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Non-parametric inference on trends in temperature data
No full textThis paper contributes to the existing literature on the topic of trend estimation in temperature series by applying a non-standard estimation procedure to data from cities all over Europe. It seems that statements about the important topic of global warming are oftentimes based on linear trend estimation, where a straight line is fitted to the temperature data. It is argued in this paper that this approach of linear trend estimation is too restrictive in the case of temperature data and that a different approach, allowing for a more flexible form of the trend, yields more accurate results. For instance, regressing the European temperature data on a linear trend provides evidence of no global warming for all series under consideration, whereas the non-parametric approach advocated in this paper shows a recent upward trend for all series underlining the importance of taking the complexity of temperature data into account
The EU Common Position on Arms Export Policies: Europeanising Transparency
Get PDFIn 2008, as a response to several scandals in arms exports, the EU Member States adopted a legally binding Council Common Position on Arms Exports in order to avoid the export of armaments to crisis regions. The adoption succeeded a Code of Conduct from 1998, the first detailed agreement in the field of arms deliveries between EU governments, and pushed for further harmonisation in the field of European arms export policies. The Member States emphasize the importance of such efforts and push for the adoption of common rules on the European level. However, it remains to be seen whether the implementation on the national level is successful. Another important aspect in the domain of arms exports is transparency both in the licensing process and the assessment of licensing decisions. To increase this transparency on a European and national level, harmonisation efforts were introduced through the Code of Conduct and Common Position. Although the Member States are legally obliged to report to the EU on their arms transfers since 2008, the implementation of the criteria set out in the EU Common Position remains in the hands of Member States. This raises the question, which impact the development of the EU Common Position has had domestically. Therefore, this chapter sets out to analyse to what extent the Common Position has harmonized the national policies in the field of arms export and has made them more transparent to the wider public and different public actors. Moreover, it will be investigated how different Member States are influencing the development of the EU Code of Conduct
Foreign land ownership: Why are the Polish and Hungarian measures in discrimination with EU citizens’ right to acquire agricultural land within the European Union?
Get PDFThis thesis focuses on the acquisition of agricultural land by foreigners – citizens of other EU Member States – in Poland and Hungary. Land is a fundamental resource of the nation state. Without land, constituting the delimitation of their territory, countries cannot exist. It possesses special features – e.g. limited area, economic importance, evocation of national sentiment and security – which represent much of the wealth of a state and its population. Because of its precious value, states have at different periods taken measures to restrict the possibility of foreigners’ acquiring land within their territories. Traditionally, foreigners, categorized as non-nationals of a state, were not allowed to acquire land. During the feudal period, they were seen as potential enemies to the nations. This attitude was developed and entertained by the special feudal relationship binding the people living within one territory – e.g. tenants were allowed to use their lord’s land and in return they owed him services and a personal obligation of loyalty. Being free of accountableness, foreigners had no attachment to that specific land. Centuries later, the mentality towards foreigners changed. After the French Revolution, the principles of equality and fraternity were highlighted, setting citizens and foreigners on equal footing. Although this trend seems to continue, many states nowadays still restrict foreign land ownership. Within the European context, it can be noticed that even though free movement of persons is one of the cornerstones of the internal market, EU citizens still are sometimes confronted in real life with some infringements on their free movement rights
The Role of Competition Law in Regulatory European Private Law
Get PDFIn the last years we have seen the emergence of a new methodology in European private law, which (finally) dared to shift away from a classical comparative approach to one, which takes European Union law as its proper starting point. Classical European private law scholarship has mainly been backwards looking insofar as the law of the Member States, and predominantly the old codifications, determined both form and substance of new regulatory attempts. Today, this traditional approach still remains the predominant working method of the acquis group. But recent improvements in the academic debate surrounding European private law suggest a more European approach to questions of harmonisation. Taking the Treaties, secondary legislation and jurisprudence of the ECJ as its premise, academics have attempted to extrapolate common ‘European’ principles and rules to provide desperately needed substance in the search for more coherence in the continuing harmonisation process of private law. Some characteristics should be stressed as far as this new scholarship is concerned. First, it is heavily influenced by an idea which can be called ‘Europeanisation of law through hybridisation of remedies’. Second, the methodology and reasoning on which this scholarship relies can only be explained on the basis of the European Economic Constitution. Alongside these main aspects we also find a more functionalistic approach as to how modern private law should be shaped in general. Last, new forms of governance allow for more flexibility in the law-making process, also in view of the actors involved in that process. It is against this background that this contribution seeks to demonstrate in what way competition law can serve as a tool to directly or indirectly influence and regulate private law in the Member States; and, more generally, how it can further the Europeanisation of law. In terms of methodology, I mainly rely on the idea that developments in European private law can be explained by aid of those areas which lie at the periphery of classical private law but at the core of the law of the internal market. To this end, it is necessary to first and foremost understand when and how competition and private law interact in the Union. The aim is to identify both instances in which competition and private law overlap substantially and in what way they complement each other
The Proposal for a Common European Sales Law And the Convention on the International Sale of Goods: Friends or Foes?
Get PDFThis essay examines the relationship between the proposal for a Common European Sales Law and the Convention on the International Sale of Goods in B2B transactions and its future outcome on the law applicable to international commercial transactions: friends or foes? In order to do so, the analysis is comprised of six elements. The first section asks what threat the legal relationship between the two instruments poses. The second section evaluates how and to which extent business behaviour plays a role in the reliance on optional instruments. The next section inspects the level of achievement of the CISG from a diplomatic, legal and business perspective. Subsequently, the consequences of the European instrument on the legal environment are explored. Next, a series of examples illustrate whether the relationship between the two instruments is one of competition or of cooperation. Lastly, the future prospects for both instruments are looked at. In the end of this research, it is submitted that the CISG will enhance the chances of success of the CESL in the long term even though it is likely to affect its popularity for commercial transactions in the short term. Reversely, the CESL will pose a threat to the CISG in the beginning but it will progressively encourage the modernisation of international trade law instruments
Corruption and Remuneration in Singapore: The Dignity Argument
Get PDFThis chapter links the topic of high public officials’ remuneration to that of corruption. It does so by analyzing an argument set in the Singaporean context, which contends that a high salary is necessary for people to maintain their dignity, so that they in turn will not condescend to corruption. First, to best adhere to the intended meaning, the argument’s author’s conception of dignity is interpreted as being culturally Chinese dominated, making it a normative virtue that is closely related to the virtue of keeping face. With this understanding of dignity as a foundation, the link between remuneration and dignity is first analyzed, illuminating particularities in the Singaporean public sector and elaborating on the differentiated concept of dignity. Following that, the link between dignity and corruption is addressed, shedding light on corruption in Singapore. The analysis suggests inter alia the potentially high relevance of structural sociocultural conditions for potential anticorruption strategies
The Anti-Corruption Argument for High Public Official Remuneration in Singapore
Get PDFThis chapter investigates the anti-corruption argument for a principle of comparability between public and private sectors determining HPO remuneration in Singapore. The analysis use the argumentative structure of Stephen Toulmin and the associated methodology of Analytic Discourse Evaluation, developed by Teun Dekker, as the primary tool of investigation. Part 1 describes the circumstances surrounding the comparably high wages in the Singaporean public sector. Part 2 reconstructs the anti-corruption argument for comparative remuneration of high public officials (HPOs) in Singapore, showing it to rest on normative Claims about fairness. Part 3 evaluates the reconstruction, focusing on the plausibility of the general Claim that a comparative salary reduces HPO corruption, on the mechanism of the principle of comparability, and on the Claim that a comparable salary is a demand of justice
Driving home for Christmas: Influences of music tempo and inhibition training on simulated driving performance
No full textIn modern society, a car is among the most used means of transportation. The amount of car accidents that involve young drivers increases every year and poses a serious societal problem in terms of personal, social and economic costs. An explanation for these accidents is given by a biological theory, which states that an immature prefrontal cortex results in riskier behaviour. The socio-environmental theory indicates environmental factors, such as peer pressure and education, as possible determinants of the increased risk in young drivers. The current study combines both theories by searching an effect of music tempo (environment) and response inhibition (biological) on driving performance. The results showed a main effect for impulsivity/inhibition on crash rates. This suggested that impulsive behaviour promoted focused attention, thus leading to a lower crash rate. An interaction effect showed a marginal music tempo effect on lap times, but only when showing impulsive behaviour
Introduction
Get PDFDifferent directions of transparency play out differently in various contexts. Just like some plants need specific conditions to grow, different forms of transparency can only flourish within certain outer conditions of societal and institutional arrangements. Downwards transparency in totalitarian states will take a different form from downwards transparency in so-called participatory democracies, and again different forms if one attempts a cross-comparison among states with the same political system. Habitats themselves are not to be considered static entities, unilaterally constraining the efficiency of directions transparency can take. Rather, institutional frameworks might very well be affected if variations of transparency not typical for the habitat develop and turn out to be successful. The differentiations made here raise questions about the nature of transparency. If transparency occurs in different forms, to different degrees and takes different directions, how can we evaluate it? Does transparency have an instrumental or an intrinsic value
Aid Transparency in the Making: What Compliance with the International Aid Transparency Initiative Reveals About Ideational Dynamics in the Aid and Development Regime
Get PDFDrawing on ideational underpinnings of Social Constructivism, we perceive transparency as a norm in the aid and development regime. To establish this perception we refer to Cortell’s and Davis’ outline of the emergence of norms in domestic systems. We focus on the stage of institutionalization, i.e. the incorporation of ideational principles into formal institutions, as the IATI is considered as an institutionalized form of transparency in this context, but still assign great importance to the discourse employed in this specific stage (Cortell and Davis, 2000). These theoretical foundations allow for the application of Mitchell’s Model of Balanced Demand and Supply of Information. According to this model, a balance between the demand and supply of information proves decisive for the transparency of a regime, the very fact of which functions as an indicator for the regime’s success (Mitchell, 1998). Placing transparency in its ideational understanding within the realm of Mitchell’s model allows us not only to assess the success of the IATI in the wider aid and development regime, but also to contribute to the adaption of the model to the contemporary ideational dynamics