Geschlechtersonderwissen von Expert_innen für Inter*- und Trans*themen

Anhand von Expert_inneninterviews mit Aktivist_innen und Therapeut_innen aus dem Inter*- und Trans*bereich wird herausgestellt, wie Expert_innen Geschlecht thematisieren und auf welche Wissensformen sie hierfür Bezug nehmen. Professionssoziologische und gender- und queertheoretische Überlegungen werden in dieser wissenssoziologischen Untersuchung miteinander verknüpft, um Expert_innen des Geschlechts zu definieren und die im Rahmen der teilnehmenden Beobachtung erfassten Veränderungen im Diskurs um Inter*- und Trans*personen zu kontextualisieren. Dabei wird herausgestellt, dass zwar alternatives Wissen von Professionsangehörigen nicht mehr ausgeschlossen wird eine Deprofessionalisierung im Inter*- und Trans*bereich allerdings unwahrscheinlich erscheint. Vielmehr wird eine binäre Konstruktion von Expert_innen insbesondere von Professionsangehörigen reproduziert. Hierbei wird differenziert in professionsangehörige Expert_innen und Aktivist_innen, wobei erstere sich für gesellschaftliche Werte einsetzten würden und Aktivist_innen sich lediglich im Eigeninteresse handeln würden. Zur Einbettung und Erklärung der empirischen Erkenntnisse wird sich auf gender- und queertheoretische, psychoanalytische, diskurstheoretische, phänomenologische und emotionssoziologische Ansätze bezogen. Darüber wird die Fragilität der Kategorien Expert_in und Geschlecht und die Notwendigkeit der Anerkennung dieser für die eigene Handlungsfähigkeit verdeutlicht, ebenso wie die (Gefühls)Arbeit, die Expert_innen des Geschlechts alltäglich leisten müssen, um als Expert_in oder/und Inter*- oder Trans*person anerkannt zu werden. Grundsätzlich wird von Expert_innen des Geschlechts dem inkorporierten Wissen ein stärkeres Gewicht beigemessen als noch vor zehn Jahren, so das Fazit der Studie. Die Fokussierung auf inkorporiertes Wissen wird, anders als im bisherigen (Forschungs)Diskurs um Inter*- und Trans*personen allerdings in seiner Ambivalenz gesehen, da sie neben der Anerkennung alternativer Wissensformen auch zu einer Unmöglichkeit der Infragestellung dieses Wissens führen könne.

On Vessiot's Theory of Partial Differential Equations

The object of research presented here is Vessiot's theory of partial differential equations: for a given differential equation one constructs a distribution both tangential to the differential equation and contained within the contact distribution of the jet bundle. Then within it, one seeks n-dimensional subdistributions which are transversal to the base manifold, the integral distributions. These consist of integral elements, and these again shall be adapted so that they make a subdistribution which closes under the Lie-bracket. This then is called a flat Vessiot connection. Solutions to the differential equation may be regarded as integral manifolds of these distributions. In the first part of the thesis, I give a survey of the present state of the formal theory of partial differential equations: one regards differential equations as fibred submanifolds in a suitable jet bundle and considers formal integrability and the stronger notion of involutivity of differential equations for analyzing their solvability. An arbitrary system may (locally) be represented in reduced Cartan normal form. This leads to a natural description of its geometric symbol. The Vessiot distribution now can be split into the direct sum of the symbol and a horizontal complement (which is not unique). The n-dimensional subdistributions which close under the Lie bracket and are transversal to the base manifold are the sought tangential approximations for the solutions of the differential equation. It is now possible to show their existence by analyzing the structure equations. Vessiot's theory is now based on a rigorous foundation. Furthermore, the relation between Vessiot's approach and the crucial notions of the formal theory (like formal integrability and involutivity of differential equations) is clarified. The possible obstructions to involution of a differential equation are deduced explicitly. In the second part of the thesis it is shown that Vessiot's approach for the construction of the wanted distributions step by step succeeds if, and only if, the given system is involutive. Firstly, an existence theorem for integral distributions is proven. Then an existence theorem for flat Vessiot connections is shown. The differential-geometric structure of the basic systems is analyzed and simplified, as compared to those of other approaches, in particular the structure equations which are considered for the proofs of the existence theorems: here, they are a set of linear equations and an involutive system of differential equations. The definition of integral elements given here links Vessiot theory and the dual Cartan-Kähler theory of exterior systems. The analysis of the structure equations not only yields theoretical insight but also produces an algorithm which can be used to derive the coefficients of the vector fields, which span the integral distributions, explicitly. Therefore implementing the algorithm in the computer algebra system MuPAD now is possible.

‘Ethical’, but Gender-Biased?

The migration of healthcare professionals from developing to developed countries, often aided by recruitment agencies, is a phenomenon of great international concern, as reflected in the construction of numerous ethical recruitment codes, which aim to govern the process. In an attempt to provide an overview of the situation, dealing specifically with the migration of nurses, as well as a critical and gender sensitive analysis of the codes, this paper follows three broad steps: first, it reviews the literature dedicated to the migration of nurses from developing to developed countries, adding a gendered account to more conventional push-pull explanations; second, it delineates the positive and negative effects that nurse migration has at the stakeholders levels of the individual, institutional, national and international level, paying particular attention to the role of gender; and third, it reviews and compares numerous codes for the ethical recruitment of nurses, highlighting the gendered rationale and consequences they may have. In showing that nurse migration is a gendered phenomenon, the paper questions whether the codes, written in gender neutral language, will come to bear unintended consequences that will effectively work to uphold gender stereotypes and inequalities.

Decision‐Making in Public Good Dilemmas: Theory and Agent‐Based Simulation

In many real world contexts individuals find themselves in situations where they have to decide between options of behaviour that serve a collective purpose or behaviours which satisfy one’s private interests, ignoring the collective. In some cases the underlying social dilemma (Dawes, 1980) is solved and we observe collective action (Olson, 1965). In others social mobilisation is unsuccessful. The central topic of social dilemma research is the identification and understanding of mechanisms which yield to the observed cooperation and therefore resolve the social dilemma. It is the purpose of this thesis to contribute this research field for the case of public good dilemmas. To do so, existing work that is relevant to this problem domain is reviewed and a set of mandatory requirements is derived which guide theory and method development of the thesis. In particular, the thesis focusses on dynamic processes of social mobilisation which can foster or inhibit collective action. The basic understanding is that success or failure of the required process of social mobilisation is determined by heterogeneous individual preferences of the members of a providing group, the social structure in which the acting individuals are contained, and the embedding of the individuals in economic, political, biophysical, or other external contexts. To account for these aspects and for the involved dynamics the methodical approach of the thesis is computer simulation, in particular agent-based modelling and simulation of social systems. Particularly conductive are agent models which ground the simulation of human behaviour in suitable psychological theories of action. The thesis develops the action theory HAPPenInGS (Heterogeneous Agents Providing Public Goods) and demonstrates its embedding into different agent-based simulations. The thesis substantiates the particular added value of the methodical approach: Starting out from a theory of individual behaviour, in simulations the emergence of collective patterns of behaviour becomes observable. In addition, the underlying collective dynamics may be scrutinised and assessed by scenario analysis. The results of such experiments reveal insights on processes of social mobilisation which go beyond classical empirical approaches and yield policy recommendations on promising intervention measures in particular.

Normative and cognitive influences on female entrepreneurial reluctance at the base of the pyramid - an explorative study of cleaning ladies in Istanbul

Previous research has considered entrepreneurship as a way out of poverty and as a chance to foster economic growth. Moreover, specifically start-ups headed by women have played an important role in the economic development and it has been argued that gender-related issues, amongst others, play a significant role for the performance of a country or region. Against this background, this qualitative study explores desires, reluctances and constraints toward entrepreneurial activities of a comparably homogenous group of potential (poor) entrepreneurs in an emerging economy—cleaning ladies in Istanbul. We focus on this particular context as still rather little is known on reasons why women do not start a business (in Turkey). We believe exploring the reasons why certain individuals choose not to become entrepreneurs is at least as telling as investigating why they do so. We draw upon the social dimensions of entrepreneurship by Shapero and Sokol (1982) alongside Institutional Theory and posit that normative and cognitive forces may shape individual decisions on entrepreneurship. We identified two basic clusters of women and discuss possible hindrance factors undermining entrepreneurial desires and limitations for entrepreneurship as well as possible avenues for policy makers (and MNCs) to foster entrepreneurship in the given community.