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The 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees and its 1967 Protocol
No full textThe Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees adopted on 28 July 1951 in Geneva provides the most comprehensive codification of the rights of refugees yet attempted. Consolidating previous international instruments relating to refugees, the 1951 Convention with its 1967 Protocol marks a cornerstone in the development of international refugee law. At present, there are 144 States Parties to one or both of these instruments, expressing a worldwide consensus on the definition of the term refugee and the fundamental rights to be granted to refugees. These facts demonstrate and underline the extraordinary significance of these instruments as the indispensable legal basis of international refugee law. This Commentary provides for a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol on an article-by-article basis, exposing the interrelationship between the different articles and discussing the latest developments in international refugee law. In addition, several thematic contributions analyse questions of international refugee law which are of general significance, such as regional developments and the relationship between refugee law and the law of the sea
The voting potential of Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht
No full textA new challenger seeks to enter the German party system: Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW). With her new party, former Die Linke politician Sahra Wagenknecht combines a left-authoritarian profile (economically left-leaning, but culturally conservative) with anti-US, pro-Russia and anti-elitist stances. This article provides the first large-n academic study of the voter potential of this new party by using a quasi-representative sample (n = 6,000) drawn from a Voting Advice Application-like dataset that comes from a website designed to explore the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht’s positions. The results show that congruence with foreign policy positions and anti-elitism are strong predictors of the propensity to vote for the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht. In contrast, social/welfare and immigration policies are less predictive for assessing the party’s potential. Among the different socio-demographic groups, the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht has a strong potential among baby boomers, the less educated and East Germans. Regarding party voters, the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht is favoured by supporters of some minor parties like dieBasis, Freie Wähler and Die PARTEI, but also non-voters. Among the established parties, the party’s potential is high among Die Linke voters and, to a lesser extent, voters of the Social democrats (SPD) and Alternative for Germany (AfD). A potential below the average is reported for the supporters of the Liberals (FDP) and Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and most clearly for Green and Volt voters
Intergovernmental relations in digitalization policy
No full textDespite the high hopes associated with public sector digitalization, especially in times of crisis, it does not yet hold up to its potential. Both the negotiation and implementation of digitalization policy presents a challenge for all levels of government, requiring extensive coordination efforts. In general, there are conflicting views if more centralized or decentralized policy processes are more effective for coordination—a tension further exacerbated in the context of digitalization policy within multilevel systems, where the imperative of standardization collides with decentralization forces inherent in federalism.
Based on the analysis of expert interviews (n = 29), this chapter examines how digitalization policy in the context of the German federal intergovernmental relations context is located and negotiated, and how this relates to local policy implementation. Focusing on the decentralized German tax administration as a case study, the analysis reveals a shift from a conflicted to a multi-layered policy process, underpinned by a mechanism of “concentration without centralization.” Strategic and operational competencies are bundled in an institutionalized and legally regulated network for digitalization to achieve necessary standardization of digital infrastructure. Furthermore, the research emphasizes the influence of intergovernmental relations on local implementation and the associated challenges and opportunities
Investigating innovation diffusion in gender-specific medicine
No full textThe field of healthcare is characterized by constant innovation, with gender-specific medicine emerging as a new subfield that addresses sex and gender disparities in clinical manifestations, outcomes, treatment, and prevention of disease. Despite its importance, the adoption of gender-specific medicine remains understudied, posing potential risks to patient outcomes due to a lack of awareness of the topic. Building on the Innovation Decision Process Theory, this study examines the spread of information about gender-specific medicine in online networks. The study applies social network analysis to a Twitter dataset reflecting online discussions about the topic to gain insights into its adoption by health professionals and patients online. Results show that the network has a community structure with limited information exchange between sub-communities and that mainly medical experts dominate the discussion. The findings suggest that the adoption of gender-specific medicine might be in its early stages, focused on knowledge exchange. Understanding the diffusion of gender-specific medicine among medical professionals and patients may facilitate its adoption and ultimately improve health outcomes
Condensation and crystallization on patterned surfaces
No full textCondensation and crystallization are omnipresent phenomena in nature. The formation of droplets or crystals on a solid surface are familiar processes which, beyond their scientific interest, are required in many technological applications. In recent years, experimental techniques have been developed which allow patterning a substrate with surface domains of molecular thickness, surface area in the mesoscopic scale, and different wettabilities (i.e., different degrees of preference for a substance that is in contact with the substrate). The existence of new patterned surfaces has led to increased theoretical efforts to understand wetting phenomena in such systems.
In this thesis, we deal with some problems related to the equilibrium of phases (e.g., liquid-vapor coexistence) and the kinetics of phase separation in the presence of chemically patterned surfaces. Two different cases are considered: (i) patterned surfaces in contact with liquid and vapor, and (ii) patterned surfaces in contact with a crystalline phase. One of the problems that we have studied is the following: It is widely believed that if air containing water vapor is cooled to its dew point, droplets of water are immediately formed. Although common experience seems to support this view, it is not correct. It is only when air is cooled well below its dew point that the phase transition occurs immediately. A vapor cooled slightly below its dew point is in a metastable state, meaning that the liquid phase is more stable than the vapor, but the formation of droplets requires some time to occur, which can be very long.
It was first pointed out by J. W. Gibbs that the metastability of a vapor depends on the energy necessary to form a nucleus (a droplet of a critical size). Droplets smaller than the critical size will tend to disappear, while droplets larger than the critical size will tend to grow. This is consistent with an energy barrier that has its maximum at the critical size, as is the case for droplets formed directly in the vapor or in contact with a chemically uniform planar wall. Classical nucleation theory describes the time evolution of the condensation in terms of the random process of droplet growth through this energy barrier. This process is activated by thermal fluctuations, which eventually will form a droplet of the critical size.
We consider nucleation of droplets from a vapor on a substrate patterned with easily wettable (lyophilic) circular domains. Under certain conditions of pressure and temperature, the condensation of a droplet on a lyophilic circular domain proceeds through a barrier with two maxima (a double barrier). We have extended classical nucleation theory to account for the kinetics of nucleation through a double barrier, and applied this extension to nucleation on lyophilic circular domains.Kondensation und Kristallisation sind allgegenwärtige Phänomene in der Natur. Die Bildung von Tröpfchen oder Kristallen auf einer festen Oberfläche sind vertraute Prozesse, die über ihr wissenschaftliches Interesse hinaus in vielen technologischen Anwendungen erforderlich sind. In den letzten Jahren wurden experimentelle Techniken entwickelt, die es ermöglichen, ein Substrat mit Oberflächendomänen von molekularer Dicke, mesoskopischer Oberflächengröße und unterschiedlichen Benetzbarkeiten (d.h. unterschiedlichen Graden der Präferenz für eine Substanz, die mit dem Substrat in Kontakt steht) zu strukturieren. Die Existenz neuer strukturierter Oberflächen hat zu verstärkten theoretischen Bemühungen geführt, Benetzungsphänomene in solchen Systemen zu verstehen.
In dieser Arbeit befassen wir uns mit einigen Problemen im Zusammenhang mit dem Gleichgewicht von Phasen (z.B. Flüssig-Dampf-Koexistenz) und der Kinetik der Phasentrennung in Gegenwart von chemisch strukturierten Oberflächen. Zwei verschiedene Fälle werden betrachtet: (i) strukturierte Oberflächen in Kontakt mit Flüssigkeit und Dampf und (ii) strukturierte Oberflächen in Kontakt mit einer kristallinen Phase. Eines der Probleme, die wir untersucht haben, ist das folgende: Es wird allgemein angenommen, dass sich bei Abkühlung von wasserdampfhaltiger Luft auf ihren Taupunkt sofort Wassertröpfchen bilden. Obwohl die allgemeine Erfahrung diese Ansicht zu unterstützen scheint, ist sie nicht korrekt. Erst wenn die Luft deutlich unter ihren Taupunkt gekühlt wird, tritt der Phasenübergang sofort ein. Ein leicht unter seinen Taupunkt gekühlter Dampf befindet sich in einem metastabilen Zustand, was bedeutet, dass die flüssige Phase stabiler als der Dampf ist, aber die Bildung von Tröpfchen einige Zeit benötigt, die sehr lang sein kann.
J. W. Gibbs wies erstmals darauf hin, dass die Metastabilität eines Dampfes von der Energie abhängt, die zur Bildung eines Keims (eines Tröpfchens kritischer Größe) notwendig ist. Tröpfchen, die kleiner als die kritische Größe sind, neigen dazu zu verschwinden, während Tröpfchen, die größer als die kritische Größe sind, dazu neigen zu wachsen. Dies stimmt mit einer Energiebarriere überein, die ihr Maximum bei der kritischen Größe hat, wie es bei Tröpfchen der Fall ist, die sich direkt im Dampf oder in Kontakt mit einer chemisch einheitlichen ebenen Wand bilden. Die klassische Nukleationstheorie beschreibt die zeitliche Entwicklung der Kondensation als zufälligen Prozess des Tröpfchenwachstums durch diese Energiebarriere. Dieser Prozess wird durch thermische Fluktuationen aktiviert, die schließlich ein Tröpfchen kritischer Größe bilden.
Wir betrachten die Nukleation von Tröpfchen aus einem Dampf auf einem Substrat, das mit leicht benetzbaren (lyophilen) kreisförmigen Domänen strukturiert ist. Unter bestimmten Druck- und Temperaturbedingungen verläuft die Kondensation eines Tröpfchens auf einer lyophilen kreisförmigen Domäne durch eine Barriere mit zwei Maxima (eine Doppelbarriere). Wir haben die klassische Nukleationstheorie erweitert, um die Kinetik der Nukleation durch eine Doppelbarriere zu berücksichtigen, und haben diese Erweiterung auf die Nukleation auf lyophilen kreisförmigen Domänen angewendet
Product compliance
No full textDie Anforderungen an Unternehmen, die Waren als Hersteller produzieren, importieren oder auf dem Markt bereitstellen, werden immer komplexer. Sie müssen nicht nur Rechtsvorschriften einhalten, sondern auch zahlreiche produktrelevante und technische Vorgaben beachten. Product Compliance ist damit zu einer grundlegenden Aufgabe produzierender Betriebe, importierender Unternehmen und von Händlern geworden. Die Schriftenreihe „Product Compliance“ nimmt sich der produktrechtlichen Fragestellungen rechtsgebietsübergreifend an und dient als Forum für herausragende Monographien und Sammelbände
Towards a unified framework for evaluating user satisfaction with mobile government apps
No full textThis study aims to bring together scattered research findings on user satisfaction with mobile government apps into a unified framework. The researchers analyzed 70 high-quality papers from leading journals and conferences and systematically integrated different frameworks and case studies to reflect the importance of the field over time while also highlighting methodological and geographical research gaps. The study achieved a significant methodological advance by developing codebooks for empirical analysis utilizing the App Store. This approach validated the framework’s dimensions on 8,524 reviews, demonstrating the framework’s applicability to platform-based apps and identifying critical areas for future research. Combining academic insights with practical findings, this research provides comprehensive guidance for developing and evaluating user-centered mobile government apps, facilitating improved service delivery and alignment with user expectations
