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An empirical analysis of various waves of the ALLBUS social survey shows that union density fell substantially in western Germany from 1980 to 2004 and in eastern Germany from 1992 to 2004. Such a negative trend can be observed for men and women and for different groups of the workforce. Regression estimates indicate that the probability of union membership is related to a number of personal and occupational variables such as age, public sector employment and being a blue collar worker (significant in western Germany only). A decomposition analysis shows that differences in union density over time and between eastern and western Germany to a large degree cannot be explained by differences in the characteristics of employees. Contrary to wide-spread perceptions, changes in the composition of the workforce seem to have played a minor role in the fall in union density in western and eastern Germany.
In 1999 David Elstein delivered a lecture series examining the evolvement of UK broadcasting policy from 1949 to 1999. His sharp analysis is a valuable contribution to the post-war devel-opment of the British broadcasting system and unfolds many topical issues in current media policy debates.
Abstract. The ecological literature suggests that biodiversity reduces the variance of ecosystem services. Thus, conservative biodiversity management has an insurance value to risk-averse users of ecosystem services. We analyze a conceptual ecological-economic model in which such management measures generate a private benefit and, via ecosystem processes at higher hierarchical levels, a positive externality on other ecosystem users. We find that ecosystem management and environmental policy depend on the extent of uncertainty and risk-aversion as follows: (i) Individual effort to improve ecosystem quality unambiguously increases. The free-rider problem may decrease or increase, depending on the characteristics of the ecosystem and its management; in particular, (ii) the size of the externality may decrease or increase, depending on how individual and aggregate management effort influence biodiversity; and (iii) the welfare loss due to free-riding may decrease or increase, depending on how biodiversity influences ecosystem service provision.
To improve the properties of thermochemical heat storage materials, salt mixtures were evaluated for their heat storage capacity and cycle stability as part of the innovation incubator project "Thermochemical battery" of the Leuphana university Lüneburg. Based on naturally occurring compound minerals, 16 sulfates, 18 chlorides and 5 chloride multi-mixtures, 18 bromides and 5 intermixtures between sulfates, chlorides and bromides were synthesized either from liquid solution or by dry mixing for TGA/DSC screening before continuing the heat storage evaluation with five different measurement setups at a laboratory scale. The TGA/DSC analysis served as a screening process to reduce the number of testing materials for the upscaled experiments. The evaluation process consisted of a three-cycle dehydration/hydration measurement at Tmax=100°C and Tmax=200°C. In case of the bromide samples a measurement of hydration conditions with Tmax=110°C and a water flow at e=18.68mbar, were added to the procedure to detect the maximum water uptake temperature. Also, a single dehydration to a temperature of Tmax=500°C was implemented to observe melting behavior and to easier calculate the samples’ stages of hydration from the remaining anhydrous mass. Materials which showed high energy storage density and improved cycle stability during this first evaluation were cleared for multi-cycle measurements of 10 to 25 dehydration and hydration cycles at Tmax = 100 to 120°C and the evaluations at m=20 to 100g scale. An estimate for the specific heat capacities at different temperatures of the materials which passed the initial stage was calculated from the TGA/DSC results as well. The laboratory scale measurement setup went through five stages of refining, which led to reducing the intended maximum sample mass from m=100g to m=20g. A switch from supplied liquid water to water vapor as the used reactant was also implemented in exchange for improved dehydration conditions. Introducing a vacuum pump for evaporating the water limited the influence of outside heat sources during hydration and in-situ dehydration was enabled as to not disturb the state the samples were settling in between measurements. Baseline calculation from blanc measurements with glass powder and attempts to calculate the specific heat capacity cp of the tested materials by 6 applying the Joule-Lenz-law to the measurement apparatus was another step of method development. The evaluation process of the laboratory scale tests at the final setting consisted of 1 to 5 cycle measurements of in-situ dehydration and hydrations with applied vacuum for t=30 minutes at p~30mbar. Upscaling the sample mass to m=20g allowed for a close observation of different material behaviors. Agglomeration, melting and dissolving of the m=10mg samples during the TGA/DSC analysis can be deducted from the recorded measurement curves and the state of the sample after measurement. However, at laboratory scale the visible volume changes, observed sample consistency after agglomeration and an automatic removal of molten and dissolved sample mass during the measurement allowed for a better characterization and understanding of the magnitude of the actual changes. This was done for the first time, particularly for mixed salts. Of the original number of 62 samples, 4 mixtures which passed the initial TGA/DSC screening namely {2MgCl2+ KCl}, {2MgCl2+CaCl2}, {5SrBr2+8CaCl2} and {2ZnCl2 + CaCl2} were chosen for further evaluation. The multi-cycle TGA/DSC measurements of {2MgCl2+ KCl}, {2MgCl2+CaCl2} and {5SrBr2+8CaCl2} showed an improved cycle stability for all three materials over the untreated educts. Of the four materials {2ZnCl2 + CaCl2} displayed the strongest deliquescence during hydration in the upscaled experimental setup. {2MgCl2+CaCl2} proved to be the most stable material regarding the heat storage density. The {MgCl2} content of the mixture is likely to partially or completely react to {Mg(OH)Cl} at temperatures of T>110°C, which however does not impede the heat storage density. {5SrBr2+8CaCl2} displayed a low melting point in hydrated state, causing a fast material loss. This makes it an undesirable storage material. A lower heating rate may still help to avoid an early melting. The {2MgCl2+KCl} mixture was the most temperature stable of the mixtures showing no melting or dissolving behavior. A reaction of the {MgCl2} component of the mixture to {Mg(OH)Cl} was not observed within the applied temperature range of T=25 to 200°C.
Many fewer women than men try the entrepreneurial way in Germany. Any explanation for this phenomenon must be complex, as many factors are relevant for its production. Among other things, it is possible to speculate on sexual/gender discrimination, on more or less voluntary decisions of women or on different starting conditions for potential entrepreneurs. We assume that these options are closely related. This paper will concentrate, though, on the third alternative. Its focus will be set on the “family field,” or more precisely, on the role of family law in hindering women from trying self-employment. The family field in Germany has not evolved in the sense of gender equality along with all other areas of society - e.g., entrepreneurship. No gender equality is possible if the family field is not part of it. This paper analyses causes and consequences for this phenomenon.
Key Words: Gender studies, Family Law, Entrepreneurship, chance equality, social sustainability
The importance of a social perspective on the relationships between humans and nature has longbeen acknowledged. The field of social-ecological systems research in particular is striving toachieve a holistic understanding of human-nature relationships by balancing social andecological perspectives. Here I sought to develop a social understanding of the Saxon area inCentral Romania, by exploring aspects of human-nature relationships as seen from theperspective of local people. To this end, I employed the concepts of social-ecological systems(SES), ecosystem services (ES) and cultural landscapes to assess perceptions of locals throughempirical case studies.I first conducted a literature review to acquire an overview of a particular type of human-naturerelationship mediated by non-consumptive use and non-use values (“cultural ecosystemservices”). Second, to isolate and address the interaction from the social system to the ecologicalsystem, I investigated the different ways locals perceived the role of landscapes in SouthernTransylvania. I conceptually mapped these landscape preferences by revealing their potentialland use and management implications. Third, to approach the human-nature relationship fromthe ecological system to the social system, I studied the flow of ES to disaggregated humanbeneficiaries. Specifically, I studied which factors, beyond ecosystem processes and functions,influenced nature derived human well-being from the perspective of potential beneficiaries. Iconceptualised the mediating role of a range of contextual factors underpinning the currentdistribution of ES, with regard to the relation between ES and human well-being. Fourth, inorder to explore an example of bidirectional human-nature relationship, I studied the particularcase of human-carnivore coexistence and the suite of mechanisms shaping it.Despite building throughout this thesis a more complex and in-depth understanding of the humandimensions of the studied system, I chose four main cross-cutting themes to explain the human-nature connection in Southern Transylvania. These four themes may serve as pillars of a sociallyminded understanding, as well as potential research and policy foci. First, the values held bylocals are key for understanding the endemic human-nature relationships and should not beoverlooked in future social-ecological assessments or policy interventions. Second, the culturallandscape of Southern Transylvania is both a physical and virtual space of social-ecologicalinteraction fostering human-nature experiences and social-ecological knowledge integration.Third, the identified diversity of the social system in terms of landscape aspirations and ESbeneficiaries is expanding the range of human-nature connections, but at the same time, may infuture be a source of conflict or disconnection if not managed appropriately. Finally, small-scalefarmers, through their interactions with the land and resultant belief system, play a major role inmaintaining the human-nature relationships, but their values and lifestyle are threatened.
Since the early 2000s, ecosystem services strongly gained significance as a research topic. However, the temporal dimension of ecosystem services has not been taken into consideration, although this should be the basis for a sustainable long-term management of ecosystems and their services. Therefore, the author presents three articles in this thesis that deal with temporal aspects of ecosystem services. In two of them she also present a proposal for a framework for the classification of ecosystem services based on their temporal dynamics. In this dissertation she differentiates between two types of temporal aspects, both of which have in common that change takes place over a certain period of time. The concepts of transformation, transition and regime shift are used to describe changes in social or ecological systems as a whole, for example the transformation towards a more sustainable society. The temporal dynamics, on the other hand, relate to the temporal changes in ecosystem services themselves. The first article focuses on how the literature on ecosystem services incorporates social and ecological change. The second and third articles deal with the temporal dynamics of ecosystem services. While the second article presents a preliminary framework for categorizing the temporal dynamics of ecosystem services, the third article uses this framework to test how the temporal dynamics of ecosystem services are represented in the literature. Based on the insights from the three articles, the author concludes that most of the studies on ecosystem services only focus on one point in time. One reason for this is that most studies are conducted over a maximum of a four-year time span which does not allow to monitor dynamics over longer time spans.
Considering the recent success of right-wing populist candidates and parties in the United States and across Europe, there has for some years now been talk among scholars (and the wider public) about a worldwide democratic recession. The younger generations appear to be especially unsupportive of democracy’s liberal principles and more willing to express support for authoritarian alternatives. What these authors overlook, however, is that the publics of advanced industrial societies have experienced an intergenerational value shift. In fact, populations in industrial democracies have become more liberal overall, but not everyone’s mindset is changing at the same speed. It is mainly – but not exclusively – the members of the lower classes that do not keep up. While societies have generally become more liberal, there is increasing alienation between the social classes over these liberal values. Drawing on a more recent trend in social class research with a social cognitive approach, this dissertation contributes to the study of growing anti-democratic tendencies around the world by analyzing the interplay between inequality dynamics and value orientations. The focus lies on investigating the effect socio-cultural polarization (i.e., ideological polarization between social classes) has on civic culture in the mature democracies of the West. The findings suggest that it is not ideological polarization between the social classes that has the greatest negative effect on civic culture, or general civic attitudes and behavior, for that matter. It is the increasing dissent in society about whether the country’s elites are still to be trusted with making the right decisions to increase the average citizen’s quality of life. This difference in opinion manifests itself in a decline in some civic attitudes.
Uganda has been plagued by political instability in the past and wide spread abuse of human rights coupled with failed economic policies. However, the country has witnessed increased economic growth and the government has embarked on several poverty eradication programmes despite rising income inequalities and poverty in the country. The task of ensuring poverty as a human right in the country has not been an easy one for those charged with the duty of ensuring the right to freedom from poverty. This research examines the complexity of attaining the right to freedom from poverty in a country like Uganda. This study will also give a philosophical view on poverty and human rights and those responsible for ensuring the implementation of this right. Through the analysis, the research examined the key challenges faced in attaining the right to freedom from poverty in Uganda, discussed how poverty was defined through different perspectives. The information provided in the analysis is further examined by putting the theoretical findings in correspondence with the gathered empirical information for more definitive results of the study. The fundamental results and conclusion of this research revealed the overall challenges faced in regarding poverty as a human right which include how poverty is defined, the mindset, the political history of Uganda and so on. However, the study has recommended extensive research into the role of the family in ensuring poverty as a human right and further research in the effectiveness of the laws in Uganda in ensuring poverty as a human right.
Poor quality of freshwaters is a widespread problem. The concept of complexity is a particularly promising concept to analyse and address this problem, and public policy problems more generally. The main reason is the concept's strength in unifying structural features of problems within a more comprehensive structural approach to political problem-solving. So far, however, these possible benefits remained hidden given the lack of a clear understanding of complexity, ultimately hampering a systematic analysis of the implications of complexity for solutions and governance strategies. This study aims at strengthening the value of the concept of complexity for systematic comparative analyses of water-related problems and public policies in general. To achieve this goal, this work is to specify the concept of complexity as well as the implications of complexity for solutions and governance strategies, both from a theoretical and an empirical point of view. To this end, five main basic approaches are applied, referring to underlying premises, the role of an interdisciplinary approach, the European Water Framework as an empirical reference point, the integration of practical knowledge, and the focus on external validity. This dissertation provides a detailed operationalisation of complexity related to the dimensions of goals, variables, dynamics, interconnections, and informational uncertainty. It also shows that freshwater pollution-related problems in Germany differ along these five complexity dimensions. This applies to 37 types of pollution-related problems and four clusters of problems, which refer here to tame, wicked, system complexity, and uncertainty problems. This dissertation suggests that relations between complexity and policy delivery can be both positive and negative and vary along dimensions of complexity and policy delivery. Regarding the analysed freshwater pollution problems, this work also shows various effects of complexity on policy delivery, both along the 37 types of problems, and along four clusters of wicked problems. This dissertation suggests a differentiated theoretical approach to define governance for complex problem-solving, demonstrating that the role of diverse institutions, actors, and interactions differs for solutions along five key dimensions of complexity and different management strategies that are information gathering, modelling, using decision-support tools, prioritising of measures, conflict solving, deciding under uncertainty, and being adaptive and flexible.