Public Sector Centralization and Productivity Growth: Reviewing the German Experience

The paper examines the role of the vertical structure of the public sector for economic growth in Germany in a long?term perspective. A theoretical model shows that, due to spillover effects of public service provision across lower level governments, federal government activities could have substantially contributed to productivity growth. A review of the German experience starting in the last quarter of the 19th century shows that the overall development is consistent with a stimulating role of the federal government in general and in specific areas like, for instance, transport and communication. However, a further empirical analysis of the period after World War II raises doubts about the efficiency of the vertical structure of the public sector with regard to productivity growth, since the results indicate that a smaller budget share of the state level would have benefited growth. --Public sector centralization,public inputs,economic growth,fiscal federalism

Sobre objetos familiares, en el ámbito de una teoría de objetos no existentes

Presentaré en este trabajo el resultado de una lectura de la teoría de objetos no existentes G-CCC de Héctor-Neri Castañeda. Me ocupare de la presentación de la teoría que efectúa en su artículo "Thinking and the Structure of the World.". Mi objetivo es, aquí, estudiar cuál es el lugar que cabe a los objetos familiares en su enfoque ontológico. Centraré mi exposición en ese aspecto, incluyendo en la discusión la interpretación de Orayen de esta teoría

Sobre objetos y ontología en la posición de Quine

El objetivo de este trabajo (que es resultado parcial de un proyecto de investigación) es mostrar que, si bien según Quine la ontología cumple sólo una función auxiliar en el marco del conocimiento científico, el rol que cabe a la noción de objeto en su visión de conjunto no es secundarlo Mostraré cómo se articulan estos temas con los aspectos centrales de su posición acerca del conocimiento, atendiendo en especial -a la función que cabe a la lógica en esta trama

Motivaciones, supuestos y enfoques para investigar en lógica

observaré que posiciones como las de Hacking y de Quine, desarrolladas ambas bajo un enfoque formal de la lógica, admiten una distinción según el autor proponga objetivos en torno de la noción de verdad necesario o no lo haga. A continuación, explicitaré en qué sentido algunos trabajos realizados en el marco de la lógica informal quedan comprendidos junto con los de Quine, si se acepta la distinción sugerida. Finalmente, y dadas las limitaciones conceptuales del enfoque formal en lo que se refiere a la evaluación de razonamientos expresados en lenguaje natural, argumentaré que un examen de supuestos asumidos en cada caso acerca del lenguaje permitiría investigar la posibilidad de establecer articulaciones entre los enfoques considerados

Public Sector Centralization and Productivity Growth: Reviewing the German Experience

The paper examines the role of the vertical structure of the public sector for economic growth in Germany in a long–term perspective. A theoretical model shows that, due to spillover effects of public service provision across lower level governments, federal government activities could have substantially contributed to productivity growth. A review of the German experience starting in the last quarter of the 19th century shows that the overall development is consistent with a stimulating role of the federal government in general and in specific areas like, for instance, transport and communication. However, a further empirical analysis of the period after World War II raises doubts about the efficiency of the vertical structure of the public sector with regard to productivity growth, since the results indicate that a smaller budget share of the state level would have benefited growth

Spatial data science

The field of data science has had a significant impact in both academia and industry, and with good reason [...]This research was partially funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT),under projects IPSTERS (DSAIPA/AI/0100/2018), and foRESTER (PCIF/SSI/0102/2017)

Development of a reactive polyurethane foam system for the direct sandwich composite molding (D-SCM) process

Sandwich structures utilize the geometric stiffening effect by increasing the area moment of inertia. This reduces carbon fiber (CF) material within CF-reinforced plastic (CFRP) components, and thus, the CO2 footprint. A suitable material combination for lightweight design is the use of continuous fiber-reinforced face sheets with a light foam core. CFRP sandwich structures with foam core are manufactured by combining a prefabricated foam core with fiber-reinforced cover layers in a two-step press process. Besides the reduction of the used CFRP material, more efficient manufacturing processes are needed. The aim of this paper is to develop a novel polyurethane foam system to enable the direct sandwich composite molding (D‑SCM) process for the production of CFRP sandwich structures by utilizing the resulting foaming pressure during the reactive polyurethane (PUR) foam system expansion for the impregnation of the CF reinforced face sheets. The developed formulation enables D-SCM structures with 150–250 kg/m3 foam density and 44–47.5% fiber volume content, based on a preliminary evaluation

Ein Beitrag zum Toxnetz-Explorer: Blut und blutbildendes System

Das kardiovaskuläre System stellt einen wesentlichen Grundbaustein des menschlichen Körpers dar. Insbesondere das Gewebe Blut und die damit verbundenen blutbildenden Komponenten sind in diesem Kontext Betrachtungspunkte für toxikologische Interaktionen. In diesem Dokument wird der Ansatz einer dreistufigen Wissensvermittlung zur Gewähr-leistung eines interdisziplinären Erkenntnisgewinns für das Blut sowie das blutbildende System angewendet. In der ersten Stufe werden die anatomischen s vorgestellt. Darauf aufbauend werden die Bestandteile des Blutes sowie dessen individuelle Eigenschaften erläutert. Anschließend werden Interaktionen ausgewählter toxischer Noxen diskutiert. Final werden ausgewählte Mechanismen dargestellt, um nutzerorientiert in geeignete Medienfunktionen des „Toxnetz-Explorers“ überführt zu werde

The media image(s) of right-wing populist parties in recent German history : the case of the German Freedom Party 2010-2013

The thesis addresses the media dynamics around a specific case of German right-wing populism in recent years. It examines the mainstream media’s portrayal of the right-wing populist party ‘The Freedom Party’ during its active nation-wide existence as a political party (July 2010 - November 2013). The point of departure is a theory by the German political scientist Frank Decker, which claims that a constant media bias exists in the country towards right-wing groups. This bias can be explained through the German peoples collective memory of the Third Reichs horrors (Hitlers shadow), which is deeply anchored in the German political culture. Essentially, the objective of this thesis is to test Decker’s theory and apply it to the specific case of the German Freedom Party. In order to achieve valid results, various media portals that address different parts of the German public, yet all belong to the mainstream media, have been incorporated into this study. The chosen media include the digital publications of Süddeutsche Zeitung, DER SPIEGEL, BILD and Berliner Zeitung. All relevant articles covering the Freedom Party included in the digital archives of these news publications within the above-mentioned time frame have been analyzed in the main chapter of the thesis. The analytic framework that is applied in order to test Decker’s thesis and look for possible media bias in those publications is Theun van Dijk’s concept of ‘The strategy of polarization/ the ideological square’. In substance, it contains the idea that the ideological opposition of journalists to phenomena they are describing (in this case right-wing parties in general, and the Freedom Party in particular) can be measured through a) How they construct headlines (‘surface structures’) on the phenomenon; b) Which terminology (‘lexical items’) they apply in order to describe it and c) To what degree they highlight negative characteristics of the phenomenon (‘The ideological square’). These three analytic dimensions are applied to every single digital article incorporated into the thesis. Every article is summarized and then analyzed in an in-depth-fashion, while charts visualize and summarize the degree of polarization against the party that can be identified in those media publications. In order to be able to assess the accuracy of the terminology that the media has applied to describe and image the Freedom Party, an introductory analysis of key elements of the party program is included in the main chapter as well. The dismantling of the party’s political agenda serves as a compass for the media investigation. Only if the subject of analysis is approached independently by the researcher, conceptualized in the larger context of the study (right-wing parties in Germany and their relationship with the mainstream media) and labeled according to previous research on the diversity of German right-wing parties, can it be given a fair hearing in its own terms. The investigation of the party program has identified the party as a stereotypical modern right-wing populist party whose ideology is at odds with traditional right-wing extremism in so far as it is firmly located within the democratic framework and does not pass as ‘fascist’. Hence, certain labels for the party can be ruled out as illegitimate and non-accurate. Based on this assessment, three types of terminologies and figures of thought have been conceptualized for the purpose of this study, and examined accordingly in the sources: Openly ideological opposition where ‘anti-fascist-reflexes’ are at full play (false labeling, stigmatizing that cannot be justified through the actual party program), slightly tendentious news coverage (the amplification of certain controversial elements that are included in the program, yet they are framed in an emotional fashion and evoke negative connotations) and neutral news coverage/ accurate labeling of the party’s ideology and agenda (truthfully covering key features of the actual party program). The analysis, which has been divided chronologically into four different analytic phases, and which is conducted newspaper by newspaper, ultimately shows that there no coherent image of the Freedom Party is created by Süddeutsche Zeitung, DER SPIEGEL, BILD and Berliner Zeitung within the time frame of the study. No constant deliberate opposition of the newspapers in question can be identified, yet no favorable news coverage on the Freedom Party has occurred either. In fact, even among the same editorial staff conflicting and contradictory images might were created on the party, and the imaging of the Freedom Party ranged from stigmatizing it as a quasi-fascist party that appears as ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing’ over describing it accurately as ‘right-wing populist’ to portraying it rather favorably as a ‘protest-party’ or simply ‘Islam-critical’. All in all, the array of opinions on this particular right-wing populist party expressed in the four newspapers is as diverse and heterogeneous as the opinions on right-wing populism in society itself. Hence, Decker’s thesis of the German media’s ‘anti-fascist-reflexes’ towards new-founded right-wing parties could not be verified through the present study