1,113 research outputs found

    FDI liberalization, firm heterogeneity and foreign ownership: German firm decisions in reforming India

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    The paper investigates the role of firm-level productivity and industry-level R&D for MNEs' choice of undertaking FDI, and the share of ownership in foreign affiliates. Two firm-specific datasets on German MNEs with varying equity stakes in Indian affiliates are used to account for the two-step decision process. The paper also analyses how German firm decisions were affected by the liberalisation of FDI regulations in India. Results show remarkable differences between the selection and the ownership share equation, and also between the pre-reform and post-reform periods. The evidence clearly reveals the tradeoffs involved in selective FDI approvals and foreign ownership restrictions. --multinational enterprises,firm characteristics,selective FDI approval,German FDI,ownership share,Heckman model

    The End and the Beginning

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    First published in Germany in 1929, The End and the Beginning is a lively memoir of a vanished world and of a rebellious young woman’s struggle to achieve independence. Born in 1883 into a distinguished and wealthy aristocratic family of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire, Hermynia Zur MĂŒhlen spent much of her childhood traveling in Europe and North Africa with her diplomat father. After five years on her German husband’s estate in czarist Russia she broke with both her family and her husband and set out on a precarious career as a professional writer committed to socialism. As well as translating many leading contemporary authors, notably Upton Sinclair, into German, she herself published an impressive number of politically engaged novels, detective stories, short stories, and children’s fairy tales. Because of her outspoken opposition to National Socialism, she had to flee her native Austria in 1938 and seek refuge in England, where she died, virtually penniless, in 1951. This revised and corrected translation of Zur MĂŒhlen’s memoir—with extensive notes and an essay on the author by Lionel Gossman—will appeal especially to readers interested in women’s history, World War I, and the culture and politics of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Seven free online supplements are also provided, containing additional original material including a selection of newly translated stories by Zur MĂŒhlen, biographical essays by Gossman and a portfolio of images. The Federal Ministry of Education, Art, and Culture, Department of Literature (/BMUKK-Kultur; Literaturabteilung/), Vienna, Austria, has generously contributed towards the publication of this volume

    Full faith in credit? : the power of numbers in rating frontier sovereigns and the global governance of development by the UNDP 1

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    The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the oldest dedicated development institution in the multilateral system, yet remains one of the smallest in terms of funding and resources. This belies its central role in contributing to rankings, benchmarks and ratings which have defined the process of development for states, nongovernment organisations and the private sector. The UNDP created the Human Development Index (HDI), coordinates the benchmarks of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and recently devised sovereign credit ratings in partnership with Standard and Poor’s. In this regard mobilising numbers in support of development strategies is not new, yet it will be argued that the UNDPs development policy has seen a significant shift from the qualitative analysis of the HDI to the quantitative nature of credit rating. This paper will adopt a governmentality approach in looking at sovereign credit rating and the way in which the power of numbers informs the rationality underpinning the partnership between the UNDP and the rating agency Standard and Poor’s. It concludes that while pursuing sovereign credit rating may be seen as ‘capacity development’ for the UNDP, it in fact represents a shift by the organisation toward quantitative practices that have particular consequences for the global governance of development

    The Red Countess

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    Born into a distinguished aristocratic family of the old Habsburg Empire, Hermynia Zur MĂŒhlen spent much of her childhood and early youth travelling in Europe and North Africa with her diplomat father. Never comfortable with the traditional roles women were expected to play, she broke as a young adult both with her family and, after five years on his estate in the old Czarist Russia, with her German Junker husband, and set out as an independent, free-thinking individual, earning a precarious living as a writer. She translated over 70 books from English, French and Russian into German, notably the novels of Upton Sinclair, which she turned into best-sellers in Germany; produced a series of detective novels under a pseudonym; wrote seven engaging and thought-provoking novels of her own, six of which were translated into English; contributed countless insightful short stories and articles to newspapers and magazines; and, having become a committed socialist, achieved international renown in the 1920s with her Fairy Tales for Workers’ Children, which were widely translated including into Chinese and Japanese. Because of her fervent and outspoken opposition to National Socialism, she and her life-long Jewish partner, Stefan Klein, had to flee first Germany, where they had settled, and then, in 1938, her native Austria. They found refuge in England, where Zur MĂŒhlen died, forgotten and virtually penniless, in 1951. This new, expanded edition contains: Zur MĂŒhlen’s autobiographical memoir, The End and the Beginning; The editor’s detailed notes on the persons and events mentioned in the autobiography; A selection of Zur MĂŒhlen’s short stories and two fairy tales; A synopsis of Zur MĂŒhlen’s untranslated novel Our Daughters the Nazi Girls; An essay by the Editor on Zur MĂŒhlen’s life and work; A bibliography of Zur MĂŒhlen’s novels in English translation; A portfolio of selected illustrations of her work by George Grosz and Heinrich Vogeler; A free online supplement with additional original materia

    Internet:Historie und Technik

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    Das Internet - oft als "Netz der Netze" bezeichnet - hat in den letzten Jahren ein rasantes Wachstum hinter sich. HĂ€ufig wird der Begriff Internet mit dem Internet-Dienst World Wide Web gleichgesetzt, ohne hier die notwendige Differenzierung vorzunehmen, denn das Internet ist weit mehr als nur ein Medium zur Verwaltung von World-Wide-Web-Seiten. Dienste wie FTP, E-Mail und NetNews verzeichnen auch drei Jahrzehnte nach den ersten Internet- Versuchen stetig zunehmende Benutzerzahlen. Um die Diskussion um das Internet konzeptionell zu untermauern, wird in diesem Artikel die historische Entwicklung, die zur Bildung des Internet in seiner heutigen Form fĂŒhrte, beschrieben sowie der technische Hintergrund und die Organisation des weltweiten Datennetzes nĂ€her erlĂ€utert. Daran anschließend werden einige Entwicklungen erlĂ€utert, welche die zukĂŒnftige Entwicklung des Internet beeinflussen werden.<br/

    The Red Countess

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    Born into a distinguished aristocratic family of the old Habsburg Empire, Hermynia Zur MĂŒhlen spent much of her childhood and early youth travelling in Europe and North Africa with her diplomat father. Never comfortable with the traditional roles women were expected to play, she broke as a young adult both with her family and, after five years on his estate in the old Czarist Russia, with her German Junker husband, and set out as an independent, free-thinking individual, earning a precarious living as a writer. She translated over 70 books from English, French and Russian into German, notably the novels of Upton Sinclair, which she turned into best-sellers in Germany; produced a series of detective novels under a pseudonym; wrote seven engaging and thought-provoking novels of her own, six of which were translated into English; contributed countless insightful short stories and articles to newspapers and magazines; and, having become a committed socialist, achieved international renown in the 1920s with her Fairy Tales for Workers’ Children, which were widely translated including into Chinese and Japanese. Because of her fervent and outspoken opposition to National Socialism, she and her life-long Jewish partner, Stefan Klein, had to flee first Germany, where they had settled, and then, in 1938, her native Austria. They found refuge in England, where Zur MĂŒhlen died, forgotten and virtually penniless, in 1951. This new, expanded edition contains: Zur MĂŒhlen’s autobiographical memoir, The End and the Beginning; The editor’s detailed notes on the persons and events mentioned in the autobiography; A selection of Zur MĂŒhlen’s short stories and two fairy tales; A synopsis of Zur MĂŒhlen’s untranslated novel Our Daughters the Nazi Girls; An essay by the Editor on Zur MĂŒhlen’s life and work; A bibliography of Zur MĂŒhlen’s novels in English translation; A portfolio of selected illustrations of her work by George Grosz and Heinrich Vogeler; A free online supplement with additional original materia

    The final round: combating armed actors, organized crime and wildlife trafficking

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    Wildlife and wildlife products constitute a high-value ‘conflict resource: When trafficked together with small arms and light weapons (SALW), this resource proliferation reinforces a cycle of armed violence impeding development, eroding state institutions and threatening community security. Deploy technical advisors and systematically share intelligence between wildlife conservation and SALW control programmes to map, identify, trace and track networks and flows of arms, ammunition and high value wildlife trafficking (HVWT). Prioritize trainings on customs and border management, physical security and stockpile management (PSSM) of weapons and ammunition, record-keeping and targeted capacity-building of wildlife authorities and rangers. The illicit trade in wildlife and weapons takes place across sovereign borders and cannot be dealt with by states in isolation. Sharing intelligence, strengthening legislation and conducting joint operations at the regional level is crucial. Assist member states to co-ordinate action, tailor standards and design and implement coherent strategies that explicitly recognize the relationship between eradicating HVWT, countering SALW proliferation and achieving wider development goals. Poverty, conflict, weak governance and high demand are key drivers of both HVWT and SALW proliferation. Participatory solutions, including education, advocacy and livelihood creation, are key to eradicating demand and nurturing development in order to eliminate the trade

    Der Lösungsbeitrag von Metadatenmodellen beim Vergleich von Workflowmanagementsystemen

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    Die DV-gestĂŒtzte Prozeßabwicklung mittels Workflowmanagementsystemen erlaubt die Auslagerung der Ablaufsteuerung aus Anwendungssystemen. Mittlerweile ist eine Vielzahl an Systemen mit unterschiedlicher Entwicklungsgeschichte (Dokumentenmanagement, Vorgangssteuerung etc.) verfĂŒgbar. Damit stellt sich das Problem der Auswahl eines bedarfsgerechten Workflowmanagementsystems. Im Rahmen dieses Arbeitsberichts soll der diesbezĂŒgliche Lösungsbeitrag des Vergleichs der Metadatenmodelle von Workflowmanagementsystemen evaluiert werden. Nach allgemeinen AusfĂŒhrungen zur Metamodellierung werden hierzu exemplarisch die Metadatenmodelle fĂŒr die Workflowmanagementsysteme WorkParty (SNI) und FlowMark (IBM) skizziert und verglichen.<br/

    Influence of Papillomavirus Early Proteins on the Expression of Tumor-Progression Promoting Genes

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    Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are the known cause for cancers of the cervix and are associated with a variety of other human malignancies including head and neck, and skin. The cottontail-rabbit papillomavirus (CRPV) serves as a suitable animal model to study the development and progression of these cancers in-vivo. Our group has previously demonstrated that CRPV-induced skin lesions express elevated levels of metalloproteinase-9, a protease contributing to cancer progression by extracellular matrix remodelling. Based on our previous findings that the CRPV early protein 2 (E2) can activate a truncated human MMP-9 promoter fragment, we hypothesized that enhanced MMP-9 expression in the rabbit lesions is a consequence of activation of the rabbit MMP-9 promoter by CRPV E2. In order to elucidate the mechanism involved in MMP-9 promoter activation a library of genomic DNA isolated from rabbit skin was constructed, and the sequence of the MMP-9 promoter was identified. Promoter deletion mutants were cloned and the minimum required fragment for E2-mediated MMP-9 promoter activation was determined to be -717 bp in length. Selective mutation of transcription factor binding sites within the promoter sequence revealed a high importance of both of the two identified AP-1 binding sites in the rabbit MMP-9 promoter. Using the transactivation-deficient c-Jun mutant TAM67, a strong inhibitory effect on promoter activation after challenge with E2 could be observed, suggesting an important role of c-Jun in the activating AP-1 transcription-factor complex. The same mechanism could be shown in the human system during this study. Furthermore, it could be determined that in both, the rabbit and the human system, the activation of the MMP-9 promoter by E2 requires the phosphorylation of the MAP-kinase ERK, as inhibition of the cascade by the chemical inhibitor PD098059 resulted in a significant decrease of promoter activation. Co-transfection of E2 and siRNA directed against ERK or a dominant-negative mutant of the latter led to similar results. It has been described previously that the high-risk HPV E2 is located within both nucleus and cytoplasm. Mutations in the domains responsible for protein localization allowed for investigation of the role of E2 localization in the activation of the MMP-9 promoter. It was observed that MMP-9 activation was strikingly decreased when the protein was mainly cytoplasmic. Additionally, HPV6bE2 which has been described to be solely nuclear did also induce MMP-9 promoter activation. It can hence be concluded that CRPV E2 and HPV16 E2 both activate the respective MMP-9 promoters via an AP-1 and ERK dependent mechanism. As direct binding of the E2 proteins to the promoter can be roled out, this mechanism has to be further investigated. It can, however, be hypothezised that the interaction of E2 with its potential interation partner is taking place within the nucleus
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