TY - JOUR A1 - Elsässer, Joshua Philipp A1 - Hickmann, Thomas A1 - Stehle, Fee T1 - The Role of Cities in South Africa’s Energy Gridlock JF - Case Studies in the Environment N2 - South Africa’s energy sector finds itself in a gridlock situation. The sector is controlled by the state-owned utility Eskom holding the monopoly on the generation and transmission of electricity, which is almost exclusively produced from domestically extracted coal. At the same time, the constitutional mandate enables municipalities to distribute and sell electricity generated by Eskom to local consumers, which constitutes a large part of the cities’ municipal income. This is a strong disincentive for city governments to promote reductions in energy consumption and substantially limits the scope for urban action on energy efficiency and renewable energies. In the present case study, we portray the current development in South Africa’s energy policy and trace how deadlocked legal, financial, and institutional barriers block the transition from a coal-based energy system toward a greener and more sustainable energy economy. We furthermore point to the efforts of major South African cities to introduce low-carbon strategies in their jurisdictions and highlight key challenges for the future development of the country’s energy sector. By engaging with this case study, readers will become familiar with a prime example of the wider phenomenon of national political–economic obstacles to the progress in sustainable urban development. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1525/cse.2018.001297 SN - 2473-9510 VL - 2 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 7 PB - University of California Press CY - Oakland ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Scheller, Henrik T1 - German Federalism: On the Way to a "Cooperative Centralism"? JF - Identities, trust, and cohesion in federal systems: public perspectives N2 - Germany has a long tradition of federalism extending far back in history (Ziblatt 2004; Broschek 2011). This tradition has always been characterized by a discrepancy between the attitudes of the public to its federalism and the reform ideas of the (political) elites. While the public has a strong desire for an equality of living conditions, solidarity, social cohesion, and cooperation between the orders of government, academic discourse is shaped by calls for wide-ranging federalism reforms, which are oriented toward the American model of "dual federalism." Against this background, this chapter contrasts public attitudes on key aspects of the federal system with long-lasting academic recommendations for reform. Light will be shed on the general perception of the federal system as a whole, the division of powers, and in particular the issue of joint decision-making (Politikverflechtung) between the orders of government-all issues that have been repeatedly interrogated in various surveys. A further aspect of these polls is the question of the extent to which solidarity or competition shall be realized between the federal and Land governments-a question that is highly controversial in politics and academia (especially in the fiscal equalization debate), though public perceptions are quite different. Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-1-55339-535-5 SN - 978-1-55339-536-2 SP - 255 EP - 279 PB - McGill-Queens University Press CY - Montreal ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tran, C. T. A1 - Mai, N. T. A1 - Nguyen, V. T. A1 - Nguyen, H. X. A1 - Meharg, A. A1 - Carey, M. A1 - Dultz, S. A1 - Marone, F. A1 - Cichy, Sarah Bettina A1 - Nguyen, Minh N. T1 - Phytolith-associated potassium in fern BT - characterization, dissolution properties and implications for slash-and-burn agriculture JF - Soil use and Management N2 - In recent time, phytoliths (silicon deposition between plant cells) have been recognized as an important nutrient source for crops. The work presented here aims at highlighting the potential of phytolith-occluded K pool in ferns. Dicranopteris linearis (D.linearis) is a common fern in the humid subtropical and tropical regions. Burning of the fern D.linearis is, in slash-and-burn regions, a common practice to prepare the soil before planting. We characterised the phytolith-rich ash derived from the fern D.linearis and phytolith-associated potassium (K) (phytK), using X-ray tomographic microscopy in combination with kinetic batch experiments. D.linearis contains up to 3.9g K/kgd.wt, including K subcompartmented in phytoliths. X-ray tomographic microscopy visualized an interembedding structure between organic matter and silica, particularly in leaves. Corelease of K and Si observed in the batch experiments confirmed that the dissolution of ash phytoliths is one of major factors controlling K release. Under heat treatment, a part of the K is made available, while the remainder entrapped into phytoliths (ca. 2.0-3.3%) is unavailable until the phytoliths are dissolved. By enhanced removal of organic phases, or forming more stable silica phases, heat treatment changes dissolution properties of the phytoliths, affecting K release for crops and soils. The maximum releases of soluble K and Si were observed for the phytoliths treated at 500-800 degrees C. For quantitative approaches for the K provision of plants from the soil phytK pool in soils, factors regulating phytolith dissolution rate have to be considered. KW - Potassium KW - phytolith KW - fern KW - Dicranopteris linearis Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/sum.12409 SN - 0266-0032 SN - 1475-2743 VL - 34 IS - 1 SP - 28 EP - 36 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Reiners, Nina T1 - Kontroversen um die Reform der UN-Menschenrechtsvertragsorgane T1 - Controversies Over Reform of UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies JF - Vereinte Nationen N2 - Das UN-Menschenrechtssystem steht unter gewaltigem Druck. In den aktuellen Diskussionen um die Reform der Menschenrechtsvertragsorgane offenbart sich eine Kluft zwischen Staaten in der Generalversammlung und Ausschussmitgliedern mit zivilgesellschaftlichen Akteuren. N2 - The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) initiated a development towards a legally binding human rights treaty system. Ratification of the nine human rights treaties is universal and continuing. Recently, the treaty-based system has come under a lot of pressure. States not only lack commitment to their reporting obligations under human rights law and their financial contributions to the system, but openly question the working methods of the treaty bodies and their cooperation with civil society actors. As a result, the current reform process, to be concluded in 2020, also presents an opportunity to reevaluate the role of civil society actors for the development of human rights law. KW - Hochkommissariat für Menschenrechte (OHCHR) KW - Menschen- rechtserklärungen/-übereinkommen KW - human rights KW - Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Y1 - 2018 SN - 0042-384X SN - 2366-6773 VL - 66 IS - 6 SP - 266 EP - 271 PB - BWV, Berliner Wiss.-Verl. CY - Berlin ER - TY - GEN A1 - Grum, Marcus A1 - Gronau, Norbert T1 - Process modeling within augmented reality BT - the bidirectional interplay of two worlds T2 - Business Modeling and Software Design, BMSD 2018 N2 - The collaboration during the modeling process is uncomfortable and characterized by various limitations. Faced with the successful transfer of first process modeling languages to the augmented world, non-transparent processes can be visualized in a more comprehensive way. With the aim to rise comfortability, speed, accuracy and manifoldness of real world process augmentations, a framework for the bidirectional interplay of the common process modeling world and the augmented world has been designed as morphologic box. Its demonstration proves the working of drawn AR integrations. Identified dimensions were derived from (1) a designed knowledge construction axiom, (2) a designed meta-model, (3) designed use cases and (4) designed directional interplay modes. Through a workshop-based survey, the so far best AR modeling configuration is identified, which can serve for benchmarks and implementations. KW - Augmented reality KW - Process modeling KW - Simulation process building KW - Generalized knowledge constructin axiom KW - Meta-model KW - Use cases Morphologic box KW - Industry 4.0 KW - CPS KW - CPPS KW - Internet of things Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-3-319-94214-8 SN - 978-3-319-94213-1 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94214-8_7 SN - 1865-1348 VL - 319 SP - 99 EP - 115 PB - Springer CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kersting, Norbert A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine T1 - Sub-municipal Units in Germany BT - Municipal and Metropolitan Districts JF - Sub-municipal Units in Germany: Municipal and Metropolitan Districts N2 - Sub-municipal units (SMUs) in Germany differ in German Länder. In Berlin, Hamburg and München Metropole Districts fulfill a number of quasi-municipal self-government rights and functions. They have their own budget and strong councils, as well as mayors. In all other Länder, most sub-municipal councils were subordinated under the municipal council and directly elected mayor heading the administration. SMUs were introduced as a kind of compensation with different territorial reforms in the 1970s. Although directly elected, sub-municipal councilors are weak, and their advisory role competes with other newly established advisory boards. Here the focus remains on traffic and town planning. Some sub-municipal councils fulfill smaller administrative functions and become more relevant and important in recent decentralization strategies of neighborhood development. Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-3-319-64725-8 SN - 978-3-319-64724-1 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64725-8_5 SP - 93 EP - 118 PB - Palgrave CY - Basingstoke ER - TY - GEN A1 - Bouckaert, Geert A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine T1 - Foreword T2 - Sub-Municipal Governance in Europe: Decentralization Beyond the Municipal Tier Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-3-319-64725-8 SN - 978-3-319-64724-1 SP - V EP - VI PB - Palgrave CY - Basingstoke ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine A1 - Bogumil, Jörg T1 - Performance measurement and benchmarking as “reflexive institutions” for local governments BT - Germany, Sweden and England compared JF - International journal of public sector management N2 - Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss different approaches of performance measurement and benchmarking as reflexive institutions for local governments in England, Germany and Sweden from a comparative perspective. Design/methodology/approach These three countries have been selected because they represent typical (most different) cases of European local government systems and reforms. The existing theories on institutional reflexivity point to the potential contribution of benchmarking to public sector innovation and organizational learning. Based on survey findings, in-depth case studies, interviews and document analyses in these three countries, the paper addresses the major research question as to what extent and why benchmarking regimes vary across countries. It derives hypotheses about the impacts of benchmarking on institutional learning and innovation. Findings The outcomes suggest that the combination of three key features of benchmarking, namely - obligation, sanctions and benchmarking authority - in conjunction with country-specific administrative context conditions and local actor constellations - influences the impact of benchmarking as a reflexive institution. Originality/value It is shown in the paper that compulsory benchmarking on its own does not lead to reflexivity and learning, but that there is a need for autonomy and leeway for local actors to cope with benchmarking results. These findings are relevant because policy makers must decide upon the specific governance mix of benchmarking exercises taking their national and local contexts into account if they want them to promote institutional learning and innovation. KW - Benchmarking KW - Administration KW - Local government reform Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-01-2017-0004 SN - 0951-3558 SN - 1758-6666 VL - 31 IS - 4 SP - 543 EP - 562 PB - Emerald Group Publishing Limited CY - Bingley ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weiß, Norman T1 - Origin and Further Development JF - The Council of Europe Y1 - 2017 SN - 978-0-19-967252-3 SP - 3 EP - 22 PB - Oxford University Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dörfler, Thomas A1 - Holzinger, Katharina A1 - Biesenbender, Jan T1 - Constitutional Dynamics in the European Union BT - Success, Failure, and Stability of Institutional Treaty Revisions JF - International Journal of Public Administration N2 - Despite high institutional hurdles for constitutional change, one observes surprisingly many EU treaty revisions. This article takes up the questions of what determines whether a treaty provision is successfully changed and why provisions are renegotiated at subsequent Intergovernmental Conferences. The article presents an institutionalist theory explaining success and renegotiation and tests the theory using all core institutional provisions by means of Qualitative Comparative Analysis. The causal analysis shows that low conflict potential of an issue is sufficient for successfully changing the treaties. Furthermore, high conflict potential of an issue and its fundamental change are sufficient for it to be renegotiated. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2017.1295267 SN - 0190-0692 SN - 1532-4265 VL - 40 IS - 14 SP - 1237 EP - 1249 PB - Taylor & Francis CY - Philadelphia ER -