The romanticism of contemporary theory : institution, aesthetics, nihilism

"Justin Clemens presents a valuable study of the links between Romanticism and contemporary theory. The central contention of this book is that contemporary theory is still essentially Romantic - despite all its declarations to the contrary, and despite all its attempts to elude or exceed the limits bequeathed it by Romantic thought." "This study will be of interest to literary theorists, philosophers, political theorists, and cultural studies scholars."--BOOK JACKET.

Perceived environmental aesthetics and convenience and company are associated with walking for exercise among Australian adults

Background: This study aimed to investigate relationships between environmental aesthetics, convenience, and walking companions and walking for exercise or recreation and to investigate differences in these relationships by sex and by reported physical and mental health.

Methods: Analyses of cross-sectional self-report data from a statewide population survey of 3,392 Australian adults were used.

Results: Men and women reporting a less aesthetically pleasing or less convenient environment were less likely to report walking for exercise or recreation in the past 2 weeks. Those respondents, particularly women, reporting no company or pet to walk with were also less likely to walk for exercise or recreation. Associations with environmental and social influences were observed for men and women reporting both good and poor physical and mental health.

Conclusions: Perceived environmental aesthetics and convenience and walking companions are important correlates of walking for exercise among urban Australians. Acknowledging the cross-sectional nature of these data, findings support a case for evaluation of environmental policies to promote physical activity.

Reflections on some recent corporate governance reforms in Germany. A transformation of the German aktienrecht?

Focuses on the German law reform relating to public corporations. Flaws to the German system of corporate governance; Advantages of comparative corporate governance research; Features of the German Corporate Governance Code.

The German two-tier board and the German corporate governance code

This paper deals with some interesting recent corporate governance developments in Germany. The focus is in particular on the German Corporate Governance Code, its parts, layout and how it deals with the various organs of German public corporations. The German Code is quite unique since it applies a Code of Good Practice to a two-tier board system, thus making it necessary to deal with the role and functions and the relationship between the management and the supervisory board. This paper concludes that several changes to the German law relating to public corporations since the middle of the 1990s and the introduction of the German Code will ensure that the two-tier board system will remain the favoured board structure for public corporations in Germany. It is, however, submitted that employee participation at supervisory board level will provide particular political challenges for Germany in the near future.

The aesthetics of ideology, or 'the critique of ideological judgment' in Eagleton and Zizek

The notions of ‘ideology’ and ‘critique of ideology’ have been criticised in many ways. This essay examines the works of two contemporary theorists who defend this theoretical category. Interestingly, both do this through pivotal recourse to categories drawn from modern aesthetic theory, and in particular Kant's third Critique. In this way, they reanimate a theoretical concern with the intersection of politics and aesthetics that goes as far back as Plato. The essay's conclusion reflects on this "aesthetic turn" in the theory of ideology: what work it allows, and its limits.

Differences in how english and german speakers talk and reason about CAUSE

This research identifies how English and German speakers differ in the range of situations they describe as causal and how these difference may influence causal reasoning. In Experiments 1 and 2, English and German speakers described 3D animations of complex events using CAUSE verbs (cause, get) and ENABLE verbs (let, enable). As predicted, English speakers used CAUSE verbs to describe a wider range of events than German speakers. In Experiment 3, English and German speakers viewed 3D animations of CAUSE and ENABLE events and then estimated the likelihood of the effect (E) in the presence of the affector (A), p(E|A), in hypothetical situations similar to the one they just saw. Given the results of Experiments 1 and 2, we predicted that German speakers’ estimates of p(E|A) would be higher than English speakers’ estimates of p(E|A) for ENABLE events, but not necessarily for CAUSE events. The results were as predicted. The findings suggest that English and German speakers differ in the range of situations they describe as causal and that these differences in linguistic coding may lead to differences in causal reasoning.

German corporate governance in international and European context

The main aim with this book is to provide English speaking readers with a comprehensive overview of the German corporate governance model. The authors introduce the reader to the unique features of the German Business and Enterprise Law. The book deals with the most important company organs, namely the General Meeting, the Management Board and the Supervisory Board. The unique interplay among these organs are also covered and the reader is introduced to the particular dynamics of the German two-tier board structure.Further the authors deal with the dominant role of the "German banks" and new players in the German financial markets, focusing particularly on voting rights of these institutions at companies' general meetings and appointing members to companies' supervisory boards. Accounting is shown as the documentary proof of good corporate governance. The final chapter gives an overview of corporate governance in the European Union, the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance and corporate governance in the US, the UK and Australia.

The German corporate governance model in the wake of company law harmonisation in the European Union

In this article the authors deal with several recent developments in the European Union (EU) regarding company law harmonisation. These developments took place at the same time that the German corporate governance model has been refined considerably. The authors conclude that these developments in the EU and Germany respectively will necessarily create tension within the EU as far as corporate governance and company law harmonisation are concerned.

Advanced manufacturing technology adoption - the German experience

The decision process that organisations utilise when evaluating technology investment opportunities is a complex and even political process; however, the correct decision can provide the organisation with considerable operational and competitive benefits. The research presented in this paper presents the findings of a postal survey of the benefits provided by technology investments to large German manufacturers. It was found that only where middle management generated the idea for the advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) investment was success in that investment significantly more likely. Respondents who established a project team to plan the technology proposal, regardless of the department which generated the ideas for technology investment, were not significantly associated with a greater likelihood for success.

The respondents typically took between 3 and 12 months before making the final decision to invest, irrespective of the department generating the idea for the AMT, and a further 6 months to implement the AMT. Respondents who utilised a discounted cashflow analysis took significantly longer to make the final decision to invest. The greatest number of manufacturing outcomes of significantly higher importance was identified for respondents where Engineering, IT or R&D generated the AMT ideas. It was also determined that the respondents most frequently considered AMT investments in computer hardware or software and technical training for process workers to be necessary at the time of considering the investment. Middle management were found to be significantly more concerned than managers on other levels about opposition of workers to the AMT, while the process workers were significantly more concerned about interruptions to the process during installation.

Information systems and business informatics: an Australian German comparison

At last year's ACIS conference in Melbourne a panel titled 'IS: A discipline in crisis' discussed issues relating to be in disability of IS in Australia. It is not, however, just the Australian IS discipline that must deal with problems such as the need for better organisational structures and greater visibility in universities. This paper presents a comparison between the German Business Informatics discipline and the Australian Information Systems discipline. The objective is to provide another perspective on the IS discipline to raise new ideas and stimulate discussion with reference to the organisational structure of our discipline in universities.