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Copyright of Africa Spectrum is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article analyzes the differences in television viewership between people in former East Germany (GDR) and West Germany. The author focuses on how television audiences in the GDR were restricted as to what they could watch by the government, the impact and popularity of West German broadcasts on GDR viewers, as well as the competition between West German programs and GDR television stations. Additional article topics include the GDR's assertion that West German media was attempting to influence the East German audience ideologically, as well as how the leadership of the GDR attempted to prevent this at all costs.

Since small-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role within many major economies throughout the world, their ability to successfully adopt and utilize the Internet and electronic commerce is of prime importance in ensuring their stability and future survival. This paper highlights some of the important issues identified by SME managers relating to the adoption of Internet related technology that government policy makers will have to address if their initiatives aimed at increasing adoption among SMEs are to succeed. Initial findings will be reported of a study carried out by the authors into the use made of the Internet and electronic commerce and key issues influencing its use by SMEs among a sample of 484 businesses within West Central Scotland. The study has drawn upon a number of data collection techniques such as questionnaires sent to 2,500 small businesses, in-depth face-to-face interviews and telephone interviews. With a base response rate of 20% the data reveals interesting details relating to actual connectivity levels, attitudes with regard to how small businesses perceive the Internet and electronic commerce, as well as the impact of government policy on Internet connectivity and adoption. The results gained from the study will be compared with figures relating to businesses in the rest of Scotland and the UK, as well as the US, Canada and Japan, and European countries that include Sweden, Germany, France and Italy. The issues raised from this study will be compared with similar studies carried out in other countries such as Australia, New Zealand and British Columbia, as well as countries within the European Union in order to provide a wider international context for the results of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluate the efficiency of electricity distribution operators (DSOs) as providers of local public infrastructure. In particular, we consider two types of efficiency, i.e., short-term (transient) and long-term (persistent). We apply the recently developed four-component stochastic frontier model, which allows identifying determinants of the two types of efficiency, after controlling for firm heterogeneity and random noise, to a panel dataset of German DSOs observed during 2006-2012. Those DSOs operating in the eastern parts of Germany have undergone a profound restructuring after the reunification in 1990. We find that this was beneficial for their efficiency as they perform, on average, better in terms of persistent efficiency than DSOs in West Germany. Both eastern and western DSOs perform similarly well in terms of transient efficiency, which is expected as the sector is highly regulated. As such, we provide new insights on identifying the nature and sources of public infrastructure productive inefficiency, which is relevant for public policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rarely have economists been treated to an economic "experiment" comparable to the one of German reunification. In less than a year, a single political and economic entity is being fused from two economies with fundamentally different underlying principles of economic organization and substantially different levels of economic development. German Economic and Monetary Union (GEMU) on the process of European economic and political integration, many European Community (EC) policymakers have perceived German reunification as adding impetus to the "1992" program. This paper examines economic implications of GEMU for the European integration process. In so doing, it makes reference to the burgeoning literature on the economic consequences of German reunification. Consideration of statistical information related to the performance of eastern and western Germany since June 1990 permits some evaluation of the validity of certain hypotheses underlying earlier studies of GEMU, as well as an assessment of likely consequences for EC policymaking and performance.

Social scientists have long been aware of the need to improve our ability to predict the effect of divergent preference orderings on policy choices made by coalitions. More recently scholars have demonstrated the crucial role of differing assumptions about risk-taking preferences for predicting foreign policy choice. In this paper a theoretical approach for analyzing collective choice in the presence of risk and conflicting preferences is presented and then applied to a series of policy choices in Britain, France, and Germany in two historical periods: one, the three decades before World War I; the other, the decades after World War II. Although the specific cases examined all involve foreign and defense policy options that were embroiled in domestic disputes over extraction, the assumptions and hypotheses presented are designed to be applicable to collective decisionmaking in a wide variety of substantive areas. Indeed, they appear to provide a theoretically grounded interpretation for some characteristic patterns of policy choice that have long intrigued students of comparative foreign policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancing consumer satisfaction and well-being is an important objective of companies, retailers and public policy makers. In the current debate on climate change, a consistent theme is that consumers in developed countries must learn to consume less. The present study (based on representative data sets from the US, N = 1,017, and Germany, N = 1030) addresses these issues by using a scenario-based experiment to analyze how satisfied voluntary simplifiers (people who voluntarily abstain from consumption) are with their purchase decisions in the case of a muesli brand. The research question is whether people who follow a sustainable, simple lifestyle are more satisfied with their daily consumption choices than people who have a more consumerist lifestyle. If so, it would be easier for many people to change their lifestyles and consume less. In addition, this scenario experiment manipulates consumer empowerment and decision complexity since both factors are supposed to influence purchase satisfaction. The results are consistent across both countries and indicate that voluntary simplifiers experience a higher level of purchasing satisfaction than non-simplifiers, whereby empowerment and decision complexity play different roles. • This paper links the lifestyle of refraining from consumption with personal well-being and shopping satisfaction. • A scenario-based online experiment on the satisfaction of voluntary simplifiers with their purchase decisions is conducted. • Empowerment and decision complexity moderate the voluntary simplicity-decision satisfaction relationship in different ways. • Voluntary simplifiers are more satisfied with their purchasing decisions than consumption-driven individuals. • Consumer empowerment also leads to greater decision satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite clear-cut scientific evidence for pharmaceutical contaminants causing adverse effects in aquatic life, the regulatory response in Germany has been weak. In principle, there are different policy approaches to address pharmaceutical contaminants: German water protection policies mostly follows a control approach, complemented by end-of-pipe solutions in some German states. The approach leaves the activities of key target groups, such as the pharmaceutical industry, largely unaffected. A stakeholder consultation initiated in 2016 by the German Federal Ministry of the Environment did not lead to significant changes in regulation. Empirical research in political science has shown that analysing the public debate can be helpful in explaining policy responses and, in particular, policy change. This study follows this approach and investigates whether the German policy response to pharmaceutical contaminants can be explained by characteristics of the public debate on the issue. Results: A discourse network analysis based on newspaper reporting in Germany was conducted between 2013 and 2017 to investigate the public debate on pharmaceutical contaminants. German newspapers actually paid considerable attention to the issue. In fact, the debate was not controversial, and participating organisations expressed similar views with regard to the risk of the contaminants, the causes of contamination and the approaches to be taken to mitigate the release of contaminants to the environment. The main narrative in the debate was supportive to the current policy approach applied in Germany. There were no concerted efforts by organisations such as environmental organisations or ecological parties to mobilise for an alternative policy approach. Conclusions: The low level of polarisation in the policy subsystem and the absence of a strong narrative mobilising a major policy change may explain the persistence of the policy approach to pharmaceutical contaminants applied in Germany. A significant change to the current approach in the near future seems unlikely. Nevertheless, literature in political science shows that a polarised public debate and a strong pro-change actor coalition often preceded policy change. Actors with an interest in stricter regulation might want to reconsider their mobilisation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Tobacco-control policies have been suggested to reduce smoking among adolescents. However, there is limited evidence on the real-world costs of implementation in different settings. In this study, we aimed at estimating the costs of school smoking bans, school prevention programmes and non-school bans (smoking bans in non-educational public settings, bans on sales to minors and bans on point-of-sale advertising), implemented in Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Portugal, for 2016. Methods We retrospectively collected costs related to the inspection, monitoring and sanctioning activities related to bans and educational activities related to smoking prevention programmes. We used an 'ingredients-based' approach, identifying each resource used, quantity and unit value for one full year, under the state perspective. Costs were measured at national, regional, local and school-level and were informed by data on how these activities were performed in reality. Results Purchasing power parities adjusted-costs varied between €0.02 and €0.74 (average €0.24) per person (pp) for bans implemented outside schools. Mean costs of school smoking bans ranged from €3.31 to €34.76 (average €20.60), and mean costs of school educational programmes from €0.75 to €4.65 (average €2.92). Conclusions It is feasible to estimate costs of health policies as implemented in different settings. Costs of the tobacco control policies evaluated here depend mainly on the number of person-hours allocated to their implementation, and on the scale of intervention. Non-school bans presented the lowest costs, and the implementation of all policies cost up to €36 pp for 1 year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Direito da Cidade is the property of Editora da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (EdUERJ) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The author reflects on the proposed change in the German constitution made by education and research minister Annette Schavan on March 4, 2012. The author says that the proposal focused on the funding of the government on the infrastructure and large equipment in universities. An overview of the funding of the federal government to universities is offered. The author suggests that the federal government should directly assure the survival beyond 2017 of successful institutes.

The author reflects on the Basel Declaration principles, a directive which will regulate the use of animals in research and experimentation. The author says that Germany must transform the directive which influences animal experimentation in research into the national law. The author adds that scientists want the Basel Declaration to have the same authority with the ethics on human experimentation.

Background: Germany's enormous transformation away from nuclear energy and fossil fuels towards a renewable and energy efficient system--called the Energiewende--is playing an essential role in Germany's economy and policymaking. This article summarises the current knowledge on possible health impacts of the Energiewende and describes the need and opportunities to incorporate health into energy-related policy. Methods: A structural model helped to narrow down specific topics and to conceptualise links between the Energiewende, the environment and health. A comprehensive literature search was conducted within policy documents and scientific databases with English and German language selections. Results: Of 7800 publications first identified only 46 explicitly related energy measures to health, of which 40 were grey literature. Notably, only 12% published by health authorities all others were issued by environmental, energy or consumer protection agencies, ministries or institutions. Conclusion: Our study shows that health impacts of the German Energiewende are rarely explicitly addressed. An integration of a health perspective into energy-related policy is needed including the involvement of public health authorities. A health impact assessment can be a suitable tool to support and evaluate Energiewende-related developments from a health perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background This study examines short- and long-run effects of a new—stricter—road traffic law on traffic accident-related fatalities in the Czech Republic. The law introduced tougher punishments through the introduction of a demerit point system and a manifold increase in fines, together with augmented authority of traffic police. Methods Identification is based on difference-in-differences methodology, with neighbouring countries serving as a control group. Results There was a sharp, 33.3%, decrease in accident-related fatalities during the first three post-reform months. This translates into 127 saved lives (95% confidence interval: 51, 204). The decline was, however, temporary; the estimates of the effects going beyond the first year are around zero. Unique data on traffic police activity reveal that police resources devoted to traffic law enforcement gradually declined. Conclusions Tougher penalties have significant, but often short-lived effects. Weaker enforcement in the aftermath of such reforms may explain the absence of long-run effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the book "The Great Depression: An International Disaster of Perverse Economic Policies," by Thomas E. Hall and J. David Ferguson. The book provides an account of the Great Depression, describing how well-intentioned people in several countries, through a sequence of policy errors, generated a cataclysmic event reaching around the entire globe. The book provides an overview of the behavior of key economic variables over the period, and discusses, dark clouds on the horizon in the midst of the 1920s prosperity. The book also provides information on, the gold standard, which linked economic conditions across countries events in Great Britain, Germany, and France that played an important role in developments leading to the Great Depression. In addition to that, the article presents information on various other features of the book.

This article focuses on the book "German Monopolies Commission 1984-1993: Summaries of the Biennial Reports VI-X." This book presents the combined English summaries of the last five Biennial Reports of Germany's Monopolies Commission for 1984/1985, 1986/1987, 1988/1989, 1990/1991, and 1992/1993. In accordance with the Commission's legal mandate, the reports assess the current level of business concentration and its foreseeable development in the light of economic policy, in particular competition policy; appraise the application of Sections 22 to 24 of the Act Against Restraints of Competition.

This study examined whether awareness of tobacco control policies was associated with social unacceptability of smoking and whether social unacceptability had an effect on smoking cessation in three European countries. Representative samples (n = 3865) of adult smokers in France, the Netherlands and Germany were used from two survey waves of the longitudinal International Tobacco Control Europe Surveys. Associations were examined of aspects of social unacceptability of smoking (i.e. feeling uncomfortable, important people disapproval and societal disapproval) with tobacco policy awareness (i.e. awareness of warning labels, anti-tobacco information and smoking restrictions at work) and smoking cessation. Only the positive association of awareness of anti-tobacco information with feeling uncomfortable about smoking was significant in each of the three countries. Important people disapproval predicted whether smokers attempted to quit, although this did not reach significance in the French and German samples in multivariate analyses. Our findings suggest that anti-tobacco information campaigns about the dangers of second-hand smoke in France and about smoking cessation in the Netherlands and Germany might have reduced the social acceptability of smoking in these countries. However, campaigns that influence the perceived disapproval of smoking by important people may be needed to ultimately increase attempts to quit smoking. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Soziologie is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Germany has reduced its emissions of greenhouse gases more than almost any other industrialized democracy and is exceeding its ambitious Kyoto commitment. Hence, it is commonly portrayed as a climate-policy success story, but the situation is actually much more complex. Generalizing Germany's per-capita emissions to all countries or its emissions reductions to all industrialized democracies would still very likely produce more than a two-degree rise in global temperature. Moreover, analyzing the German country-case into eleven subcases shows that it is a mixture of relative successes and failures. This analysis leads to three main conclusions. First, high relative performance and high environmental damage can coexist. Second, we should see national cases in a differentiated way and not only in terms of their aggregate performances. Third, researchers on climate policies should more often begin with outcomes, work backward to policies, and be prepared for some surprises. Ironically, the most effective government interventions may not be explicit climate policies, such as the economic transformation of eastern Germany. Moreover, the lack of policy-making in certain areas may undercut progress made elsewhere, including unregulated increases in car travel, road freight, and electricity consumption. Research on climate and environmental policies should focus on somewhat different areas of government intervention and ask different questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dominant theories of electoral behavior emphasize that voters myopically evaluate policy performance and that this shortsightedness may obstruct the welfare-improving effect of democratic accountability. However, we know little about how long governments receive electoral credit for beneficial policies. We exploit the massive policy response to a major natural disaster, the 2002 Elbe flooding in Germany, to provide an upper bound for the short- and long-term electoral returns to targeted policy benefits. We estimate that the flood response increased vote shares for the incumbent party by 7 percentage points in affected areas in the 2002 election. Twenty-five percent of this short-term reward carried over to the 2005 election before the gains vanished in the 2009 election. We conclude that, given favorable circumstances, policy makers can generate voter gratitude that persists longer than scholarship has acknowledged so far, and elaborate on the implications for theories of electoral behavior, democratic accountability, and public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of German Policy Studies/Politikfeldanalyse is the property of Southern Public Administration Education Foundation and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Germany has traditionally played a key role in promoting European Union solutions to domestic policy problems. In doing so it gained a reputation as a 'tamed power' (Katzenstein). This article reviews Germany's diplomacy two decades after unification. It explores the 'tamed power' hypothesis with reference to three policy areas: constitutional reform in the EU; Justice and Home Affairs policy; and an issue that has made German European policy very salient of late, the management of the Eurozone. The article argues that Germany has become a much less inclusive actor in European policy, pursuing policy solutions through 'pioneer groups' where these offer greater promise than the EU itself and becoming increasingly attentive to domestic political constraints. The article argues that Germany has become a normalized power, with significant implications for the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The study aimed to explore the place of taxation in preventing underage binge drinking in Germany. Method: We reviewed evidence on the role of excise taxes on alcohol in preventing alcohol problems and underage drinking. We analyzed historical German data on tax on alcoholic beverages and compared this with European data, finally calculating tax scenarios and their impact on underage binge drinking. Results: Germany applies lower taxes than many other European countries and alcohol beverage prices have decreased by 30% relative to overall price levels during the last 40 years. Conclusion: An optimal tax rate for reducing underage drinking would be set between the European average tax rates and Scandinavian tax rate levels. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In 1878 the liberal parties lost enough votes to lose the majority in the parliament which they had defended in the general election just one year before. In this article, the questions of where the voters came from and why the voting changed so crucially within one year are reexamined. The analysis uses a new set of data and makes use of King's algorithm, a tool provided by modern political science. The main finding of this article is that the change towards protectionism was not caused by new, but by floating voters from the agricultural sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the growth of the Nazi dictatorship and its connection to the Mormon Church in Germany from 1933-1939. It states that Mormons were impacted by the anti-religious policies of Nazi. It argues that Nazi's harassment of the Mormon Church was sporadic and founded mainly on the caprices of local party officials and not on formalized national policies.

Nationalization was particularly important in the early 1930s in Germany. The state took over a large industrial concern, large commercial banks, and other minor firms. In the mid-1930s, the Nazi regime transferred public ownership to the private sector. In doing so, they went against the mainstream trends in western capitalistic countries, none of which systematically reprivatized firms during the 1930s. Privatization was used as a political tool to enhance support for the government and for the Nazi Party. In addition, growing financial restrictions because of the cost of the rearmament programme provided additional motivations for privatization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on three countries with distinct policies toward motherhood and work: Germany, Sweden and the United States. We analyze the length of mothers' time out of paid work after childbirth and the short-term career consequences for mothers. In the United States, we identify a career punishment even for short timeout periods; long time-out periods increase the risk of a downward move and reduce the chances of an upward move. In Germany, long time-out periods destabilize the career and, the longer the leave, the greater the risk of either an upward or downward move. In Sweden, we find a negative effect of time out on upward moves. Hence, even in "woman-friendly" Sweden, women's career prospects are better if they return to paid work sooner rather than later. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the legal rules underlying corporate governance of banks in Germany during the 1870s as well as the rules of governance fixed in corporate charters collected from a sample of 202 charters for the year 1872. Governance standards were - on average - below the legal default. In particular, voting rights as well as monitoring rights of shareholders were restricted. Most governance provisions did not affect the level of Tobin's Q in 1872, the change of the market-to-book ratio during 1873, and the probability of firm survival until 1880. Yet large banks having adopted a 'one share-one vote' provision and large banks having a governmental concession had a higher Tobin's Q, whereas the reverse holds for small banks. Moreover, the probability of firm survival was larger if small shareholders had voting rights or if shareholders could elect the supervisory board. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the end of their government coalition with the Social Democratic Party, German Green Party leaders spoke of "a dawn of new opportunities" for Alliance 90/The Greens. They wanted to capitalize on the strategic opportunities afforded by Germany's new five-party system and on the unexpected rise of climate change in public debate. Shortly before the 2009 federal election, however, the party's "new opportunities" seem rather limited. Selectively focusing on one particular explanatory factor, this article contrasts the Green's neo-radical eco-political position as it has emerged since 2005 with the ways in which environmental issues are addressed by the currently popular LOHAS (Life of Health and Sustainability) consumer movement. It suggests that the German Greens may have paid too little attention to the ongoing reframing of the environmental issue in public discourse and that this has impaired their prospects for a swift return to government office. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the Weimar Republic's cultural relations with Latin America. Based on diplomatic correspondence and the writings of Latin American intellectuals who visited Weimar Germany, the article combines an exploration of the goals and methods of Germany's official foreign cultural policy towards the region with a brief examination of the varied ways in which the supposed recipients of these policies approached German culture. The key argument is that the limited capacities of official cultural policy created space for a large number of actors who pursued divergent interests when appropriating or trying to spread German ideas in Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unique characteristics of Germany's federalism have been long identified as one of the main obstacles to legitimate and efficient governance. In 2006, the grand coalition adopted a federal reform which aims to disentangle the intertwined levels of government by reducing the influence of the Lander governments in federal policy-making and strengthening the Lander by granting more legislative competences to the federal states. In this article, I summarize the reasons for the constitutional change, provide a short overview of the reform process, and evaluate its results. I argue that the achieved compromise will only lead to incremental changes in Germany's federalism and will not be sufficient to solve the perceived problems of Germany's federal structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the history of migration in the early modern period in Europe (18th century), and the consequences this history has had on the development of the academic study of European migration. The article claims that the dichotomous and essentialist categories with which the academic study of migration has been working, are inaccurate and misleading. The latter conclusion requires an historically contextualized reconfiguration of the quintessential categories with which migration studies work. It is thus essential to explore the relationships between immigrants, communities and the management of these communities, the reasons for migration, the relationship between norm and deviation from norms, between majority and minority, and the importance of the state and of social order.

The article discusses the regulations governing the practice of sick-maintenance in various Anglo-Saxon legal texts in Germany. Rulings in Anglo-Saxon texts follow three routes including inheritance, borrowing and innovation. It notes that most of the written law texts are in Latin and the statutes contained therein were Romanized. The ruling that includes a superficial equivalent to the Proto-Indo-European requirement providing a substitute worker can be found in Germanic law outside the West-Germanic territories. This indicates that an institution of sick-maintenance seems to have been a common feature of the Germanic territories.

Since the beginning of their migration, Turkish migrants (TMs) have formed numerous civic organizations of diverse types in Germany. Various studies have examined the social, economic, and political situation of Turkish migrants in Germany over the past fifteen years. A gap persists concerning the role of Turkish migrants' umbrella organizations (TMUOs) as antiracist organizations and representatives of the Turkish migrant community. While they establish relations with German political parties, trade unions, and municipal authorities, it is unclear whether such interactions are motivated by TMUOs' interest in promoting tolerance toward the diversity of Turkish migrants in Germany. Combining approaches from organizational sociology and migration research, this article aims to generate an empirically founded knowledge of TMUOs and how they have reacted to various German policies of acculturation. It is specifically concerned with: (1) the aims and activities of TMUOs; (2) the role and function of these organizations as representatives of the Turkish population; (3) the methods and strategies that TMUOs use to influence the German policy and public in order to eliminate racism toward Turkish migrants; and (4) the possibilities available to them to promote antiracism in Germany. The article shows that many organizations were established because of social, economic, and political discrimination against TMs in Germany. It shows that TMUOs are involved in activities to support TM integration into the German society as well as in defensive moves to protect them from discrimination. My main argument is that TMUOs' efforts to support the integration of TMs into the German society have generally been ignored. These organizations are excluded in many cases from negotiations with the government and thus have limited impact on the growth of Turkish minority rights in Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most writers have taken Frederick II at his word and interpreted his sparse and generally derogatory comments about the Holy Roman Empire as indications of its low priority in Prussian policy after 1740. This article offers a reappraisal, based on a re-examination of his writings and his policy towards the Empire and its principal dynasties. Despite his distaste for the imperial constitution, Frederick swiftly appreciated its significance to his goals of security and international recognition. Certainty, relations with the imperial Estates remained secondary to diplomatic and military engagement with Austria and the other major European powers. Nonetheless, the Empire remained more than an arena in which Austro-Prussian rivalry was played out. The imperial constitution offered a means to neutralize threats to Prussia's more vulnerable provinces and a framework to constrain Habsburg ambitions, while ties to minor German dynasties offered avenues to maintain or improve relations with Europe's leading monarchies that were likewise bound within the elite kinship of the Christian old world. For this to be effective, however, Frederick had to engage in all aspects of imperial politics and not just representation informal institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1808, an Estate of the lesser nobility of the Lower Austrian diet approved a statute barring from membership persons of Jewish descent in the `third degree' regardless of confession. It is the only documented instance in Europe for the revolutionary era of such a paragraph that, in its rejection of Jewish ancestry in both the paternal and maternal lines, resembled the early modern Spanish statutes of `blood purity' and the twentieth-century Nuremberg laws. The Josephian patent of toleration of 1782 had not allowed Jews to become members of the corporate nobility (the first Jew was only ennobled in 1789), but had relieved some of the worst aspects of discrimination. By the early nineteenth century, the archduchy of Lower Austria (including the imperial capital at Vienna) contained the largest, wealthiest, and most self-confident Jewish community in the Hapsburg Monarchy. The statute of 1808 was a reaction to Jewish acculturation to the upper class (including conversion, intermarriage, concessions of property-rights, the existence of salons in which Jews and new Christians mired with the nobility) that presented a perceived threat to the status of its marginal members (lesser landed nobles, ennobled officialdom, and ennobled professionals). The statute was also a product of the politically and nationally charged atmosphere in Vienna between the Austrian defeat by Napoleon at Austerlitz (1805) and the renewed war against France (1809). No simple ideological continuum connects the Lower Austrian paragraph to either the early modern Spanish or the late modern Nazi ordinances. But it was the first such statute to take shape in a political context fraught with recognizably late modern concepts of' nation'. The statute of 1808 furthermore evidences the continuing fractured nature of public authority and lack of thorough-going state-formation in Austria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. This article examines the notion of the family and within its postmodern definition the research undertaken in the field of domestic violence and its consequences for criminal justice agencies in the United Kingdom and Germany. Has the notion of the family changed in Western culture? How has legislation changed regarding domestic violence in line with criminologists' and social scientists' hypotheses, reflections, and recommendations? How are victims and witnesses protected from perpetrators? Methods. The authors discuss how legislation in both countries has changed to meet the needs of victims and witnesses of domestic violence. The article looks at different forms of law enforcement in domestic violence and how the agencies assess future dangerousness. Results. Research analyses show that domestic violence is now taken seriously in both countries' legislation. But what is the impact on policing domestic violence in both countries? It is argued that U.K. law enforcement agencies are more advanced that the German police in dealing with domestic violence in a practical and pragmatic fashion. Conclusions. The authors explore the shift in cultural beliefs affecting male dominance in the family setting, how public attitudes to domestic violence have changed, and how law enforcement agencies are now dealing with violence within the family in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the fiscal policies by which the Vichy government of Occupied France in World War II financed the payments demanded by Germany after the 1940 armistice. It also presents the policies the post-Liberation French government imposed to deal with the aftermath of those costs. Currency exchange rates imposed by Germany made French goods cheap to purchase, in effect financing the occupation of France through French economic activity. Wage and price controls led to contraction of the French economy exacerbated by the forced draft of French labor for the German economy. The Vichy government was left with an accumulation of debt. The postwar government of France raised taxes, but did so to finance social expenditure, coping with the debt by allowing rampant inflation to lower its value.

The author reflects on the American Cash and Counseling demonstration for disabled people and compares it to the programs implemented by other countries. An overview of long term care programs implemented by countries including the Netherlands, England and Germany is presented. The variations across the countries in participation rates seems to depend more on labor market conditions and how governments choose to structure the program.

Analyzes the role of the political disputes over Hanover, Germany in the formation of foreign policy in Great Britain. Background on the political disputes over Hanover during the reign of George I in 1714 and George II in 1727; Discussion on the processes of policy formation; Information on the different aspects of foreign policy.

This article discusses the new educational reforms in Germany. The most important question in the recent political debate in Germany is that of educational reforms. German higher education system has been in crisis from a long time and international competition and financial pressures had intensified the need to change these policies and systems. Changes in new educational policies are characterized by incremental steps that reshape the existing institutions and are intended to introduce new ways of thinking regarding higher education's role in modern society. As in other areas of reform, the old system has not been replaced, but new programs are being added to the existing one and the old ones are being updated to reflect new objectives.

Presents a study which examined the spatial distribution of hospital beds in the Federal Republic of Germany. Relationship between left-wing government and distributions of hospital beds; Mechanism of planning of hospital facilities; Comparison of the spatial distribution of hospital beds in socialist democratic government and countries with Christian democratic government.