Decentralised control of material or traffic flows in networks using phase-synchronisation

We present a self-organising, decentralised control method for material flows in networks. The concept applies to networks where time sharing mechanisms between conflicting flows in nodes are required and where a coordination of these local switches on a system-wide level can improve the performance. We show that, under certain assumptions, the control of nodes can be mapped to a network of phase-oscillators. By synchronising these oscillators, the desired global coordination is achieved. We illustrate the method in the example of traffic signal control for road networks. The proposed concept is flexible, adaptive, robust and decentralised. It can be transferred to other queuing networks such as production systems. Our control approach makes use of simple synchronisation principles found in various biological systems in order to obtain collective behaviour from local interactions

Justifying inequality as equality: Germany and the reform of voting weights in the Council of the European Union

Weighted voting institutionalises inequality in international organisations. How is it possible that states accept rules that formally privilege some over others even though this contradicts the sovereign equality of states and norms of democratic decision-making? This contribution to a special issue about global stratification shows that arguments about equality can actually serve to justify inequality in international institutions. This can be seen in moves by the German government to justify its proposals for a reform of voting in the Council of the European Union (1995–2008). Successive German governments focused on arguments about democracy based on the equality of states and of citizens to justify their push for a more privileged position for Germany in the Council. Efficiency also figured as a justification but was clearly less prominent

Brexit: The Perils of Dissociation by Negotiation

Withdrawing from an organization through an orderly negotiation process would appear as a particularly unproblematic form of leaving international institutions. However, the example of Brexit shows that negotiated dissociations have significant potential to adversely affect relations between exiting and remaining states. This study, which contributes to a forum on the impact of dissociation processes on post-withdrawal relations, argues that the management of conflict during the Brexit process had profound implications for relations between the United Kingdom and European Union member states. The negotiations on the Northern Ireland Protocol were marked by increasingly fundamental accusations against each other regarding (non)compliance with basic norms of international conduct. This led to a deterioration of relations and eventually - despite the avoidance of full escalation - to deadlock when implementation problems arose. To demonstrate this and explore the particular features of negotiated dissociations, the study examines three episodes of conflict: the disputes over ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement, over the Internal Market Bill, and over implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol

Intangible assets and firm-level productivity

Firms invest huge amounts into intangible assets. This paper explores to which extent different kinds of intangible assets are conducive to firm-level produc- tivity. Our study contributes to the literature by simultaneously comparing productivity effects of innovative capital, human capital, branding capital and organizational capital and testing whether complementarity or substitutabil- ity exists between different intangible assets. Using panel data for the period 2006-2010, our econometric estimates confirm strong positive productivity ef- fects of human capital and branding capital. Results for innovative capital are found to be mixed. While R&D has a strong positive impact on produc- tivity, design & licences and patents show only weak productivity enhancing effects. The same holds for organizational capital. We furthermore detect sev- eral complementarities among different kind of intangible assets. Our results are robust to various parametric (OLS, FE) and non-parametric (Olley and Pakes, Levinsohn and Petrin) productivity estimation methods

Stress and eating behavior

How stress, the stress response, and the adaptation of the stress response influence our eating behavior is a central question in brain research and medicine. In this report, we highlight recent advances showing the close links between eating behavior, the stress system, and neurometabolism

Institutional justice as a condition for the regional acceptance of global order: the African Union and the protection of civilians

"The international responsibility to protect and norms of international criminal justice are increasingly contested. These conflicts seem to be casting doubt on the possibilities for global governance. Are such liberal norms and rules only accepted in the political West? In order to examine the opportunities of global governance, this report investigates the influence of regional actors on the global order. When do regional security organizations contribute to fragmenting this global order and when do they strengthen it? The study finds that the acceptance of global norms and rules is primarily a matter of procedural justice. When regional actors recognize that they do not have a say in how global norms are implemented in their region, they will tend to reject these norms. The study concludes with recommendations for political practice." (author's abstract

Empirical Research on Waldorf Education

Waldorf education began in 1919 with the first Waldorf School in Stuttgart and nowadays is widespread in many countries all over the world. Empirical research, however, has been rare until the early nineties and Waldorf education has not been discussed within educational science so far. This has changed during the last decades. This article reviews the results of surveys during the last 20 years and is mainly focused on German Waldorf Schools, because most investigations have been done in this field. Findings are reported with respect to the following central aspects of Waldorf education: the holistic and integrative approach, the self-governance in the organization of the Waldorf schools, the Waldorf curriculum, and the principle of class teachers from 1st to 8th grade. Furthermore, Waldorf education also provides its own unique teacher training. All of these aspects have been explored and evaluated from different points of view and with different methods. The results show strengths as well as weaknesses of Waldorf education in the daily practice in schools, which indicates the kinds of challenges Waldorf education will have to face in the upcoming decades. The authors themselves have contributed in several investigations to the field of Waldorf education.Keywords: Waldorf Education; Waldorf teacher training.

Build-Ups in the Supply Chain of the Brain: on the Neuroenergetic Cause of Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Obesity and type 2 diabetes have become the major health problems in many industrialized countries. A few theoretical frameworks have been set up to derive the possible determinative cause of obesity. One concept views that food availability determines food intake, i.e. that obesity is the result of an external energy “push” into the body. Another one views that the energy milieu within the human organism determines food intake, i.e. that obesity is due to an excessive “pull” from inside the organism. Here we present the unconventional concept that a healthy organism is maintained by a “competent brain-pull” which serves systemic homeostasis, and that the underlying cause of obesity is “incompetent brain-pull”, i.e. that the brain is unable to properly demand glucose from the body. We describe the energy fluxes from the environment, through the body, towards the brain with a mathematical “supply chain” model and test whether its predictions fit medical and experimental data sets from our and other research groups. In this way, we show data-based support of our hypothesis, which states that under conditions of food abundance incompetent brain-pull will lead to build-ups in the supply chain culminating in obesity and type 2 diabetes. In the same way, we demonstrate support of the related hypothesis, which states that under conditions of food deprivation a competent brain-pull mechanism is indispensable for the continuance of the brain´s high energy level. In conclusion, we took the viewpoint of integrative physiology and provided evidence for the necessity of brain-pull mechanisms for the benefit of health. Along these lines, our work supports recent molecular findings from the field of neuroenergetics and continues the work on the “Selfish Brain” theory dealing with the maintenance of the cerebral and peripheral energy homeostasis