Beschäftigungspflicht und Ausgleichsfonds als internationaler Sozialstaatsstandard in der Behindertenpolitik (Obligation of companies to provide jobs for the disabled and the compensationfund as an international social state standard in policies concerning the disabled)

"In addition to government policies concerning the disabled and those funded by the social insurance authorities, in a considerable number of industrial countries there are special legal systems for the securing and promotion of occupational integration, which are based on the legal obligation of employers to provide jobs for the disabled. These systems are generally combined with financial compensation systems which serve to siphon off any possible competition advantages of those employers who do not fulfil this obligation to employ the disabled or who do not fulfil it to the extent required by law. The special resources gained in this way are generally allocated to earmarked funds. These are administrated separately from government budgetary resources and in different ways from country to country. The form this administration takes, the modernity of the fund management and the inclusion of social organisations, in particular employers' organisations, have a definitive influence on the effectiveness of this 'compensation fund' in terms of labour market policy and policy concerning the disabled. In 1997 the International Labour Organisation (ILO) held a conference in Warsaw on this subject, 'Policies and Management of National Rehabilitation Funds', in which 21 states took part. At this conference it was shown that such funds have become very widespread in the industrial states. In particular the experiences made by the French are impressive due to the policy success in recent few years, which is achieved through flexible policy structures, modern fund management and good inclusion of the employers. A common characteristic of all the fund concepts presented in Warsaw is the appropriation of supportive financial resources for the promotion and safeguarding of the occupational integration of the severely disabled. In an international comparison it is possible to detect many variants regarding funding systems, combinations with the employers' obligation to employ the disabled, principles of utilisation and target group. What all the funds have in common, however, is that they regard their central task to be access to the labour market for the disabled and severely disabled and their ability to remain in the labour market. Because of this labour market policy function, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has been increasingly interested in such quotas and fund systems in recent years. In this article some comparative reflections are made on the size of the compensation charge and its return into the primary labour market. It can be seen that in France and Japan the compensation charge is twice and four times higher respectively than in Germany. In both of these countries the legal obligation to employ disabled people is fulfilled to a far greater extent than is the case in Germany. All in all, however, the Federal Republic of Germany is regarded as successful in this field of policy when compared internationally. At the end some ideas for reform in the Federal Republic of Germany are outlined." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))Behindertenpolitik - internationaler Vergleich, Arbeitsmarktpolitik, Schwerbehinderte, Beschäftigungspflicht, Ausgleichsabgabe, Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Frankreich, Polen, Japan, Ungarn, Österreich, ILO

Sicherung und Förderung der beruflichen Eingliederung Blinder und Sehbehinderter auf PC-gestützen Büroarbeitsplätzen (Securing and promotion of the oc-cupational integration of the blind and the partially sighted in office workplaces with PC support)

"The blind and those with serious visual handicaps are one of the groups of disabled whose integration into the labour market is generally only possible if special assistance is provided for the initial integration and later on for safeguarding the employment relationship. These tasks are taken on by the institutions responsible for rehabilitation and - for the continued safe-guarding of the employment - the main welfare institutions. As a result of their disability the blind and those with serious visual handicaps are severely restricted with regard to the spectrum of activities they are able to perform. It is, however, possible to achieve good integration results through workplace layout and special training measures. In the area of occupational integration, however, these types of measures are among the most complicated and the most costly. It is therefore appropriate for this reason among others to evaluate the success of the measure as early as possible and if necessary to adjust it in individual cases in order to achieve the desired integration success. Modern technical development in the field of EDP has opened up considerable workplace lay-out possibilities for the blind and partially sighted in particular for office activities. Modern EDP output devices suitable for the disabled are available with a Braille line, which shows the EDP data in Braille, line by line and character-coded, as well as with diverse large print systems which enlarge sections of the screen up to about 8 times the usual size. One of the main welfare institutions has focused its advice and assistance offers for blind and partially sighted people on PC-assisted workplaces within the framework of a special programme. In this special programme a measure was implemented in which 60 office workplaces of blind people or people with serious visual handicaps were assessed by external manpower studies specialists with regard to the integration success and follow-up support. The reason for these special consultations, which although costly also provided informative results, was the considerable difficulties arising for blind people or people with serious visual handicaps with the conversion of EDP technology to graphic user interfaces. Basically in the course of these processes of technical change, extensive technical modernisation and above all a retraining programme must take place in order to safeguard the jobs of blind and partially sighted people. There are, however, also consequences for the institution and those responsible there, who are supposed to ensure the ongoing safeguarding of the jobs." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))Blinde, Sehbehinderte, berufliche Integration - Förderung, Bildschirmarbeit, Arbeitsplatzgestaltung, Arbeitsplatzsicherung, Büroarbeit, behindertengerechte Arbeitsplätze

Sex recognition in brown skuas: do acoustic signals matter?

Bird vocalisations are often essential for sex recognition, especially in species that show little morphological sex dimorphism. Brown skuas (Catharacta antarctica lonnbergi), which exhibit uniform plumage across both sexes, emit three main calls: the long call, the alarm call and the contact call. We tested the potential for sex recognition in brown skua calls of 42 genetically sexed individuals by analysing 8-12 acoustic parameters in the temporal and frequency domains of each call type. For every call type, we failed to find sex differences in any of the acoustic parameters measured. Stepwise discriminant function analysis (DFA) revealed that sexes cannot be unambiguously classified, with increasing uncertainty of correct classification from contact calls to long calls to alarm calls. Consequently, acoustic signalling is probably not the key mechanism for sex recognition in brown skua

Минимальные массы проб для анализа показателей качества сырья

Запропоновано методику пошуку мінімальної маси проби для аналізу функцій розподілу збагачувальних показників корисної копалини. На підставі розглянутої методики отримані формули, що визначають мінімальну масу проби у залежності від параметрів підготовки проби.Предложена методика поиска минимальной массы пробы для анализа функций распределения обогатительных показателей полезного ископаемого. На основании рассмотренной методики получены формулы, определяющие минимальную массу пробы в зависимости от параметров подготовки пробы.The technique of the minimum sample mass searching for the analysis of the distribution functions of mineral dressing factors was proposed. Based on the examined methods there were obtained formulas that determined the minimum sample mass as a function of the sample preparation parameters

Archäologische und naturwissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zu spätantiken Gräbern in und bei den römischen Thermen von Grumentum

Die römische Stadt Grumentum liegt in Süditalien, im Innern von Lucanien, der heutigen Region Basilicata, etwa gleich weit vom ionischen und tyrrhenischen Meer entfernt, inmitten einer wunderschönen Landschaft, die zum einen durch das Agri-Tal und zum anderen durch hohe Berge gekennzeichnet ist. Diese Stadt war in der Antike ein bedeutendes Zentrum des Binnenlandes, da sie an einem wichtigen Straßenknotenpunkt lag. Von seinem wechselhaften Schicksal in der Geschichte berichten zahlreiche Schriftsteller, wie Livius von den punischen Kriegen – Hannibal stand auch hier vor den Toren – oder Appian von den Bürgerkriegen zu Beginn des ersten vorchristlichen Jahrhunderts. Außerhalb des Stadtgebietes sind vier monumentale Grabbauten, zahlreiche Grabinschriften und ein Aquaedukt gefunden worden. Von der Stadtbefestigung sind die Reste der Mauern unter üppigem Bewuchs noch verborgen. In der Stadt wurden bis jetzt das Forum, mehrere Tempel, ein Theater, ein Amphitheater und ein Wohnkomplex freigelegt. Zwischen 1999 und 2003 fanden erneut Ausgrabungen statt. Ein internationales Team unter der Leitung von Hansjörg Thaler konnte Teile der Straßen, einen weiteren Wohnkomplex und eine Thermenanlage – zunächst durch Prospektionen, dann in mehreren Grabungskampagnen – untersuchen. ..

Optical switching of radical pair conformation enhances magnetic sensitivity

The yield of chemical reactions involving intermediate radical pairs is influenced by magnetic fields well beyond the levels expected from energy considerations. This dependence can be traced back to the microscopic dynamics of electron spins and constitutes the basis of the chemical compass. Here we propose a new experimental approach based on molecular photoswitches to achieve additional control on the chemical reaction and to allow short-time resolution of the spin dynamics. Our proposal enables experiments to test some of the standard assumptions of the radical pair model and improves the sensitivity of chemical magnetometers by two orders of magnitude

Acute Haemodynamic Changes During Haemodialysis Do Not Exacerbate Gut Hyperpermeability

© 2019 The Author(s)Introduction: The gastrointestinal tract is a potential source of inflammation in dialysis patients. In-vitro studies suggest breakdown of the gut barrier in uraemia leading to increased intestinal permeability and it is hypothesised that haemodialysis exacerbates this problem due to mesenteric ischemia induced by blood volume changes during treatment. Method: The effect of haemodialysis on intestinal permeability was studied in ten haemodialysis patients and compared with five controls. Intestinal permeability was assessed by measuring the differential absorption of four orally administered sugar probes which provides an index of small and whole bowel permeability. A multi-sugar solution (containing lactulose, rhamnose, sucralose and erythritol) was orally administered after an overnight fast. Plasma levels of all sugar probes were measured hourly for 10hrs post-administration. In haemodialysis patients, the procedure was carried out twice – once on a non-dialysis day and once immediately after haemodialysis. Results: Area under curve (AUC) for lactulose: rhamnose (L:R) ratio and sucralose: erythritol (S:E) ratio was similar post-dialysis and on non-dialysis days. AUC for L:R was higher in haemodialysis patients compared to controls (0.071 vs. 0.034,p=0.001), AUC for S:E ratio was not significantly different. Levels of lactulose, sucralose and erythritol were elevated and retained for longer in haemodialysis patients compared to controls due to dependence of sugars on kidney function for clearance. Conclusion: We found no significant acute changes in intestinal permeability in relation to the haemodialysis procedure. Valid comparison of intestinal permeability between controls and haemodialysis patients was not possible due to the strong influence of kidney function on sugar levels.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Assessing land use and flood management impacts on ecosystem services in a river landscape (Upper Danube, Germany)

Rivers and floodplains provide many regulating, provisioning and cultural ecosystem services (ES) such as flood risk regulation, crop production or recreation. Intensive use of resources such as hydropower production, construction of detention basins and intensive agriculture substantially change ecosystems and may affect their capacity to provide ES. Legal frameworks such as the European Water Framework Directive, Bird and Habitats Directive and Floods Directive already address various uses and interests. However, management is still sectoral and often potential synergies or trade‐offs between sectors are not considered. The ES concept could support a joint and holistic evaluation of impacts and proactively suggest advantageous options. The river ecosystem service index (RESI) method evaluates the capacity of floodplains to provide ES by using a standardized five‐point scale for 1 km‐floodplain segments based on available spatial data. This scaling allows consistent scoring of all ES and their integration into a single index. The aim of this article is to assess ES impacts of different flood prevention scenarios on a 75 km section of the Danube river corridor in Germany. The RESI method was applied to evaluate scenario effects on 13 ES with the standardized five‐point scale. Synergies and trade‐offs were identified as well as ES bundles and dependencies on land use and connectivity. The ratio of actual and former floodplain has the strongest influence on the total ES provision: the higher the percentage and area of an active floodplain, the higher the sum of ES. The RESI method proved useful to support decision‐making in regional planning.BMBF, 033W024A, ReWaM - Verbundprojekt RESI: River Ecosystem Service Index, Teilprojekt