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In the German post‐reunification context dominated by economic uncertainty and structural change, this paper studies the effects of import shocks from China on the fertility decisions of individuals working in the German manufacturing sector between 1995 and 2016. While focusing on trade shocks related to Chinese imported goods, the paper explores individual fertility via the labor market outcomes of manufacturing workers, roughly a fifth of German employment. I investigate the gender‐specific effects of Chinese import competition on individual fertility and explain the channels mediating each of them. I find that globalization affects overall fertility negatively, but the effect is positive for women and negative for men. Results indicate a reduction in the employment opportunity of individuals, an increase in marginal employment and higher economic insecurity. There is a substitution effect in the labor supply of women, here prevalently concentrated in low‐technology sectors: as female earnings fall and their opportunity cost of work is lower, the prospect of having children possibly becomes a more rewarding alternative. Given concerns over low fertility in Germany, findings are particularly important for understanding the German social and economic structure that enabled the country's post‐reunification transformation but also allowed heavy labor market segmentation and atypical work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest products trade has a critical role to play in both global economic development and environmental protection. Based on the trade data of global forest products, raw forest products, and processed forest products from 2000 to 2020, this paper constructed a trade network and analyzed its pattern by using indicators such as density, average distance, out-strength, and in-strength. The results show that from 2000 to 2020, the global trade network of forest products has been increasingly connected. Compared with the trade of raw material forest products, the trade network of processed forest products is more closely connected and its transport efficiency is higher. Countries with high GDP such as USA, China, and Germany are leading trading countries in forest products. Countries with abundant forest resources are the major exporters of raw forest products, while labor- and capital-abundant countries are major exporters of processed forest products. Countries with abundant labor and capital and high GDP are the main importers of raw forest products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Circular RNA (circRNA) is of significant interest in genetic research. The aim of this study was to assess global trends in circRNA research production in order to shed new light on future research frontiers. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, we conducted a literature search using the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database on March 21, 2019 to retrieve publications from 2007 to 2018. Excel 2013, CiteSpace V, and VOSviewer were used to evaluate bibliometric features that included publication output, countries/regions, institutions, journals, citation frequency, H-index, and research hotspots. Results: Global cumulative publication output on circRNA consisted of 998 papers with a total citation of 28595 during 2007-2018. China, the US, and Germany were the most prolific countries. China ranked first in H-index (60 times) and citations (13333 times). The most productive institution was Nanjing Medical University with 73 papers. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications (impact factor [IF]2017:2.559) ranked first among journals in the number of publications (64 papers). The keywords shifted from "sequence", "intron", and "splice-site" to "transcriptome", "microRNA sponge", "exon circularization", and "circRNA biogenesis" overtime. The burst keywords "transcriptome", "microRNA sponge", "exon circularization", and "circRNA biogenesis" were the latest frontiers by 2018. Conclusion: This is a relatively novel bibliometric analysis to inspect research related to circRNA. The results show that publications have continuously increased in the past decade. China, the US, and Germany were the leading countries/regions in terms of quantity. Recent studies on topics related to circRNA biogenesis and function should be closely followed in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While promoting the economic growth, energy has also brought pollution problems to the world environment, which has gradually become a bottleneck impeding sustainable economic development. In view of the rapid evolution of urbanization and industrialization, economic growth is increasingly dependent on the energy consumption, the development of the two is difficult to coordinate, and the internal contradictions are becoming increasingly serious, which hinders the sustainable development of economic growth. This study establishes the relationship between energy consumption and economic growth according to the energy Kuznets curve and studies the future trend of China's sustainable development through the comparative analysis of the energy Kuznets curve of the United States and Germany. The results show that, at the turning point of energy consumption, China's energy economic rate is higher than that of Germany and the United States. In addition, in terms of urbanization rate and industrial structure, although China's tertiary industry has made a breakthrough, it is still lower than that of the United States and Germany, but the level of urbanization rate has made significant progress. In short, China has obvious advantages in future economic development and has a late developing advantage compared with the United States and Germany. This paper makes an empirical analysis of the relationship between energy consumption and economic growth in OECD countries and finds out the turning point of energy consumption, so as to provide a theoretical basis for coordinating China's energy consumption and economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies have elevated the capabilities and possibilities of improvement and efficiency in the energy sector. This paper interrogates how energy companies in South Africa, Germany and China apply 4IR technologies. A total of 26 energy companies in those countries were surveyed. An analysis was carried out using the Cronbach Alpha, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. Survey results indicate that 85% of companies acknowledge good levels of participation in the 4IR, and were clear about which 4IR technologies are important, although few companies develop these themselves. Technologies enabling access to big, real-time data (BRTD) and BRTD analysis software, are valued the most in measured importance, efficiency, reliability and ability to be integrated across the energy system. The transfer of data using the Internet of things ranked highly as a 4IR technology, whereas artificial intelligence, robotics and machine-human integration (also referred to as machine-human interaction) are considered less important, efficient, and reliable. China rates 4IR technologies as more important than South Africa and Germany do. For South Africa to be competitive in the global energy sector it needs to engage with and embrace 4IR technologies to a greater extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the recent discussion concerning the interactions between China and Germany in the context of Industry 4.0, highlighting the most relevant innovation and trade trends and the policy implications of this collaboration. The qualitative analysis examines the features of the innovation systems in Germany and China and the strategies implemented to boost the innovation process. The quantitative analysis exploits trade, patent and publications data to identify trends related to China-Germany cooperation. The paper provides insights into the policy implications for both countries of Sino-German cooperation in relation to Industry 4.0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to statistics, the incidence of traffic accidents in China is far greater than that of developed countries such as the USA and Germany. Nearly 100,000 people die in traffic accidents every year in China. The use of the assisted driving system effectively reduces the incidence of traffic accidents, while road surface object recognition is the key research object in the assisted driving system. At present, in the research on the recognition of pavement objects, there are problems such as low recognition rate and long recognition time, which cannot play the role of assisting driving. In response to these problems, this paper proposes a research on pavement object recognition based on machine learning, including analysis of key technologies of machine learning and optimization of related algorithms. In order to verify the feasibility of the proposed method in the assisted driving system, the research results are applied to the road surface object recognition device and the experiment is carried out under the actual traffic environment. The results show that in the selected experimental scenes, the recognition accuracy of the road surface object recognition device applying the research results of this paper is 100%, and the recognition time is far lower than the traditional road object recognition method. The results show that the proposed method can quickly and effectively identify the pavement object, and then assist the driver to control the vehicle, which has good applicability in the assisted driving system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to systematically unpack whether and how WeChat network size is correlated with perceived social capital and life satisfaction among Chinese overseas students in Germany. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a web-based survey data collected from 218 sojourners, zero-order correlation analyses and structural equation modeling were separately implemented to tackle the complicated research questions. Findings: Findings demonstrate that an individual's WeChat network size significantly and directly influences bridging, bonding and maintained social capital. Importantly, a path model demonstrates that these distinct dimensions of social capital are all significant predictors of life satisfaction. Furthermore, the empirical evidence reveals that bridging, bonding and maintained social capital can mediate the association between network size and well-being outcome. Research limitations/implications: Theoretically, the paper is an initial attempt contributing to the previous studies on estimating the influence of WeChat friendships on social capital and life satisfaction. Practically, these findings will contribute to a more nuanced understanding of effect of personal network characteristics derived from the dominant media interaction on social connectedness and life quality. Originality/value: Despite WeChat is immensely prevalent in Mainland China, only few studies have concentrated on the role of WeChat network size in fostering individuals' social and psychological development. The work provides unique evidence that number of friends on the emerging technology could indirectly benefit sojourners' satisfaction with life through processes involving diverse categories of social capital in a trans-cultural environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to substantiate the influence of approaches to the economic mechanisms formation for managing supply chains on export and import volumes as well as local cargo transportation. Design/methodology/approach: The study outlines that the information technology use, in particular, highly specialized supply chain management (SCM) software, is necessary for the effective functioning of global supply chains (GSCs). For the purposes of the one-factor regression models of the relationship between the signs for the analyzed factors, volume of external cargo transportation, volume of internal cargo transportation and amount of investment in SCM software were built, and the correlation coefficients were also determined. The research was based on data of the Russian Federation, China and Germany. Findings: According to the results, for local cargo transportation for all three counties (Russian Federation: R² = 0.3679, China: R² = 0.441, Germany: 0.441), the correlation coefficients indicated no connection between the factors under study, while for external ones, they denoted a strong direct relationship: Russian Federation: R² = 0.906, China: R² = 0.8692, Germany: 0.926. It is statistically confirmed that external transportations are carried out by enterprises involved in GSCs, while the local ones are mainly performed by the domestic market-oriented companies. Originality/value: The study presents a model for the formation of economic mechanisms of SCM from the perspective of a systemic approach. It allows for structural analysis of the SCM strategy's impact on the functioning of participants within three management levels (corporate, business and functional). The study contributes to the practical domain of SCM: the results of the study can be applied by top managers of companies in developing SCM strategies, as well as by officials in developing and implementing governmental supply chain-related policies. In terms of scientific contribution, the research can also be of use: its methods and results can be applied by scientists in researching approaches to the economic mechanisms formation for managing supply chains on export and import volumes, as well as local cargo transportation in various countries and regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents results of a German-Chinese comparative research project on the provision of services by non-profit organizations (NPOs) in the field of migration. It argues that NPOs and local governments deploy similar strategies in their joint attempt to tackle social problems, regardless of their political backgrounds. From a top-down perspective German and Chinese local governments show similar outsourcing modes, while from a bottom-up perspective NPOs show similar practices of network governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We performed a scientometric analysis of Chaos papers from 1991 to 2019, applying a careful disambiguation process for identifying the authors correctly. First, we used standard scientometric tools based on descriptive statistics. This analysis enabled us to compute productivity and the degree of collaboration. The evolution in the number of authors, countries, and topics per article has an increasing trend. An analysis of the citations considering their temporal mean number exhibits a growing tendency in time. Second, we dealt with Lotka–Zipf's law considering the rank distributions of 15 datasets. We found that the sum of Crossref citations by country was the only dataset for which the power-law was the only plausible distribution. Next, we examined the networks of authors, countries, and topics, going from the simplest case of undirected and unweighted networks to the general case of weighted and directed networks and assigning a weight to the individual nodes. Based on the networks' topology and features, we introduced diversity, collaboration, influence, and productivity measures and found a significant increase in the diversity of all the considered networks (authors, countries, and topics) but manifesting a very different network structure. The computation of typical network quantities combined with the communities' identification reveals the presence of several hubs and the existence of various communities that encompass nodes of all the continents in the case of countries. Finally, using the most general networks, it was possible to compute influence and productivity indexes to find the USA, China, and Germany's leadership inside the network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how the intensity use of WeChat is associated with perceived social capital and psychological well-being factors among Chinese international students in Germany.Design/methodology/approach Based on an online survey data collected from 212 Chinese international college students in Germany, correlation analysis and structural equation modeling were sequentially implemented to deal with the research questions.Findings The correlation analysis results indicate that the intensity of WeChat use is positively correlated with bridging, bonding, and maintained social capital. Additionally, a path model demonstrates that bonding social capital is positively related to life satisfaction and negatively related to the sense of loneliness. Furthermore, both bonding and maintained social capital mediate the relationship between WeChat use and these two well-being outcomes.Research limitations/implications Theoretically, the research is an initial study contributing to the existing social media literature on evaluating the effects of WeChat use on social capital and well-being. Practically, these obtained results can be beneficial to the understanding the dynamics of how social media may potentially impact students’ social connectedness and life quality.Originality/value Although WeChat has become the most prevalent social networking site in Mainland China, the social and psychological implications of the emerging technology are not completely understood. The paper offers evidence that WeChat has functioned as an efficient platform for sojourners to develop diverse types of social capital and promote well-being in an intercultural setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lake sediments are subjected to intensive anthropogenic activities such as dumping of industrial waste water and leakage of P fertilisation from agricultural lands. There has a great body of research focusing on examining phosphorus fractions, which provide fundamental data that facilitate understanding the risk of P-induced eutrophication. Here, we have extracted the data of P fractions from 484 sediment samples residing in 48 lakes mainly in EU, China and USA. NH4Cl-P and total phosphorus (TP) displayed a well linear relationship, but not applicable to all lakes. Six groups were categorised as per the slope and intercept by using the clustering analysis. Specific measures were recommended to curb P release risk by considering the characteristics of each group. For instance, TP controlling is deemed as a priority in group with steep linear dependence of NH4Cl-P on TP. A significant correlation was determined between TP and NaOH-P (r2 = 0.63). Among other findings, larger lake area significantly contributes to lower all P pools. Deeper depth could only pronouncedly influence the BD-P, HCl-P. Additionally, we found lakes in Germany have pronounced higher averaged P pools than other regions. Furthermore, this paper creates awareness of the present status of lake eutrophication for researchers and policy-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the phenomenon of international servicification of manufacturing from the period 1995 to 2011. By applying empirical techniques of Social Network Analysis and graph theory, we find that the network of flows of intermediate services embodied in manufacturing exports is still slightly dense and would not correspond to a traditional centre-periphery structure. The mapping shows a numerous, highly cohesive group of countries, with China, the USA and Germany as central economies and an increasing leading role of Asian economies, which would indicate their commitment to upgrading within global value chains. We go a step further by empirically analysing the impact of the countries' centrality in the global network of intermediate services on manufacturing competitiveness. Our findings reveal that, together with the level of embodiment of intermediate services into manufacturing exports, who the providers of those services inputs are is a key determining factor for manufacturing competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To compare prevalence and severity of diaper dermatitis (DD) in infants and toddlers (babies) across three countries (China, USA, and Germany), including diapered skin measures and caregiver practices. Methods: A cross‐sectional study of 1791 babies (~600 from each country) was recruited at each clinical site. Based on regional toilet‐training habits, exclusively diaper‐wearing infants were recruited between ages 2‐8 months in China and 2‐18 months in the USA and Germany. DD was measured, as well as skin pH, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), and relative humidity (RH) in the diapered region. Caregiver habits were collected via a questionnaire and included information on hygienic practices. Results: Diaper dermatitis was highest in the perianal area, followed by the intertriginous, genital, and buttock regions. In general, DD was significantly lower in babies in China, highest in Germany, and intermediate in the USA. This rank ordering of DD by geography was also observed in baby age 2‐8 months. The lower DD observed in China was associated with lower skin pH and TEWL on diapered skin and decreased RH in the diaper. Chinese caregivers had the highest rate of prophylactic topical product usage, the most robust cleaning of the diapered area, lack of cleansing after urine‐only diaper changes, and Chinese infants spent the least time in an overnight diaper. Conclusions: These data suggest caregiver behaviors including prophylactic use of topical products, thorough cleaning after stooling and reduced time in an overnight diaper are associated with less DD, lower superficial skin pH, and enhanced skin barrier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study presented in the paper has the following goals. The first is to review and compare teacher competence frameworks developed in Eastern (Chinese) and Western (German) contexts, exemplified for the domain of mathematics. Major similarities of the two contexts could be reconstructed in the conceptualization of teacher competence as a multidimensional construct comprising knowledge, teaching-related skills and beliefs. Distinct differences could be identified as well, with the Chinese frameworks including a wider range of teacher-competence facets and emphasizing more teaching-related competencies than the Western (German) frameworks. The second purpose is to adapt and validate a German framework of the measurement of mathematics teacher competence in a Chinese context. This adaptation and validation uses exemplarily mathematics teacher, in detail follow-up-studies of the international Teacher Education and Development Study: Learning to Teach Mathematics (TEDS-M). With the integration of a qualitative approach (e.g. elemental validity) and a quantitative approach (e.g. construct validity) to validate the framework, the results of both approaches suggest a satisfactory validity for the adaptation. Overall, the results point out that the examined teacher competence framework and its instruments can be used for comparative analyses in Germany and China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the prevalence and age-specific changes of coresidence patterns, by means of a classification of 12 coresidence types, for the age range from 16 to 30 in the United States (US), Germany (GE), Taiwan (TW), and mainland China (CN). Panel data were used in separate nested logistic regression models to estimate transitions in coresidence for individuals in each society in the transition to adulthood. On the first level, decisions to move from different types of family-of-origin-households were modeled, depending on intergenerational solidarity and parental resources. On the second level, target household types were modeled, depending on others' trajectory events and their interaction with gender. The analysis used the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY97) from the United States, the German Family Panel (pairfam), the Taiwanese Youth Project (TYP), and the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS). Age-specific coresidence patterns were pooled and transitions probabilities were estimated for a two-year period. The systematic comparative approach makes it possible to correct misinterpretations based on analyses from single societies. Our results demonstrated that differences in coresidence patterns within the patrilineal, collectivistic societies (CN and TW), and within the bilineal, individualistic societies (US and GE) were as important as the differences between these two groups of societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most current scientific policies incorporate debates on cities and the geographic organisation of scientific activity. Research on ‘world cities’ develops the idea that interconnected agglomerations can better take advantage of international competition. Thus, the increasing concentration of activities in these cities at the expense of others could be observed by certain scholars using measures based on scientific publications. Others, however, show that an opposite trend is emerging: the largest cities are undergoing a relative decline in a country’s scientific activities. To go beyond this seeming contradiction, this paper provides a global analysis of all countries with papers in the Web of Science over the period 1987–2007. The author’s addresses were geocoded and grouped into agglomerations. Registering of papers was based on the fractional counting of multi-authored publications, and the results are unambiguous: deconcentration is the dominant trend both globally and within countries, with some exceptions for which explanations are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Using the InCites tool of Thomson Reuters, this study compares normalized citation impact values calculated for China, Japan, France, Germany, United States, and the UK throughout the time period from 1981 to 2010. InCites offers a unique opportunity to study the normalized citation impacts of countries using (i) a long publication window (1981 to 2010), (ii) a differentiation in (broad or more narrow) subject areas, and (iii) allowing for the use of statistical procedures in order to obtain an insightful investigation of national citation trends across the years. Using four broad categories, our results show significantly increasing trends in citation impact values for France, the UK, and especially Germany across the last thirty years in all areas. The citation impact of papers from China is still at a relatively low level (mostly below the world average), but the country follows an increasing trend line. The USA exhibits a stable pattern of high citation impact values across the years. With small impact differences between the publication years, the US trend is increasing in engineering and technology but decreasing in medical and health sciences as well as in agricultural sciences. Similar to the USA, Japan follows increasing as well as decreasing trends in different subject areas, but the variability across the years is small. In most of the years, papers from Japan perform below or approximately at the world average in each subject area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of renewable power generation systems (RPGSs) is continually increasing worldwide with Germany, China, Japan, Italy and the USA are the leaders contributing to the largest development in each region. Due to the increasing number of RPGSs connected to the utility grid, power quality, safe operation, and islanding protection of RPGSs are becoming important issues, among others. One of the most important elements is the current control technique that must meet the requirements for grid interconnection according to international standards and practices. The RPGS itself must be safe and highly efficient for reliable and secure grid interconnection operations. This paper presents a review of the state-of-the-art of the current control techniques for three-phase grid-interconnection of RPGSs. Several current control architectures, their operations including advantages and disadvantages were discussed. Performance comparison and evaluation of several controllers were also reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thesis of this paper is that governments of some otherwise enlightened states are increasingly fearful of acknowledging the restraints imposed on them by existing international law. They are also reluctant to enter into new commitments by way of international conventions that would expand the reach of international law. The paper asks whether these fears are based on a true understanding of international law or on some distorted view of it. It will draw comparisons and some contrasts between Australia and the United States in their reactions to a number of recent events as well as to some enduring situations of contemporary relevance. Had time (and the limits of my research) permitted, one might also have examined public attitudes toward international law in China, Japan, and Russia in this context, where similar fears appear to be entertained. France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, also enlightened states, appear by contrast to belong to a group more dedicated to international law. As Robert Kagan has recently remarked, the experience of two world wars at close quarters, and the formation of the European Union, have made the European countries more dedicated to process, where the United States is more interested in results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The currently accepted narrative regarding WWII in China suggests that Nationalist China and the Third Reich had no diplomatic connections after their official break of diplomatic relations in July 1941. Based on archival material from Germany, China and Taiwan, this article challenges this narrative. As I hope to demonstrate, communications between Germany and China continued well after July 1941 through back channels. From Switzerland, Chinese agents maintained connections with the German party intelligence service (RSHA), and Germany acted as a mediator between China and Japan. It is the role that intelligence personnel played in maintaining this communication channel and their role in clandestine Sino-German relations, which form the foundation of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No abstract available [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a reprint of the article "Myths of the Great War" by Timothy Garton, which appeared in Working Paper number 188 of the periodical "Vox" is presented. It presents an analysis on the possibility of China to follow the footsteps of Germany during the Great War. Moreover, ways on how the Great War began in 1913 are also stated.

This paper examines the effect of absurd advertising on memory and persuasion across cultures. Drawing on Hofstede's cultural dimensions, it is hypothesized that the effect of absurdity on recall is culturally invariant, whereas the effect on attitude toward the ad is contingent on the recipients’ cultural orientation. The assumptions are tested using a between-subjects experimental design, in which we manipulated type of absurdity and used the cultural dimensions as blocking variables. Data was collected from 274 students in the United States, Germany, Russia, and China. We discuss theoretical and managerial implications of these findings as well as guidelines for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, worldwide awareness of an aquatic environment polluted by organic trace pollutants, e.g. pharmaceutical residues and industrial chemicals, has risen tremendously. The present paper outlines similarities and differences in how to face the organic trace pollutants occurring in the natural and urban water cycles in Germany and China. Our joint review clearly shows that this emerging environmental problem is in both countries being widely discussed on a scientific level and it is evidently perceived in a comparable way. However, while the state of knowledge, which is still unsatisfactory, induces further investigations in China, the research activities in Germany have already led to first full-scale applications to remove trace pollutants. While Germany seems to be one step ahead, China possibly is in a better position for a later trace pollutants removal due to the massively increasing use of membrane bioreactors as a key technology for the necessary expansion of wastewater treatment capacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asylum seekers and refugees tend to be marginalized in physical and discursive spaces, especially in times that are orchestrated as socially, politically, financially and environmentally risky. This article explores the interrelationship between genre and social space from the perspective of asylum seekers and refugees, and how refugees and asylum seekers in the USA, Germany and Hong Kong exposed spaces of risk through testimonio (testimonio is a genre term used throughout the paper and will be explained later). Asylum seekers and refugees testified to social practices like lengthy asylum processes, immobility, criminalization of asylum seekers, or distrust by locals in virtual space and in face-to-face encounters. Testimonio, thus, reflected on social practices and through this reflection, exposed spaces of risk that threatened the well-being of forced migrants. However, asylum seekers did not dwell in those spaces of risk. By publishing testimonios in virtual environments, some asylum seekers became agents of their biographies and created spaces in which they could voice themselves on their own terms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

At one level, this paper centres on the closure of a steel plant in Germany, the closure and then reprieve of another in the UK and the expansion of a third in China, but at another level this changing geography of steel production can be seen as symptomatic of and symbolizing profound changes in the global manufacturing economy. The closures at Dortmund (permanently) and Redcar/south Teesside (temporarily) both reflected the growing international – not to say global – restructuring of the steel industry and the strategies that steel-producing companies adopted in the face of profound changes in markets and patterns of production and trade. To that extent, at first sight this might appear to be a familiar and not unexpected outcome of those processes. However, the outcomes both at local level and for the steel plants themselves turned out to be very different because they reflected the complexity of global processes and the interacting effects of many influences operating at different spatial scales within the complex social relations of capital. Not least this was because the closure in Dortmund and the ending of steel-making there were directly implicated in a major expansion of steel production in China, by Shagang in Jiangsu Province, via the transfer of a major steel complex, disassembled in Dortmund and reassembled in Jinfeng. The disassembly of a major production complex, its transport to the other side of the world and its reassembly there as functional fixed capital added a dramatic and radical new twist to the meaning of global shift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of transnational geographical mobility among Chinese and German scholars using the concepts of 'development corridors' and 'development chains'. A temporal-spatial analysis of two case studies - (1) a multi-generation actor-based network of social scientists and (2) the vibrant connections between the Department of Geography at the Sun Yat-Sun University of Guangzhou and various German institutes - illustrates how seemingly individual, isolated and temporary episodes of academic mobility can, through interacting with factors ranging from unforeseen events to framework conditions, lead to chains of events that produce, reshape, strengthen, weaken or even erase corridors of knowledge production and exchange. Both cases demonstrate the need to view geographical mobility and its relationship to development beyond national and transnational frameworks, and the need to pay attention to translocal and highly contextualised processes that shape and are being shaped by the multiple elements of the mobility-development nexus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about several papers discussed at a conference entitled "Human Rights / Social Rights. The Twentieth Century Predicament," held December 2-4, 2010 in Potsdam, Germany and sponsored by the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung and the Zentrum für Zeithistorische Forschung Potsdam, is presented. Topics include concepts of rights and citizenship in South Africa, welfare rights in the Soviet Union, and Chinese intellectuals' ideas about human rights. Speakers included Ryan Irwin and Paul Betts.

Abstract: Uranium isotope separation was the key development for the preparation of highly enriched isotopes in general and thus became the seed for target development and preparation for nuclear and applied physics. In 1941 (year of birth of the author) large-scale development for uranium isotope separation was started after the US authorities were warned that NAZI Germany had started its program for enrichment of uranium and might have confiscated all uranium and uranium mines in their sphere of influence. Within the framework of the Manhattan Projects the first electromagnetic mass separators (Calutrons) were installed and further developed for high throughput. The military aim of the Navy Department was to develop nuclear propulsion for submarines with practically unlimited range. Parallel to this the army worked on the development of the atomic bomb. Also in 1941 plutonium was discovered and the production of 239Pu was included into the atomic bomb program. 235U enrichment starting with natural uranium was performed in two steps with different techniques of mass separation in Oak Ridge. The first step was gas diffusion which was limited to low enrichment. The second step for high enrichment was performed with electromagnetic mass spectrometers (Calutrons). The theory for the much more effective enrichment with centrifugal separation was developed also during the Second World War, but technical problems e.g. development of high speed ball and needle bearings could not be solved before the end of the war. Spying accelerated the development of uranium separation in the Soviet Union, but also later in China, India, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq. In this paper, the physical and chemical procedures are outlined which lead to the success of the project. Some security aspects and Non-Proliferation measures are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: To improve the energy efficiency of buildings via compliance to regulation in Iran, Code No. 19 was devised in 1991. The code lacks high level aims and objectives, addressing the characteristics of Iranian buildings. As a consequence, the code has been revised and is not completely implemented in practice, and still remains inefficient. As with any energy coding system, this code has to identify the right balance between the different energy variables for the Iranian climate and way of life. In order to assist improvements to high level objectives of Code 19, this code is compared with ISO 9164, EN 832, German regulation, TS 825 of Turkey and China’s GB 50189 to understand how these have adapted international standards to national features. In order to test the appropriateness of Code 19, five case study buildings in Iran are assessed against Code 19 as well as Turkish standard TS 825 and the results are compared. The results demonstrate that Code 19 is efficient in calculations of building envelope, but it needs improvements in the areas of ventilation, gains from internal and solar sources. The paper concludes by offering suggestions for improving the code. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) of single-crystalline silicon (sc-Si) photovoltaic (PV) systems often disregard novel module designs (e.g. glass-glass modules) and the fast pace of improvements in production. This study closes this research gap by comparing the environmental impacts of sc-Si glass-backsheet and glass-glass modules produced in China, Germany and the European Union (EU), using current inventory data. Results show lower potential environmental impacts for glass-glass compared to glass-backsheet modules and lower impacts for production in the EU and Germany compared to China for most impact categories. Concerning climate change, glass-backsheet (glass-glass) modules produced in China, Germany or the EU are linked to emissions of 810 (750), 580 (520) and 480 (420) kg CO 2 -eq/kW p , respectively. This corresponds to CO 2 -eq emission reductions of 30% for German and 40% for European production compared to Chinese production, and 8–12.5% reduction in glass-glass compared to glass-backsheet modules. Carbon intensity of produced electricity, excluding balance of system (BOS), amounts to 13–30 g CO 2 -eq/kWh, depending on production location and electricity yield calculation method. A warranty-based yield calculation method shows the influence of different lifetime electricity yields of glass-glass and glass-backsheet modules on the potential environmental impacts. This study identifies module efficiency, energy requirements, silicon consumption and carbon-intensity of electricity during production as significant levers for future reductions of environmental impacts. It emphasizes the importance of up-to-date inventories and current modelling of electricity mixes for representative LCA results of PV modules. Lastly, this paper argues that more differentiated methodological guidelines are needed to incentivize the development of sustainable module designs. [Display omitted] • Single-Si glass-glass modules show lower impacts than glass-backsheet modules. • Most impacts lowest for module production in EU, followed by Germany and China. • Comparison of influence of different life cycle inventory datasets on results. • Proposal of warranty-based yield calculation method for more exact impacts per kWh. • Call for differentiated LCA guidelines to support sustainable panel designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have been in the fourth wave of the low emission vehicle development since 2006. Moreover, the BEV technology diffusion is beyond national boundaries due to the changes in the innovation mode and product characteristics. The paper adopts priority patent applications and international patent families to map the BEV transnational technology diffusion from the perspective of global technology innovation (GTI). Our study finds the sources and recipients of BEV technology are concentrated in a few countries or regions, while the transnational technology diffusion is uneven, especially in the core group. The key drivers of technology diffusion are the innovation capacity of countries and the scale of countries' market demand for BEV technology. Our findings enrich the literature on transnational technology diffusion and help policy-makers or company managers better understanding of why some countries may achieve success while others made little progress in the similar context of promoting BEV development. • Mapping the technology diffusion of battery electric vehicles by using patent data. • The transnational technology diffusion of battery electric vehicles is uneven. • The technology sources and recipients of battery electric vehicles are concentrated. • The market proximity between the U.S. and China is closer, so does Germany and China. • Innovation capacity and market scale are key drivers of technology diffusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 21 and 22 November 2006, 90 hemp experts from 23 countries and five continents met in Hürth in the Rhineland (Germany) to exchange views on the current status quo and future trends of the global hemp industry. The 4th International Conference of the "European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA)" revealed a globally increasing interest in hemp raw materials due to worldwide raw material shortages. Special highlights of the conference: The manifold industrial applications of hemp in China as well as the interest of the wood material industry in hemp as alternative raw material for board materials. The mood on the 4th EIHA Conference was substantially different from previous years. One could sense a new interest in hemp. This became clear also through a large number of new projects and investments, ideas and products as well as a couple of new actors. doi:10.1300/J237v12n02_06 [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Speciality chemicals group Lanxess is responding to the strong rise in worldwide demand for iron oxide pigments by launching an investment programme. This year it plans to invest about €20 million in expanding capacities at its three production sites for these products – in Germany (Krefeld-Uerdingen), China (Jinshan) and Brazil (Porto Feliz). The company currently has global synthesis capacities of more than 350 000 tonnes/year for the production of Bayferrox products, which are used as colorants for concrete, roof tiles, plastics, coatings and paper, as well as special applications such as toners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]