The Eurobarometer and the process of European integration

For nearly 40 years, the European Commission has observed the development of the European Union as it is reflected in public opinion. The Eurobarometer measures the European population’s attitudes about various issues related to Europe. The informational value of the Eurobarometer is viewed as quite high, since the surveys, which are conducted twice a year, generate a large quantity of data. This article investigates the role of the Eurobarometer in the process of European integration by analysing the methodological foundations of the Eurobarometer and discussing its weaknesses. The final section addresses the issue of whether the European Commission, as the contracting entity, utilizes the Eurobarometer as a political instrument to promote support for the process of European integration. It is argued here that the Commission’s instrumentalisation of the Eurobarometer jeopardizes its informational value, whereas at the same time the political benefits of this shift remain debatable.     

Do public budget deficits crowd out private capital expenditures?

Those economists who expected the increasing US budget deficits in recent years to have a negative impact on private investment spending have so far been proved wrong. Hans-Peter Fröhlich provides an analysis of what has happened and examines the interrelation between public sector deficits and private capital expenditures.     

Statistic problems regarding tuberculosis infection and morbidity of tuberculosis

The statistic relations between tubercular infection and morbidity are comparatively complicated, partly because the infection rate will depend on age and calendar time, partly because of the varying interval (latent period) which may pass from the time of infection to the disease. A theoretical analysis of these relations may possibly count on a certain amount of interest to future statistic investigations regarding tuberculosis. It is my opinion that too little attention lias been paid to them in many of the investigations which have hitherto been carried out.     

Developments in the international distribution of income

The question of income distribution played a very important role in practical and theoretical development policy during the seventies. World market conditions were blamed for the fact that the income gap between industrialised countries and developing countries was widening. The demands to which this has given rise range from calls for “greater reliance on market forces”, “modification of the market form” and “greater market intervention” to insistence on the complete abolition of free market relationships. How has the relative income position of various groups of developing countries evolved in the last few decades?     

Agent‐based supply chain disintermediation versus re‐intermediation: economic and technological perspectives

One important stream of information systems research addresses the role and future of supply chain and market intermediaries. But whereas many researchers hypothesize a trend toward disintermediation—principally enabled by information technology (IT)—others proffer theoretical arguments for IT‐enabled re‐intermediation. With regard to IT, it is particularly unclear whether the emerging technology associated with software agents is better suited to enable supply chain disintermediation or re‐intermediation. And if agent technology is better suited to either disintermediate or re‐intermediate supply chain activities, can we say this is always the case? Or will certain contingency factors intervene in various circumstances to suggest agent‐based disintermediation over re‐intermediation in some cases and vice versa in others? The research described in this paper takes some first steps toward addressing these questions. We first draw from the intermediation economics literature to summarize some of the key works and arguments for and against IT‐based dis/re‐intermediation, and we use this discussion to outline a preliminary set of conditions favoring agent application in such roles along the supply chain. We then draw from the agent technology literature to summarize key capabilities associated with extant agent technologies, and we compare such emerging IT with more conventional information systems and applications. Guided by this background of intermediation theory and extant agent capability, we describe a proof‐of‐concept multi‐agent system called ‘the Intelligent Mall’ in the context of supply chain dis/re‐intermediation. We use this implemented multi‐agent system to show how it reflects current agent technology, and we identify the contingent economic conditions that can be satisfied through this implemented system. The paper then closes, as we identify a several new lines of research stemming from this investigation. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

You should know better! Do health students have different risk attitudes to unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases?

Because healthcare professionals are in the best position to assess, assist and educate those participating in risky sexual behaviour, understanding if (and how) their risk attitudes differ from the wider population is of vital importance. In this study, we explore university health students’ risk attitudes towards unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). We examine whether university students pursuing health-related degrees, who hypothetically should have more exposure to and understanding of the risks associated with unplanned pregnancy and STD, have more risk averse attitudes to sexual behaviour. We find that health students’ sexual attitudes are significantly more risk averse than those of their nonhealth peers in relation to STDs but not unplanned pregnancy. In line with previous research, age and no previous sexual history (virginity) appear to increase risk-averse attitudes to both unplanned pregnancy and STDs. Moreover, males and singles are more risk seeking in their sexual attitudes. These findings suggest that, because unplanned pregnancy and STDs are ongoing global issues, further research is warranted into the risk attitudes of those healthcare professionals most able to provide education and support for individuals participating in risky sexual behaviour.     

Nach der Krise: Wirksame Regelungen auf dem Finanzmarkt?

Schon w?hrend der Krise hat auf allen politischen Ebenen eine lebhafte Diskussion über eine bessere Finanzmarktregulierung eingesetzt. Einig war man sich nur in wenigen Bereichen. Und von der Umsetzung etwaiger Reformen ist die Politik noch weit entfernt. Allerdings ist auch fraglich, ob die Ansatzpunkte überhaupt richtig gew?hlt sind.     

Zwischenbilanz: Krisengewinner und -verlierer

Die Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise hat sich seit 2008 entfaltet. Seitdem gibt es verschiedene Versuche, ihre Folgen durch Rettungsschirme, Konjunkturprogramme und gesetzliche Regelungen in den Griff zu bekommen. Immer dringender stellt sich auch angesichts des jüngst vorgestellten Sparprogramms der Bundesregierung die Frage, wer tats?chlich von diesen Ma?nahmen profi tiert, wer sie bezahlen muss und ob die Verursacher der Krise angemessen an den Kosten der Schadensregulierung beteiligt werden.