Guest Editorial. Third Edition of the Revista de Negocios Internacionales

The aim of the present paper is the following: (1) to provide an overview of recent advancements in the International Business Studies at the Universidad EAFIT, and (2) to comment on the articles published within the new edition of the Revista de Negocios Internacionales. The paper presents the salient issues regarding In¬ternational Business in Colombia, and reflects on the importance of the proper understanding of these issues for the International Business discipline

Diskurse über Staatsaufgaben (Gastvortrag)

Die vorherrschenden Auffassungen darüber, was Gegenstand staatlicher Gestaltungsmacht sein soll, haben sich im Zuge der neuzeitlichen Staatsentwicklung mehrfach geändert. Sie werden hier zu vier Diskursen - Polizeistaat, Rechtsstaat, Sozialstaat, Steuerungsstaat - verdichtet, welche im Sinne eines Sequenzmodells auf die fortschreitende strukturelle Verselbständigung und funktionale Spezialisierung von gesellschaftlichen Teilsphären bezogen werden. Jüngste Umthematisierungen von Staatsaufgaben muten dem Staat nicht mehr problembezogen intervenierendes, sondern steuerndes, systembeeinflussendes Handeln zu. Dies hat nachhaltige Konsequenzen für die Staatstheorie und Staatspraxis: An die Stelle obsoleter Souveränitätsvorstellungen und dezidierter Hoheitsansprüche müssen lernfähige Formen der politischen Willensbildung und ein reflektierter Umgang mit dem Recht als dem Organisationsmittel des Staates treten.The predominant views about the role of government have changed frequently along with the development of the modern state. These changing views are presented here in the way of discourses - about the police state, the state under the rule of law, the welfare state and the guiding and controlling state. Using a sequential model, we try to show how these discourses are related to the progressive structural differentiation and functional specialization of societal sub-spheres. Recent redefinitions of the role of government no longer expect the state to be a problem solver through direct, focused interventions, but through methods of indirect guidance und control influencing system parameters. This has serious consequences for theories of the state and for the functioning of government: traditional concepts of sovereignty and claims to state authority have become obsolete and have to be replaced by forms of political participation and decision formation which allow for collective learning. Consequently, law as an instrument of the state to organize society has to be used with prudence and reflection

How to Get Beyond the Zero-Sum Game Mentality between State and Non-State Actors in International Environmental Governance

This paper examines the participation of stakeholders in environmental policy formulation and implementation. After a short discussion of the main functions and challenges of environmental governance the paper addresses the issue of stakeholder participation and the claim of “democratic deficits” in international environmental governance. It stresses that while non-state actor involvement does not necessarily increase democratic legitimacy, it may nevertheless increase the quality of the environmental policy processes. It will then argue that certain international processes such as the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) have led to an unsatisfactory situation of non-state actor involvement where excessive formalization and proceduralization impede active interaction and input of expertise from non-state actors. It seems that the interaction between state and non-state actors in some of today’s international processes, such as the CSD, has led to a zero-sum gamewhere no party is really benefiting from the contributions of the other. This paper will suggest several changes to get beyond this zero-sum game mentality, including de-formalization of participation, replacement of generalist non-governmental organizations with those that specialize in specific fields, and reformation of the relationship between state and non-state actors so that each might come to see the other as a partner, not as a competitor. It will conclude by arguing that neither the alleged lack of an authoritative, effective central institution addressing the main environmental problems, nor the so-called “democratic deficit” is the main challenge to today’s international environmental governance, but the lack of political will. Political will, however, is not an absolute; it can and has to be stimulated. And this may be one of the most productive contributions that non-state actors can make

Clock-Feedthrough Compensation in MOS Sample-and-Hold Circuits

All MOS sample-and-hold circuits suffer to a greater or lesser extent from clock-feedthrough (CLFT), also called charge-injection. During the transition from sample to hold mode, charge is transferred from an MOS transistor switch onto the hold capacitor, thus the name charge-injection. This error can lead to considerable voltage change across the capacitor, and predicting the extent of the induced error potentials is important to circuit designers. Previous studies have shown a considerable dependency of CLFT on signal voltage, circuit impedances, clock amplitude and clock fall-time. The focus of this work was on the signal dependency of the CLFT error and on the CLFT induced signal distortion in open-loop sample-and-hold circuits. CLFT was found to have a strongly non-linear, signal dependent, component, which may cause considerable distortion of the sampled signal. The parameters influencing this distortion were established. It was discovered that distortion could be reduced by more than 20dB through careful adjustment of the clock fall-rate. Several circuit solutions that can help reduce the level of distortion arising from CLFT are presented. These circuits can also reduce the absolute level of CLFT. Simulations showed their effectiveness, which was also proven in silicon. The CLFT reduction methods used in these circuits are easily transferable to other switched-capacitor circuits and are suitable for applications where space is at a premium (as, for example, in analogue neural networks). A new saturation mode contribution to CLFT was found. It is shown to give rise to increased CLFT under high injection conditions

Diskurse über Staatsaufgaben: Gastvortrag

Die vorherrschenden Auffassungen darüber, was Gegenstand staatlicher Gestaltungsmacht sein soll, haben sich im Zuge der neuzeitlichen Staatsentwicklung mehrfach geändert. Sie werden hier zu vier Diskursen - Polizeistaat, Rechtsstaat, Sozialstaat, Steuerungsstaat - verdichtet, welche im Sinne eines Sequenzmodells auf die fortschreitende strukturelle Verselbständigung und funktionale Spezialisierung von gesellschaftlichen Teilsphären bezogen werden. Jüngste Umthematisierungen von Staatsaufgaben muten dem Staat nicht mehr problembezogen intervenierendes, sondern steuerndes, systembeeinflussendes Handeln zu. Dies hat nachhaltige Konsequenzen für die Staatstheorie und Staatspraxis: An die Stelle obsoleter Souveränitätsvorstellungen und dezidierter Hoheitsansprüche müssen lernfähige Formen der politischen Willensbildung und ein reflektierter Umgang mit dem Recht als dem Organisationsmittel des Staates treten. -- The predominant views about the role of government have changed frequently along with the development of the modern state. These changing views are presented here in the way of discourses - about the police state, the state under the rule of law, the welfare state and the guiding and controlling state. Using a sequential model, we try to show how these discourses are related to the progressive structural differentiation and functional specialization of societal sub-spheres. Recent redefinitions of the role of government no longer expect the state to be a problem solver through direct, focused interventions, but through methods of indirect guidance und control influencing system parameters. This has serious consequences for theories of the state and for the functioning of government: traditional concepts of sovereignty and claims to state authority have become obsolete and have to be replaced by forms of political participation and decision formation which allow for collective learning. Consequently, law as an instrument of the state to organize society has to be used with prudence and reflection.

Introduction: Issues and context

Kaufmann F-X. Introduction: Issues and context. In: Kaufmann F-X, ed. The public sector: challenge for coordination and learning. De Gruyter studies in organization. Vol 31. Berlin: de Gruyter; 1991: 3-28

Genetic diversity of red clover varieties listed in Germany concerning the resistance to Southern Anthracnose

Rotklee ist als essentielles Fruchtfolgeglied speziell im ökologischen Landbau unentbehrlich. Resistente Sorten wären im Falle einer Ausbreitung der Pilzkrankheit Anthracnose von zentraler Bedeutung