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In aquatic systems, terrestrial dissolved organic matter (t-DOM) is known to stimulate bacterial activities in the water column, but simultaneous effects of autumnal leaf input on water column and sediment microbial dynamics in littoral zones of lakes remain largely unknown. The study's objective was to determine the effects of leaf litter on bacterial metabolism in the littoral water and sediment, and subsequently, the consequences for carbon cycling and food web dynamics. Therefore, in late fall, we simultaneously measured water and sediment bacterial metabolism in the littoral zone of a temperate shallow lake after adding terrestrial particulate organic matter (t-POM), namely, maize leaves. To better evaluate bacterial production (BP) and community respiration (CR) in sediments, we incubated sediment cores with maize leaves of different quality (nonleached and leached) under controlled laboratory conditions. Additionally, to quantify the incorporated leaf carbon into microbial biomass, we determined carbon isotopic ratios of fatty acids from sediment and leaf-associated microbes from a laboratory experiment using C-13-enriched beech leaves. The concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) increased significantly in the lake after the addition of maize leaves, accompanied by a significant increase in water BP. In contrast, sediment BP declined after an initial peak, showing no positive response to t-POM addition. Sediment BP and CR were also not stimulated by t-POM in the laboratory experiment, either in short-term or in long-term incubations, except for a short increase in CR after 18 hours. However, this increase might have reflected the metabolism of leaf-associated microorganisms. We conclude that the leached t-DOM is actively incorporated into microbial biomass in the water column but that the settling leached t-POM (t-POML) does not enter the food web via sediment bacteria. Consequently, t-POML is either buried in the sediment or introduced into the aquatic food web via microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) directly associated with t-POML and via benthic macroinvertebrates by shredding of t-POML. The latter pathway represents a benthic shortcut which efficiently transfers t-POML to higher trophic levels.
In Germany, the irrigation sector accounts for only 1% of water use. In recent years, however, this sector has attracted more attention due to the occurrence of severe drought periods. Irrigation scheduling systems could support adaptation strategies but little is known about current providers, performance and users. In this study we aimed to depict the current situation of the existence and functioning of irrigation scheduling systems available in Germany. Six methods were identified and assessed based on direct interviews with end-users and a comparative analysis. The results showed a positive feedback from the users. However, the recommendations were rarely implemented, while only the seasonal irrigation requirement was considered to support actual water abstraction. These results were corroborated by the comparative analysis. Five of the six irrigation scheduling systems estimated the seasonal irrigation amount consistently, while wider differences were found by looking at the irrigation season and at the number of irrigations. Overall, it is found that irrigation support systems are valuable tools for supporting adaptation strategies to fast changes in agro-environmental conditions. However, specific assessments based on real measurements should be considered in order to improve the performance of the systems and provide more consistent support to end-users. (c) 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This work analyzes the saving and consumption behavior of agents faced with the possibility of unemployment in a dynamic and stochastic life cycle model. The intertemporal optimization is based on Dynamic Programming with a backward recursion algorithm. The implemented uncertainty is not based on income shocks as it is done in traditional life cycle models but uses Markov probabilities where the probability for the next employment status of the agent depends on the current status. The utility function used is a CRRA function (constant relative risk aversion), combined with a CES function (constant elasticity of substitution) and has several consumption goods, a subsistence level, money and a bequest function.
Inhalt: Die Zivilgesellschaft Polens ; Worin liegen die Ursachen? ; Empowerment durch Europäisierung ; Finanzielle Unterstützung durch die EU ; New modes of governance – Neue Formen der Kooperation? ; Europäische Gesetzgebung vs. nationalstaatliche Politik ; Erfolge für sexuelle Minderheiten in Polen ; Zusammenfassung ; Literatur
This chapter outlines the organization and allocation of functions at the meso-level of government in Germany (states/Länder administrations). Furthermore, we shed light on the carriers and qualification profiles of the top bureaucrats in meso-level administrations. These high-rank territorial administrators/executives—state appointed heads of administrative districts (Regierungspräsidenten) on the one hand, elected heads of county administrations (Landräte) on the other hand—can be regarded as the German ‘equivalents’ of the prefects in countries with a Napoleonic administrative tradition. Finally, we analyse major reforms that have led to (at times, profound) transformations in territorial administrations, raising the question of to what extent alternative models of territorial bundling and coordination functions are sound and sustainable.
In 2011, about 1.1-1.4 million patients with dementia were living in Germany, a number expected to rise to three million by 2050. Dementia poses a major challenge to the healthcare system and neuropharmacological service provision. The aim of this study was to determine prescription rates for anti-dementia drugs as well as for neuroleptics, sedative-hypnotics and antidepressants in dementia using the complete nationwide outpatient claims data pertaining to the services of statutory health insurance. We controlled for gender, age, dementia diagnosis, physician specialty (general practitioner GP versus neuropsychiatry specialist physician NPSP), and rural and urban living area. In about one million prevalent dementia patients (N=1,014,710) in 2011, the prescription prevalence rate of anti-dementia drugs was 24.6%; it varied with gender, age, and diagnosis (highest in Alzheimer's disease; 42%), and was higher in patients treated by NPSPs (48% vs. 25% in GPs). At the same time, we found an alarmingly high rate of treatment with neuroleptics in dementia patients (35%), with an only slightly decreased risk in patients treated exclusively by NPSPs (OR=0.86). We found marginal differences between rural and urban areas. Our results show that the majority of anti-dementia drug prescriptions appear guideline-oriented, yet prescription rates are overall comparatively low. On the other hand, neuroleptic drugs, which are associated with excess morbidity and mortality in dementia, were prescribed very frequently, suggesting excess use given current guidelines. We therefore suggest that guideline implementation measures and increasing quality control procedures are needed with respect to the pharmacotherapy of this vulnerable population. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. and ECNR All rights reserved.
In this article, I give an overview on nativist street protests in Germany from the early nineteenth century to the present from an historical perspective. In a preliminary re-mark, I will reflect on some recent developments in Germany, where nativist protest campaigns against immigration took place in the streets when voters were turning towards the populist radical right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). In the first section, I will outline an older tradition of anti-immigration protest in nineteenth and early twentieth century Germany, which is closely connected to modern antisemitism. In sections two and three, I will retrace how, from the late 1960s onward, the far right in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) discovered concerns about immigra-tion in the German population, addressed them in protest campaigns and developed narratives to integrate such sentiments into a broader right-wing extremist ideology, itself deeply rooted in antisemitism. Studying nativism and the radical right from an actor-oriented perspective, I will focus on traditionalist movements, including the Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands (NPD) and neo-Nazi groups.
Alte These – neuer Aufguss
(2011)
This paper analyzes naming behavior in Germany in the context of rapid social change. It begins with an overview of general developments in naming in Germany over the last one hundred years, based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), which supplies us with almost 45,000 datasets. The paper focuses on the periods of World War II and the Cold War since we conclude that general developments in naming were disrupted by these two phenomena. Wartime brings accelerated social change in its wake and people react to this social change - often on an apparently individual level. Here, our findings are in accordance with established sociological theories.
Warten auf Godot
(2011)
1945 und die Polen
(2005)
The current series of anniversaries concerning World War II raise the question of how Poland is coming to terms with its past. The article summarises the ongoing Polish debate about the Warsaw Uprising and the changing perspectives on Polish history in society and political circles. The discussion about Poland’s view on its own past has great influence on recent foreign political relations, e.g. with Germany, the Ukraine, or Russia.
This article asks how the internet has been contributing to the trans-national networking of the radical right and whether the radical right has the capacity to act as a trans-national movement. Taking into account language difficulties, the ideological background of ultra- nationalism and internal disputes, the analysis shows that the radical right-wing transnational networking has hardly developed. Additionally, its internet users’ potential is too low to contribute to a stronger trans-national alignment. The obstacles remain despite improved technological possibilities. This is proven by empirical examples of virtual trans-national networks.
Für ein Voranschreiten der deutschen Realität : ein Plädoyer für verantwortungsvollen Pragmatismus
(2004)
Galt vor 1990 das ungeschriebene Gesetz, dass 1948/49 die Bundesrepublik nicht als Staat auf der Suche nach einer eigenen Außenpolitik, sondern als Ergebnis amerikanischer Außenpolitik auf der Suche nach einem Staat gegründet wurde, stellt Deutschland heute immer weniger ein Stück Amerika mitten in Europa dar. Die neue „Berliner Realität“ beinhaltet also die Tatsache, dass Deutschland nicht mehr Objekt der weltgeschichtlichen Situation ist, „sondern auch Subjekt, verantwortlich für weit mehr als das eigene Schicksal“5. Der damit verbundenen Verantwortung kann sich Deutschland nicht entziehen. Es ist deshalb an der Zeit, für einen deutschen Pragmatismus zu plädieren, der weniger von tagespolitischen Erwägungen geprägt sein sollte, sondern mit Werten (wie Verantwortungsbewusstsein und Ehrlichkeit) und Zielen (wie wirtschaftlicher Wohlstand und Sicherheit) unterfüttert werden muss. Daraus ergeben sich außenpolitische Visionen, die das Handeln der Politiker antreiben und legitimieren. Mittelfristig können diese deutschen außenpolitischen Visionen immer mehr mit denen der anderen 24 EU-Mitgliedstaaten verschmelzen, sodass hier tatsächlich eine gewisse Überwindung der Nationalstaaten – aber eben nur innerhalb der EU – zu beobachten wäre. Allerdings würde sich an diese Entwicklung unmittelbar die Frage anschließen, ob die neue europäische Selbstbestimmung nur im Verhältnis zu den USA zu gewinnen, oder ob sie nicht viel weit reichender zu formulieren ist.
Die vergleichende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Bürgerbeteiligung in Städten in Deutschland und Frankreich. In den letzten 20 Jahren haben sich die Formen lokaler Demokratie immer wieder verändert und sich den örtlichen Gegebenheiten angepasst. Das Interesse der Bürger, Verwaltung und politisch gewählten Vertreter an Partizipation wächst stetig . Das heißt aber auch, dass sich diese 3 Akteure den neuen Strukturen anpassen und eigene Strategien entwickeln müssen. Die demokratischen Formen der kooperativen bzw. partizipativen Demokratie werden immer häufiger angewandt. Diese Arbeit evaluiert die verschiedenen Bürgerbeteiligungsinstrumente in Frankreich und Deutschland in dem zwischen Input, Output und Outcome unterschieden wird. Insbesondere die Bürgerhaushalte, Beiräte und Quartiersräte werden genauer betrachtet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen erste Hinweise in welche demokratische Richtung sich die deutschen Städte künftig entwickeln.
Taming Nuclear Power
(2017)
In 2011 a broad majority in the German Federal Parliament voted to abandon nuclear energy. This article explores the origins of the change in attitude towards nuclear energy and argues that seven years before the Chernobyl disaster, the accident at the U.S. power plant Three Mile Island near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1979, had a profound impact which nowadays seems to be largely forgotten in Europe. The article identifies the structural causes underlying the transnational reception of the Three Mile Island accident and explores international reactions, particularly in the Federal Republic of Germany. The accident near Harrisburg led to a loss of public confidence and created unease about nuclear expansion in many industrialized nations. Reactions to the accident can be understood as an attempt to tame nuclear energy both technically, by increasing safety measures and abandoning plans for new nuclear power stations, and politically, with a more critical appraisal of nuclear energy and with semantics that encouraged a long-term withdrawal from nuclear power. Critics were now also accepted as experts. Nuclear policy in all countries became closely dependent on public opinion, indicating a high level of political responsiveness. Various factors, however, including the contemporaneous oil crisis put the brakes on this critical approach to nuclear power, while safety improvements and the limited expansion of nuclear power created new confidence in the early 1980s.
The European Employment Strategy (EES) belongs to the European Union’s „softer“, legally non-binding policy instruments. Many politicians and academics associated its introduction with the expectation for a strengthening of the EU’s social dimension and democratic quality. This article examines whether, so far, the EES can be regarded as effective and legitimate. To illustrate this, the author briefly examines the role of the EES for the development of labour market policy in Germany and the UK.
Berlin : look to the world!
(2004)
In the spring 2004 issue of WeltTrends, Professor Gunther Hellmann made a „plea for offensive idealism“ and „against the power political resocialization of German foreign policy“. To a long-time outside observer of that foreign policy, this plea is unsurprising, but depressing. In keeping with Professor Hellmann’s own willingness, „notwendige Differenzierungen [zu] vernachlässigen zugunsten einer bewussten Zuspitzung“ I will comment on the aspects of his argument that strike an American colleague as particularly disturbing.