Open Access

This thesis has been designed to improve the understanding of the distribution pattern and transport mechanisms of alkylphenols and the phthalates in the coastal margins, especially the roles of the air-sea exchanges in these processes. Henry’s Law Constants (HLC) were determined for the diastereomeric mixture of NP and t- OP in artificial seawater over given temperature range using a dynamic equilibrium system. An analytical method has been developed for the simultaneous extraction and determination of trace tertiary octylphenol (t-OP), technical nonylphenol isomers (NP), nonylphenol monoethoxylate isomers (NP1EO) and the phthalates in the atmosphere and sea water using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The method was successfully applied to the determination of APs and the phthalates in the atmosphere and sea water samples collected from the North Sea. A decreasing concentration profile of NP, t-OP, NP1EO and the phthalates appeared as the distance from the coast increased to the central part of the North Sea. Air-sea exchanges of t-OP, NP, DBP, BBP, and DEHP were estimated using the two-film resistance model based upon relative air-water concentrations. The average of air-sea exchange fluxes indicates a net deposition is occurring. These results suggest that the air–sea vapour exchange is an important process that intervenes in the mass balance of alkylphenols and the phthalates in the North Sea.

The EU electricity directive (96/92/EC) established the right of the member states to choose between Regulated and Negotiated Third Party Access (RTPA and NTPA). The interest group theory is able to explain whether the introduction of NTPA in Germany had been an interest group equilibrium under the restriction of EU-directive. Using the NTPA associations of electricity power suppliers, network monopolists and industrial consumers negotiated three agreements. The last one (AA VVII+) in December 2001 introduced a market comparison scheme with three structural features: “East-/West-Germany”, “consumption/population density”, and “cable rate”. These features are variables which are supposed to reflect cost differences between network suppliers. The theoretical analysis will derive the hypothesis that this conception allows to introduce a cost irrelevant factor and therefore to increase prices without harming firms which do not hold this factor. This hypothesis could be tested by analyzing the German low and medium voltage network suppliers in 2002 and 2003. Our estimations show that the use of structural feature “East-/West Germany” and “consumption/population density” could be explained by this hypothesis. But because we have no firm specific information about cost differences other explanations could not be excluded: Monopoly prices differ with marginal costs, and regulation could reflect real cost differences. The third structural feature “cable rate” has no influence in low voltage networks, but has an impact on access charges levied in medium voltage networks. This relationship is only given if we use the borderlines given by AA VVII+. Hence, we are not able to reject the interest group theory: The feature “cable rate” was introduced successfully to increase access charges for medium network suppliers which have high cable rates without having higher costs.

Beschrieben wird eine bedeutende Karte des hohen Mittelalters, ihre Herkunft, ihr Gehalt, ihre Struktur, einige Aspekte des von ihr verkörperten Weltbildes sowie ihre Dokumentation mit digitalen Medien.

Using a large recent representative sample of the adult German population this paper demonstrates that nascent necessity and nascent opportunity entrepreneurs are different with respect to some of the characteristics and attitudes considered to be important for becoming a nascent entrepreneur, and that they behave differently. Given the lack of longitudinal data, however, we have no information about the performance of entrepreneurs from both groups in the longer run.

Forschungsbericht des Fachbereichs Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften der Universität Lüneburg für 2004