On the nature of the corrupt firm: Where to situate liability?

Applying the modern Property Rights Approach to depict employment and firm-internal delegation relationships, this paper addresses the question how to prevent corporate bribery. The analysis and the answers that follow take into account interaction effects between firm-internal delegation relationships, the possibly devilish side function of formal corporate ethics efforts (namely to shield firms or superiors from criminal accountability by shifting it onto their subordinate employees), the distribution of criminal liability, and the necessity for courts to rely on available evidence. From the simple theoretical framework, a bundle of implications follows: (l) conditions under which formal corporate ethics guidelines can take on a Janus-faced nature, i.e. lack credibility, (2) suggestions how firms can enhance the credibility of their corporate ethics efforts, (3) starts how to avoid the possible second-order lack of credibility of such credibility-enhancing measures, (4) clear-cut statements as to (a) where criminal liability should be situated within the firm and (b) how corporate and individual liabilities should be combined to both restrain corruption and to sustain the credibility of corporate ethics. These implications allow comparatively evaluating the effectiveness of international anti-corruption laws - specifically the desirability of corporate vs. personal criminal liabilities

5, 10, or 15: Maturity Choice of Private Mortgage Borrowers

This paper analyzes the factors that influence the maturity choice of private mortgage borrowers. Using a unique dataset from the German market with more than 40,000 mortgages we find a significant influence of pricing variables, especially of the relative pricing of a mortgage provider compared to the market average. In addition, we show that personal factors matter suggesting that risk averse borrowers and borrowers who suffer most from interest rate increases choose longer maturities. Finally, we show that mortgage brokers' advice is significantly influenced by their commission scheme

Aggregating available soil water holding capacity data for crop yield models

The total amount of water available to plants that is held against gravity in a soil is usually estimated as the amount present at -0.03 MPa average water potential minus the amount present at -1.5 MPa water potential. This value, designated available water-holding capacity (AWHC), is a very important soil characteristic that is strongly and positively correlated to the inherent productivity of soils. In various applications, including assessing soil moisture status over large areas, it is necessary to group soil types or series as to their productivity. Current methods to classify AWHC of soils consider only total capacity of soil profiles and thus may group together soils which differ greatly in AWHC as a function of depth in the profile. A general approach for evaluating quantitatively the multidimensional nature of AWHC in soils is described. Data for 902 soil profiles, representing 184 soil series, in Indiana were obtained from the Soil Characterization Laboratory at Purdue University. The AWHC for each of ten 150-mm layers in each soil was established, based on soil texture and parent material. A multivariate clustering procedure was used to classify each soil profile into one of 4, 8, or 12 classes based upon ten-dimensional AWHC values. The optimum number of classes depends on the range of AWHC in the population of oil profiles analyzed and on the sensitivity of a crop to differences in distribution of water within the soil profile

Neue Packungsmaterialien für die Anionenchromatographie - Synthese und Anwendungsmöglichkeiten

Die Fragestellungen in der Ionenchromatographie werden immer spezieller. Dabei ist es schwierig, aus dem kommerziell erhältlichen Programm die passende Trennsäule samt Eluenten zu finden. Deshalb wurden sich im Grundpolymer, im Spacer und im Amin unterscheidende Anionenaustauscher getestet und miteinander verglichen. Daraus ergibt sich ein umfangreiches Wissen über das Verhalten dieser verschiedenen Arten von Trennsäulen und ein einzigartiger Pool an Anionenaustauschern, aus denen je nach Art des Trennproblems die passende Säule samt angepaßten Eluenten ausgesucht werden kann. Ausgenutzt wurde dies zur Bestimmung anionischer Verunreinigungen in hochreiner, konzentrierter Salpetersäure, wie sie in der Halbleitertechnik benutzt wird. Dazu wurden zwei IC-Systeme über ein externes 6-Port-Ventil und eine Konzentratorsäule miteinander gekoppelt. Im ersten Teil zeigten die Analytanionen Chlorid, Sulfat und Phosphat mit einem speziellen, hochkapazitiven Anionenaustauscher in Kombination mit einem hochkonzentrierten Natronlauge-Eluenten sehr viel kürzere Retentionszeiten als die Matrix Nitrat und konnten so von dieser getrennt werden. Im zweiten Schritt wurden sie dann mit Hilfe eines kommerziellen Anionenaustauschers quantifiziert

Untersuchungen zur Herstellung von agglomerierten Anionenaustauschern auf Styrol- und Methacrylat-Basis

Trägerpartikel wurden durch die Funktionalisierung hochquervernetzter PS-DVB-Harze mit konzentrierter Schwefelsäure erhalten. Die Sulfonierungsreaktion erwies sich als gut reproduzierbar. Die Emulsionspolymerisation von Latexpartikeln des Styrol-Typs wurde anhand des VBC-DVB-Monomersystems untersucht, in dem kritische Verfahrensparameter systematisch variiert wurden. Zur Charakterisierung der Produkte fanden die Photonenkorrelationsspektroskopie sowie die Rasterelektronenmikroskopie Anwendung. Nach der Übertragung des Polymerisationsverfahrens gelang es, Latexpartikel aus GMA-EGDMA, THFMA-EGDMA und HPMA-Monomersystemen zu synthetisieren und als funktionelle Latexpartikel in agglomerierten Anionenaustauschern einzusetzen. Als Ursache für Reproduzierbarkeitsprobleme von VBC-DVB-Latexsäulen wurde die Bildung von Agglomeraten während der Funktionalisierung des Latex identifiziert. Dies war auch der Grund für den hohen Staudruck von Methacrylat-Säulen, der in einem Langzeittest zu frühzeitigen Trennleistungsverlusten führte. Die Charakterisierung der hergestellten Trennsäulen-Typen zeigte, dass der alleinige Ersatz des Styrol-ähnlichen VBC-DVB-Latex durch Methacrylat-Latices mit einer signifikanten Verbesserung der Peaksymmetrie für polarisierbare Anionen wie Bromid und Nitrat einhergeht. Des Weiteren wurde mit THFMA-EGDMA-Latexsäulen eine Auflösung des Fluorids vom Injektionspeak erreicht und nahezu identische Trennleistungen für alle acht untersuchten anorganischen Anionen erhalten. Die chemische Struktur der funktionellen Gruppe auf dem Latex hatte Auswirkungen auf die Selektivität für leicht polarisierbare und mehrfach geladenen Anionen, deren Ursache unterschiedliche Ladungsdichten und Hydratisierungen darstellen. An VBC-DVB-Trennsäulen wurde darüber hinaus eine Zunahme des Peaktailings mit der Polarität des quartären Ammonium-Ions beobachtet

Maturity choice of private mortgage borrowers

This paper asks what factors influence the maturity choice of private mortgage borrowers and if the choice is rational. Using a unique data set from the German market with more than 50,000 financed projects, we find a significant influence of personal and macroeconomic factors. A high income, a low loan value, and a low value to income ratio lead to short maturities; so do economically good times with high GDP growth and low unemployment. In addition, we show that the importance of pricing variables is age dependent and declining for older borrowers. Moreover, we demonstrate that borrowers behave irrational and not according to the recommendations of models on optimal mortgage choice when choosing the maturity of their mortgage

Glutamatergic Plasticity in Medial Prefrontal Cortex and Ventral Tegmental Area Following Extended-Access Cocaine Self-Administration

Glutamate signaling in prefrontal cortex and ventral tegmental area plays an important role in the molecular and behavioral plasticity associated with addiction to drugs of abuse. The current study investigated the expression and postsynaptic density redistribution of glutamate receptors and synaptic scaffolding proteins in dorsomedial and ventromedial prefrontal cortex and ventral tegmental area after cocaine self-administration. After 14 days of extended-access (6 h/day) cocaine self-administration, rats were exposed to one of three withdrawal regimen for 10 days. Animals either stayed in home cages (Home), returned to self-administration boxes with the levers withdrawn (Box), or underwent extinction training (Extinction). Extinction training was associated with significant glutamatergic plasticity. In dorsomedial prefrontal cortex of the Extinction group, there was an increase in postsynaptic density GluR1, PSD95, and actin proteins; while postsynaptic density mGluR5 protein decreased and there was no change in NMDAR1, Homer1b/c, or PICK1 proteins. These changes were not observed in ventromedial prefrontal cortex or ventral tegmental area. In ventral tegmental area, Extinction training reversed the decreased postsynaptic density NMDAR1 protein in the Home and Box withdrawal groups. These data suggest that extinction of drug seeking is associated with selective glutamatergic plasticity in prefrontal cortex and ventral tegmental area that include modulation of receptor trafficking to postsynaptic density

Neuroadaptations in the Cellular and Postsynaptic Group 1 Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor mGluR5 and Homer Proteins Following Extinction of Cocaine Self-administration

This study examined the role of group1 metabotropic glutamate receptor mGluR5 and associated postsynaptic scaffolding protein Homer1b/c in behavioral plasticity after three withdrawal treatments from cocaine self-administration. Rats self-administered cocaine or saline for 14 days followed by a withdrawal period during which rats underwent extinction training, remained in their home cages, orwere placed in the self-administration chambers in the absence of extinction. Subsequently, the tissue level and distribution of proteins in the synaptosomal fraction associated with the postsynaptic densitywere examined. Cocaine self-administration followed by home cage exposure reduced the mGluR5 protein in nucleus accumbens (NA) shell and dorsolateral striatum. While extinction training reduced mGluR5 protein in NAshell, NAcore and dorsolateral striatum did not display any change. The scaffolding protein PSD95 increased in NAcore of the extinguished animals. Extinction of drug seeking was associated with a significant decrease in the synaptosomal mGluR5 protein in NAshell and an increase in dorsolateral striatum, while that of NAcore was not modified. Interestingly, both Homer1b/c and PSD95 scaffolding proteins were decreased in the synaptosomal fraction after extinction training in NAshell but not NAcore. Extinguished drug-seeking behavior was also associated with an increase in the synaptosomal actin proteins in dorsolateral striatum. Therefore, extinction of cocaine seeking is associated with neuroadaptations in mGluR5 expression and distribution that are region-specific and consist of extinction-induced reversal of cocaine-induced adaptations aswell as emergent extinction-induced alterations. Concurrent plasticity in the scaffolding proteins further suggests that mGluR5 receptor neuroadaptations may have implications for synaptic function