Capitalism, democracy, and the European Union

First Online: 07 December 2016Engaging with articles published in this journal by Wolfgang Merkel, Wolfgang Streeck and Colin Crouch, the present article seeks to elaborate on the relation between capitalism and democracy in the European Union. The key question addressed by the article is whether and to what extent democracy is possible within the EU, or whether the EU must be regarded as the Trojan horse of capitalism. The first two sections consist of a brief discussion of the main arguments raised in the foregoing debate and of the institutional and politico-cultural dimensions of democracy in the EU’s multilevel system. The central section of the paper is devoted to a discussion of the complex contexts and actors influencing the relation between democracy and capitalism, or rather, economic liberalization and deregulation, in the EU. In the fifth and final section I consider whether and to what extent democracy is possible within the EU’s system of liberal capitalism and how representative democracy in the EU and the multilevel system could be safeguarded and improved under current conditions. To this end, I present six possible pathways for institutional and democratic reform that are of varying complexity

Free Trade versus Democracy and Social Standards in the European Union: Trade-Offs or Trilemma?

This article aims at conceptualising, in analytical as well as normative-theoretical terms, the tensions between free trade, democratic and social standards, and national sovereignty that are named in Dani Rodrik's "globalisation trilemma" for the case of the European Union (EU). It is argued that the trilemma concept is much more fitting to the EU than a simple trade-off concept. This model offers a conceptual path to both analysing existing tensions and thinking of resolving them: a) the EU has, indeed, been intervening into national democracies and national sovereignty as its legislation is superior to national legislation; b) EU legislation and judgements of the Court of Justice of the EU have been reducing national social standards; c) executives and numerous new institutions and agencies with indirect legitimation have taken over competencies that formerly lay in the domain of national directly legitimated legislatives; and d) these negative effects relate to the EU’s giving preference to the liberalisation of free trade of capital, goods and services over democracy, social standards, and national sovereignty. Against the framework of the globalisation trilemma, analysis is combined with normative-theoretical judgements on the quality democracy of the setting that has been found and a conceptual discussion. The article concludes by discussing the perspectives of the setting examined and the possible paths to solutions, arguing that in order to keep a high level of economic integration, democracy, and social standards in the EU, national sovereignty needs to give way

Verfassung, Staat und Demokratie in Europa: Ein Debattenbeitrag von Kleger, Karolewski und Munke

Kleger, Karolewski und Munke liefern einen innovativen und umfassend angelegten Beitrag zur hochaktuellen Debatte um die europäische Verfassung. Die Autoren verbinden die demokratietheoretisch angelegte Diskussion der Verfassungsbildung der EU mit einer umfangreichen Darstellung verschiedenster Aspekte, die von einem Aufriss der europäischen Integration über eine Skizze der Rolle von Nationalstaaten und nationaler Identität zu einer Diskussion der Osterweiterung und osteuropäischer Europadebatten reichen. Diese Breite des Bandes führt allerdings dazu, dass viele wesentliche Bereiche nur grob angerissen und zu vereinfacht dargestellt werden

Association of virulence plasmid and antibiotic resistance determinants with chromosomal multilocus genotypes in Mexican Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strains

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bacterial genomes are mosaic structures composed of genes present in every strain of the same species (core genome), and genes present in some but not all strains of a species (accessory genome). The aim of this study was to compare the genetic diversity of core and accessory genes of a <it>Salmonella enterica </it>subspecies <it>enterica </it>serovar Typhimurium (Typhimurium) population isolated from food-animal and human sources in four regions of Mexico. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and macrorestriction fingerprints by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) were used to address the core genetic variation, and genes involved in pathogenesis and antibiotic resistance were selected to evaluate the accessory genome.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found a low genetic diversity for both housekeeping and accessory genes. Sequence type 19 (ST19) was supported as the founder genotype of STs 213, 302 and 429. We found a temporal pattern in which the derived ST213 is replacing the founder ST19 in the four geographic regions analyzed and a geographic trend in the number of resistance determinants. The distribution of the accessory genes was not random among chromosomal genotypes. We detected strong associations among the different accessory genes and the multilocus chromosomal genotypes (STs). First, the <it>Salmonella </it>virulence plasmid (pSTV) was found mostly in ST19 isolates. Second, the plasmid-borne betalactamase <it>cmy-2 </it>was found only in ST213 isolates. Third, the most abundant integron, IP-1 (<it>dfrA12</it>, <it>orfF </it>and <it>aadA2</it>), was found only in ST213 isolates. Fourth, the <it>Salmonella </it>genomic island (SGI1) was found mainly in a subgroup of ST19 isolates carrying pSTV. The mapping of accessory genes and multilocus genotypes on the dendrogram derived from macrorestiction fingerprints allowed the establishment of genetic subgroups within the population.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Despite the low levels of genetic diversity of core and accessory genes, the non-random distribution of the accessory genes across chromosomal backgrounds allowed us to discover genetic subgroups within the population. This study provides information about the importance of the accessory genome in generating genetic variability within a bacterial population.</p

IS200 and multilocus sequence typing for the identification of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi strains from Indonesia

In this work, IS200 and multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) were used to analyze 19 strains previously serotyped as Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi and isolated in Indonesia (16 strains), Mexico (2 strains), and Switzerland (1 strain). Most of the strains showed the most common Typhi sequence types, ST1 and ST2, and a new Typhi genotype (ST1856) was described. However, one isolate from Mexico and another from Indonesia were of the ST365 and ST426 sequence types, indicating that they belonged to serovars Weltevreden and Aberdeen, respectively. These results were supported by the amplification of IS200 fragments, which rapidly distinguish Typhi from other serovars. Our results demonstrate the utility of IS200 and MLST in the classification of Salmonella strains into serovars. These methods provide information on the clonal relatedness of strains isolated worldwide. [Int Microbiol 2015; 18(2):99-104]Keywords: Salmonella Typhi &middot; bacterial molecular typing &middot; multilocus sequence typing (MLST) &middot; clonal complex &middot; insertion sequence IS20

Differences in signal activation by LH and hCG are mediated by the LH/CG receptor’s extracellular hinge region

The human lutropin (hLH)/choriogonadotropin (hCG) receptor (LHCGR) can be activated by binding two slightly different gonadotropic glycoprotein hormones, choriogonadotropin (CG) – secreted by the placenta, and lutropin (LH) – produced by the pituitary. They induce different signaling profiles at the LHCGR. This cannot be explained by binding to the receptor’s leucine-rich- repeat domain (LRRD), as this binding is similar for the two hormones. We therefore speculate that there are previously unknown differences in the hormone/receptor interaction at the extracellular hinge region, which might help to understand functional differences between the two hormones. We have therefore performed a detailed study of the binding and action of LH and CG at the LHCGR hinge region. We focused on a primate-specific additional exon in the hinge region, which is located between LRRD and the serpentine domain. The segment of the hinge region encoded by exon10 was previously reported to be only relevant to hLH signaling, as the exon10-deletion receptor exhibits decreased hLH signaling, but unchanged hCG signaling. We designed an advanced homology model of the hormone/LHCGR complex, followed by experimental characterization of relevant fragments in the hinge region. In addition, we examined predictions of a helical exon10-encoded conformation by block-wise polyalanine (helix supporting) mutations. These helix preserving modifications showed no effect on hormone-induced signaling. However, introduction of a structure-disturbing double-proline mutant LHCGR-Q303P/E305P within the exon10-helix has, in contrast to exon10-deletion, no impact on hLH, but only on hCG signaling. This opposite effect on signaling by hLH and hCG can be explained by distinct sites of hormone interaction in the hinge region. In conclusion, our analysis provides details of the differences between hLH- and hCG-induced signaling that are mainly determined in the L2-beta loop of the hormones and in the hinge region of the receptor

Antropología del cáncer e investigación aplicada en salud pública

A partir de una elaborada revisión de literatura sobre el cáncer gástrico, el artículo profundiza en los aspectos socio culturales que explican la enfermedad y aboga por una mayor cooperación entre la comunidad afectada y las instituciones que formulan las políticas públicas en salud, haciendo énfasis en las relaciones existentes entre salud, prácticas sociales y cultura. Plantea que los programas de intervención en salud pública deben considerar factores sociales, biológicos y culturales de manera interdependiente para plantear propuestas viables de desarrollo de investigaciones aplicadas al cáncer gástrico en poblaciones vulnerables como las que residen en los departamentos colombianos de Nariño y Boyacá.Based on a revision of literature on gastric cancer, the article explores the achievements of medical anthropology in identifying the socio- cultural aspects that may explain the illness. It claims for a better cooperation between affected communities and institutional policies, and emphasizes on the relationships between health, social practices and culture. The article argues that public health programs should consider social, biological and cultural factors in order to develop proposals for the development of research on gastric cancer in vulnerable populations such as the ones residing in the Colombian departments of Nariño and Boyacá

Aceptabilidad de la vacuna contra el virus papiloma humano en padres de adolescentes, en colombia

Objetivo La vacuna contra el VPH es una nueva tecnología disponible para el control del cáncer de cuello uterino. Se espera, que en el menor tiempo posible esta vacuna pueda tener cobertura universal. Este artículo presenta la aceptabilidad que tiene los padres de adolescentes en Colombia hacia la vacuna contra el VPH y hace una aproximación a sus determinantes. Métodos Estudio cualitativo en cuatro regiones en Colombia. Se realizaron 17 grupos focales con padres de niñas y niños entre 11 a 14 años estudiantes de colegios públicos y privado. Se realizó análisis de contenido por etapas: lectura abierta, codificación, análisis estructural e interpretación crítica. Se  compararon los resultados por región. Resultados El 85 % de los convocados participaron. Los padres de colegios oficiales, estaban dispuestos a vacunar a su hija (o) s y harían un esfuerzo frente a los altos costos de la vacuna.  Vacunar a la edad de 12 años para prevenir una infección de transmisión sexual, genera resistencia. Los padres de colegios privados fueron más críticos  y expresaron una menor aceptabilidad. En dos regiones consideran que vacunar tiene el riesgo de promover la promiscuidad.  Conclusiones La aceptabilidad a la vacuna varía en relación con el contexto sociocultural y educativo. Promover la vacuna para prevenir una infección de transmisión sexual en niñas muy jóvenes

Der kompetenzorientierte Unterricht in Mathematik in der österreichischen Volksschule aus Sicht der Schüler/innen: Impulse für eine reflexive Unterrichtsentwicklung und -forschung

Ziel von Schule und Unterricht ist die Förderung der Kompetenzentwicklung bei Kindern und Jugendlichen, wobei die grundgelegte Definition von Kompetenz sowohl kognitive Komponenten als auch volitionale, motivationale und soziale umfasst. Der vorliegende Beitrag widmet sich dem Unterricht als Kern des schulischen Geschehens und analysiert wesentliche Dimensionen kompetenzorientierten Unterrichts. Dabei werfen wir einen empirischen Blick auf die Dimensionen Aktivierung, Wissensvernetzung, lebensweltliche Anwendung, personalisierte sowie gruppenorientierte Lernbegleitung, Reflexion, Klassenmanagement und Klassenführung, in dem die aggregierten Wahrnehmungen von Volksschulkindern (Grundschulkindern) für eine Beschreibung des Mathematikunterrichts in Österreich in der Grundschule herangezogen werden. (DIPF/Orig.