Gopherus berlandieri

Number of Pages: 2Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Wer gestaltet, wer verwaltet Reformen im öffentlichen Dienst? Ein Methodenvergleich zur Analyse von Arbeitsbeziehungen in Reformprozessen anhand der Polizei Brandenburg

Der vorliegende Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit den Arbeitsbeziehungen im seit den 1990er Jahren anhaltenden Prozess der New Public Management-Reformen im deutschen Polizeisektor. Die Analyse derselben stellt eine Herausforderung dar, da keine geeigneten quantitativen Daten über den Verhandlungsprozess der Reformen zwischen Arbeitgeber- und Arbeitnehmerseite existieren und aufgrund des langen Zeitraums auch Leitfadeninterviews nicht optimal erscheinen. Daher wird in diesem Beitrag auf die Dokumentation des Reformprozesses in den Medien von Innenministerium und Polizeigewerkschaft zurückgegriffen. Diese werden den Verfahren der quantitativen Textanalyse sowie der qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse unterzogen. Beide Verfahren deuten auf eine Dynamik hin, in der die beiden Parteien aufgrund vorangegangener Kürzungen bereits zu Anfang des Reformprozesses im Jahr 1998 ein konfrontatives Verhältnis zueinander unterhielten. Nach einer langen Periode der kontinuierlichen Verschärfung dieses Konflikts bis ins Jahr 2008 bemühte sich jedoch das Innenministerium in jüngster Vergangenheit stark um eine Annäherung an die Arbeitnehmerseite. Die quantitative Textanalyse konnte dabei in der räumlichen Darstellung dieser Entwicklung überzeugen, während die qualitative Inhaltsanalyse die nötigen Hintergrundinformationen zur Validierung und Interpretation dieses räumlichen Modells liefern konnte.This article deals with employment relations in the ongoing process of new public management reforms in the German police sector since the 1990s. The analysis of this matter is particularly challenging as appropriate quantitative data on bargaining of trade unions and employer in the reform process is not available and expert interviews are problematic because of the long period of time. Thus, we draw on existing publications of both, the Interior Ministry and the main police trade union. This media is subjected to a quantitative text analysis as well as a qualitative content analysis. Both methods point to a dynamic, in which the relation of the two parties was characterized by confrontation from the very beginning of the reform process in 1998 due to preceding cuts. After a long period of continuous aggravation of this conflict until 2008, the Ministry of the Interior sought to approach the employees' side in recent years. While the strength of the quantitative text analysis lay in the spatial presentation of this development, qualitative content analysis proved to be useful for the provision of background information for validation and interpretation of the spatial model

Politikpositionen im Reformprozess des öffentlichen Dienstes: Zur Übertragbarkeit der quantitativen Textanalyse

Der Aufsatz befasst sich mit der Übertragung eines Verfahrens der Quantitativen Inhaltsanalyse, das für die Untersuchung ideologischer Texte entwickelt wurde und hier auf die Diskussion seitens der Arbeitgeber- und Arbeitnehmervertretung zum Reformprozess des öffentlichen Dienstes in Deutschland angewendet wird. Es werden theoretische Argumente vorgestellt, die für die Anwendbarkeit des räumlichen Modells der Politik auf die Bestimmung der Positionen der Interessenvertretungen sprechen. Des Weiteren wird eine empirische Untersuchung am Beispiel des Polizeisektors auf Länderebene durchgeführt. Die Analyse der aus der Mitgliederzeitschrift der Gewerkschaft der Polizei und der Publikationen des Innenministeriums des Landes Brandenburg entnommenen Kommentare ermöglicht die Bestimmung von Politikpositionen im Zeitverlauf, die mit den Erkenntnissen anderer Studien übereinstimmen.The paper explores the possibilities to transfer a method of quantitative text analysis developed for the study of ideological texts into the context of the debate between employers' and employees' associations on the reform of the public sector in Germany. We present theoretical arguments supporting the usability of the spatial model for the identification of policy positions of interest associations. We then apply the approach to the police sector in Germany. An analysis of editorials in the newsletter of the police trade union and in publications of the ministry of the interior of Brandenburg allows placing the actors in the conceptual space of the debate over time. We find that the positions found via this approach match with findings from other analyses

A radio air shower surface detector as an extension for IceCube and IceTop

The IceCube neutrino detector is built into the Antarctic ice sheet at the South Pole to measure high energy neutrinos. For this, 4800 photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) are being deployed at depths between 1450 and 2450 meters into the ice to measure neutrino induced charged particles like muons. IceTop is a surface air shower detector consisting of 160 Cherenkov ice tanks located on top of IceCube. To extend IceTop, a radio air shower detector could be built to significantly increase the sensitivity at higher shower energies and for inclined showers. As air showers induced by cosmic rays are a major part of the muonic background in IceCube, IceTop is not only an air shower detector, but also a veto to reduce the background in IceCube. Air showers are detectable by radio signals with a radio surface detector. The major emission process is the coherent synchrotron radiation emitted by e+ e- shower particles in the Earths magnetic field (geosynchrotron effect). Simulations of the expected radio signals of air showers are shown. The sensitivity and the energy threshold of different antenna field configurations are estimated.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, to be published in Proceedings of the 30th International Cosmic Ray Conferenc

Negotiating reforms in the public services: Trajectories of new public management policies in the Swedish and French police forces

The paper addresses the effect of governmental policy styles and trade union strategies in the implementation of organizational reforms inspired by New Public Management in the Swedish and French police forces over the years 1999-2013. By tracing the discourse in editorials of internal news magazines published by the ministry of the interior and by the trade unions representing the police forces, we reconstruct the negotiation process and the positions taken by the bargaining partners in the reform initiatives. Highlighting parallels and differences between the reforms in Sweden and France we contrast the consensual policy style of a top administration detached from political influences facing a unified trade union in Sweden with the confrontational policy style of a highly intertwined administrative and political elite facing a fragmented trade union movement in France. As a result, reforms in Sweden were piecemeal but continuous and unidirectional while they were more radical but moving back and forth in France.Der vorliegende Aufsatz beschäftigt sich mit den Stilen von Regierungspolitiken und gewerkschaftlichen Strategien in der Implementation von an das New Public Management angelehnten, organisatorischen Reformen in der schwedischen und französischen Polizei im Zeitraum von 1999 und 2013. Anhand von Diskursen, die Innenministerien und Gewerkschaften in den Editorialen ihrer internen Nachrichtenmagazine geführt haben, rekonstruieren wir den Verhandlungsprozess und die Positionen der Verhandlungspartner zu den Reforminitiativen. Wir zeigen die Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede der Reformen in Schweden und Frankreich auf und kontrastieren einen konsensuellen Politikstil einer von politischem Einfluss unabhängiger obersten Verwaltungsebene in Schweden, die einer vereinten Gewerkschaft gegenübersteht mit dem konfrontativen Politikstil einer stark mit der politischen Elite verwobenen obersten Verwaltungsebene in Frankreich, die einer fragmentierten Gewerkschaftsbewegung gegenübersteht. Im Ergebnis wurden so die Reformen in Schweden nur stückweise, jedoch kontinuierlich und gleichgerichtet eingeführt, während Reformen in Frankreich radikaler, jedoch unsteter in ihrer inhaltlichen Ausrichtung waren

Design study of an air-Cherenkov telescope for harsh environments with efficient air-shower detection at 100 TeV

Telescopes, designed with semi-conductor based photo sensors, have the potential to detect Cherenkov or fluorescence light emitted by cosmic-rays in the atmosphere. Such telescopes promise a high duty cycle and efficiency in remote harsh environments. Given the relatively low costs and robustness of these instruments, this technology could prove interesting especially if deployed in large numbers with existing and future extended cosmic-ray and gamma ray detectors, including the Pierre Auger observatory, HAWC, IceCube and CTA. They may have the potential to enhance the sensitivity of these instruments for the detection of high-energy gamma rays and cosmic-ray air showers. In addition, for neutrino telescopes such a technology could prove to be an efficient cosmic-ray veto on the surface. In this contribution the current motivation, design, and development of a prototype SiPM based air Cherenkov telescope is described. The results of initial sensitivity studies, and the readiness of the system for first tests, including those proposed for the South Pole are shown

A New Fossil Tortoise from the Texas Miocene, With Remarks of the Probably Geologic History of Tortoises in Eastern U.S.

Contents: Geochelone williamsi new species -- Holotype -- Type Locatity and Horizon -- Diagnosis -- Description of Type -- Comparisons -- Discussion -- Summary and Conclusion -- LiteratureTexas Memorial Museu

Evaluating Rubber Aging on Tire Durability: Quantitative Evaluation of Rubber Aging

Rubber is considered one of the most important polymers in the world due to its variety of uses. There are many different conditions that can affect the useful life of rubber. The purpose of this research was to determine how the mechanical loading on the rubber may affect the aging of the rubber. The scope of the project was to focus on the rubber used for tire production. The research was limited to focusing only on rubber supplied by industry mentors which was styrene-butadiene rubber. By varying the length of time for testing as well as the temperature of the sample using the eXpert ADMET Mechanical Testing System, it was determined that the longer the sample was exposed to significant cyclic stresses, the more degradation that the rubber sample experienced. The data that was collected was important because it was then used by a graduate student to create a model that best represents the data found during the experimentation. In conclusion, the data was significant because the model being created can help to better understand rubber degradation

Design and Initial Performance of the Askaryan Radio Array Prototype EeV Neutrino Detector at the South Pole

We report on studies of the viability and sensitivity of the Askaryan Radio Array (ARA), a new initiative to develop a Teraton-scale ultra-high energy neutrino detector in deep, radio-transparent ice near Amundsen-Scott station at the South Pole. An initial prototype ARA detector system was installed in January 2011, and has been operating continuously since then. We report on studies of the background radio noise levels, the radio clarity of the ice, and the estimated sensitivity of the planned ARA array given these results, based on the first five months of operation. Anthropogenic radio interference in the vicinity of the South Pole currently leads to a few-percent loss of data, but no overall effect on the background noise levels, which are dominated by the thermal noise floor of the cold polar ice, and galactic noise at lower frequencies. We have also successfully detected signals originating from a 2.5 km deep impulse generator at a distance of over 3 km from our prototype detector, confirming prior estimates of kilometer-scale attenuation lengths for cold polar ice. These are also the first such measurements for propagation over such large slant distances in ice. Based on these data, ARA-37, the 200 km^2 array now under construction, will achieve the highest sensitivity of any planned or existing neutrino detector in the 10^{16}-10^{19} eV energy range.Comment: 25 pages, 37 figures, this version with improved ice attenuation length analysis; for submission to Astroparticle Physic