Environmental protection of foreign firms in Germany: Does the country of origin matter?

Only recently have the aspects of pollution and environmental protection entered into the empirical literature about international firm activities. The present paper is the first firmlevel study on the link between foreign ownership and environmental protection in Germany. We find that, ceteris paribus, foreign owned firms in Germany are more likely to invest in environmental protection. They also invest on a larger scale in terms of add-on measures as well as integrated measures. These results are robust against different measures, different time periods, different control groups, and selection issues arising from fractional response data. Once we control for productivity levels, the differences become less straightforward. However, the higher probability of foreign firms' making general as well as integrated environmental protection investments and the tilt of their composition towards integrated measures remain. We cannot find any support for differences among foreign firms by country of origin. This can be interpreted as support for the new institutionalist hypothesis of international convergence of management practices in the field of environmental management due to normative pressure and de facto standards at the global level

Unweigerlich eindeutig? Das Gender-Konzept in Gender-Trainings

Aus der gegenwärtigen Debatte um Gender Mainstreaming (GM) lässt sich nach Einschätzung der Autorin die Notwendigkeit ableiten, ein nicht-essenzialistisches, offenes und transitives Gender-Konzept zu vermitteln, d.h. ein Konzept, welches systematisch Gender in komplexen und simultanen Beziehungen zu anderen sozialen Kategorien wie Herkunft, Klasse, Alter, sexuelle Orientierung usw. begreift und eine Loslösung von der Vorstellung einer natürlichen Zweigeschlechtlichkeit vollzieht. Wie kann dieser Anspruch praktisch umgesetzt und eine Vereindeutigung von Geschlecht in Gender-Trainings vermieden werden? Die Autorin geht dieser Frage anhand von spezifischen Inhalten von Gender- Trainings nach. Diese haben zum Ziel, auf individuell-persönlicher und sozial-interaktiver Ebene geschlechterbezogene Kompetenzen zu fördern sowie Sachinformationen und Methoden zur Umsetzung von GM in der eigenen Arbeit zu vermitteln. Als Qualifizierungsmaßnahme nehmen Gender-Trainings in der Vermittlung der Strategie einen zentralen Stellenwert ein und bilden gleichzeitig einen zentralen Schnittpunkt zwischen Wissenschaft und Praxis. Die Autorin diskutiert vor diesem Hintergrund einige Vorschläge zur Vermittlung eines offenen und transitiven Konzeptes in Gender-Trainings. (ICI2

E- & Blended-Learning-Lehreinheiten aus den Gender Studies: Band 2

Ergänzend zu acht neuen E- bzw. Blended-Learning-Lehreinheiten aus den Gender Studies, finden Sie eine ausführliche Beschreibung der didaktisch eingesetzten multi-medialen Instrumente, Methoden und Reflexionsansätze sowie Ideen zur didaktischen Integration in verschiedene Online-Lehrformate. Lag der Fokus in der ersten Handreichung 2016 auf den Methoden und Erfahrungen in der Umsetzung interdisziplinär einsetzbarer E-Learning-Lehreinheiten bzw. -Bausteine, so widmet sich Band 2. konkreten Lehreinheiten aus unterschiedlichen Fachdisziplinen. Beide Handreichungen sind aus Projekten zu digitalen Lehrmaterialien in den Gender Studies am Braunschweiger Zentrum für Gender Studies hervorgegangen. Sie stärkten von Oktober 2013 bis Juli 2019 die Umsetzung von E- & Blended-Learning Szenarien an der Technischen Universität Braunschweig.In addition to eight new e- respectively blended-learning teaching units from Gender Studies, you will find a detailed description of the didactically used multi-media tools, methods and reflection approaches as well as ideas for didactic integration into various online teaching formats. In the first volume in 2016, the focus was on methods and experiences in the implementation of interdisciplinary e-learning teaching units or modules. Volume 2 is dedicated to specific teaching units from different disciplines. Both guides have emerged from projects on digital teaching materials in Gender Studies at the Braunschweiger Zentrum für Gender Studies. From October 2013 to July 2019, they strengthened the implementation of e- and blended-learning scenarios at the Technische Universität Braunschweig

Domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) do not show signs of secure attachment to their owners

The Ainsworth Strange Situation Test (SST) has been widely used to demonstrate that the bond between both children and dogs to their primary carer typically meets the requirements of a secure attachment (i.e. the carer being perceived as a focus of safety and security in otherwise threatening environments), and has been adapted for cats with a similar claim made. However methodological problems in this latter research make the claim that the cat-owner bond is typically a secure attachment, operationally definable by its behaviour in the SST, questionable. We therefore developed an adapted version of the SST with the necessary methodological controls which include a full counterbalance of the procedure. A cross-over design experiment with 20 cat-owner pairs (10 each undertaking one of the two versions of the SST first) and continuous focal sampling was used to record the duration of a range of behavioural states expressed by the cats that might be useful for assessing secure attachment. Since data were not normally distributed, non-parametric analyses were used on those behaviours shown to be reliable across the two versions of the test (which excluded much cat behaviour). Although cats vocalised more when the owner rather the stranger left the cat with the other individual, there was no other evidence consistent with the interpretation of the bond between a cat and its owner meeting the requirements of a secure attachment. These results are consistent with the view that adult cats are typically quite autonomous, even in their social relationships, and not necessarily dependent on others to provide a sense of security and safety. It is concluded that alternative methods need to be developed to characterise the normal psychological features of the cat-owner bond

Composting Contamination in Corporate Settings

The following is a comprehensive overview compiled for Hennepin County’s Environment and Energy Division to address compost contamination in corporate settings. Contamination consists of non-compostable materials in the compostable collection. Contamination may include items such as plastics bottles, cups, plastic flatware, coated paper, or plastic bags. This contamination leads to higher costs to the county, corporate participants, and others in the compost processing chain. Costs are incurred when deliveries of recyclable organics are rejected due to contamination above the allowable threshold. Research will be aimed at finding reasons for contamination, understanding alternative practices, and behavior modification strategies to improving organics sorting among participants. The results consist of a series of recommended actions and considerations to best facilitate behavior change and reduce contamination to compost in corporate settings