Swiss Federation Research Articles

Classifying Cases in Federal Studies. An Illustration of why Political Scientists should do more Cluster Analysis

Typologies are widely used in research on federalism, e.g. to distinguish dual from cooperative or coming-together from holding-together federations. More general, ideal types, archetypes and categories are frequently used in political science research to define concepts and classify cases. As recently as in 2014, Filho et al. pointed out that Cluster Analysis is still hardly used when it comes to developing typologies in political science. Rather, political scientists rely on more intuitive methods or factor analysis. Our paper argues that Cluster Analysis is of great usefulness because it a) focuses on the relationship between cases and not variables and b) draws on empirical data when identifying the clusters. This paper proposes to apply this fruitful approach to the field of federalism to exemplify its major heuristic potential. Furthermore, we emphasize that testing the secondary validity is a crucial step. Our paper provides two original examples from comparative federal politics and public management that illustrate the strength of Cluster Analysis both in testing and generating hypotheses through the establishment of typologies. For both examples, the validity of the Cluster Analysis is tested by checking for correlations between the clusters and the distribution of power. Hence, the typologies established through Cluster Analysis not only define our respective dependent variables related to aspects of intergovernmental coordination within federations and the normative density of evaluation clauses in the Swiss federation, but also offer strong insights in issues of regional autonomy.

Theorising Decentralisation – Comparative Evidence from Sub‐national SwitzerlandMueller, SeanColchester/UK, ECPR Press (2015), 296p., ISBN 9781785521294

Theorising Decentralisation – Comparative Evidence from Sub‐national SwitzerlandMueller, SeanColchester/UK, ECPR Press (2015), 296<i>p., ISBN 9781785521294</i>

Effective Tax Rates and Effective Progressivity in a Fiscally Decentralized Country

This paper proposes measures to quantify the effective level and the effective progressivity of taxation in a fiscally decentralized country taking income sorting into account. Using data on the universe of Swiss taxpayers, we find that rich households effectively face significantly lower average and marginal tax rates and lower progressivity than in the benchmark case that does not consider income sorting. This is because high-income households systematically avoid high taxation by locating in low-tax jurisdictions. The results are stronger for singles than for families, indicating that singles are more sensitive to spatial tax differentials than families. Although income tax schedules of the Swiss federation, the 26 cantons and the more than 2,600 municipalities are all strictly progressive, the effectively paid country-wide average tax rate is regressive for households with very high incomes and without children. The proposed measure of the effective average and marginal tax rates also allows us to adequately describe the evolution of the country-wide tax burden over time. We document that about half of the reduction in the tax burden on top incomes between 1975 and 2009 is due to reductions in statutory tax rates and about half to stronger income sorting of the population. Our results also hold when we account for the disutility from housing prices into which tax rates capitalize.

Appointment, Discipline and Removal of Judges: A Comparison of the Swiss and New Zealand Judiciaries

This article gives an overview of the legal system of Switzerland and then compares the judiciaries of Switzerland and New Zealand. As far as Switzerland is concerned, it covers both the system of the Swiss Federation and the systems in the cantons. After analysing the powers enjoyed by the judiciary via the legislature, the article examines the appointment of judges in detail. The author explains how, in Switzerland, openly political and other considerations are weighed in the course of electing judges and how the appointment of lay judges is balanced with an active role of law clerks. In contrast, New Zealand has a proud tradition of apolitical judicial appointments that are made solely based on merit. The author criticises that Swiss judges are elected for a term of office, whereas New Zealand judges enjoy the security of tenure and thus, a greater judicial independence. Lastly, the article covers the removal and discipline of judges, where the author, while he commends the recent reform in New Zealand, he advocates for a system where the ultimate decision is given to an independent judicial body rather than a parliament.

Why is Turnout So Low in Switzerland? Comparing the Attitudes of Swiss and German Citizens Towards Electoral Democracy

Why is Turnout So Low in Switzerland? Comparing the Attitudes of Swiss and German Citizens Towards Electoral Democracy

Deaf and non-deaf research collaboration on Swiss German Sign Language ( DSGS) interpreter training in Switzerland

Teaching, training, and assessment for sign language interpreters in Swiss German sign language (DSGS) since 1985 was developed continually towards a current Bachelor level at the HfH Zurich. More recently, co-teaching with ZHAW non-deaf linguists in linguistics and intercultural competence training has led to a deaf-non-deaf research collaboration. DSGS standards in training denote second language competences in DSGS are not yet in place. Despite DSGS being taught by deaf sign language(sl) instructors, socio-linguistic and pragmatic standards reflecting the practices of the deaf community are lacking. This situation calls for community based research on the linguistic practices embedded in the DSGS community and its domains. The ongoing need for research (cf. Boyes Braem, et al 2012; Bangerter 2013; Uhlich 2012), is to adapt unified standards according to the CEFR and the ELP which describe learners’ abilities and competences, rather than deficiencies (cf. Haug and Keller 2011). A pilot project compiling existing DSGS teaching materials was carried out by deaf sl instructors together with non-deaf linguists under auspices of the Swiss Federation of the Deaf (SGB-FSS), HfH Zürich and ZHAW. The findings show at threshold level (A1-A2) a considerable amount of subjects related to pragmatic and intercultural aspects of DSGS not enlisted in the teaching materials or not even part of CEFR descriptors (cf. Shores, et al 2012). Consequentially, a community-based project including deaf and non-deaf researchers is under way. With cooperation of the current European project PRO-Sign, it focuses on those aspects of sign language that where descriptors of competencies are substantially different from spoken languages. Results from this project will permit the development of unified teaching materials, of standardized assessments and provide a basis not only for purposes of foreign language learning and interpreter training, but also help to foster the development of a CEFR for Sign Languages in Europe and Switzerland.

Evidence based politics: knowing and acting today to shape tomorrow

The role of scientific evidence in influencing political decisions that affect the future and the importance of research in generating such evidence is highlighted in the context of the Swiss federation. Within the Swiss federation the responsibilities are balanced between the confederation and the cantons. Currently Switzerland faces several challenges such as epidemiological transition, increase in chronic non-communicable diseases, increasing social costs, increasing health care costs, need for more medical professionals and health inequalities. Therefore we need more scientific knowledge to tackle these problems. Considerable investment in research infrastructure is needed in the form of cohorts and biobanks. Two new federal laws have been enacted which pertain to prevention, health promotion, managed care and disease management. However such laws need scientific support and collaboration across political, economic, academic and social forces.

Guglielmo Marconi: Some New Documents Covering the Years 1894–1896 [Historical Corner

There has been a discussion in the pages of this Magazine concerning the possibility that Guglielmo Marconi performed some experiments in Salvan, Switzerland, in the summer of 1895 [1-7]. In September 2008, the International Union of Telecommunications (IUT) in Geneva, an agency of the United Nations (UN), bestowed on Salvan the title of “Telecommunication Heritage Site.” There was a ceremony where both the President of the Swiss Federation, Pascal Couchepin, and the IUT General Secretary, Hamadoun Touré, were present. It is important to highlight that when this occurred, there was a choir of protests that came from Italy, in all the media (see, for example, Figure 1 and [8]). In the end, the Italian Ambassador in Berna, Switzerland, did not show up in Salvan for the ceremony. A deep investigation to clarify this issue was then started directly by the Italian government and the Italian Guglielmo Marconi Foundation, located in Villa Griffone, Sasso Marconi, Bologna, which was recently bestowed an IEEE Milestone by the IEEE President [9, 10]. This paper presents several documents, some of which were gathered during the above-mentioned research. These documents were kept in the Historical Archives of the Waldesian Church (Torre Pellice, Turin, Italy); in the Lincei Acad emy Archives (Rome, Italy); in the Archives of the City of SassoMarconi (Bologna, Italy); and in the State Archives in the City of Bologna. These documents might be of interest to the readers of this Magazine who have followed the debate in [1-7]. Indeed, some of the documents presented here were published for the first time in [11] (Figure 2). This was a very recent publication, dedicated to the 100 years since Guglielmo Marconi's Noble Prize, published by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

The evolution of top incomes in Switzerland over the 20th century

Summary We study the income concentration in the Swiss federation over the course of the 20th century using federal income tax statistics. The results suggest that top incomes in Switzerland evolved over time rather remaining constant across different income shares. Income concentration peaked during the 1940s, with a slight downward trend until the 1990s. Over the last 15 years, top incomes have recovered. In contrast, the evolution of income concentration is much more heterogeneous on the sub-federal level for the 26 cantons because of the federalist constitution, which has a decentralized taxing power. Consequently, top incomes in some cantons have a downward trend; others show a fall and rise of top incomes over the century, as exemplified by the Kuznets’ hypothesis; some develop rather constantly; and some cantons even produce a striking upward trend.

The 1947 Seelisberg Conference: The Foundation of the Jewish-Christian Dialogue

On the 60th Anniversary of the 1947 International Emergency Conference on Anti-Semitism in Seelisberg, Switzerland, this article provides an overview and analysis of: historical events leading up to this conference; the working process and results of the conference with a focus on the specific work of its various commissions, especially that of Commission III on the Role of the Churches and the Ten Points (Theses) of Seelisberg. Looking back from the present-day vantage point, it comments on the effects of its work over the past several decades, and closes with a brief summary of the 60th Anniversary Jewish-Christian scholarly conference hosted at Lasalle-Haus in Bad Schonbrunn, Switzerland -including the 2007 joint declaration by the Swiss Bishops Conference, the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches and the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities. An Addendum to the article provides a photograph and a list of the 1947 conference officers and commission participants.

New Rules on Domestic Arbitration in Switzerland

Until 2000, the competence for procedural laws in Switzerland had been vested with the cantons and not with the Swiss Federation. For domestic arbitration, a unification of the cantonal provisions had taken place through a Concordat, which is an agreement between cantons. The Concordat regarding domestic arbitration was concluded in 1969 (“Concordat”). On 1 January 2011, the new Swiss Code on Civil Procedure (“CCP”) will enter into force. It regulates and unifies the civil procedure before State Courts throughout Switzerland. In its Part 3, it provides for a new set of rules for domestic arbitration. The present article discusses the main principles and goals of the revised rules on domestic arbitration in Switzerland. Although the new rules are based on the Concordat, some changes have been introduced. The present article highlights the most important ones. The drafters of the CCP provisions on domestic arbitration have not limited themselves to amending the Concordat but have taken the opportunity to modernize the current regime of domestic arbitration and have thus introduced new provisions regulating the issues which have not been explicitly provided for under the old regime. Some of these provisions are specifically noteworthy also from the point of view of international arbitration practitioners because these provisions are also new in comparison to Chapter 12 of the Swiss Private International Law Act (“PILA”), which forms the Swiss lex arbitrii for international arbitration. The article therefore also briefly highlights the main differences of the revised rules on domestic arbitration as compared to Chapter 12 PILA. Finally, as a concluding remark, the author addresses the question of whether, in light of the newly introduced rules on domestic arbitration, the PILA is in need of a revision as well.

Swiss Federation of Clinical Neuro-Societies SFCNS

Swiss Federation of Clinical Neuro-Societies SFCNS

Swiss Federation of Clinical Neuro-Societies SFCNS

Swiss Federation of Clinical Neuro-Societies SFCNS

Swiss Federation of Specialities in Medicine SFSM

Swiss Federation of Specialities in Medicine SFSM

Swiss Federation of Specialities in Medicine SFSM

Swiss Federation of Specialities in Medicine SFSM

Democratic Revolutions, Power and the City: Weber and Political Modernity

This article develops three interconnected arguments concerning the image of modernity as a revolutionary epoch and the way in which this image has been understood and theorized. These three lines of conceptualization, which can only be sketched in less rather than greater detail here, concern the constellation or figuration of modernity, its democratic dimension, and in reference to each, the work of Max Weber, especially The City. More specifically, the article argues that modern democracy is revolutionary when viewed as an open and self-instituting articulation of political power. Its modern revolutionary impulse begins in the Italian Renaissance city-states, the German `free' cities, and the Swiss federation where urban autonomy was matched by the creation of elected forms of rulership and the development of federated circulations of power.

Health Information Given by Swiss Travel Agencies

Many of the 1 million Swiss traveling to tropical or subtropical countries book their trip through travel agencies every year. These agencies are thus an important source of information about malaria and other important health risks and little is known about the appropriate health information provided by these. A study was conducted to assess health-related information in members of the Swiss Federation of Travel Agencies in the metropolitan area of Zurich, Switzerland. A covert investigator (F.M.S.) visited these agencies and requested information on a package holiday for 2 or 3 weeks to Kenya. Following an in-person interview, the investigator recorded any health-related information provided on a pretested form. If none was mentioned, the agent was prompted using a standardized procedure. A total of 88 agencies were visited. Spontaneous health advice was given in 44% of all visits. After prompting, 99% of all travel agents mentioned preventive measures against malaria, but only 69% indicated the need for vaccinations against other diseases. Spontaneous advice on malaria risk and vaccinations was better than advice given upon prompting. One fifth of all travel agents neither mentioned malaria prevention measures spontaneously nor recommended seeing a health specialist. Overall, travel medicine knowledge of travel agents in the Zurich area needs improvement as many tended to draw attention to health risks only when prompted. Attitude, personal knowledge, and experience of individual travel agents were key to the health information given. Up-to-date and readily available information on health risks should be provided to travel agencies and structured training given in collaboration with health professionals.

Screening for sleep disorders in community pharmacies - evaluation of a campaign in Switzerland

In 2003 the Swiss federation of pharmacists organized a campaign "sleep disturbances--daytime sleepiness". The goal was to assist pharmacy clients in detecting likely causes of any sleep disturbance or daytime sleepiness through a free of charge screening, and to deliver targeted counselling. For pharmacy practice there are no screening or triage guidelines to assess the severity of sleep and wakefulness disturbances and potential causes for those disturbances. In this paper the outcome of the campaign in terms of feasibility, participation, observed response patterns, sale of over-the-counter (OTC) sleeping pills, and counselling activities is evaluated. The Stanford sleep disorders questionnaire and the Epworth sleepiness scale served to identify patterns of symptoms suggestive of four major categories of sleep disorders. The questionnaires were posted on a web-site and the clients' data were entered online in the pharmacies. A report was automatically generated and immediately available online to the pharmacists. The pharmacists documented separately their counselling activities in a pharmacist's activity report. Six hundred and twenty-two (23%) of 2743 pharmacy clients had response patterns suggestive of obstructive sleep apnoea, 418 (15%) of restless-legs-syndrome, 39 (1%) of a sleep disorder potentially associated with a psychiatric condition and 79 (3%) of narcolepsy. An Epworth sleepiness score >10 points was found in 567 (21%). After screening, 2345 (86%) pharmacy clients received targeted counselling. Only 216 (8%) purchased an OTC sleeping pill and 704 (26%) were recommended to consult a physician, but of these, 446 (63%) were already under medical supervision. The online screening tool for sleep disorders and daytime sleepiness was successfully introduced in Swiss pharmacies. Pharmacies were able to assess the pattern of individual sleep disorders and to identify a possible cause in nearly one-third of the cases.

Embedding Evaluation in the Swiss Federal Administration

Scholars have long addressed the question of how to improve the usefulness of evaluation in the public sector. This article describes the role of evaluation within the Swiss Federation in order to investigate the conditions of evaluation use. The article is based on an examination of several offices in the federal administration. Evaluation within the Swiss federal administration shows great variety among the different units with regard to both the general understanding and the implementation of evaluation. These provide good examples for studying the relationship of purpose, utilization and institutional design in evaluation. Furthermore, decisions are often taken in the absence of basic considerations regarding the purpose or utility of the evaluation, and this substantially affects the subsequent institutional design of the evaluation. The authors recommend a clearer functional differentiation between different forms of evaluations as means for improving the evaluation measures currently used in and by the Swiss federal administration.

Hat Lothar auch das Assessment weggefegt? Oder: Wie nachhaltig ist das Nachhaltigkeits-Assessment? | Has Lothar also Swept away the Assessment? Or: How Sustainable is the Sustainability Assessment?

In order to test the method developed to assess the Swiss Federation's forest policy, it was applied to assess suggested forest policy measures with regard to storm damages. Two different measures were tested on the basis of the Helsinki-criteria and indicators with regard to their conformity with the principle of sustainability.