On the Desirability of Bonus-payments in Public Sector Remuneration

Two-third of all OECD countries implemented a bonus system to reward their employees. This study identifies the two main arguments of the proponents of these bonus systems. First, bonuses would motivate public servants and second, new talented staff would be attracted to the public service. By means of Political Discourse Evaluation, this paper shows that whether these arguments are convincing, is determined by on one’s expectations of a public servant. If one supposes that public servants should be motivated by some intrinsic urge to make the world a better place instead of by monetary rewards, the argument becomes less acceptable. Furthermore, this analysis shows that the acceptability of the arguments depends on the doubtful assumptions that humans act fully rationally and suitable targets for public servants can be set

Bloody Business: Multinational investment in an increasingly conflict-afflicted world

Over the last few years, the world has been shocked by a new wave of political conflict, including the events of the Arab Spring and the conflict in Ukraine. This dissertation evaluates the causes of political conflict and its consequences for investments by multinational enterprises (MNEs). The studies that are part of this thesis aim to improve our understanding of the relationships between political conflict, investment and ultimately human prosperity. These three concepts are interdisciplinary in nature and the different chapters included in this thesis reflect this. By combining conceptual frameworks and methodologies from economics and business research, they shed light on the increasing levels of political conflict and the reaction of firms to this development. In the first part of this thesis, the causes of non-violent political conflict are examined. The findings demonstrate that a decrease in subjective well-being (i.e. happiness) can motivate citizens to engage in acts of civil resistance. In the second part, the consequences of armed political conflict for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) are examined. The effect of political violence on greenfield FDI is heterogeneous across types of violence, sectors and firms, falsifying the claim that all FDI flows are negatively affected by political violence. In addition, the results indicate that similar to international conflict, internal wars can disturb existing relationships between the MNEs’ home and host country

Vibrato - ett fiolmetodiskt perspektiv: Vad ska en fiollärare tänka på för att lära sina elever vibrato?

Title: Vibrato- a violin-methodical perspective. What is important to think of when teaching vibrato? The aim of this paper is to take part of the thoughts and experiences of violin teachers about how to teach vibrato, and to explore the consequences of different ways to proceed. Five teachers have been interviewed. Similarities and differences have been compared with earlier studies, historic writings about violin teaching and some different violin schools. The result shows the advantage you gain by preparing students in the right way for the vibrato, from their very first violin lesson, and how we as musicians and teachers could learn from the experiences of the past.Målet med uppsatsen är att ta del av fiollärares tankar och erfarenheter av hur man kan lära ut vibrato i undervisningen, samt konsekvenserna av olika tillvägagångssätt. Fem fiollärare har intervjuats. Likheter och skillnader bland svaren jämförs med tidigare forskning och äldre skrifter om violinundervisning samt olika fiolskolor. Min slutsats är att det verkar vara angeläget att redan från första stund, på rätt sätt, förbereda eleven inför spel med vibrato, samt att vi som musiker och lärare har mycket att lära oss från äldre generationer musiker och lärare

Análise Comparativa do Composto de Marketing das Marcas Topshop, Melissa e Havaianas

O presente artigo tem como objetivo apresentar os resultados obtidos através da pesquisa dos conceitos relacionados ao marketing por meio do estudo junto a três marcas de moda consideradas potencialmente criativas: a Topshop, a Melissa e a Havaianas. Serão abordadas análises comparativas acompanhadas de quadros analíticos para um maior entendimento da seguinte pesquisa. Ao final, traçam-se considerações sobre a análise realizada, enfatizando o a importância da utilização da criatividade aliada a estratégias de marketing que proporcionem uma satisfatória experiência para os consumidores e um diferencial para as empresas

Praktiken der Grenzbearbeitung in den Lebensgeschichten der "DDR-Kinder aus Namibia"

"Im Rahmen eines Solidaritätsprojektes zwischen der South West African People's Organization (SWAPO) und der DDR wurden von 1979 bis 1989 ca. 430 namibische Kinder in die DDR gebracht, um zur Elite eines zukünftig befreiten Namibias ausgebildet zu werden. In diesem Beitrag fragen wir unter Rückgriff auf empirisches Material nach Praktiken der Grenzbearbeitung im Rahmen des länderübergreifenden Betreuungskontextes und nach der Rückführung der Kinder und Jugendlichen im Jahr 1990. Entlang der biografischen Stationen Flüchtlingslager, Kinderheim, Internatsschule und Rückführung rekonstruieren wir, wie und durch wen Grenzen - vor allem zwischen SWAPO bzw. Namibia und DDR - (re)produziert, aber auch verflochten und irritiert wurden." (Autorenreferat)"As part of a solidarity project between the South West African People's Organization (SWAPO) and the GDR, approximately 430 Namibian children were brought to the GDR from 1979 to 1989 in order to be trained to be part of the elite of a prospective liberated Namibia. In this paper, we used empirical data to investigate the processes of dealing with boundaries within the children's border-crossing care situation and also after their repatriation to Namibia in 1990. Along the biographical points of the refugee camp, the children's home, the boarding school and the repatriation, we reconstruct how and by whom borders - especially between the SWAPO respectively Namibia, and the GDR - have been (re)produced, but also integrated and irritated." (author's abstract

Getting to the Heart of Emotion Regulation in Youth: The Role of Interoceptive Sensitivity, Heart Rate Variability, and Parental Psychopathology

Emotion regulation and associated autonomic activation develop throughout childhood and adolescence under the influence of the family environment. Specifically, physiological indicators of autonomic nervous system activity such as interoceptive sensitivity and vagally mediated heart rate variability (HRV) can inform on emotion regulation. Although the effect of parental emotion socialization on emotion regulation appears to be influenced by autonomic processes, research on physiological regulation and the influence of parental factors remains scarce. This study investigated the relationship between self-reported habitual emotion regulation strategies and HRV at rest as well as interoceptive sensitivity in forty-six youngsters (27 female; age: M = 13.00, SD = 2.13). Secondly, the association between these autonomic correlates and parental psychopathology was also studied. Whereas better interoceptive sensitivity was related to reduced maladaptive emotion regulation, specifically rumination, high HRV was related to more use of external emotion regulation strategies (i.e., support seeking). In addition, increased HRV and decreased interoceptive sensitivity were associated with maternal internalizing and there was evidence for a possible mediation effect of HRV in the relationship between maternal internalizing and child external emotion regulation. This study elucidates the link between cognitive emotion regulation strategies and underlying physiological regulation in adolescents but also indicates a putative influence of maternal internalizing symptoms on emotion regulation in their offspring

Coprophagous features in carnivorous Nepenthes plants: A task for ureases

Most terrestrial carnivorous plants are specialized on insect prey digestion to obtain additional nutrients. Few species of the genus Nepenthes developed mutualistic relationships with mammals for nitrogen supplementation. Whether dietary changes require certain enzymatic composition to utilize new sources of nutrients has rarely been tested. Here, we investigated the role of urease for Nepenthes hemsleyana that gains nitrogen from the bat Kerivoula hardwickii while it roosts inside the pitchers. We hypothesized that N. hemsleyana is able to use urea from the bats' excrements. In fact, we demonstrate that 15N-enriched urea provided to Nepenthes pitchers is metabolized and its nitrogen is distributed within the plant. As ureases are necessary to degrade urea, these hydrolytic enzymes should be involved. We proved the presence and enzymatic activity of a urease for Nepenthes plant tissues. The corresponding urease cDNA from N. hemsleyana was isolated and functionally expressed. A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis for eukaryotic ureases, including Nepenthes and five other carnivorous plants' taxa, identified them as canonical ureases and reflects the plant phylogeny. Hence, this study reveals ureases as an emblematic example for an efficient, low-cost but high adaptive plasticity in plants while developing a further specialized lifestyle from carnivory to coprophagy

A Concept for a Mars Boundary Layer Sounding Balloon: Science Case, Technical Concept and Deployment Risk Analysis

The Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group has identified measurements of the state and the variability of the Martian atmosphere as high priority investigations for the upcoming years. Balloon-borne instruments could bridge the gap in both temporal and spatial resolution in mesoscale distances between local, stationary landers and global orbiter observations. The idea to use a balloon system for such a purpose is not new in essence and has been proposed already in past decades. While those concepts considered an aerial deployment during entry and descent, the concept outlined in this study revisits a launch off the payload deck of a lander from the Martian surface. This deployment option profits today mainly from the technological advance in micro-electronics and sensor miniaturization, which enables the design of a balloon-probe significantly smaller than earlier proposed systems. This paper presents the feasibility assessment for this instrument and gives further details on the scientific and operational concept, a strawman sensor suite, its system components and the associated size and budget estimates. It is complemented by the analysis scheme proposed to assess, manage and mitigate the deployment risk involved in automatically launching such a balloon-system off a planetary surface