The Effectiveness of the Clean Development Mechanism ��� A law and economics analysis

Climate change has been acknowledged as a threat to humanity. Most scholars agree that to avert dangerous climate change and to transform economies into low-carbon societies, deep global emission reductions are required by the year 2050. Under the framework of the Kyoto Protocol, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is the only market-based instrument that encourages industrialised countries to pursue emission reductions in developing countries. The CDM aims to pay the incremental finance necessary to operationalize emission reduction projects which are otherwise not financially viable. According to the objectives of the Kyoto Protocol, the CDM should finance projects that are additional to those which would have happened anyway, contribute to sustainable development in the countries hosting the projects, and be cost-effective. To enable the identification of such projects, an institutional framework has been established by the Kyoto Protocol which lays out responsibilities for public and private actors. This thesis examines whether the CDM has achieved these objectives in practice and can thus be considered an effective tool to reduce emissions. To complete this investigation, the book applies economic theory and analyses the CDM from two perspectives. The first perspective is the supply-dimension which answers the question of how, in practice, the CDM system identified additional, cost-effective, sustainable projects and, generated emission reductions. The main contribution of this book is the second perspective, the compliance-dimension, which answers the question of whether industrialised countries effectively used the CDM for compliance with their Kyoto targets. The application of the CDM in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is used as a case-study. Where the analysis identifies inefficiencies within the supply or the compliance dimension, potential improvements of the legal framework are proposed and discussed.

Transatlantic negotiations on "hell"?: W. E. B. Du Bois's visit to fascist Germany and Theodor W. Adorno's exile in the land of the culture industry

In 1936, the African-American intellectual W.E.B. Du Bois visited Nazi Germany for a period of five months. Two years later, the eleven-year-long American exile of the German philosopher Theodor W. Adorno began. From the latter���s perspective, the United States was the ���home��� of the Culture Industry. One intuitively assumes that these sojourns abroad must have amounted to ���hell on earth��� for both the civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois and the subtle intellectual Adorno. But was this really the case? Or did they perhaps arrive at totally different conclusions? This thesis deals with these questions and attempts to make sense of the experiences of both men. By way of a systematic and comparative analysis of published texts, hitherto unpublished documents and secondary literature, this dissertation first contextualizes Du Bois���s and Adorno���s transatlantic negotiations and then depicts them. The panoply of topics with which both men concerned themselves was diverse. In Du Bois���s case it encompassed Europe, science and technology, Wagner operas, the Olympics, industrial education, race relations, National Socialism and the German Africanist Diedrich Westermann. The opinion pieces which Du Bois wrote for the newspaper ���Pittsburgh Courier��� during his stay in Germany serve as a major source for this thesis. In his writings on America, Adorno concentrated on what he regarded as the universally victorious Enlightenment and the predominance of mass culture. This investigation also sheds light on the correspondences between the philosopher and Max Horkheimer, Thomas Mann, Walter Benjamin, Siegfried Kracauer and Oskar and Maria Wiesengrund. In these autobiographical texts, Adorno���s thoughts revolve around such diverse topics as the American landscape, his fears as German, Jew and Left-Hegelian as well as the loneliness of the refugee. This dissertation has to refute the intuitive assumption that Du Bois���s and Adorno���s experiences abroad were horrible events for them. Both men judged the foreign countries in which they were staying in an extremely differentiated and subtle manner. Du Bois, for example, was not racially discriminated against in Germany. He was also delighted by the country���s rich cultural offerings. Adorno, for his part, praised the U.S.���s humanity of everyday life and democratic spirit. In short: Although both men partly did have to deal with utterly negative experiences, the metaphor of ���hell on earth��� is simply untenable as an overall conclusion.

Farmacocinetica della buprenorfina, e del suo metabolita norbuprenorfina, somministrata come infusione costante nel periodo post-operatorio in cagne sane sottoposte ad ovariectomia

Il dolore non �� solo una conseguenza della malattia ma un fattore patogeno che �� di per se stesso in grado di perpetuare il danno all���organismo. Il suo trattamento non �� quindi solo un atto di umanit�� ma un contributo ad arrestare la malattia e restituire la salute al paziente. Tra i farmaci pi�� popolari per la terapia del dolore negli animali da affezione si trova la buprenorfina. Questa molecola viene impiegata con successo da anni nel cane e nel gatto per motivi riconducibili, oltre che alla sua efficacia (la sua potenza �� diverse volte quella della morfina), alla lunga durata d���azione e alla scarsit�� degli effetti collaterali. Nonostante l���ampia diffusione e longevit�� del suo utilizzo, per��, sappiamo poco della farmacocinetica di questa molecola negli animali da affezione; i dosaggi clinicamente impiegati sono di fatto estrapolati dagli studi nell���uomo oppure basati su semplici osservazioni degli effetti; i pochi dati farmacocinetici ottenuti nel cane fanno riferimento a singoli boli di dosi che non sempre corrispondono a quelle clinicamente impiegate. Nonostante la buprenorfina trovi il suo principale impiego nelle somministrazioni protratte a lungo (durante il periodo post-operatorio o la degenza ospedaliera) non �� mai stato indagato il profilo farmacocinetico della molecola somministrata a boli ripetuti o come infusione continua. Il nostro studio si pone come obiettivo di indagare la farmacocinetica della buprenorfina somministrata come bolo di carico seguito da un���infusione costante a dosaggi considerati clinici in cani sani nel periodo post operatorio. Lo scopo ultimo �� quello di sviluppare un protocollo per la somministrazione di questa molecola in modo prolungato in pazienti degenti ed addolorati per poi, in futuro, confrontare la somministrazione come infusione continua con i tradizionali boli ripetuti. Per lo studio sono state utilizzate giovani cagne adulte di taglia media o grande sottoposte ad intervento di ovariectomia.

La lucha del Derecho contra el negacionismo: una peligrosa frontera. Particular estudio de los ordenamientos italiano y espa��ol

En la sociedad europea crece la preocupaci��n por el retorno de tendencias fascistas y neonazis y por la extensi��n de ideolog��as xen��fobas y antisemitas, algunas de ellas alimentadas a partir de tesis de negacionistas de aquellos tr��gicos eventos de nuestra historia reciente. La lucha frente a los discursos negacionistas se ha llevado m��s all�� del ��mbito social y acad��mico, y se ha propuesto la incorporaci��n en los ordenamientos jur��dicos europeos de tipos penales espec��ficos que incriminan este tipo de discurso: negar, banalizar, o justificar el Holocausto u otros genocidios o graves cr��menes contra la humanidad. Esta legislaci��n, que encuentra su mayor expresi��n en la Decisi��n marco 2008/913/JAI, aunque castiga un discurso socialmente repugnante, sin embargo presenta dudas en cuanto a su legitimidad con un sistema de libertades erigido sobre el pilar del pluralismo propio de los Estados democr��ticos. Surge as�� la cuesti��n de si pueden estar surgiendo ��nuevos�� delitos de opini��n y a ello se dedica entonces la presente tesis. El objetivo concreto de este trabajo ser�� analizar esta pol��tica-criminal para proponer una configuraci��n del delito de negacionismo compatible con la libertad de expresi��n, aunque se cuestionar�� la conveniencia de castigar penalmente a trav��s de un espec��fico delito este tipo de conductas. En particular se pretende responder a tres preguntas: en primer lugar, ��el discurso negacionista debe ampararse prima facie por la libertad de expresi��n en un ordenamiento abierto y personalista y cu��les podr��an ser las ��reglas�� que podr��an servir como criterio para limitar este g��nero de manifestaciones? La segunda pregunta ser��a entonces: ��C��mo podr��a construirse un tipo penal respetuoso con los principios constitucionales y penales que espec��ficamente incriminara este g��nero de conductas? Y, como ��ltima pregunta: ��Es conveniente o adecuada una pol��tica criminal que lleve a crear un espec��fico delito de negacionismo?

Strukturen des menschlichen Miteinander - auf dem Weg zum Anderen : dialogische Ans��tze vor dem Hintergrund von Robert Musils Roman ��Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften��

Diese Ausarbeitung zeigt Strukturen des menschlichen Miteinander im Rahmen einer systematisch-komparatistischen Ann��herung ��auf dem Weg zum Anderen�� vor dem Hintergrund von Musils Roman ��Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften�� auf; sie verweist auf die Gefahren des zunehmend selbstzentrierten Identit��tsdenkens, indem sie mit Blick auf den Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts eine Auswahl philosophischer Denker aus dieser Zeit auf Grundlage einer poetischen Orientierung in ein Gespr��ch gef��hrt, das damals in Wirklichkeit leider nicht stattgefunden hat: Ulrich, der Protagonist des Romans, ��bernimmt in dieser Ausarbeitung neben der poetisch-orientierenden Funktion die Rolle des Begleiters; er leitet den Leser durch die Arbeit und verbindet ��auf dem Weg zum Anderen�� philosophische Richtungen mit Musils Roman. Mit der Metapher vom ��Konflikt der beiden B��ume��, den Ulrich in sich bemerkt, beginnt der ��Weg zum Anderen��: Unter beiden B��umen wird menschlichem Miteinander nachgesp��rt,indem ph��nomenologische Ans��tze dargestellt, analysiert und komparatistisch betrachtet werden. Der ��Baum des harten Gewirrs�� steht f��r distanziertes Erkennen; Husserls Intentionalit��t und Intersubjektivit��t f��hren in ein ��Konzert einsamer Monaden��. Der ��Baum der Schatten und Tr��ume�� - repr��sentiert durch Klages - steht f��r verschmelzend mystisch-pathisches Erleben, das Menschen ebenfalls isoliert. Eine Verbindung der beiden B��ume erfolgt in der ��Begegnung zwischen den B��umen�� im menschlichen Miteinander von Ulrich und seiner Schwester Agathe; hier gedeiht ��� um im Bild zu bleiben ��� der ��Baum des Lebens�� auf dem Boden der ��Notwendigkeit des Du f��r das Ich��. Dieser Baum wird vorgestellt hinsichtlich seiner Verwurzelung: Ans��tze Feuerbachs, Diltheys und Plessners verweisen auf Gemeinschaftlichkeit, Geschichtlichkeit und Exzentrizit��t des Menschen. Daran schlie��t sich die Analyse der Struktur des Baumes an: Hier verweist L��withs Ansatz auf die im Menschen angelegte ontologisch-konstitutionelle Zweideutigkeit. In der Krone des ��Lebensbaumes�� suchen die Dialogiker Buber, Rosenzweig und Rosenstock-Huessy nach Gleichurspr��nglichkeit in der ��Sph��re des Zwischen�� und beschreiten den Weg von der Menschwerdung in der ��Sph��re des Zwischen�� zu einer gelebten voraussetzungsvollen Mitmenschlichkeit im Horizont gesprochener Sprache. Komparatistische Betrachtungen offenbaren divergierende Tendenzen, die im Res��mee verdichtet aufgezeigt werden: Unter philosophisch-inhaltlichem Aspekt wird dargestellt, warum Menschen ��unter beiden B��umen�� in einsamer Beschr��nktheit und Endlichkeit verharren, w��hrend sie in ��Begegnung zwischen den B��umen�� - im menschlichen Miteinander - Freiheit und Unendlichkeit erlangen: ��Haltung versus Eingebundenheit�� entscheidet ��ber isoliertes oder gelingendes Leben. Unter philosophisch-kulturwissenschaftlichem Aspekt werden Spuren in Musils Roman ��Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften�� aufgedeckt, die vermuten lassen, Musil habe ��ber seinen Roman Dialogisches Denken ��inkognito�� vermitteln wollen; die darin erweckte Sehnsucht nach menschlichem Miteinander gilt es, im Leben zu verantworten ��� zwischen Menschen, konkret und immer wieder...

The Mountain Research Initiative Reaches Outward and Clombs Upward

Mountain regions provide a multitude of goods and services for much of humanity (Price and Butt 2000; Becker and Bugmann 2001), especially in the realms of water supply, biodiversity, and other ecosystem services (Schimel et al 2002; K��rner et al 2005; Viviroli et al 2007; Viviroli et al 2011). However, the future ability of mountain regions to provide goods and services to both highland and lowland residents is seriously threatened by climatic changes, environmental pollution, unsustainable management of natural resources, and serious gaps in understanding of mountain systems (Huber et al 2005). Disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary research is required to maintain these goods and services in the face of these forces. The global mountain research community, however, has historically operated at a suboptimal level because of insufficient communication across geographic and linguistic barriers, less than desirable coordination of research frameworks, and a lack of funding.

Must We Forgive?: Exploring the Limits and Possibilities of Forgiveness and Resentment

Conflict has marked civilization from Biblical times to the present day. Each of us, with our different and competing interests, and our desires to pursue those interests, have over time wronged another person. Not surprisingly then, forgiveness is a concern of individuals and groups����communities, countries, religious groups, races����yet it is a complex idea that philosophers, theologians, political scientists, and psychologists have grappled with. Some have argued that forgiveness is a therapeutic means for overcoming guilt, pain, and anger. Forgiveness is often portrayed as a coping mechanism����how often we hear the phrase, ����forgive and forget,���� as an arrangement to help two parties surmount the complications of disagreement. But forgiveness is not simply a modus vivendi; the ability to forgive and conversely to ask for forgiveness, is counted as an admirable trait and virtue. This essay will explore the nature of forgiveness, which in Christian dogma is often posited as an unqualified virtue. The secular world has appropriated the Christian notion of forgiveness as such a virtue����but are there instances wherein offering forgiveness is morally inappropriate or dangerous? I will consider the situations in which forgiveness, understood in this essay as the overcoming of resentment, may not be a virtue����when perhaps maintaining resentment is as virtuous, if not more virtuous, than forgiving. I will explain the various ethical frameworks involved in understanding forgiveness as a virtue, and the relationship between them. I will argue that within Divine Command Theory forgiveness is a virtue����and thus morally right����because God commands it. This ethical system has established forgiveness as unconditional, an idea which has been adopted into popular culture. With virtue ethics in mind, which holds virtues to be those traits which benefit the person who possesses them, contributing to the good life, I will argue unqualified forgiveness is not always a virtue, as it will not always benefit the victim. Because there is no way to avoid wrongdoing, humans are confronted with the question of forgiveness with every indiscretion. Its limits, its possibilities, its relationship to one����s character����forgiveness is a concern of all people at some time if for no other reason than the plain fact that the past cannot be undone. I will be evaluating the idea of forgiveness as a virtue, in contrast to its counterpart, resentment. How can forgiveness be a response to evil, a way to renounce resentment, and a means of creating a positive self-narrative? And what happens when a sense of moral responsibility is impossible to reconcile with the Christian (and now, secularized imperative of) forgiveness? Is it ever not virtuous to forgive? In an attempt to answer that question I will argue that there are indeed times when forgiveness is not a virtue, specifically: when forgiveness compromises one����s own self-respect; when it is not compatible with respect for the moral community; and when the offender is unapologetic. The kind of offense I have in mind is a dehumanizing one, one that intends to diminish another person����s worth or humanity. These are moral injuries, to which I will argue resentment is a better response than forgiveness when the three qualifications cannot be met.

What���s Our Responsibility? How Individuals and Organizations Can Proactively Address Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is regarded by Interpol as the second largest and fastest growing criminal industry in the world. This letter is submitted in response to the topic of Human Trafficking addressed in Volume 2, Issue 1. In response to the ever-increasing attention to this problem, various programs focus on the rescue of survivors in anti-trafficking efforts - sometimes overshadowing efforts to prevent human trafficking and rehabilitate those harmed. A comprehensive, responsible approach requires a system of rescue and rehabilitation with a deliberate eye toward prevention. The basic human rights of survivors are at risk of being violated by ���so-called rescue missions, despite the good intentions of would-be rescuers.��� At the prevention level, a firm human rights approach is needed. When interventions shift their emphasis to prevention and tackle the innate contributors to inequality, then the roots of trafficking and slavery can be firmly extirpated. By taking a thoughtful and vested approach to tackling all areas of trafficking��� including prevention, rescue, and rehabilitation���resources can be used more effectively, and communities are likely to have a more extensive impact in the fight against this hideous crime against humanity.

La figure de la sorci��re dans la litt��rature du XIXe si��cle (Jules Michelet, George Sand, Eliza Orzeszkowa)

The nineteenth century uncovered and analysed the tragic episodes of witch-hunting and ���witch��� trials common in Renaissance Europe. Fascinating not only to historians, this subject also inspired men of letters who popularized the image of the witch as an old, ugly and evil person, who thus deserved her lot. Jules Michelet���s La sorci��re of 1862 takes a very different approach. Simultaneously a literary and historical work, the book proved scandalous as it rehabilitated the figure of the witch, shedding favourable light on her image: it was the witch who was able to save a last spark of humanity in moments of despair; it was she who acted as comforter and healer to the people. In the context of nineteenth-century literature, certain works by female authors that focused on ���witches,��� stand out. Whilst certain male authors (Michelet included) presented the witch as a figure from the past, who had finally perished in the 17th century, texts such as George Sand���s La petite Fadette (1848) or Eliza Orzeszkowa���s Dziurdziowie (1885), suggest that the end of witch trials did not imply an end to accusations, persecutions, and even executions of ���witches��� ��� and, that in terms of culture, witchcraft or sorcery had not disappeared from the societies they knew.

Patterns of motor abilities and technical skills as predictors of success for young elite football players

Sport-motor tests play an important role in football talent selections. However, single tests represent only parts of the complex game performance. The best game performance therefore does not necessarily need to go hand in hand with the best results in all tests of a test battery. Considering the complexity of the game performance appropriately, a holistic perspective together with a person-oriented approach are applied. Thereby, systems consisting of several variables are identified and analysed in a longitudinal study. Following this idea, six sport-motor tests were aggregated into a subsystem. 106 young male elite football players were tested three times (2011, 2012, 2013; Mage, t2011=12.26, SD=0.29). One year later (2014) their performance level was enquired. Data were analysed using the LICUR method, a cluster analytical method. Four patterns were identified, which remained stable at all measuring points. The players frequently show intraindividual and structurally similar patterns over time. At the third measuring point, a pattern occurred out of which the players are significantly more likely to advance to the highest performance level one year later. This pattern appears consistently above average, but does not always show best test performances. The significantly frequent development along structurally stable patterns suggests a predictive validity of the subsystem sport-motor tests between the ages of 12 to 15. Above average, but not necessarily outstanding performances both in the motor abilities as well as in the football specific tests appears to be particularly promising. This finding emphasizes the need of a holistic perspective in the talent selection.

Ego depletion and action initiation

Optimal sprint start performance requires the self-control of responses. Therefore, start performance should depend on self-control strength. It was expected that momentary depletion of self-control strength (ego depletion) would slow down the initiation of a sprint start, resulting in impaired reaction times. N = 37 participants performed three sprint starts at T1 and the average reaction times were measured with a foot-pressure release system attached under the starting block (in ms). Next, participants were randomly assigned to a depletion or a non-depletion condition and self-control strength was experimentally manipulated by applying the transcription task. Following the depletion manipulation, participants performed another series of three sprints (T2). The results of a mixed between (ego depletion: yes vs. no) within (T1 vs. T2) ANOVA supported the hypothesis as average reaction times in the depletion condition significantly increased from T1 (M = 0.35, SD = 0.03) to T2 (M = 0.38, SD = 0.04), F(1, 35) = 6.77, p = .01, ��2p = .16. Average reaction times in the non-depletion condition did not differ significantly between T1 (M = 0.36, SD = 0.03) and T2 (M = 0.35, SD = 0.04), F(1, 35) = 0.47, p = .50, ��2p = .01. In line with the hypothesis, higher levels of self-control strength were associated with quicker movement initiations. Therefore, improving self-control strength may serve as a buffer against the negative effects of ego depletion on performance.

The effect of ego depletion on distractibility

Athletes in a state of ego depletion do not perform up to their capabilities in high pressure situations (e.g., Englert & Bertrams, 2012). We assume that momentarily available self-control strength determines whether individuals in high pressure situations can resist distracting stimuli. In the present study, we applied a between-subjects design, as 31 experienced basketball players were randomly assigned to a depletion group or a non-depletion group. Participants performed 30 free throws while listening to statements representing worrisome thoughts (as frequently experienced in high pressure situations; Oudejans, Kuijpers, Kooijman, & Bakker, 2011) over stereo headphones. Participants were instructed to block out these distracting audio messages and focus on the free throws. We postulated that depleted participants would be more likely to be distracted and would perform worse in the free throw task. The results supported our assumption as depleted participants paid more attention to the distracting stimuli and displayed worse performance in the free throw task. These results indicate that sufficient levels of self-control strength can serve as a buffer against increased distractibility under pressure. Implementing self-control trainings into workout routines may be a useful approach (e.g., Oaten & Cheng, 2007).

Ego depletion and attention regulation under pressure: Is a temporary loss of self-control strength indeed related to impaired attention regulation?

In the present study we investigated whether ego depletion negatively affects attention regulation under pressure in sports by assessing participants��� dart throwing performance and accompanying gaze behavior. According to the strength model of self-control the most important aspect of self-control is attention regulation (Schmeichel & Baumeister, 2010). As higher levels of state anxiety are associated with impaired attention regulation (Nieuwenhuys & Oudejans, 2012) we chose a mixed design with ego depletion (yes vs. no) as between-subjects and anxiety level (high vs. low) as within-subjects factor. A total of 28 right-handed students participated in our study (Mage = 23.4, SDage = 2.5; 10 female; no professional dart experience). Participants performed a perceptual-motor task requiring selective attention, namely, dart throwing. The task was performed while participants were positioned high and low on a climbing wall (i.e., with high and low levels of anxiety). In line with our expectations, a mixed-design ANOVA revealed that depleted participants in the high anxiety condition performed worse (p < .001) and displayed a shorter final fixation on bull���s eye (p < .01) than in the low anxiety condition, demonstrating that when one is depleted attention regulation under pressure cannot be maintained. This is the first study that directly supports the general assumption that ego depletion is a major factor in influencing attention regulation under pressure.