State Parliament Research Articles

The Impact of Catalyst Layer Fabrication Procedure on Layer Morphology, Transport Properties and Performance in Low-Temperature PEM Fuel Cell

Hydrogen mobility represents a progressive, low carbon imprint option for the replacement of internal combustion engines. A core of this technology is low-temperature fuel cell with proton-exchange membrane (LTPEMFC), using hydrogen and atmospheric oxygen as fuel and oxidant, respectively. The membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) which makes up a cell consists of polymer electrolyte membrane, cathodic and anodic catalyst layers and carbon-based porous gas-diffusion layers. LTPEMFC require Pt catalyst on both the anode and the cathode in non-negligible total amount, increasing investing costs for stack unit. In order to maximise fuel cell performance, the formation of three-phase boundary has to be achieved during deposition of catalyst layers, interconnecting Pt nanoparticles on carbon support and ionomer with membrane in complex, porous structure. The quality of catalyst layer determines to high degree final MEA performance.Catalyst layers can be deposited either on gas-diffusion layers or onto the membrane, with latter being considered a more advantageous and feasible approach. Deposition itself can be realised by various methods, including airbrush spraying, decal printing, doctor blade deposition from paste and, most often used nowadays, ultrasonically-assisted spray coating. Each of these methods brings its own advantages and disadvantages, though the common problem of these methods is low suitability for serial production. On the other hand, the quality of so-prepared catalyst layers is sufficient. Methods for large-capacity coating of catalyst layers, especially roll-to-roll technology have exactly opposite pros and cons, high output but unsatisfactory layer quality. An interesting alternative to state-of-the-art catalyst layer fabrication procedures is inkjet printing.Inkjet printing is a well-established technology, though the application in LTPEMFC field brings various issues, mainly connected to quality of layers and prevention of nozzle-clogging during the deposition. Solving of these issues, however, will result in technology suitable for catalyst layer printing, combining high production throughput, very good reproducibility, minimal losses of the ink, suitability to additive manufacturing and possibility of printing specific geometries with gradient layer thickness. Accordingly, the goal of this study is the comparison of catalyst layers, deposited onto the membrane by ultrasonically-assisted spray coating and inkjet printing, in terms of morphology, electric conductivity, permeability and performance in LTPEMFC, using commercially-available materials for layer fabrication.Catalyst layers of the same composition and Pt loading were deposited by either ultrasonically-assisted spray coating or inkjet printing onto FTO conductive glass for the determination of electric conductivity, onto gas-diffusion layer for permeability determination in Loschmidt cell and FIB-SEM morphology studies and onto the membrane for the fabrication of MEA and evaluation of its performance in LTPEMFC. Characterisation of layers deposited on materials above underlined feasibility of inkjet printing for catalyst layer fabrication. In comparison with sprayed layers, layers prepared by inkjet printing tend to be thinner, more homogenous and compact. This results in superior electric conductivity but lower permeability at the same time. Single cell tests proved that performance of inkjet-printed layers is at least on par with sprayed ones, surpassing them with optimised ink composition and Pt loading. Overall, inkjet printing technology is a highly attractive technology for industrial catalyst layer production with great possibilities for contributing to decrease LTPEMFC unit’s investment costs.This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 958174. This project is co-financed from the state budget by the Technology agency of the Czech Republic under the M-ERA.Net Programme, project No. TH80020006. This work was supported by the project "The Energy Conversion and Storage", funded as project No. CZ.02.01.01/00/22_008/0004617 by Programme Johannes Amos Commenius, call Excellent Research. This project is co-financed with tax funds on the basis of the budget passed by the Saxon state parliament.

Teichert: 'Thinking healthcare in an integrated way'

With a view to the upcoming state elections in Brandenburg on 22 September 2024, politicians discussed the challenges and opportunities for healthcare in the state as part of the 'AOK Forum live' talk format at the Old Town Hall in Potsdam, within sight of the Brandenburg state parliament. The title of the event: 'Brandenburg has the choice: For healthcare with a future'.

Twenty Years of the Sejm and the Senate in the European Union. Analysis From the Point of View of Universalist and Particularist Approaches

The activities of the two chambers of the Polish parliament – the Sejm and the Senate – during the twenty years of Poland’s membership in the European Union can be analysed by taking two research approaches, the first of which is universalism, which addresses the civilisational need to build, harmonise, and unify. Universalism, which refers to the neo-functionalism paradigm, has characterised the European activity of both chambers of the Polish parliament. The other perspective is provided by neo-realist particularism, which takes an anti-idealist and anti-utopian stance. It is distinguished by national egotism expressed as an attachment to achieving the nation’s own interests. Today, particularism understood in this way is based on sovereign distinctiveness, independence, and self-reliance. The purpose of this article is to positively verify the hypothesis that the parliamentary dimension of Poland’s membership in the EU observed through the participation of the Sejm and Senate in the process of Europeanisation and de-Europeanisation simultaneously contributes to the dependence and independence of both chambers on the European Union and its institutions. The universalist and particularist approaches have allowed the author of this analysis to reach an empirically-confirmed conclusion that both chambers of the Polish parliament in the period under study had an influence on the following: (1) the political power of the government, reinforcing or sapping it during negotiations; (2) the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of coalition-building in the EU; (3) cooperation with or resistance to the dominance of the parliaments of large EU states; (4) varied responsibility for the integrative system as a united and harmonious whole; and (5) the union of the peoples of Europe or a Europe of Homelands.

Threads of Influence: Exploring the Nexus of History, Religion, and Culture in Shaping Chinese Women's Political Engagement in Peninsula Malaysia

The multi-ethnic factor has influenced gender-based political parties and culture. Thus, we shed light on how political socialization through indicators of religion, history, and culture influences Chinese women's behavior and political involvement in Peninsular Malaysia. The political participation of Chinese women in Malaysia remains low, as evidenced by the representation of Chinese women in decision-making sectors such as the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) and Parliament. We adopt a qualitative approach through intensive interview techniques with ten purposively selected participants. The primary informants interviewed include female Chinese political representatives, male politicians, academics, and NGO activists. Ultimately, we illustrate how political socialization through cultural, religious, and historical agents influences the political involvement of Chinese women in Peninsular Malaysia. The political culture of Chinese women is not static and has evolved based on contemporary changes before and after independence. The political culture of Chinese women has shifted from referencing Mainland China to survival in Malaya.

Criminal Behavior Politician During Reform in Indonesia

Criminal behavior politician during reform in Indonesia perspective white-collar crime is a crime committed by respectable men in corporation and government environments. This study aims to assess and analyze the behavior of white-collar criminals involving an individual of state officials, parliament or political parties politicians and the ruling government in Indonesia during the reform period. This study is qualitative research based on the literature, journals and reporting publications of Indonesian white-collar crime. The result of study concluded that white-collar crime in Indonesia has reached a very alarming level. This crime could even can be called state organized crime in a corrupt government. This crime is based on the achievement of individual interests, group or political party and retains the power. The lack of success of Indonesian government in resolving the case of state officials or politicians involved in corruption, collusion and nepotism rapidly, lightly court decisions, many cases delayed in its prosecution process, even termination of the case of important officials state to be indication the weakness of law enforcement against white-collar criminals in Indonesia. This happens due to the severity of conflict of interest so the solution is often based on the interests or political bargaining and abuse of power. This situation reinforces Hobbes’ theory that a crime act, and fault can be assessed otherwise when the ruling government decided that the action was not malicious and wrong. This means that a value either good or evil depending on the assessments decision committed by the authorities.

Gender and reactions to speeches in German parliamentary debates

AbstractAre nonverbal reactions during parliamentary debate gendered? Do male and female members of parliament (MPs) experience applause or jeering differently? In short, yes, and the gendered nature of a speech matters. Using an original corpus of over 544,000 speeches given in German state parliaments, we first estimate the gendered nature of parliamentary speeches and then examine how reactions to speeches given by male and female MPs differ. Female and male MPs receive similarly positive and negative reactions to their speeches on average, but they receive different reactions depending on the gendered nature of the speeches. Speeches using language associated with women's topics receive fewer reactions overall and even fewer when delivered by men. The gendered nature of parliamentary interjections could affect how women MPs view their position and how women voters view parliament.

The British Royals in Australia

The British Royals in Australia

“Dark” positivity: Do candidates with a more aversive personality use positive campaigning more often?

Although positive campaigning is a widely used communication strategy in election campaigns, determinants aside from political characteristics and gender are largely unknown. However, the personality traits of candidates could affect campaigning strategies beyond these factors. Recent research shows that people with an aversive (“dark”) personality tend to self-promote and are attracted to leadership positions. Transferring these findings to self-promotion in election campaigns, I ask if candidates with a more aversive personality use positive campaigning more often. 2,133 candidates who ran for 10 state parliaments in Germany in 2021, 2022, and 2023 self-reported how often they used positive campaigning. Analyses via structural equation modeling show that the candidates’ aversive personality is positively and significantly related to their use of positive campaigning and that this relationship holds when controlling for political and sociodemographic characteristics. The implications of the findings and potential pathways for further research are discussed.

‚Learning from our mistakes and doing better‘

Which of the German corona measures were good, which were bad? What can we learn from the years 2020 to 2022 for future pandemics and other potential crisis situations? These were the key questions posed by MVF editor Prof Dr Reinhold Roski at the start of the MVF Congress ‚Pandemic impact on healthcare‘, the first part of which took place online in December 2023. After the opening statement by Sabine Dittmar MdB, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Health, who spoke about the ‚Corona impact on healthcare policy‘, Prof Dr Bertram Häussler, IGES Director and key idea generator of the congress, presented a somewhat different view of the political reality in his lecture ‚Effects of the corona pandemic - an overview‘. A view shared by Prof Dr Matthias Schrappe, University of Cologne, who was not stingy with constructive criticism in his presentation ‚Politics: fear instead of information?‘. The aim of the ‚Monitor Versorgungsforschung‘ congress was precisely not to apportion blame, but to analyse what can not only be learned from the Covid-19 event of the century for the German healthcare system, but what must be learned for future crises of the same or a completely different kind.

Rechtsprechung zum Parlamentsrecht auf Landesebene seit 2018

The development of case law on parliamentary law at state level since 2018 has essentially been shaped by the widespread entry of the AfD into the state parliaments . While the party’s communication style led to an increase in calls to order, the courts were not only concerned with parliamentary law issues relating to the imposition of disciplinary measures . Amendments to the rules of procedure, party-related statements and the AfD’s participation in parliament and its committees were also the subject of court decisions and led to a dynamic debate . On the other hand, the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the state parliaments and their ability to function presented the courts with new challenges . General orders to wear a face mask, access restrictions in the form of 2G or 3G regulations and pandemic-related cancellations of state parliament meetings were examined by the courts . Following German reunification, the judicial involvement with the AfD and the coronavi- rus pandemic represents a new stage in the development of parliamentary law at state level in the last 40 years .

Grundmandat, Bewertung des Gleichheitsgebots, Verzerrung – Fallstricke bei der Einsetzung von Untersuchungsausschüssen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

The 8th state parliament of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has 79 members in six parlia- mentary party groups, which are represented with the following numbers of seats: SPD 34, AfD 14, CDU 12, Left Party 9, Greens and FDP with 5 each . A dispute arose over the appointment of two committees of inquiry . A majority of the state parliament approved two committees with nine members – four SPD MPs and one from each of the five other parliamentary party groups – at the suggestion of the governing coalition of the SPD and the Left Party . The proposal of the CDU, Greens and FDP to set up the committees with 13 members and a 6:2:2:1:1:1 distribution of seats was rejected . The disputes brought before the State Constitutional Court by the CDU as the applicant (LVerfG 3/22 and 4/22), were unsuccessful in the ruling of February 23, 2023 . The problem areas that arose can be outlined as follows: basic mandate, assessment of the principle of equality, and dis- tortion . This is shown in the article in the form of comments on the ruling of the State Constitutional Court . At the same time, solutions for avoiding such disputes and also for their adequate assessment are presented . First and foremost, there is a quality measure for the fulfillment of the mirror image principle, which provides a quality number for every conceivable distribution of seats, regardless of the chosen allocation procedure . This allows both the fulfillment of the principle of equality to be assessed and questions of distortion of a distribution to be quantified and thus objectively considered .

Planspielangebote der Landesparlamente. Eine Bestandsaufnahme

The majority of German state parliaments offer simulation games for adolescents . These events are designed to teach young people about the processes of intra-parliamentary will formation and decision-making . This article presents a survey of the simulation games cur- rently offered by state parliaments . The analysis is structured by content and organizational criteria . All simulation games focus on the legislative function of parliament . Other parlia- mentary functions are only addressed on the side or not at all . Furthermore, two thirds of the simulation games are designed for school classes . They usually last a maximum of one day and are offered several times a year up to several times a week . In contrast, four parlia- ments offer simulation games for individuals, which take several days and are carried out much less frequently than the programs for school classes . In addition to the general over- view, detailed insights are provided into the event “Youth in Parliament”, which is organ- ized by the parliament of the Hamburg city-state .

Die AfD im 20. Bundestag: noch immer nur bedingt parlamentsfähig

The right-wing party AfD was successful in being re-elected to the German Bundestag in the year 2021, even though – compared with the previous parliamentary elections (2017) – with a smaller vote share (10 .3 percent instead of 12 .6 percent) and a loss of seats (83 instead of 94) . The AfD parliamentary party in the 19th Bundestag (2017-2021) was sur- prisingly stable in spite of the fundamental changes of the political positions of the AfD . At the end of the election period, only 10 MPs had left the parliamentary party, were excluded or had died . And nearly most of the remaining representatives – more than the 58 re- elected MPs (nearly 70 percent of AfD-MPs in the 20th Bundestag) – were interested in renewing their mandates . That is remarkable, because nearly 85 percent of the 2017 elected MPs became a party member in the founding years (2013/2014) of the AfD . The – here analysed – (political) social profile of AfD-MPs changed from the 19th Bundestag to the 20th because of the 36 MPs leaving the parliament at the end of the election period and the 25 newly elected ones . In particular, the AfD parliamentary party lost some politically and parliamentary experienced MPs who previously had been members of democratic parties and were elected into councils of local self-government before joining the AfD . To compen- sate it, the 2021 newly elected representatives did not gain enough political experience before joining the AfD . Very few had been members of an established party and even fewer held a mandate in a municipal council . The AfD parliamentary party is characterised by the internal process of self-recruitment and political professionalization of the AfD . Nearly 50 percent of the newly elected parliamentarians had been AfD-MPs in state parliaments or had been in the staff of the party, the parliamentary party or a single MP . But nevertheless, the lack of political and parliamentary experience before becoming AfD member reduces and concentrates political experience and activities on the AfD (as arena of political experience) and encourages a “movement” orientation of parliamentary activities . Therefore, a constructive cooperation in the Bundestag by the parliamentary party and most MPs of the AfD could not be expected .

Das reformierte Fragerecht im Berliner Abgeordnetenhaus: wirklich eine Stärkung des Parlaments?

Berlin’s state parliament approved of a comprehensive reform of its question rights at the start of 2014: So-called big questions were abolished, and the oral questions were reduced to a spontaneous form . Since then, there have been only simple oral and written questions in the Berlin parliament which can be used by single parliamentarians and not by parlia- mentary party groups . Accompanying this reform, Members of Parliament got more finan- cial means to hire personal staff for their work . After the reform, oral questions were asked less often while there was a massive surge in the use of written questions . Moreover, Mem- bers of Parliament supporting the government asked more questions than before, and a focus on statistical and cost questions has become visible . All in all, there has been a trend towards frequent questioning and fast answering, at the expense of bigger question projects that serve developing concepts (in particular on the side of the opposition) . Whether or not the reform has led to a strengthening of parliament – which the reform proponents had advocated for – is open for discussion based on the findings presented here .

Ist die Thüringer Rechtsordnung widerstandsfähig genug? Zum Policy-Paper „Rechtsstaatliche Resilienz in Thüringen stärken. Handlungsempfehlungen aus der Szenarioanalyse des Thüringen- Projekts“

In April 2024, a scenario analysis on the resilience of the Thuringian constitutional and legal system was presented in the Thuringian state parliament with a view to the possible participation of an authoritarian populist party in government after the state elections in Thuringia in September 2024 . In this study, a number of suggestions were made as to how democracy in the Free State could be made more resilient, even if a party such as the AfD “only” achieved the most or more than a third of the votes . This article examines these pro- posals from a political science perspective in terms of their usefulness and necessity . As a result, most of the proposals can be agreed with, even if it must be pointed out that democ- racy cannot be “saved” by changes to (constitutional) legal provisions alone .

What Women Politicians Could, Would, and Should, but Cannot Do

This paper analyses the main barriers to women’s political representation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) from the perspective of female parliamentarians. The theoretical section presents the main obstacles to women’s political representation, followed by an overview of trends in the political representation of women and the controversies surrounding the presence of women in politics within the ethnocratic context of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Using the data from qualitative research, gathered through in-depth interviews with female MPs from BH elected to state and entity parliaments, this paper analyses and discusses the main obstacles to the political representation of women. They include challenges relating to family life and traditional gender roles, internal party processes and dynamics, especially informal relations among men, lack of support in election campaigns and various manoeuvres to circumvent quotas, shrunken space for women in parliaments, and distorted representation in the media. The experiences of the interlocutors are strongly gendered, and all the mentioned obstacles prove to be relevant, regardless of their varying impact on individual women MPs. Even interlocutors who have not personally encountered certain obstacles acknowledge their existence, noting that their female colleagues in politics have experienced them, sometimes in a brutal manner. There is agreement among the interlocutors that women are severely disadvantaged in politics. Therefore, serious additional positive measures should be taken to improve gender equality, given that the ethnocratic system favours ethnic representation and men maintain a firm grip on political power in post-conflict BH society.

Emotions and Information Diffusion on Social Media: A Replication in the Context of Political Communication on Twitter

This paper presents a methodological and conceptual replication of Stieglitz and Dang-Xuan’s (2013) investigation of the role of sentiment in information-sharing behavior on social media. Whereas Stieglitz and Dang-Xuan (2013) focused on Twitter communication prior to the state parliament elections in the German states Baden-Wurttemberg, Rheinland-Pfalz, and Berlin in 2011, we test their theoretical propositions in the context of the state parliament elections in Saxony-Anhalt (Germany) 2021. We confirm the positive link between sentiment in a political Twitter message and its number of retweets in a methodological replication. In a conceptual replication, where sentiment was assessed with the alternative dictionary-based tool LIWC, the sentiment was negatively associated with the retweet volume. In line with the original study, the strength of association between sentiment and retweet time lag insignificantly differs between tweets with negative sentiment and tweets with positive sentiment. We also found that the number of an author’s followers was an essential determinant of sharing behavior. However, two hypotheses supported in the original study did not hold for our sample. Precisely, the total amount of sentiments was insignificantly linked to the time lag to the first retweet. Finally, in our data, we do not observe that the association between the overall sentiment and retweet quantity is stronger for tweets with negative sentiment than for those with positive sentiment.

Trans-Tasman Challenge

The Trans-Tasman Proceedings Acts took effect in Australia and New Zealand in 2013, and since then have created a well-functioning trans-Tasman judicial area in which the process of all Australian and New Zealand courts can be served, and the judgments of all of those courts can be enforced, anywhere in New Zealand or Australia. The unquestioned jurisdiction that is given to all Australian and New Zealand courts in trans-Tasman cases is also limited only by principles of forum conveniens and the enforcement of choice of court agreements. In Zurich Insurance Company Limited v Koper (‘Zurich Insurance’), the validity of the Australian rules of jurisdiction under the Trans-Tasman Proceedings Act 2010 (Cth) was challenged. The New South Wales courts and the High Court of Australia all rejected the challenge. This article is an account of the constitutional considerations that were canvassed throughout the Zurich Insurance litigation, including the possibility that a High Court majority recognised a positive constitutional implication when upholding the personal jurisdictions created by the Trans-Tasman Proceedings Act 2010 (Cth) and the recognition of a federal power to extend the jurisdiction of state courts in all international cases. It also undertakes an analysis of the private international law issues of Zurich Insurance: the clarification of the effect of the Trans-Tasman Proceedings Acts; and the unsatisfactory conclusions reached on the territorial application of the Civil Liability (Third Party Claims Against Insurers) Act 2017 (NSW) — the issue that forced the need to consider the validity of the Trans-Tasman Proceedings Act 2010 (Cth) in the first place. In this respect, a plea is made for Australian state parliaments and courts to avoid extra-territorial overreach in the application of state legislation.

German Legislators’ Conceptions of Democracy and Process Preferences: Results from a New Survey

ABSTRACT Democracy’s resilience arguably depends on political elites’ loyalty to the political system. How do elected representatives understand democracy and their own role in it? We present results of a survey conducted among German legislators in state parliaments and the Bundestag in 2022. We start by mapping the scope and content of consensus and dissent where principles of democracy and their institutionalisation are concerned and go on to hypothesise that congruence between one’s own conceptions of democracy and established institutions and practices is generally higher among established and government parties’ representatives but also dependent on ideological inclinations. Our results are overall reassuring, showing a relatively low level of polarisation in attitudes to democracy, and have implications for the study of political elites, for diagnoses of political polarisation in Germany and for the possibility and feasibility of institutional reform.

Sovereignty under the Australian Constitution

Section 6 of the Australia Acts 1986 provides that, when a State law concerns the ‘constitution, powers and procedure’ of the State Parliament, it must abide by any relevant ‘manner and form’ requirements in previous legislation. This provision is generally accepted as imposing a binding limitation on the sovereignty of State Parliaments. However, the reason why this section is binding on State Parliaments is disputed. This article begins by discussing the concept of sovereignty in philosophical terms, before turning to the history of sovereignty in Australia. It explores the role of the Australia Acts in the constitutional system, focusing on their implications for constitutive power in the States, then looks specifically at s 6 and its capacity to bind State Parliaments. I argue that attempts to explain the authority of s 6 by appealing to the United Kingdom or Commonwealth Australia Acts fail. The only satisfactory explanation appeals to the idea that the Australian Parliaments acting together have a special form of sovereignty that allows them to make certain kinds of constitutional changes. This conclusion has important implications for how constitutive power is understood in Australia today.