Practicing the law of human dignity : A story of 'something missing'

The philosophical underpinnings of what may be called the meta-dimension of the law of human dignity trigger a question that surpasses the boundaries of the discipline of law: how could the transcendental as an aspect of human dignity meaning be portrayed? The insistence on non-determination of the Menschenbild [human image] or ‘God’ in the Preamble to the German Basic Law [Grundgesetz] reflected in German legal doctrine, paired with the commitment to case-by-case ad hoc concretization of what human dignity means inspire this story of ‘something missing’. In postmodern fashion, this story portrays the law of human dignity as a Trojan Horse and provides hermeneutic and literary foundations for an affirmative stance towards ‘emptiness’ talk in legal discourse. The research question rekindles and twists polemically framed ‘emptiness’ and ‘black box’ contentions: Why does the legal concept of human dignity appear ‘empty’? Or, how is it ‘empty’? Why and how is it a ‘black box’? How do manifestations of the concept appear abstract as universals and concrete as particulars? The ontological, linguistic-analytical, and phenomenological philosophical insights presented in Chapter One compose the lens through which five benchmark Bundesverfassungsgericht cases – on abortion, life imprisonment, transsexuals, state response to terrorist attacks, and the guarantee of a dignified subsistence minimum – are analyzed in Chapter Two. The philosophical sources are not bracketed as moments in the long course of human dignity in the history of ideas.Die philosophischen Grundlagen der Meta-Dimension des Rechts auf Menschenwürde lösen eine Fragestellung aus, die die Grenzen der Disziplin des Rechts übertrifft: wie könnte das Transzendentale als ein Aspekt der Bedeutung von Menschenwürde dargestellt werden? Das Beharren auf der nicht-Bestimmung des Menschenbildes oder auf dem Begriff ‚Gott’ in der Präambel des Deutschen Grundgesetzes, wie es sich in der Deutschen Dogmatik widerspiegelt, gepaart mit dem Bestreben nach einer Fall-zu-Fall ad hoc Konkretisierung dessen, was Menschenwürde bedeutet, inspiriert diese Untersuchung von ‚etwas fehlt’ [‘something missing’]. In postmoderner Art und Weise beschreibt diese Geschichte das Gesetz der Menschenwürde als Trojanisches Pferd und bietet hermeneutische und literarische Grundlagen für eine affirmative Haltung gegenüber einer ''leeren'' Rede im juristischen Diskurs. Die Forschungsfrage erweckt und umkreist die polemisch verbrämten Begriffe von ‚Leere’ und ‚Black Box’: Warum erscheint der Rechtsbegriff der Menschenwürde ‚leer’? Oder wie ist er ‚leer’? Warum und wie ist er eine ‚Black Box’? Wie erscheinen Manifestationen des Konzepts abstrakt wie Universalien, aber im Einzelnen konkret? Die ontologischen, sprachlich-analytischen und phänomenologischen philosophischen Erkenntnisse, vorgestellt im ersten Kapitel, bilden die Linse, durch die fünf maßgebliche Fälle des Bundesverfassungsgerichtes – über Abtreibung, lebenslange Freiheitsstrafe, Transsexualität, staatliche Reaktion auf Terroranschläge und die Gewährleistung eines menschenwürdigen Existenzminimums – im zweiten Kapitel analysiert werden. Die philosophischen Quellen werden nicht als Momente im langen Verlauf der Menschenwürde in der Geschichte der Ideen eingeklammert

Exploring Information Management Practices: Academic Library Professionals’ Experiences

Recognizing that information has long been an important asset for any organization, I explore in depth the management and use of information in contemporary information-intensive organizations such as academic libraries. Information processes, when integrated in the academic library’s daily working life can lead to workplace learning, with long term benefits. However, the literature demonstrates that while academic library managers manage and use information as a commodity, they are less likely to manage and use it as an asset for potential workplace learning. So, the interpretive research study I report on here explores the experiences of academic library managers regarding the management and use of information oriented to the better operation and development of their organization. Data were collected through documents, observations, and interviews and were analysed by applying thematic analysis. Findings revealed that information is used for organizing library routines, for awareness, communication, and collaboration, for creating a legacy and for decision-making. Further, information management facilitated by technology enhances the organization’ s learning environment. However, maximum effectiveness requires appropriate solutions to be used along with proper training and a policy concerning their use. This research serves as a starting point for an exploratory research study on information management that can contribute to workplace learning in academic library organizations

Managing the consumer-based brand equity process: a cross-cultural perspective

Most consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) models are linear and fail to capture the complexity of the brand equity construct and its benefits in terms of key consumer behavioral outcomes. More complex and dynamic models focusing on CBBE as a process often lack empirical support particularly from more than one country. This study builds on and extends previous research by empirically examining the configural nature of the CBBE building process cross-nationally, and by investigating differences vis-a-vis key consumer behavioral outcomes (namely, willingness to pay a price premium, brand recommendation and repurchase intention). These differences are postulated and explained through culture theory particularly the cultural dimension of individualism/collectivism. Using fuzzy-set/Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fs/QCA), survey data from Greece and Germany support the robustness of the extended CBBE model. The model shows that overall brand equity and consumer behavioral outcomes are created through the brand building, brand understanding, and brand relationship blocks, and identifies core causes and common patterns across countries providing a useful diagnostic tool for international brand management

The consumer-based brand equity deconstruction and restoration process: lessons from unliked brands

This research is motivated by the growing negative consumer sentiment, perceptions and behaviors toward brands, and the increasing need for firms to develop actionable strategies to address this phenomenon. By recognizing the paucity of research on consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) for unliked brands, the aim of this research is to illuminate the CBBE deconstruction and restoration process for consumers’ unfavorable brands. Analyzing relevant consumer survey data by means of fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) identifies self-brand connection and partner quality as the key links for the deconstruction and restoration of CBBE respectively. The paper concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and managerial implications of the findings and directions for future research

The role of emotions and conflicting online reviews on consumers' purchase intentions

Drawing on dual-process theories, this paper explains how the systematic and heuristic information processing of online reviews with conflicting information can influence consumers' purchase decision making. The study adopts major assumptions of complexity and configuration theory in employing fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis on 680 TripAdvisor users to test the complex interrelationships between emotions and the systematic and heuristic cues used in processing reviews. The results show that the systematic and heuristic processing of online reviews can produce independent impacts on consumer decision making. Both processing routes can interact with each other to affect the domination of one route over the other. In the case of a positive–negative sequence, consumers mainly follow a heuristic processing route. In the reverse sequence, consumers' concerns about the credibility of the reviews leads them to think more deeply (systematic processing) and actively evaluate both the argumentation quality and the helpfulness of the online reviews

Novel software for medical and technical Thermal Object Identification (TOI) using dynamic temperature measurements by fast IR cameras

This paper presents a thermal analysis and methodology of thermal parameters identification of thermal multilayer structures using thermographic measurements after dynamic heating (or cooling) the investigated objects. During the thermal transient process, thermal images are recorded, with the highest possible frame rate of the camera. Then, temperature and power signals are transformed into the frequency domain, to get finally the thermal time constants distribution corresponding to the thermal parameters of the structure. A brief description of TOI program developed in MATLAB environment as well as the exemplary identifications of 2 different thermal objects are shown

Unfolding the recipes for conflict resolution during the new service development effort

The management of conflicts that emerge during new service development (NSD) has escaped the attention of scholars. Yet differing conflict management styles (CMS) of team members and dynamics within the team create a complex managerial challenge. Additionally, the broader literature on conflict resolution shows contradictory findings preventing a clear roadmap for practitioner use when such conflicts emerge. This study draws on complexity theory and employs fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, drawing on data from 543 members of 116 NSD projects, to unravel conflict resolution recipes. The results reveal, in detail, the variety of causal patterns that explain the linkages between individual CMS, the dynamics of the team and two critical conflict characteristics; conflict intensity and frequency. Implications for theory and practice are identified and discussed