Die Verteilung von Mitteln für die deutsche öffentliche Entwicklungszusammenarbeit: Allokationsstudie zur bilateralen staatlichen Entwicklungszusammenarbeit aus Haushaltsmitteln

In der vorliegenden Allokationsstudie wird Evidenz zur Verteilung der bilateralen deutschen staatlichen Entwicklungszusammenarbeit aus Haushaltsmitteln des Bundesministeriums für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ) präsentiert. Im Mittelpunkt stehen insbesondere zwei Fragen: (1) Inwiefern ist es gelungen, entwicklungspolitische Leistungen in der Zeit zwischen 2000 und 2020 geografisch und thematisch zu fokussieren? (2) Nach welchen Kriterien hat das BMZ die untersuchten Mittel alloziert und seine Partnerländer ausgewählt? Hinsichtlich geografischer und thematischer Konzentration ist eine Implementierungslücke festzustellen. Die Allokationsmuster erweisen sich dabei trotz strategischer Umsteuerungsbemühungen seit 2000 als weitgehend stabil. Die Analyse der Bedingungsfaktoren der geografischen Verteilung von bilateralen EZ-Mitteln stützt die Interpretation, dass das BMZ sich bei der Allokation an der Bedürftigkeit und der Herrschaftsform potenzieller Empfängerländer orientiert hat. Darüber hinaus deuten die Ergebnisse darauf hin, dass auch die Regierungsführung bei der jüngst erfolgten Überarbeitung der Liste bilateraler Partner berücksichtigt wurde. Gleichzeitig finden sich Hinweise, dass die Mittelvergabe der EZ ebenfalls durch außenwirtschaftliche Interessen beeinflusst wurde und näher gelegene Länder bevorzugt wurden

Impact, Diffusion and Scaling-Up of a Comprehensive Land-Use Planning Approach in the Philippines: From Development Cooperation to National Policies

This evaluation report investigates the impact of ten years of comprehensive land-use planning in the Philippines. Characterized by fundamental developmental challenges associated with scarce land resources, environmental degradation, natural hazards and persistent poverty, land-use planning plays a crucial role in finding answers to these pressing challenges. The impact evaluation assesses a technical approach to enhanced land-use planning and capacity development from community to national level, supporting decentralized planning, natural resource governance, and resilience to natural hazards and climate change. The so-called SIMPLE (Sustainable Integrated Management and Planning for Local Government Ecosystems) approach by the Philippine-German cooperation, managed by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), was implemented in two regions of the Visayas. The ambitious intervention operated in a challenging environment with multiple stakeholders, overlapping mandates, and imprecise legal frameworks. In cooperation with GIZ, the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) rolled out the related enhanced Comprehensive Land Use Planning (eCLUP) guidelines nationwide. Based on a mixed-methods and quasi-experimental design, the evaluation generates relevant findings for the improvement of land-use planning and local governance interventions, for sustainable natural resource management, disaster risk management, and for welfare improvements of communities and beneficiaries. It shows relevant factors for the successful implementation. The report draws important lessons for local planning and the national framework, and suggests solutions to the fundamental gap between planning and plan implementation, improved innovation diffusion and efficient processes, effective community participation, and public accountability

Intrastate Conflict and Social Space in a Critical Realist Perspective. A Quantitative Analysis of the Formation of Non-State Actors and of Profiles of Violence in Asia and Oceania

Departing from the position of critical realism, a comprehensive analysis of social ontology, and a close examination of existing research, the first part of the dissertation brings forward new concepts of political conflict and non-state conflict actors as well as argues in favor of more rigorous theoretical reasoning. The second part puts the developed concepts to use. It addresses what non-state conflict actors are, how and under what circumstances they emerge, and how they act. The analysis shows that under certain circumstances our intuitive tendency to ascribe agency to collectives is justified. Consequently, the dissertation develops a theory that details the complex relationship between individuals, groups, and social structure. The empirical analysis draws on highly detailed data on inequality, demographic, economic, and geographic characteristics of subnational units, profiles of violence, and armed groups, to explain how inequality leads to the formation of conflict actors and how opportunity structures determine profiles of violence in intrastate conflict. The analysis introduces two new datasets on political conflicts and non-state conflict actors and a new measure of horizontal inequality based on disaggregated, individual-level data

A Quantitative Theory of Laser-Generated Ultrasound

The basic work of R. M. White [1] on the generation of elastic waves by transient surface heating was followed by numerous theoretical and experimental investigations, to understand the nature of the strange elastic waveforms obtained and to make this technique available for practical applications [2]. The theoretical considerations of L. R. F. Rose [3] about a point of dilation just below the surface of an elastic halfspace leads to a reasonable qualitative agreement with experiments, but do not relate all relevant material and laser beam parameters to the displacement field. This contributions outlines the application of an extended theory to a complete system of nondestructive evaluation, taking into account the structure of different laser modes, the optical, thermal and elastic material properties as well as the finite area of a capacitance transducer

How to render species comparable taxonomic units through deep time : a case study on intraspecific osteological variability in extant and extinct lacertid lizards

Generally, the species is considered to be the only naturally occurring taxon. However, species recognized and defined using different species delimitation criteria cannot readily be compared, impacting studies of biodiversity through Deep Time. This comparability issue is particularly marked when comparing extant with extinct species because the only available data for species delimitation in fossils are derived from their preserved morphology, which is generally restricted to osteology in vertebrates. Here, we quantify intraspecific, intrageneric, and intergeneric osteological variability in extant species of lacertid lizards using pairwise dissimilarity scores based on a data set of 253 discrete osteological characters for 99 specimens referred to 24 species. Variability is always significantly lower intraspecifically than between individuals belonging to distinct species of a single genus, which is in turn significantly lower than intergeneric variability. Average values of intraspecific variability and associated standard deviations are consistent (with few exceptions), with an overall average within a species of 0.208 changes per character scored. Application of the same methods to six extinct lacertid species (represented by 40 fossil specimens) revealed that intraspecific osteological variability is inconsistent, which can at least in part be attributed to different researchers having unequal expectations of the skeletal dissimilarity within species units. Such a divergent interpretation of intraspecific and interspecific variability among extant and extinct species reinforces the incomparability of the species unit. Lacertidae is an example where extant species recognized and defined based on a number of delimitation criteria show comparable and consistent intraspecific osteological variability. Here, as well as in equivalent cases, application of those skeletal dissimilarity values to paleontological species delimitation potentially provides a way to ameliorate inconsistencies created by the use of morphology to define species

Spicule formation in calcareous sponges: Coordinated expression of biomineralization genes and spicule-type specific genes

The ability to form mineral structures under biological control is widespread among animals. In several species, specific proteins have been shown to be involved in biomineralization, but it is uncertain how they influence the shape of the growing biomineral and the resulting skeleton. Calcareous sponges are the only sponges that form calcitic spicules, which, based on the number of rays (actines) are distinguished in diactines, triactines and tetractines. Each actine is formed by only two cells, called sclerocytes. Little is known about biomineralization proteins in calcareous sponges, other than that specific carbonic anhydrases (CAs) have been identified, and that uncharacterized Asx-rich proteins have been isolated from calcitic spicules. By RNA-Seq and RNA in situ hybridization (ISH), we identified five additional biomineralization genes in Sycon ciliatum: two bicarbonate transporters (BCTs) and three Asx-rich extracellular matrix proteins (ARPs). We show that these biomineralization genes are expressed in a coordinated pattern during spicule formation. Furthermore, two of the ARPs are spicule-type specific for triactines and tetractines (ARP1 or SciTriactinin) or diactines (ARP2 or SciDiactinin). Our results suggest that spicule formation is controlled by defined temporal and spatial expression of spicule-type specific sets of biomineralization genes

Descriptive osteology and patterns of limb loss of the European limbless skink Ophiomorus punctatissimus (Squamata, Scincidae)

The limbless skink Ophiomorus punctatissimus is a cryptozoic species found in the Peloponnese region of Greece and on the Greek island Kythira. To provide the first thorough description of the cranial and postcranial osteology of this species, both disarticulated specimens and X-ray computed tomographies of wet-preserved specimens were examined in detail. Resulting from this, an anatomical atlas of this species is provided. Two separate considerations, an evolutionary and an ecomorphological one, are made based on the observed adaptations related to limb loss in this skink. The structure of the girdles shows a particular pattern of reduction: whereas the pelvic girdle is mostly vestigial, the pectoral girdle is instead well developed, with all the elements typical of limbed lizards except for the actual limbs. This led us to hypothesize an asynchronous pattern of limb reduction during the evolution of this species, in which the hindlimbs regressed earlier than the forelimbs. Furthermore, considerations based on overall body morphology, osteology and the structure of the inner ear led to the recognition of this species as a burrowing ecomorph. In contrast to the morphology normally displayed in this ecomorph, O. punctatissimus is characterized by the retention of autotomic vertebrae in its tail. This is consistent with the habitats in which it lives, where active burrowing would be difficult because of the hard, rocky terrain. Instead, this skink hides among rocks on the surface and is, therefore, subject to greater predation risk