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The COVID-19 pandemic has simultaneously created both opportunities and challenges for the emerging field of virtual exchange: On one hand, institutional administrators and funding organisations saw virtual exchange as the solution to global learning needs while physical travel was restricted and traditional mobility programmes were suspended. On the other hand, instructors felt overwhelmed by transitioning all of their teaching online, and without physical access to their educational institutions, many students and instructors lacked reliable internet connections or safe places to engage in learning, not to mention the financial burdens of the pandemic. This moderated panel discussion which took place during the IVEC 2020 conference invited diverse perspectives to explore the impacts of the pandemic on virtual exchange in various contexts around the world. Central to the discussion were issues of equity, inclusion and justice: Is virtual exchange truly a more accessible and equitable form of global learning, as it is often promoted to be? In this video contribution, Eva Haug moderates the conversation between Maha Bali, Paulo Goes, and Anita Patankar around the following questions. • How is virtual exchange a solution to global learning during COVID-19? • What have been the two to three most relevant impacts of the pandemic on virtual exchange activity at your institution, in your country, or region of the world? • How can we as a field of practitioners maintain and sustain the current momentum and interest in VE in a post-COVID-19 world? • Can intercultural exchange be apolitical? • If an institution is in a position of power or privilege, how can they create space in virtual exchange for institutions that are less represented? The video recording is accessible on: https://vimeo.com/459415071 (CC BY-NC-NC)

A recently published study from Germany suggested an increased risk of liver cancer among NDMA-contaminated generic valsartan users. However, studies from the US showed that generic versus brand-name drug users differ regarding socioeconomic characteristics. If also true for Germany, this might have biased the results on NDMA-contaminated valsartan given that the socioeconomic status was not considered in the analysis. We, therefore, investigated for the first time whether users of brand-name versus generic preparations in Germany differ by socioeconomic status. Based on a large claims database (GePaRD), we conducted a cross-sectional study including individuals with ≥1 valsartan dispensation in 2017. Among 495,832 individuals, we observed no meaningful differences between generic versus brand-name valsartan users regarding educational level or socioeconomic deprivation. Our results suggest brand-name versus generic drug users in Germany to be comparable regarding the socioeconomic status, thus, supporting the validity of findings on harmful effects of NDMA-contaminated valsartan exposure.

Background: The socioeconomic status is often an important confounder in the context of epidemiological studies. However, this information is typically not included in studies based on claims data, possibly due to a lack of knowledge regarding the completeness and validity of the available information.Objectives: Our aim was to assess and evaluate the socioeconomic status in the German Pharmacoepidemiological Research Database (GePaRD).Methodology: First, an algorithm was developed to assign an educational status to individuals insured in 2017 in order to estimate the socioeconomic status at the individual level. For comparison, the socioeconomic status was estimated based on the place of residence. For plausibility, we examined whether the known association between the presence of obesity and the socioeconomic status could be reproduced.Results: Based on different age groups it was possible to dichotomously estimate the socioeconomic status for 86–93% of those under 60 years of age and for 67% of the 60- to 69-year-olds. For individuals 70 years and older, the proportion of missing values was very high. In all subgroups, the prevalence of obesity was higher among persons of lower socioeconomic status than among persons of higher socioeconomic status. The estimation based on the place of residence produced plausible results, but with smaller differences by socioeconomic status.Discussion and conclusion: Overall, the study results suggest that in terms of plausibility and completeness the information available in GePaRD is well suited for estimating the individual socioeconomic status for age groups up to 69 years.

A high quantity of well-dated, high-resolution, continuous geoarchives is needed to connect palaeoenvironmental reconstructions with socio-environmental and cultural transformations in a geographically heterogeneous region such as southern Greece. However, detailed and continuous palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental archives from the NE Peloponnese are still sparse. Here, we present two new palaeolake archives of Pheneos and Kaisari covering the last 10 500 and 6500 years, respectively. For the last 5000 years, we compare them with sediment records from adjacent Lake Stymphalia and the Asea valley by applying the same set of sedimentological, geochemical, and statistical analyses to all four lacustrine archives. Continuous geochemical X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanning records provide evidence for hydrological variations and environmental changes since the Early Helladic period (5050 BP), the beginning of the Bronze Age in Greece. We hereby focus on different spatial scales to estimate the validity range of the proxy signals. Ten elements were selected (Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Rb, Sr, Zr) for a principal component analysis. The clr(Ca∕Ti) was chosen as the most meaningful proxy, reflecting varying input of carbonaceous vs. clastic input, which may be linked to changes in the hydrological conditions. Our results show phases when permanent lake water bodies existed (ca. 5000–3600 cal BP) as well as phases with periodic desiccation of the lakes during younger times. While Pheneos and Kaisari show a drying trend during the transition phase from the Late Helladic period to the Proto-Geometric period (ca. 3200–2800 cal BP), Stymphalia and Asea show a rather short dry peak around 3200 cal BP followed by a wetter phase. Although all our geoarchives show evidence for drier phases, their timing and duration display considerable site-to-site differences which may be explained by site-specific responses in individual ecosystems. Age uncertainties, however, may likewise explain some deviations, as the dating is based on bulk sediment samples including potential unknown reservoir effects. The high regional geographical diversity within the Peloponnese combined with the dating challenges in the limestone-rich area and the variation in our data testify that any hypothetical mono-causal connection between palaeoenvironmental changes in a single geoarchive and contemporaneous societal transformations across the Peloponnese would be an oversimplification.

The application of mixed methods in researching digitalisation and rural development has numerous benefits in terms of the integration of various data sources. In this paper, we present a novel, mixed methods approach that combines digital and analogue methods. We investigate multilocal work arrangements of knowledge workers in Switzerland who mainly work in a central urban area but occasionally withdraw to peripheral mountain regions in order to conduct their work in a concentrated and undisturbed environment. To analyse such multilocal work arrangements, we use a mixed methods approach that incorporates six integrated methods: geotracking, laptop and smartphone tracking, self-administered digital diaries, ethnographic walk-along observations and qualitative semi-structured interviews. Our study illustrates that mixed methods in digitalisation research provide in-depth insights, but that they also have limitations. Furthermore, we show how ethical standards can and should be used to create a basis of trust with the study participants and how this affects the recruitment of the sample.

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Die Akzeptanz unter Bewohnern und Bewohnerinnen gewinnt bei hoch komplexen, technisch anspruchsvollen energetischen Sanierungen als „Innovationsmotor“ zunehmend an Relevanz. Der Beitrag basiert auf zwei Fallstudien zur partizipativen Nutzereinbindung bei energetischen Sanierungen im genossenschaftlichen Wohnbau historischer Stadtquartiere in Regensburg. Neben einer sozialverträglichen Sanierung wurde jeweils ein hohes Maß an Energieeffizienz bei den technischen Lösungen angestrebt. Haushaltsbefragungen und qualitative Interviews zeigen die hohe Akzeptanz von Sanierungsmaßnahmen, sofern die Senkung der Energiekosten die erhöhte Miete kompensiert. Abschließend werden Akzeptanzfaktoren wie Partizipation, Vertrauen, Sozialverträglichkeit und Autarkie erörtert.

Auch die Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin stellt die COVID-19-Pandemie vor beträchtliche Herausforderungen. Zugleich aber setzt der Handlungsdruck, nach Schließung ihrer Häuser für den Publikumsverkehr zentrale Informations- und Serviceangebote aufrechtzuerhalten, Vernetzungs- und Flexibilisierungsdynamiken in Gang, die zu einer Beschleunigung bereits eingeleiteter institutioneller Transformationsprozesse führen. Die in diesem Zusammenhang ergriffenen Maßnahmen in ihren Auswirkungen vor allem auf die Organisationskultur der Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin darzustellen, ist Absicht dieses Beitrags.

The increasing penetration of global capitalism, ambitious development efforts, and related environmental change have significantly transformed Kalimantan and its indigenous population, commonly referred to as Dayak, during the last decades. This article analyzes these processes from a gendered perspective and explores how gender relations among the Dayak, who generally are characterized by well-balanced gender relations, have been influenced by what is commonly referred to as ‘development’. A review of the existing literature shows that new asymmetries between men and women are emerging mainly due to different ways of inclusion in new economic systems. Based on research among the Dayak Benuaq, the article shows that far-reaching gender equality has been so far upheld within Benuaq society while gender gets interwoven with an increasing variety of inequalities. I argue that in order to capture this complexity, research on the gendered impacts of development should a) aim for a better understanding of the intertwinement of gender with other aspects, such as ethnicity, class, age, or education, b) pay more attention to how these aspects play out in different contexts, and c) differentiate more clearly between gender ideals, norms, and actual practice.