Selected Principles, Elements and Experiences of Privatisation in Germany

In most states with market oriented economic systems privatisation plays an important role in the political discussion, mainly due to the fundamental problem of all economic systems, which is scarcity of available resources. The responsible politicians try to improve the allocation of scarce resources and to increase the financial possibilities for needed development investments by creating an adequate macroeconomic framework and a business-friendly environment. Within the scope of these efforts the production of goods and commercial services by state-owned enterprises only plays a very limited role. The state would be best advised to leave these functions to the, in this regard, more efficient private sector. The public sector should concentrate its respective efforts only on the production of so-called Public Goods and, for political reasons, eventually on some sub-sectors, which are essential for the security of the country. Nearly all market economies and especially states which are in the transitional process from more centrally administered to market oriented economic systems, have room for manoeuvre towards privatisation of state-owned enterprises. Privatisation facilitate the improvement of factor allocation and the reduction of budget constraints, not only by the way of sales revenues but also by creating a broader tax-base, decreasing the need to provide subsidies and, last but not least, mobilising private resources for the aimed development-process. This is also true for the Republic of India as well as for the Federal Republic of Germany. However, privatisation causes not only advantages for the economic systems and the public budgets, but also some economic and financial costs. These costs have to be reduced as much as possible by an efficient target-oriented policy. Although the corresponding policies and experiences in one country can hardly be a blueprint for another country, a policy-dialogue at various levels about privatisation and on the underlying legal and economic frameworks is helpful for all involved parties. The exchange of experiences can also contribute to the avoidance of disappointments and setbacks that could jeopardise the privatisation policy introduced. Relating to the above the Government of India noticed: "Thus, while one would do well to learn from the successful experience, one would have to be careful of the pitfalls as well. In the final analysis, while experience of other countries is available by the way of guidance, one would have to evolve one's own techniques, best suited to the level of development of the country. ... The historic, cultural and institutional context influences the way in which and the pace at which privatisation is implemented" (Ministry of Disinvestment 2003, p.1). Experience sharing between experts of different countries is an appropriate way of learning from each other and avoiding the disadvantages of blue prints at the same time. On initiative of the Ministers of Finance of the Republic of India and the Federal Republic of Germany, both governments agreed, therefore, to enhance the exchange of experiences about disinvestment/privatisation in the framework of economic cooperation. The Ministry of Disinvestment (since June 2004: Department of Disinvestment in the Ministry of Finance) and the Bundesministerium fuer wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung, BMZ, (Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development) are the responsible authorities. The German contributions will be provided by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit, GTZ, (German Agency for Technical Cooperation) on behalf of BMZ. This Report gives an overview of selected principles, elements and experiences of privatisation in Germany, with special reference to the new Federal States in East Germany and under consideration of selected aspects in neighbouring countries. The intention is not to present a complete abstract, but to provide a discussion basis for identifying starting points for a future dialogue about lessons learnt. This paper was elaborated by the Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWA) at the instigation of Sanjeev S. Ahluwalia, IAS, (Department of Disinvestment) and Dr. Dietrich Kebschull (GTZ). The author would like to express his sincere thanks to both of them as well as to Gunnar Geyer, Carsten Hefeker, Britta Jens and to Rasul Shams (all HWWA) for their valuable suggestions.Political Economy,

Adapting Parent Programs for Families Impacted by Incarceration: Community Providers’ Perspectives

Parenting programs are an essential component in assisting mothers and fathers to be effective providers for their children. These programs are important within the community, as well as the parent population within the jail or prison setting. This study explored the perceptions of parent education providers that work within community based settings, and whether or not these programs can be adapted for incarcerated individuals. Using a qualitative method, interviews were conducted and themes were developed. These themes were compared to the findings from the literature review. This study interviewed two women, ages twenty-two and forty-six, both of which work in community-based parenting programs. The data gathered from interview transcriptions was analyzed and themes were developed. The themes that arose were the importance of being aware of parent needs and getting to know your clients. Findings revealed common themes in the importance of adjusting to your audience, and in the importance of understanding how a parent’s childhood can often influence their current parenting habits. Further resource would be helpful on the effectiveness of parenting programs, as this is an area of limited study

Adapting Parent Programs for Families Impacted by Incarceration: Community Providers\u27 Perspectives

Parenting programs are an essential component in assisting mothers and fathers to be effective providers for their children. These programs are important within the community, as well as the parent population within the jail or prison setting. This study explored the perceptions of parent education providers that work within community based settings, and whether or not these programs can be adapted for incarcerated individuals. Using a qualitative method, interviews were conducted and themes were developed. These themes were compared to the findings from the literature review. This study interviewed two women, ages twenty-two and forty-six, both of which work in community-based parenting programs. The data gathered from interview transcriptions was analyzed and themes were developed. The themes that arose were the importance of being aware of parent needs and getting to know your clients. Findings revealed common themes in the importance of adjusting to your audience, and in the importance of understanding how a parent\u27s childhood can often influence their current parenting habits. Further resource would be helpful on the effectiveness of parenting programs, as this is an area of limited study

In Vivo and In Vitro Effects of Hydralazine on Cellular Growth, Differentiation and Chromatin Structure

Hydralazine has been used medicinally as an antihypertensive since 1952. Within two years after its introduction to clinical medicine, an unusual set of symptoms was noted in a significant portion of patients. This set of symptoms resembled those symptoms observed in idiopathic systemic lupus erythematosus. The fundamental problem underlying this drug-related systemic lupus erythematosus is autoimmune in nature. Hydralazine produces a characteristic profile of anti-nuclear antibodies that is unique from that present in idiopathic systemic lupus erythematosus. Other drugs such as procainamide and isoniazid have also been associated with drug-related systemic lupus erythematosus. Interestingly, these drugs differ in the antinuclear antibodies with which they are associated. The reason for the formation of these antinuclear antibodies is unknown. It is generally agreed that hydralazine is interacting with normal nuclear material, in particular, DNA, RNA and histones, and in some way eliciting an immune response; This response to hydralazine is a dose-related phenomena and shows a prevalence for slow acetylators; acetylation is the predominant metabolic route for hydralazine elimination. The objective of this research was to determine the relationship between hydralazine concentration and cell growth and differentiation both in vivo and in vitro. Hydralazine-induced alterations of chromatin structure of both histone containing somatic cells and protamine containing sperm cells were analyzed in an attempt to study mechanisms of these alterations that may provide clues as to why hydralazine treated patients develop antibodies against DNA/chromatin with lupus-like symptoms

Analysis of the sampling representativeness for the Land Parcel Identification System Quality Assurance

After its 2016 performance audit on the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS), the European Court of Auditors recommended that the Commission should carry out a cost-benefit analysis in order to determine whether the representativeness of QA samples could be improved so that a better coverage of the population of parcels in LPIS be achieved. This report holds the results of that analysis. An appropriate indicator for representativeness was developed and benchmarked. That indicator, “percentage of the population in the 95% central probability interval (PCPI)” was then applied to the actual samples of the past to measure their performance. Additionally, the simulation of several sampling scenarios allowed to assess whether sub-optimal conditions could be remediated by the appropriate mitigation measures. The results reconfirmed that the initial approach of spatial stratification does not interfere with the representativeness in se, but it also found that the current implementation could leave a few territories with some residual effect from the implied spatial clustering. This potential weakness was addressed by improving the resolution of the stratification control layer, ensuring a minimum set of clusters as well as introducing stratified random sampling. Simulations demonstrated these combined remedies were effective for nearly all Member States and regions. Cyprus and Luxemburg missed the target, but only just. The revised methodology led to a 15 percent increase of the number of control zones over Europe, but did not require any procedural modification or other additional inspection workload for the Member States. This revised sampling methodology thus considers the Court’s cost-benefit concerns and has been fully implemented for the 2017 LPIS QA campaign.JRC.D.5-Food Securit

Consequences of knowledge hiding: The differential compensatory effects of guilt and shame

The nature of the consequences of knowledge hiding, defined as an intentional attempt to withhold knowledge that has been requested, and the mechanisms through which knowledge hiding affects outcomes are undertheorized. In this research, we propose that knowledge hiding can evoke guilt and shame in the knowledge hiding perpetrator. We zoom into the three types of knowledge hiding – evasive hiding, playing dumb, and rationalized hiding – and predict that the more deceptive knowledge hiding types, namely evasive hiding and playing dumb, evoke stronger feelings of guilt and shame than rationalized hiding. We further argue that guilt and shame trigger differential emotion?based reparatory mechanisms, such that guilt induces the motivation to correct one's transgressions through organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB), whereas shame induces the tendency to withdraw after hiding knowledge, as reflected in lower levels of OCB. We test the proposed positive indirect relation between knowledge hiding and OCB via guilt, and the proposed negative indirect relation via shame in a scenario?based experiment and a two?wave field study. The studies provided support for most of our hypotheses. We discuss how the proposed emotion pathway can facilitate nuanced theorizing about consequences of knowledge hiding for different types of negative emotions and subsequent compensatory work behaviours

Phylogeny and diversity of the phantom crane flies (Diptera: Ptychopteridae)

The species diversity and higher level classification of Ptychopteridae (Insecta: Diptera) is examined with cladistic methods using morphological and molecular datasets. The taxonomic status of Ptychoptera contaminata Linnaeus is discussed, and a neotype designation is proposed. The Afrotropical fauna is detailed as part of a larger reference work of Diptera in the region. The structure and homologies of male genitalia within the family are examined, and a new standardized terminology is proposed, supported with colorized illustrations. An illustrated key is provided for the Nearctic species of both subfamilies. The extant species of the subfamily Bittacomorphinae are revised, including redescriptions, illustrations, and a key. The extant species of Ptychopterinae are revised in a similar manner, and the subgeneric structure of the genus is reassessed in the first comprehensive classification of the taxon. In total four new species are described from North America and one from eastern Asia, and five new subgenera are erected