Employer Preferences and Social Policy: Business and the Development of Job Security Regulations in Germany since World War I

This article examines the role of business in the historical development of job security regulations in Germany from their creation in the inter-war period to the dawn of the crisis of the 'German Model' in the 1980s. It contrasts the varieties of capitalism approach, which sees business as protagonists, or at least consenters, in the development of job security regulations with a conflict-oriented approach, which sees the labour movement as protagonists and business as antagonists in the development of job security regulations. The empirical analysis is based on primary and secondary sources and shows that at no point in time German employers preferred strict over flexible job security regulations. Quite the contrary, high levels of job security regulations have been forced upon employers by radicalized labour movements in periods of business weakness in the aftermath of both World Wars.job security regulations, Germany, institutional change, varieties of capitalism, power resources, industrial relations

Labour market disadvantage, political orientations and voting: how adverse labour market experiences translate into electoral behaviour

How does labour market disadvantage translate into political behaviour? Bringing together the literatures on political alienation, redistribution preferences and insider-outsider politics, we identify three mechanisms by which labour market disadvantages influence voting behaviour. Disadvantages can increase support for redistribution, reduce internal political efficacy or lower external political efficacy. This translates into support for pro-redistribution parties, vote abstention or support for protest parties. Using the Dutch LISS survey, we observe a twin effect of increased support for redistribution and decreased external efficacy. Mediated through redistributive preferences, we find a positive effect of labour market disadvantage on voting for left parties. Mediated through external efficacy we find a positive effect of labour market disadvantage on protest voting. In contrast, we do not find any effect of labour market disadvantage on internal efficacy. Hence, the observed effect of labour market disadvantage on political abstention is entirely mediated by external efficac

Progressive cervical cord atrophy parallels cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by progressive episodic memory dysfunction. A prominent hallmark of AD is gradual brain atrophy. Despite extensive research on brain pathology, the understanding of spinal cord pathology in AD and its association with cognitive decline remains understudied. We analyzed serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans from the ADNI data repository to assess whether progressive cord atrophy is associated with clinical worsening. Cervical cord morphometry was measured in 45 patients and 49 cognitively normal controls (CN) at two time points over 1.5 years. Regression analysis examined associations between cord atrophy rate and cognitive worsening. Cognitive and functional activity performance declined in patients during follow-up. Compared with controls, patients showed a greater rate of decline of the anterior-posterior width of the cross-sectional cord area per month (- 0.12%, p = 0.036). Worsening in the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), clinical dementia rating (CDR), and functional assessment questionnaire (FAQ) was associated with faster rates of cord atrophy (MMSE: r = 0.320, p = 0.037; CDR: r = - 0.361, p = 0.017; FAQ: r = - 0.398, p = 0.029). Progressive cord atrophy occurs in AD patients; its rate over time being associated with cognitive and functional activity decline

Niraparib in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and DNA repair gene defects (GALAHAD): a multicentre, open-label, phase 2 trial

Background Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancers are enriched for DNA repair gene defects (DRDs) that can be susceptible to synthetic lethality through inhibition of PARP proteins. We evaluated the anti-tumour activity and safety of the PARP inhibitor niraparib in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancers and DRDs who progressed on previous treatment with an androgen signalling inhibitor and a taxane. Methods In this multicentre, open-label, single-arm, phase 2 study, patients aged at least 18 years with histologically confirmed metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mixed histology accepted, with the exception of the small cell pure phenotype) and DRDs (assessed in blood, tumour tissue, or saliva), with progression on a previous next-generation androgen signalling inhibitor and a taxane per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors 1.1 or Prostate Cancer Working Group 3 criteria and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0–2, were eligible. Enrolled patients received niraparib 300 mg orally once daily until treatment discontinuation, death, or study termination. For the final study analysis, all patients who received at least one dose of study drug were included in the safety analysis population; patients with germline pathogenic or somatic biallelic pathogenic alterations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 (BRCA cohort) or biallelic alterations in other prespecified DRDs (non-BRCA cohort) were included in the efficacy analysis population. The primary endpoint was objective response rate in patients with BRCA alterations and measurable disease (measurable BRCA cohort). This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02854436. Findings Between Sept 28, 2016, and June 26, 2020, 289 patients were enrolled, of whom 182 (63%) had received three or more systemic therapies for prostate cancer. 223 (77%) of 289 patients were included in the overall efficacy analysis population, which included BRCA (n=142) and non-BRCA (n=81) cohorts. At final analysis, with a median follow-up of 10·0 months (IQR 6·6–13·3), the objective response rate in the measurable BRCA cohort (n=76) was 34·2% (95% CI 23·7–46·0). In the safety analysis population, the most common treatment-emergent adverse events of any grade were nausea (169 [58%] of 289), anaemia (156 [54%]), and vomiting (111 [38%]); the most common grade 3 or worse events were haematological (anaemia in 95 [33%] of 289; thrombocytopenia in 47 [16%]; and neutropenia in 28 [10%]). Of 134 (46%) of 289 patients with at least one serious treatment-emergent adverse event, the most common were also haematological (thrombocytopenia in 17 [6%] and anaemia in 13 [4%]). Two adverse events with fatal outcome (one patient with urosepsis in the BRCA cohort and one patient with sepsis in the non-BRCA cohort) were deemed possibly related to niraparib treatment. Interpretation Niraparib is tolerable and shows anti-tumour activity in heavily pretreated patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and DRDs, particularly in those with BRCA alterations

Business and the Development of Job Security Regulations: The Case of Germany

This article examines the role of business in the historical development of job security regulations in Germany from their creation in the inter-war period to the dawn of the crisis of the 'German Model' in the 1990s. It contrasts a varieties of capitalism perspective, which views business as a protagonist, or at the very least a consenter, in the development of job security regulations, with a conflict-oriented perspective, which has the labour movement as the protagonist and business as an antagonist in the development of job security regulations. The empirical analysis is based on primary and secondary sources and shows that German employers have never favoured strict over flexible job security regulations. Quite the contrary, high levels of job security regulations were forced upon employers during periods of business weakness by a radicalized labour movement in the aftermath of both World Wars

Employer Preferences and Social Policy:Business and the Development of Job Security Regulations in Germany since World War I

This article examines the role of business in the historical development of job security regulations in Germany from their creation in the inter-war period to the dawn of the crisis of the 'German Model' in the 1980s. It contrasts the varieties of capitalism approach, which sees business as protagonists, or at least consenters, in the development of job security regulations with a conflict-oriented approach, which sees the labour movement as protagonists and business as antagonists in the development of job security regulations. The empirical analysis is based on primary and secondary sources and shows that at no point in time German employers preferred strict over flexible job security regulations. Quite the contrary, high levels of job security regulations have been forced upon employers by radicalized labour movements in periods of business weakness in the aftermath of both World Wars

Gescheiterte Berufseinstiege und politische Sozialisation. Eine Längsschnittstudie zur Wirkung früher Arbeitslosigkeit auf politisches Interesse: Eine Längsschnittstudie zur Wirkung früher Arbeitslosigkeit auf politisches Interesse

Verringert Arbeitslosigkeit politisches Interesse? Wir argumentieren, dass die Antwort auf diese Frage vom Stadium im Lebenszyklus abhängt. Mit zunehmendem Alter wird politisches Interesse wandlungsresistent, wodurch der Einfluss von Arbeitslosigkeit abnimmt. In jungem Alter kann Arbeitslosigkeit allerdings den Sozialisationsprozess behindern, durch den sich politisches Interesse entwickelt. Dieser negative Effekt von Arbeitslosigkeit tritt vor allem unter jungen Erwachsenen auf, die weniger stark in soziale Netzwerke eingebunden sind. Mit dieser Sozialisationsperspektive ergänzen wir Argumente, die sich auf an den Arbeitsplatz geknüpfte Ressourcen konzentrieren. Unsere Längsschnittanalyse zeigt, dass (1) Arbeitslosigkeit politisches Interesse insbesondere bei jungen Befragten verringert, (2) dieser Effekt vor allem bei introvertierten Persönlichkeiten mit schwächeren sozialen Netzwerken auftritt und (3) Arbeitslosigkeit in jungen Jahren einen bleibenden negativen Effekt auf politisches Interesse hat.Does unemployment reduce political interest? This contribution argues that the answer depends on life-cycle stages. Political interest becomes resilient with age, which in turn diminishes the negative effect of unemployment. However, if unemployment occurs at a young age, unemployment can inhibit the socialization process that leads to political interest. This effect is especially pervasive among young adults with weak social networks. This socialization perspective complements existing accounts that emphasize the role of workplace-related resources. The longitudinal analyses made in connection with this study show that unemployment does indeed reduce political interest primarily among young respondents, an effect that is particularly strong among respondents who lack strong social networks. Furthermore, unemployment at a young age produces persistent, negative effects on political interest