Exceptional or just well connected? Political entrepreneurs and brokers in policy making

Policy brokers and policy entrepreneurs are assumed to have a decisive impact on policy outcomes. Their access to social and political resources is contingent on their influence on other agents. In social network analysis (SNA), entrepreneurs are often closely associated with brokers, because both are agents presumed to benefit from bridging structural holes; for example, gaining advantage through occupying a strategic position in relational space. Our aim here is twofold. First, to conceptually and operationally differentiate policy brokers from policy entrepreneurs premised on assumptions in the policy-process literature; and second, via SNA, to use the output of core algorithms in a cross-sectional analysis of political brokerage and political entrepreneurship. We attempt to simplify the use of graph algebra in answering questions relevant to policy analysis by placing each algorithm within its theoretical context. In the methodology employed, we first identify actors and graph their relations of influence within a specific policy event; then we select the most central actors; and compare their rank in a series of statistics that capture different aspects of their network advantage. We examine betweenness centrality, positive and negative Bonacich power, Burt’s effective size and constraint and honest brokerage as paradigmatic. We employ two case studies to demonstrate the advantages and limitations of each algorithm for differentiating between brokers and entrepreneurs: one on Swiss climate policy and one on EU competition and transport policy.

Just Reading? How Gender-Fair Language Triggers Readers' Use of Gender-Fair Forms

Gender-fair language, that is, referring to men and women with symmetrical linguistic forms, has been found to promote gender equality, but it is largely unknown which factors help make gender-fair forms more common in everyday life. Two studies examined whether speakers of German used more gender-fair forms after reading a text with gender-fair wording (vs. masculine generics vs. no personal nouns vs. another topic). Both studies showed consistently that women used more gender-fair forms after reading the gender-fair text than the other texts, whereas men did not. Men employed more gender-fair forms only after being made aware of these forms (Study 2). To conclude, merely reading gender-fair texts enhances women’s inclination to use gender-fair language, whereas men need to be made aware of this type of language use. Both studies highlight the importance of using gender-fair language frequently and consistently in everyday life.

Promoting Pollinating Insects in Intensive Agricultural Matrices: Field-Scale Experimental Manipulation of Hay-Meadow Mowing Regimes and Its Effects on Bees

Bees are a key component of biodiversity as they ensure a crucial ecosystem service: pollination. This ecosystem service is nowadays threatened, because bees suffer from agricultural intensification. Yet, bees rarely benefit from the measures established to promote biodiversity in farmland, such as agri-environment schemes (AES). We experimentally tested if the spatio-temporal modification of mowing regimes within extensively managed hay meadows, a widespread AES, can promote bees. We applied a randomized block design, replicated 12 times across the Swiss lowlands, that consisted of three different mowing treatments: 1) first cut not before 15 June (conventional regime for meadows within Swiss AES); 2) first cut not before 15 June, as treatment 1 but with 15% of area left uncut serving as a refuge; 3) first cut not before 15 July. Bees were collected with pan traps, twice during the vegetation season (before and after mowing). Wild bee abundance and species richness significantly increased in meadows where uncut refuges were left, in comparison to meadows without refuges: there was both an immediate (within year) and cumulative (from one year to the following) positive effect of the uncut refuge treatment. An immediate positive effect of delayed mowing was also evidenced in both wild bees and honey bees. Conventional AES could easily accommodate such a simple management prescription that promotes farmland biodiversity and is likely to enhance pollination services.

Halbjähriger Bericht, im Verein für Cultur und Wissenschaft der Juden (am 28. April 1822) abgestattet

von E. Gans

Das Grosse Zumahlen Geistliche Elend Des Jüdischen Volckes Bey Gelegenheit Einer Juden-Tauffe : Aus 2. Cor. III, 15.16.17 In der Hospital-Kirche d. 29. Aug. 1743 Der Zahlreichen Gemeinde des Herrn vorgetragen, Und heraus gegeben Von Gottfried Thomas Zeitmann, Evangel. Prediger in Franckfurt am Mayn

Hss. auf Titelbl. Sign. aus Freimann-Kat.:Jud. Ff. 599

La Renaissance de la littérature hébraique (1743 - 1885)

essai d'historie littéraire par Nahum Slouschz (Ben-Davi)

The Renascence of Hebrew literature (1743-1885)

by Nahum Slouschz. Transl. from the French

Sēfer Qav hay-yāšār : ... le-tôʿelet han-nefeš we-gûf û-nešāmā ...

ḥibberô ... Ṣevî Hîrš Ben-... Aharôn Šemû'ēl Qaydanover

Sēfer Qav hay-yāšār : ... le-tôʿelet han-nefeš we-gûf û-nešāmā ...

ḥibberô ... Ṣevî Hîrš Ben-... Aharôn Šemû'ēl Qaydanover

Sēfer Qav hay-yāšār : ... le-tôʿelet han-nefeš we-gûf û-nešāmā ...

ḥibbērô ... Ṣevî Hîrš Ben-... Aharôn Šemû'ēl Qaydanover

Sēfer derek hay-yāšār : pērûš le-sēfer even bôḥān ...

hoṭ man eś nur in daiṭšn ... nai'i heroizgigebin ʿal-yedê ... Michl Šṭerin

Sēfer han-niṣṣaḥôn : han-niqrā Ṣārê hay-yehûdîm

Zalmān Zevî mē-Ufhoizn

Sēfer ḥôkmat hay-yād

še-heʿttîq ... Eliyyāhû Mōše Gālînû ... mis-sēfer haz-zōhar ...

Sēfer Minhāgîm de qehîllātēnû ... : minhāgê kōl haš-šānā de q"q Fyûrdā be-vêt hak-keneset ʿim hat-tefillôt we-hay-yeṣîrôt ...sidrām hā-aḥîm Yiśrā'ēl we-Qāpîl benê-... Gômpîl ...

Digitalisat der Ausg. Fyûrdā, [1766/67]