The politics of the invisible: offshore finance and state power. A country-level comparison

Seen from offshore, the shape of the contemporary international economy appears quite different from the conventional view. Some of its most fundamental elements appear bigger – for instance the amount of US dollar created offshore – or smaller – for instance the volume of foreign direct investment – than standard statistics suggest. That is, despite a growing body of research, important elements of the offshore economy remain invisible for researchers and the general public alike. What has become clear, however, is that offshore financial services are a central part of the international economy. They are used by wealthy individuals and corporations regularly and on a large scale. The purpose is to access credit not available onshore, to minimise tax bills, to avoid government regulations and to obscure legally and illegally made fortunes. Against the background of an offshore economy that is large in volume, but small in visibility the dissertation asks: How does offshore finance affect the power of the state to unite resources in order to finance its politics? The inquiry into the power relationship between offshore finance and the state immediately raises questions about the nature of the modern state and the delineation between the offshore and the onshore economy. To avoid getting lost in the theory of the state or impoverishing the analysis by ignoring the concept altogether, I develop an analytical perspective that I call ‘the money view’ on the state by employing Max Weber’s concept of the modern state in combination with Geoffrey Ingham’s notion of sovereign money. The money view considers state power to be a function of the debtor-creditor relationships between the government, taxpayers and financiers. Regarding offshore finance, the thesis starts from the premise that offshore centres are tax havens and international banking hubs reflecting the intrinsic connection between taxation and banking through sovereign money in the onshore economy. Within this analytical frame, the thesis conducts a historical comparison across four cases: Britain, Germany, Mexico and Brazil. For each case, I determine the scope and pattern of the demand for offshore financial services based on international banking statistics and qualitative interviews. The findings are contextualised in a historical institutionalist analysis of taxation and banking in the respective country. These two analytical steps are then combined to determine the effect of offshore finance on state power. The thesis finds that the relationship between offshore finance and state power varies from country to country. Yet, across all cases offshore money creation in the Eurodollar markets is more consequential for the power of the state than is offshore tax planning.Gates Cambridge Trus

Managing Innovation in an Unstable World: Challenges of Global Competition for European Innovative and Proactive Firms

Innovation and marketing strategies adopted by multinational companies in the globalized economy are subject to continuous challenges. Consider EU exporting companies that produce, for example, solar panels. Depending on political elections and the ensuing support for environmental policies (or the lack thereof), their innovative strategy may reveal either extremely successful or futile. The aim of this paper is to explore the conditions under which innovative and proactive companies survive in a global scenario that changes based not only on economic but also on political as well as social factors. This work is licensed under a&nbsp;Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.</p

Learning to build peace? United Nations peacebuilding and organizational learning: developing a research framework: Developing a Research Framework

"While there is an increasing number of articles and studies identifying lessons from the record of UN peacebuilding operations, it is striking how little we know about the UN's very capacity for organizational learning on peacebuilding, and about learning in international organizations in general. This pilot study seeks to lay the foundations for an in-depth investigation of the UN's record on organizational learning. Our study is motivated by both, a research and a policy imperative. On the research front, studying organizational learning within the UN peacebuilding bureaucracy contributes to opening up the 'black box' of international organizations. So far, mainstream work in the discipline of International Relations (IR) has produced surprisingly few studies on the everyday workings of international organizations, let alone their ability to learn. Studying organizational learning calls for an interdisciplinary approach bringing together IR (including peace and conflict studies), public management and the sociology of organizations. This has the potential of advancing conceptual debates within the discipline of IR. The study proceeds in three steps. The first step surveys the relevant literature from different disciplines and concludes that peace research, IR and organization theory do not offer ready-made frameworks for the analysis of organizational learning in international organizations. Building on existing research, we identify key elements of a new framework starting with a definition of the key term, organizational learning: We define organizational learning "as a process of cognitive change through the questioning of the means and/or ends of addressing problems. The process manifests itself in the development and implementation of new rules and routines guiding the organization's actions." In a second step, we survey the evolution of the "infrastructure of learning" in the UN peacebuilding bureaucracy over the past 15 years. We hold that a number of factors (lack of will both within member states and the UN Secretariat as well as the lack of resources and appropriate incentive structures) contributed to the very slow recognition of the UN's learning needs. Major crises (such as the soul-searching after Rwanda and Srebrenica) plus the Brahimi Report in 2000 provided a certain momentum that brought the need to build up the UN's learning capacity higher on the agenda. Still, a lot of work remains to be done. In a third step, we present a list of variables that influence learning that need to be considered in a future in-depth study. This list of factors includes power, organizational culture, leadership, human capital, staff mobility, knowledge management systems, as well as access to external knowledge. Outlining an agenda for future research, we present a draft model of the learning process that includes 1) knowledge acquisition, 2) advocacy/ decision- making, and 3) institutionalization." (excerpt)"Eine zunehmende Anzahl wissenschaftlicher Publikationen hat in den letzten Jahren versucht, Lehren aus der bisherigen Bilanz von UN-Friedensmissionen zu ziehen. Umso überraschender ist es, wie wenig wir über die grundlegende Frage der Lernkapazität der Vereinten Nationen im Hinblick auf Friedensmissionen wissen. Diese Pilotstudie legt die Grundlagen für eine weitergehende Untersuchung institutionellen Lernens in der Peacebuilding-Bürokratie der Vereinten Nationen. Die Studie verfolgt ein doppeltes Ziel. In wissenschaftlicher Hinsicht trägt die Beschäftigung mit Organisationslernen im UN-Sekretariat dazu bei, die 'black box' internationaler Organisationen aufzubrechen und ihr Innenleben als soziale und politische Organisationen zu betrachten - ein Thema, das die Forschung in der Disziplin der Internationalen Beziehungen (IB) bislang weitgehend ignoriert. Organisationslernen als Forschungsgegenstand erfordert einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus den Fächern IB (inkl. Friedens- und Konfliktforschung), Verwaltungswissenschaft und Organisationssoziologie. Damit ist auch die Aussicht verbunden, konzeptionelle Debatten innerhalb der IB voranzubringen. Die Studie ist in drei Schritte gegliedert. Im ersten Schritt erfassen wir die relevante Literatur aus unterschiedlichen Disziplinen und kommen zu dem Schluss, dass weder Friedensforschung noch IB oder Organisationstheorie einen fertigen Forschungsrahmen für die Analyse von Organisationslernen in internationalen Organisationen bieten. Wir müssen also ein eigenes konzeptionelles Gerüst schaffen, zunächst indem wir den Schlüsselbegriff "Organisationslernen" definieren. Darunter verstehen wir 'einen Prozess kognitiven Wandels durch die Infragestellung der Mittel und/ oder Ziele des Angehens von Problemen. Dieser Prozess äußert sich in der Entwicklung und Umsetzung neuer Regeln und Routinen, die die Handlungen der Organisation leiten.' Im zweiten Schritt stellen wir die Entwicklung der 'Lerninfrastruktur' in der Peacebuilding-Bürokratie der UN über die letzten 15 Jahre dar. Eine Reihe von Faktoren (fehlender politischer Wille in den Mitgliedsstaaten und im Sekretariat sowie mangelnde Ressourcen und ungeeignete Anreizstrukturen) trugen zunächst dazu bei, dass die Notwendigkeit des Lernens nur sehr langsam erkannt wurde. Große Krisen (Ruanda, Srebrenica) sowie der Brahimi-Bericht (2000) brachten die Notwendigkeit zum Ausbau der UN-Lernkapazitäten auf die Tagesordnung. Im dritten Schritt entwickeln wir eine Liste von Faktoren, die das Organisationslernen beeinflussen und in weitergehenden Studien zu berücksichtigen sind. Dazu gehören Macht, Organisationskultur, Führung, Humankapital, Mobilität des Personals, Wissensmanagement sowie Zugang zu externem Wissen. Wir entwerfen zudem ein heuristisches Modell des Lernprozesses in drei Stufen: 1. Wissenserwerb, 2. Aushandlung und 3. Institutionalisierung/ Umsetzung neuer Regeln und Routinen." (Textauszug

Symbolically maintained inequality. An American case of elite higher education boundary-making

The study of elites is enjoying a revival at a time of increasing economic inequality. Sociologists of education have been leaders in this area, studying how affluent families position their children to compete favourably in a vertically stratified higher education system. However, scholars in the United States have done less research on both the horizontal stratification within the top tier of institutions and how students do symbolic work of their own to bolster elite status. In this study, the authors use qualitative interviews with 56 undergraduates at Harvard and Stanford Universities to explore how students construct the status hierarchy among elite campuses in the U. S. The authors find that Harvard and Stanford students value universities that offer a "well rounded" liberal arts education while criticizing other selective institutions for being, alternatively, too intellectual, overly connected to the old line status system, associated with partying and athletics, or having a student body too single minded about career preparation. Their findings suggest that through constructing these nuanced perceptions of elite universities\u27 distinctiveness, students justify their rarefied positions and contribute to the on-going status distinctions among social elites more generally in the United States. Comments are offered in the conclusion for how this likely differs in countries with less horizontal stratification. (DIPF/Orig.)Untersuchungen zu Eliten erleben einen Aufschwung in Zeiten steigender ökonomischer Ungleichheit. Die Bildungsssoziologie trägt entscheidend dazu bei, indem sie untersucht, wie wohlhabende Familien ihre Kinder im vertikal stratifizierten Hochschulsektor positionieren, um möglichst vorteilhaft konkurrieren zu können. Dennoch existieren in den USA nur wenige Untersuchungen zur horizontalen Stratifizierung zwischen den höchstrangigen Institutionen auf der einen Seite und andererseits zur Frage, wie Studierende selbst daran beteiligt sind, den Elitestatus symbolisch herzustellen. In der vorliegenden Untersuchung nutzen die Autorinnen 56 qualitative Interviews mit Studierenden der Universitäten Harvard und Stanford, um nachzuvollziehen wie Studierende Statusunterschiede zwischen Eliteuniversitäten konstruieren. Dabei konnte herausgefunden werden, dass Student*innen von Harvard und Stanford solche Hochschulen wertschätzen, die eine "ausgewogene" geisteswissenschaftliche Ausbildung bieten, während sie andere selektierende Institutionen beispielsweise dafür kritisieren, zu intellektuell oder zu konservativ zu sein, beziehungsweise in Verbindung mit Partys und Sport zu stehen, oder dass diese eine Studierendenschaft aufweisen, die zu sehr auf Karrierevorbereitung bedacht ist. Ihre Ergebnisse legen nah, dass die Studierenden durch Konstruktion solch nuancierter Wahrnehmungen der Besonderheiten elitärer Universitäten ihre exklusiven Positionen begründen und im großen Maße zu den fortlaufenden Statusunterscheidungen sozialer Eliten in den USA beitragen. Im Fazit dieses Artikels finden sich Anmerkungen, wie sich dies von nationalen Bildungssystemen mit geringerer horizontaler Stratifizierung unterscheidet. (DIPF/Orig.

Correction to: Biometric technology in "no-gate border crossing solutions" under consideration of privacy, ethical, regulatory and social acceptance

n/

"Os projetos de esporte e lazer no processo de socialização de meninos de rua"

Orientador: Fernando CavichiolliMonografia (licenciatura) - Universidade Federal do Paraná. Setor de Ciências Biológicas. Curso de Educação Físic

Agency in avoidant personality disorder: a narrative review

Objectives: Avoidant personality disorder (AvPD) is a highly prevalent personality disorder, especially in clinical settings, yet scarcely researched. People diagnosed with AvPD have severe impairments in functioning and suffer greatly, yet we still lack meta-analytic evidence for therapy and only a few RCTs are conducted. Patient factors are the most important for outcome in therapy, in general. Lack of agency might be a core deficit in people diagnosed with AvPD. Their conditions might be improved if we understand their agency better. We review previous research regarding psychological mechanisms and interpersonal relationships that facilitate or hinder agency in AvPD in daily life and psychotherapy. Methods: Summarizing original literature in a narrative review with reflexive thematic analysis. Results: People diagnosed with AvPD seem to have significant impairments in their sense of agency due to a lack of emotional awareness, an overweight of inhibiting vs. activating emotions, and difficulties regulating emotions. Difficulties also seem related to high levels of attachment avoidance and fear, creating strong ambivalence in social needs, in addition to a strong tendency to subordinate to others. A weak sense of self with a poor narrative, self-doubt, and harsh self-critique makes a reflexive and intentional stand increasingly difficult for these people. Conclusion: This review gives a clinically meaningful understanding of core strengths and deficits in the personality functioning of AvPD that can help clinicians map out important therapeutic work, identify barriers to client-agency in therapy, and work through relational difficulties in the therapeutic alliance.publishedVersio

The Aspergillus giganteus antifungal protein AFPNN5353 activates the cell wall integrity pathway and perturbs calcium homeostasis

Background The antifungal protein AFPNN5353 is a defensin-like protein of Aspergillus giganteus. It belongs to a group of secretory proteins with low molecular mass, cationic character and a high content of cysteine residues. The protein inhibits the germination and growth of filamentous ascomycetes, including important human and plant pathogens and the model organsims Aspergillus nidulans and Aspergillus niger. Results We determined an AFPNN5353 hypersensitive phenotype of non-functional A. nidulans mutants in the protein kinase C (Pkc)/mitogen-activated protein kinase (Mpk) signalling pathway and the induction of the α-glucan synthase A (agsA) promoter in a transgenic A. niger strain which point at the activation of the cell wall integrity pathway (CWIP) and the remodelling of the cell wall in response to AFPNN5353. The activation of the CWIP by AFPNN5353, however, operates independently from RhoA which is the central regulator of CWIP signal transduction in fungi. Furthermore, we provide evidence that calcium (Ca2+) signalling plays an important role in the mechanistic function of this antifungal protein. AFPNN5353 increased about 2-fold the cytosolic free Ca2+ ([Ca2+]c) of a transgenic A. niger strain expressing codon optimized aequorin. Supplementation of the growth medium with CaCl2 counteracted AFPNN5353 toxicity, ameliorated the perturbation of the [Ca2+]c resting level and prevented protein uptake into Aspergillus sp. cells. Conclusions The present study contributes new insights into the molecular mechanisms of action of the A. giganteus antifungal protein AFPNN5353. We identified its antifungal activity, initiated the investigation of pathways that determine protein toxicity, namely the CWIP and the Ca2+ signalling cascade, and studied in detail the cellular uptake mechanism in sensitive target fungi. This knowledge contributes to define new potential targets for the development of novel antifungal strategies to prevent and combat infections of filamentous fungi which have severe negative impact in medicine and agriculture.FWF, P19970-B11, Characterization of the toxicity of PA