554 research outputs found
The impact of powerful authorities and trustful tax payers: Evidence for the extended slippery slope framework from Austria, Finland and Hungary
Tax authorities utilize a wide range of instruments to motivate
honest taxpaying ranging from strict audits to fair procedures or
personalized support, differing from country to country. However,
little is known about how these different instruments and
taxpayers' trust influence the generation of interaction climates
between tax authorities and taxpayers, motivations to comply,
and particularly, tax compliance. The present research examines
the extended slippery slope framework (eSSF), which distinguishes
tax authorities' instruments into different qualities of power of
authority (coercive and legitimate) and trust in authorities (reasonbased
and implicit), to shed light on the effect of differences
between power and trust. We test eSSF assumptions with survey
data from taxpayers from three culturally different countries (N =
700) who also vary concerning their perceptions of power, trust,
interaction climates, and tax motivations. Results support
assumptions of the eSSF. Across all countries, the relation of
coercive power and tax compliance was mediated by implicit
trust, which leads to an antagonistic climate and enforced
motivation. The connection from legitimate power to tax
compliance is partially mediated by reason-based trust. The
relationship between implicit trust and tax compliance is
mediated by a confidence climate and committed cooperation.
Theoretical and practical implications are discussed
Living history - education for human rights: evaluation of the funding programme "Meeting living witnesses – the lives of former forced labourers" - main outlines; draft report
"How do young people remember the Holocaust after more than 60 years? How can encounters with survivors contribute to an active remembrance? How does living history improve the sustainability of Education for Human Rights? In this context the 'Remembrance and Future'-Fund of the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future in Berlin asked the Research Group Youth and Europe at the C·A·P in Munich to give strategic advice by evaluating the nearly 2 Million Euro funding programme "Meeting living witnesses – the lives of former forced labourers" (2002-2005). The opinions of over one thousand young people in Germany, over one hundred living witnesses in Europe and almost fifty institutions were considered in the qualitative approach of this evaluation. Getting to know the victims of the Holocaust personally helps especially young people to come to a better understanding of the darkest hours of humanity. One of the greatest opportunities of those encounter programmes lies in making a change in perspective possible. As the results of the evaluation show, bridging the historical gap and deepening the knowledge about the Holocaust are the main benefits of the fund programme. Personal meetings with survivors have a significant effect on the memory culture of young people in Germany, who do not pay much attention to official commemoration ceremonies. At the same time encounter programmes encourage the emotional aspects of learning and promote empathy and self-reflection - a prerequisite for the education of tolerance and democracy among young people in the 21st century. The Draft Report is an English summary of the entire evaluation, which is published in German, see: Eva Feldmann-Wojtachnia/ Oliver Hofmann, 2006: Erinnern, Begegnen, Zukunft gestalten - Evaluation des Förderprogramms 'Begegnungen mit Zeitzeugen - Lebenswege ehemaliger Zwangsarbeiter'; Munich." (author's abstract
Collectively Building a Sustainable Sharing Economy Based on Trust and Regulation
The articles in this Special Issue on the sharing economy's role in fostering sustainability
comprise eight contributions to answer how trust and regulation shape relations of providers and
consumers. We identify indispensable aspects of the sharing economy to show its potential in fostering
sustainability. This is in some contrast to existing definitions and applications of sharing economy
business models, which do not place sustainability in their focus. The studies employ a variety of
methods, covering quantitative and qualitative research to investigate building of communities on
the consumer side, as well as trust-building and implementation of regulations in the interaction
between providers and consumers in Asia and Europe. Some areas in the sharing economy foster
sustainability, some foster social cohesion and in the end build social capital, but others focus at first
sight on convenience and lifestyle
Explaining consumer choice of low carbon footprint goods using the behavioral spillover effect in German-speaking countries
The aim of the research was to investigate how to stimulate sustainable consumer behaviors that lead to a lowering of the carbon footprint. Because of environmental challenges at the individual and societal levels, researchers agree that behavioral change is necessary. We argue that when already performing a sustainable behavior, this behavior can spill over to other sustainable actions, even to more difficult ones. First, we studied whether a positive behavioral spillover occurs between product categories and whether the spillover effect depends on the ease or difficulty of the sustainable behavior. Second, we investigated whether high awareness of sustainability determines the spillover between categories. We conducted three online experiments in Central Europe, investigating whether spillover takes place between behaviors assigned to the same category (transport or food) or between behaviors assigned to different categories (transport or food). In all three studies participants had to make two independent decisions. In studies 1a (N=281) and 1b (N=195), the effect of the ease/difficulty of the behavior was tested. In study 2 (N=164), awareness of CO2 emission reducing effects was manipulated. Findings revealed a behavioral spillover between sustainable choices
Power versus trust - what matters more in collaborative consumption?
Purpose -
Collaborative consumption, such as car sharing, speci
fi
cally implicates customer-to-customer interaction, which must be regulated by
service providers (companies, peers and self-regulating communities), comprising different challenges for business organizations. While in
conventional business relations, consumers are protected from undesirable customer behavior by laws, regulations (power) in the context of
collaborative consumption are rare, so that trust becomes more relevant. It is the purpose of the study to investigate possible mechanisms to
prevent undesirable customers in collaborative consumption.
Design/methodology/Approach -
In between subject designs, samples of 186 and 328 consumers
fi
lled in experimental online questionnaires
with vignettes. Analyses were made of differences among car sharing companies, private persons and car sharing communities in terms of the
power of providers, trust in providers and trust in other users of the shared goods, undesirable customer behavior and consumer -
provider relations.
Findings -
Companies, private persons and self-regulating communities differ in terms of perceived power and trust. Participants speci
fi
cally
perceive mainly coercive power with the car sharing company, but with the private person and the community, reason-based trust in other users is
perceived as prevalent. Nevertheless, undesirable customer behavior varies only marginally over the models.
Originality/value -
The present study is the first to investigate measures to prevent undesirable customer behavior over different collaborative
consumption models. This enables appropriate identification of market segments and tailoring of services. The study identifies opportunities for
companies in contrast to private persons and self-regulating communities and, in doing so, provides important stimulation for marketing strategy
and theory development
Role of nuclear bodies in apoptosis signalling
AbstractPromyelocytic leukemia nuclear bodies (PML NBs) are dynamic macromolecular multiprotein complexes that recruit and release a plethora of proteins. A considerable number of PML NB components play vital roles in apoptosis, senescence regulation and tumour suppression. The molecular basis by which PML NBs control these cellular responses is still just beginning to be understood. In addition to PML itself, numerous further tumour suppressors including transcriptional regulator p53, acetyl transferase CBP (CREB binding protein) and protein kinase HIPK2 (homeodomain interacting protein kinase 2) are recruited to PML NBs in response to genotoxic stress or oncogenic transformation and drive the senescence and apoptosis response by regulating p53 activity. Moreover, in response to death-receptor activation, PML NBs may act as nuclear depots that release apoptotic factors, such as the FLASH (FLICE-associated huge) protein, to amplify the death signal. PML NBs are also associated with other nuclear domains including Cajal bodies and nucleoli and share apoptotic regulators with these domains, implying crosstalk between NBs in apoptosis regulation. In conclusion, PML NBs appear to regulate cell death decisions through different, pathway-specific molecular mechanisms
Management of elderly patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia: progress and problems
Despite substantial progress in the management and outcome of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) during the last decades, older age remains a prominent negative prognostic factor. The improvement of long-term stabilization and cure of older APL patients is therefore a particular challenge. Data of unselected population-based studies suggest a high rate of exclusion from clinical trials in older age. The comparison of registry and study data indicates that study patients represent a positive selection. Older APL patients seem as sensitive to therapy as younger patients. With conventional therapy, based on all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and chemotherapy, over 50Â % of older APL patients can probably be cured. Special problems of advanced age are the high rate of early death before or during induction therapy and the high frequency of death in remission with negative influence on the outcome. Both may be related in part to a higher vulnerability against the common treatment with ATRA and chemotherapy. Alternative less toxic approaches including arsenic trioxide (ATO) with or without ATRA and combinations with gemtuzumab ozogamicin or with reduced chemotherapy can induce long-lasting remission in all stages of APL. Considering the high curative potential and the excellent tolerance of ATO in newly diagnosed and relapsed APL, older patients are probably a particular target group for a chemotherapy-free approach with ATO
TERAHERTZ RESONATOR
A tunable terahertz resonator includes a semiconductor Substrate and a metal layer contacting a surface of the semiconductor substrate. A depletion layer is formed in the semiconductor substrate near an interface between the metal layer and the semiconductor Substrate. A chiral nanostructure is coupled to the substrate or the metal layer, the chiral nanostructure including a conducting or semiconducting material and having an inductance. A bias circuit applies a bias Voltage across the metal layer and the semiconductor Substrate to control a capacitance of a tunable capacitor that includes the depletion layer. The chiral nanostructure and the tunable capacitor form a tunable resonant circuit. The tunable terahertz resonator can be used in a terahertz radiation emitter or receiver
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