Representation of women in the parliament of the Weimar republic: Evidence from roll call votes

This is the post-print version of the article which has been accepted for publication and will appear in a revised form, subsequent to peer review and/or editorial input in Politics and Gender. Copyright @ Cambridge University Press.In modern democracies, the representation of voter interests and preferences is primarily the job of political parties and their elected officials. These patterns can however change when issues are at stake that concern the interests of social groups represented by all relevant parties of a political system. In this article we focus on the behavior of female MPs in the parliament of Weimar Germany and, thus, in a parliament where legislative party discipline was very high. On the basis of a dataset containing information on the legislative voting behavior of MPs, we show that gender, even when controlling for a battery of further theoretically derived explanatory factors, had a decisive impact on the MPs’ voting behavior on a law proposal to curb the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.Zukunftskolleg (University of Konstanz) and the German Research Foundatio

Femtosecond Pump-Probe Diagnostics Of Preformed Plasma Channels

We report on recent ultrafast pump-probe experiments 28 in He plasma waveguides using 800 nm, 80 fs pump pulses of 0.2 x 1018 W/cm2 peak guided intensity, and single orthogonally-polarized 800 nm probe pulses with similar to0.1% of pump intensity. The main results are: (1) We observe frequency-domain interference between the probe and a weak, depolarized component of the pump that differs substantially in mode shape from the injected pump pulse; (2) we observe spectral blue-shifts in the transmitted probe that are not evident in the transmitted pump. The evidence indicates that pump depolarization and probe blue-shifts both originate near the channel entrance.Physic

Spin dynamics and magnetic-field-induced polarization of excitons in ultrathin GaAs/AlAs quantum wells with indirect band gap and type-II band alignment

The exciton spin dynamics are investigated both experimentally and theoretically in two-monolayer-thick GaAs/AlAs quantum wells with an indirect band gap and a type-II band alignment. The magnetic-field-induced circular polarization of photoluminescence, $P_c$, is studied as function of the magnetic field strength and direction as well as sample temperature. The observed nonmonotonic behaviour of these functions is provided by the interplay of bright and dark exciton states contributing to the emission. To interpret the experiment, we have developed a kinetic master equation model which accounts for the dynamics of the spin states in this exciton quartet, radiative and nonradiative recombination processes, and redistribution of excitons between these states as result of spin relaxation. The model offers quantitative agreement with experiment and allows us to evaluate, for the studied structure, the heavy-hole $g$ factor, $g_{hh}=+3.5$, and the spin relaxation times of electron, $\tau_{se} = 33~\mu$s, and hole, $\tau_{sh} = 3~\mu$s, bound in the exciton.Comment: 17 pages, 16 figure

Restoring betatron phase coherence in a beam-loaded laser-wakefield accelerator

Matched beam loading in laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA), characterizing the state of flattening of the acceleration electric field along the bunch, leads to the minimization of energy spread at high bunch charges. Here, we demonstrate by independently controlling injected charge and acceleration gradients, using the self-truncated ionization injection scheme, that minimal energy spread coincides with a reduction of the normalized beam divergence. With the simultaneous confirmation of a constant beam radius at the plasma exit, deduced from betatron radiation spectroscopy, we attribute this effect to the reduction of chromatic betatron decoherence. Thus, beam loaded LWFA enables highest longitudinal and transverse phase space densities

Collection Development Based on Patron Requests: Collaboration between Interlibrary Loan and Acquisitions

Libraries are exploring new models of collaboration between interlibrary loan, collection development, and acquisitions. This paper presents two models in which libraries set aside acquisitions or other funds to purchase books requested by patrons through interlibrary loan processes. Workflows, scope criteria, and departmental relationships are described. The article reports on several aspects of the effectiveness of these models, such as turnaround time (comparable to traditional ILL loans), average cost per book ($37.00), and patron satisfaction (very high). The authors also address the subsequent circulation of titles and report on the bibliographers’ analysis of the relevance of the titles to the collection of one of the libraries

Instruments of value: using the analytic tools of public value theory in teaching and practice

The tools of public value management - such as the strategic triangle and the public value account,– are increasingly used by scholars and practitioners alike. At the same time, some confusion remains regarding their functionality in action. Based on our experiences with these tools in classrooms and boardrooms, we analyze how these instruments help to explore and structure different dimensions of public management challenges. We propose a set of ‘principles of application’, detailing under what conditions public value tools are most likely to be helpful, and suggest a course of action for strengthening, connecting and extending the current tool box