Short Term Living Conditions and Long Term Prospects of Immigrant Children in Germany

In Germany the foreign born population is made up of foreigners and so called "ethnic Germans" who migrated from eastern European countries to Germany. While the first group is confronted with problems arising from the typical German concept of ethnicity and citizenship, the latter are entitled to a German passport immediately after crossing the border. About one half of the immigrants who entered Germany since 1984 are ethnic Germans. Thus, any analysis of the living conditions of immigrant children in comparison to native born German children must take into account the heterogeneity of immigrants in Germany as well as the respective institutional settings. Throughout the last decade the financial situation of children in Germany has been marked by increasing problems: in 1997 the population share of children living in households receiving welfare payments was about twice as high as the respective share for the entire population. Poverty head count rates (based on a poverty threshold of 50 percent of median equivalent income) clearly increased over this period from about 10 percent to more than 15 percent in 1996. The central aim of this paper is to analyze differences between native and foreign children within this process. Our comparative analyses are based on the different sub-samples of the German Socio- Economic Panel Study (GSOEP). With respect to non-monetary as well as monetary indicators there are - although the German transfer system is strong - remarkable differences in living conditions between native born German children and those born to immigrants and foreigners. On average we find that children in Germany to have lost out in terms of their relative income position over the period 1985/86 to 1995/96, thus pushing the need for targeted social policy. This should cover targeted financial transfers as well as an improvement of day care for children. Although there are some signs of improvement concerning the integration process of foreigners' children over this period, the majority of this group still lives in rather poor conditions. There is no formal "discrimination" of immigrant children by the German school system. But due to the strong intergenerational correlation of educational attainment it is a problem that the educational level of immigrant parents as well as of foreign parents living in Germany is still clearly below the population average, although there are some signs of improvement. As a result of the low educational level of their parents we find children born to immigrants and foreigners in Germany to be on less favorable educational tracks more often than native born German children. The long-term problem arising from this will be a persistently high share of rather poorly qualified persons in the future work force, who will face severe labor market problems and as such will be a problem for the German economy as a whole. In other words: the German educational system -- including pre-school, school and vocational training -- needs to provide equal opportunities to all children regardless of their social background. If necessary, there should be additional incentives for children born to immigrants and foreigners to overcome language disadvantages.Children, Immigration, Living Conditions, Income Position, Poverty

Statistical Mechanics of Shell Models for 2D-Turbulence

We study shell models that conserve the analogues of energy and enstrophy, hence designed to mimic fluid turbulence in 2D. The main result is that the observed state is well described as a formal statistical equilibrium, closely analogous to the approach to two-dimensional ideal hydrodynamics of Onsager, Hopf and Lee. In the presence of forcing and dissipation we observe a forward flux of enstrophy and a backward flux of energy. These fluxes can be understood as mean diffusive drifts from a source to two sinks in a system which is close to local equilibrium with Lagrange multipliers (``shell temperatures'') changing slowly with scale. The dimensional predictions on the power spectra from a supposed forward cascade of enstrophy, and from one branch of the formal statistical equilibrium, coincide in these shell models at difference to the corresponding predictions for the Navier-Stokes and Euler equations in 2D. This coincidence have previously led to the mistaken conclusion that shell models exhibit a forward cascade of enstrophy.Comment: 25 pages + 9 figures, TeX dialect: RevTeX 3.

The German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP): Scope, Evolution and Enhancements

After the introduction in Section 2, we very briefly sketch out current theoretical and empirical developments in the social sciences. In our view, they all point in the same direction: toward the acute and increasing need for multidisciplinary longitudinal data covering a wide range of living conditions and based on a multitude of variables from the social sciences for both theoretical investigation and the evaluation of policy measures. Cohort and panel studies are therefore called upon to become truly interdisciplinary tools. In Section 3, we describe the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), in which we discuss recent improvements of that study which approach this ideal and point out existing shortcomings. Section 4 concludes with a discussion of potential future issues and developments for SOEP and other household panel studies.SOEP, household panel studies, survey design

The Synthesis and Reactions of Isatoic p-linear bis Anhydride

This 41 page thesis examines methods of synthesizing isatoic anhydrides

The Institutional Framework of Ethnic Inclusion and Exclusion: A Cross-National Analysis of the Earnings of Foreigners in Germany and Immigrants in Canada

The European social-welfare model differs from the North American individualistic model in the patterns, more than the overall extent, of ethnic inclusion and exclusion. Focussing on foreigners in Germany and immigrants in Canada as illustrative cases, conventional earnings decomposition analysis is extended cross-nationally to highlight institutional effects, using the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) first wave for 1984, and the 1986 Canadian Census. German education and labor market institutions benefit low-skill migrants, but generate less earnings assimilation. Such assimilation in Canada is greater but varies more by ethnic and racial origins. Institutional frameworks may generate social imperatives shaping patterns of ethnic inclusion and exclusion, quite apart from national policies of citizenship or culture.

Long-time behavior of MHD shell models

The long time behavior of velocity-magnetic field alignment is numerically investigated in the framework of MHD shell model. In the stationary forced case, the correlation parameter C displays a nontrivial behavior with long periods of high variability which alternates with periods of almost constant C. The temporal statistics of correlation is shown to be non Poissonian, and the pdf of constant sign periods displays clear power law tails. The possible relevance of the model for geomagnetic dynamo problem is discussed.Comment: 6 pages with 5 figures. In press on Europhysics Letter

Application of Alloy 718 in M-1 engine components

Alloy 718 applied to components of M-1 rocket engin