increase with its duration, but will instead be hump-shaped displaying a maximum at medium-leave durations. More than its expected duration, however, the predictability of leave duration will influence the costs of re-organization. Employer co-financed maternity pay further adds to these costs. Following our theoretical analysis, we re­view the existing empirical literature on maternity leave: While existing surveys among employers and working mothers are in line with our theoretical considerations, the mixed evidence presented in the existing econometric studies concerning the effect of leave duration on female wages and la­bor force participation may result from having excluded the issue of predictability of leave dura­tion as well as the question of co-financed maternity pay. We close with (tentative) conclusions for the design of maternity leave provisions, which are currently being discussed and revised in many countries around the world

Die Sicherung von Humankapitalinvestitionen über Rückzahlungsklauseln : Ergebnisse einer empirischen Untersuchung (The safeguarding of human capital investments via repayment clauses : results of an empirical study)

"Employer-funded investments in human capital are associated with risks for firms which are difficult to calculate and which result from the unsecured binding to the firm of the employees in question. From a theoretical point of view the employer-side funding of investments in general or transferable human capital can be a rational strategy of the employers if repayment clauses are used at the same time. This can be derived on the basis of a human capital theory approach which is augmented by risk and incentive aspects. A survey conducted among just under 330 firms in various sectors proves that repayment clauses are clearly preferred to employees sharing the costs. According to the results of the logistic regression models, the employer's investment risk plays a key role in this respect. Cost-sharing by the employees in the form of direct monetary integration or the use of leisure time are in some cases used complementary to repayment clauses at firm level. Furthermore great differences in use between the sectors become apparent. Repayment clauses are very common in the financial intermediation sector and in commerce. Future theoretical and empirical research work should take into account employment system effects and processes institutionalising certain personnel-policy practices more intensively than has been the case to date in order to be able to record in a more differentiated form the possible effects of the personnel-policy instruments in the particular concrete (personnel management and industry-specific) environment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))betriebliche Weiterbildung, Bildungsinvestitionen, Selbstbeteiligung, Personalpolitik, Bildungsfinanzierung

Summertime elemental mercury exchange of temperate grasslands on an ecosystem-scale

In order to estimate the air-surface mercury exchange of grasslands in temperate climate regions, fluxes of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) were measured at two sites in Switzerland and one in Austria during summer 2006. Two classic micrometeorological methods (aerodynamic and modified Bowen ratio) have been applied to estimate net GEM exchange rates and to determine the response of the GEM flux to changes in environmental conditions (e. g. heavy rain, summer ozone) on an ecosystem-scale. Both methods proved to be appropriate to estimate fluxes on time scales of a few hours and longer. Average dry deposition rates up to 4.3 ng m(-2) h(-1) and mean deposition velocities up to 0.10 cm s(-1) were measured, which indicates that during the active vegetation period temperate grasslands are a small net sink for atmospheric mercury. With increasing ozone concentrations depletion of GEM was observed, but could not be quantified from the flux signal. Night-time deposition fluxes of GEM were measured and seem to be the result of mercury co-deposition with condensing water. Effects of grass cuts could also be observed, but were of minor magnitude

Die Neugestaltung der Finanzierung des Mutterschutzes - ein Kommentar zum Mutterschutz-Urteil des Bundesverfassungsgerichtes

Das Urteil des Bundesverfassungsgerichtes verpflichtet den Gesetzgeber, bis Ende 2005 eine neue Regelung zur Finanzierung der Lohnersatzleistungen während des Mutterschutzes zu erlassen. Das Bundesverfassungsgericht hat in seinem Urteil zwar offen gelassen, welche Finanzierungsvariante der Gesetzgeber wählen sollte. Jedoch wird eine Ausweitung des in Deutschland für Kleinbetriebe mit bis zu 20 Mitarbeitern bereits praktizierten Umlageverfahrens U2 auf alle Betriebe in die Diskussion gebracht. Prof. Dr. Dorothea Alewell, Universität Jena, und Prof. Dr. Kerstin Pull, Universität Tübingen, kommen zu dem Ergebnis, dass ein Übergang vom individuellen Arbeitgeberzuschuss hin zu einer allgemeinen Umlagefinanzierung bzw. Pflichtversicherung zwar eine Minderung der Benachteiligung von Frauen auf dem Arbeitsmarkt erwarten lässt, die arbeitgeberseitig anfallenden Kosten des Mutterschutzes würden jedoch weiterhin auf den Faktor Arbeit überwälzt (nunmehr auf Männer und Frauen) mit den zu befürchtenden negativen Auswirkungen auf die Beschäftigung. Eine steuerfinanzierte Lösung wäre aus ihrer Sicht deutlich vorzuziehen, weil sie das gesellschaftliche Ziel des Schutzes von Schwangeren und jungen Müttern auf eine breite gesellschaftliche Finanzierungsbasis stellt und dabei zugleich negative Wirkungen auf die Arbeitsmarktposition von Frauen vermeidet.Mutterschutz, Finanzierung, Umlageverfahren, Lohnersatzleistungen, Beschäftigung, Deutschland

Total bacterial number concentration in free tropospheric air above the Alps

Over a period from June to October 2010, we carried out four short campaigns on the northern alpine ridge (High Altitude Research Station Jungfraujoch, 3,450m above sea level) to determine bacterial number concentrations by collecting aerosol with liquid impingers, followed by filtration, fluorescent staining and counting with a microscope. Impinger liquid was also subjected to drop freeze tests to determine the number of ice nucleators. Parallel measurements of 222Rn enabled us to distinguish air masses with no, or little, recent land surface contact (free troposphere, 222Rn≤0.50Bqm−3) from air masses influenced by recent contact with land surface (222Rn>0.50Bqm−3). In free tropospheric air, concentration of total bacteria was on average 3.4×104cellsm−3 (SD=0.8×104cellsm−3). When wind conditions preceding sampling were calm, or when the station was in clouds during sampling, there was no detectable difference in bacterial number concentrations between free tropospheric air and air influenced by recent land surface contact. One campaign was preceded by a storm. Here, recent land surface contact had enriched the air in bacterial cells (up to 7.5×104cellsm−3). Very few of these bacteria may act as ice nucleators in clouds. The median ratio of ice nucleators to the number of bacterial cells in our study was 1.0×10−5. We conclude that injection of bacterial cells into the free troposphere is an intermittent process. Conditions controlling the release of bacteria into near surface air are probably more of a limiting factor than vertical transport and mixing of near surface air into the free tropospher

Human Resource Management Systems: A Structured Review of Research Contributions and Open Questions

"Against the backdrop of a long standing research tradition on the topic of HRM systems, several prominent lines of research have been developed that offer central contributions to different aspects, questions and levels of HRM systems. Due to the fact that the established conceptual and empirical approaches to HRM systems differ with respect to their levels of analysis, questions posed and methods used, the field is characterized by more or less heterogeneous contributions and no clear overall structure. However, two central perspectives in the field of HRM systems research can be identified: A content-oriented approach and a process- oriented approach. In order to connect these perspectives, we develop a set of criteria to analyze and compare systematically content-oriented research contributions in HRM systems research in terms of content-oriented as well as process-oriented aspects. On the one hand, we contribute a structured overview and systematic comparison of many different theoretical and conceptual approaches to HRM systems research, thus making it easier to access this dynamic field of research for scholars, practitioners and students. On the other hand, we derive implications for the better foundation and design of empirical studies, and thus we contribute to the fostering of empirical research about HRM systems." (author's abstract)"Vor dem Hintergrund einer langen Forschungstradition zum Thema „Betriebliche Beschäftigungssysteme“ bzw. „HRM systems“ haben sich zahlreiche Forschungsansätze entwickelt, die Erklärungsbeiträge zu verschiedenen Aspekten, Fragen und Ebenen von betrieblichen Beschäftigungssystemen leisten. Da sich die konzeptionellen Ansätze jedoch hinsichtlich der gestellten Forschungsfragen, der angewendeten Methoden sowie der Analyseebenen erheblich unterscheiden, weist das Forschungsfeld einen sehr heterogenen Charakter auf. Dabei können zwei zentrale Forschungsstränge identifiziert werden: Ein inhaltsorientierter und ein prozess-orientierter Ansatz. Der zentrale Beitrag dieses Artikels liegt in einem systematischen Überblick und Vergleich der verschiedenen theoretischen Ansätze zu HRM Systemen, der sowohl Forschern und Praktikern als auch Studenten den Zugang zu diesem dynamischen Forschungsgebiet erleichtern soll. Zu diesem Zweck werden auf Basis eines systematisch entwickelten Kriteriensets zentrale Ansätze sowohl anhand von inhalts- als auch von prozess-orientierten Aspekten analysiert und verglichen. Ferner werden zentrale Implikationen als Ausgangspunkt für eine bessere theoretische Fundierung und Gestaltung zukünftiger empirischer Studien zu HRM Systemen abgeleitet." (Autorenreferat