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The Alevi movement, originating more than three decades ago in Turkey and the Western European diaspora, has led to significant social and cultural shifts within Alevi communities. This movement witnessed the emergence of Alevi associations, increased religio‐political activities, and a fervent search for a redefined Alevi identity. The quest for a comprehensive understanding of Alevi identity remains a contested debate, prominently reflected within Alevi youth, who navigate complex socio‐cultural landscapes and encounter challenges in defining their identity amidst competing narratives and associations. This paper examines the identity formation strategies of young Alevis in Berlin, drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2021 and 2023. Contrary to mainstream portrayals of Alevi youth experiencing a loss of identity, this study argues for the presence of continuity dynamics, emphasising inherited Alevi mindsets and emotions. Through interviews and analysis of a documentary produced by Berlin Alevi youth, the paper explores new narratives about Alevi history, sociology, and theology constructed by young Alevis, highlighting their role in shaping contemporary Alevism in Germany. This research contributes original data and discussions to the existing literature on Alevi youth, shedding light on their evolving identities and the dynamics of Alevi discourse in diasporic settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper shows that visions of the future can be used as a predictor of cooperation and division between actors in their efforts to shape the institutional environment, specifically policy in socio‐technical systems. Accordingly, the paper suggests a new method to analyze visions: a virtual solution space in which visions can be grouped according to their similarity. The similarity of visions is calculated based on cluster analysis. Empirically, the paper focuses on the networks between industry associations in the heating transition in the German building sector. It shows that actors whose visions of future socio‐technical system developments overlap are more likely to cooperate with each other. It also suggests that the fragmentation of the residential heating system in Germany is reflected in a fragmented actor network. Furthermore, the authors show that shared technological interests can outweigh similar visions. These fragmented technological interests hinder meaningful cooperation. This is potentially one reason why a powerful low‐carbon heating coalition in Germany that could facilitate an accelerated deployment of low‐carbon heat systems by driving policy change has not emerged to date. The paper contributes to a better understanding of how niche actors in sustainability transitions use their agency and specifically strategize to bring about institutional change. In this respect, the authors discuss how differing levels of system‐fragmentation influence transition dynamics in general and institutional change dynamics in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on joint borrowing and a significant transfer component, NextGenerationEU stands in contrast to Germany's longstanding rejection of a 'debt' and 'transfer union'. This article probes into the determinants of this shift in Germany's European policy approach. Focusing on the conflicts in Germany over the 'deepening' of the Monetary Union through fiscal capacity building between 2015 and 2020, it investigates which actors, interests and strategies instigated this shift. The analysis is based on trade and exchange rate data, a qualitative document analysis of position papers as well as expert interviews with interest group representatives, parliamentarians and civil servants. Theoretically, the study draws on concepts from regulation theory, materialist state theory and neo‐Gramscianism. It argues that even though not a fundamental paradigm shift, Germany's push for NextGenerationEU indicates a strategic re‐orientation of parts of the German power bloc towards European fiscal integration, amplified by recent geopolitical dynamics and crisis tendencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the role of linguistic capital in production and reproduction of social inequalities drawing on 20 in‐depth qualitative interviews with Chinese international students in a German university. The paper highlights that while studying abroad can provide advantages when it comes to learning a new foreign language, it can also bring some disadvantages for those who are educated in a foreign language. It underscores that being proficient in a foreign language is not solely about the ability to communicate, but also about assigning a social value to it for some speakers such as international students. Moreover, the contexts of countries of origin and education are essential. The findings indicate that being educated in a foreign language can lead to various difficulties for international students, such as feeling excluded from social circles, facing academic challenges, and encountering obstacles when trying to find a job while studying. However, despite these challenges, education in a foreign language and particularly in Germany is perceived as advantageous because it helps students to accumulate linguistic and cultural capital, which they believe will benefit them in the labour market upon their graduation. Therefore, this paper stresses the importance of not only the advantages of linguistic capital, but also the ways in which it can simultaneously function as both an advantage and a disadvantage, thereby perpetuating inequalities within and across borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Climate Law sets a legally binding target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. In this regard, in 2023 the EU Environmental Council decided that from 2035 onwards only CO2‐neutral new cars will be licensed in the European Union. Simultaneously, since the energy crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, fuel prices increased in Germany. This has made more and more households think about purchasing an e‐car. However, not every household has the opportunity to install their own wallbox, and when travelling long distances, e‐car users are dependent on the availability of ample public charging stations. Against this background, with a special focus on rural areas, this paper considers the questions whether and where spatial inequalities in the accessibility of public charging stations might currently exist. To approach these questions, based on an empirical analysis of the 2023 official location data of public charging points in Germany, we examine the nationwide distribution, accessibility and available capacity of public charging stations in Germany at small‐scale from the point of view of the 'household' as well as those who travel by e‐car within Germany. In order to evaluate the location data of public charging stations we mainly use raster‐based accessibility analysis methods as well as isotropic kernel intensity estimates. We found that, in contrast to the common belief, the network of public charging stations is quite dense. However, taking a closer look reveals that the charging infrastructure in Germany has so far been tailored to the needs of intra‐regional travelers (commuting, shopping, leisure) rather than to those of the residential population with no access to their own wallbox (daily recharging in close proximity to one's home) or the mid‐ to long‐distance travelers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To describe activities and professional characteristics of nurses in expanded roles in acute care in Germany and achieve a greater understanding of the current situation of advanced practice nursing. Background: Advanced practice nursing plays an important role in meeting increased demands in healthcare and promoting high‐quality care. Introduction: In Germany, advanced practice nursing is still at an early stage with a lack of studies describing the scope of practice of nurses in expanded roles. Methods: We conducted a cross‐sectional‐study using a paper‐and‐pencil questionnaire. In a nationwide convenience sample, we surveyed nurses with an academic degree, who work in an acute care hospital and take over expanded roles in direct patient care. Reporting followed the STROBE checklist. Results: Of 108 eligible nurses, 84 (77%) completed the survey. The majority had a Master's degree (63.1%) and the average work experience was 18.2 years. Participants carried out activities in all the domains that were queried (direct clinical practice, guidance and coaching, consultation, leadership and research) with differences within and between domains. Foci were on direct clinical practice and coaching and guidance. Discussion: In Germany, qualifications are nearing the international standard of advanced practice nursing. Results suggest that participants partly undertake activities within the scope of registered nurses' practice that do not correspond fully to their formal qualifications. Conclusion and implications for nursing and/or health policy: In order to foster the role development of expanded practice nurses in Germany, political efforts are needed in terms of training (e.g. specific Master's programmes), funding of corresponding positions in practice and control mechanisms (e.g. professional registration). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the one hand, unemployment is known to have detrimental effects on individuals' mental health. On the other hand, poor mental health reduces re‐employment chances quite drastically, creating a vicious cycle. Active labour market policies (ALMPs) such as training programs or wage subsidies have been shown to ameliorate negative effects on mental health and improve labour market integration on average for the general unemployed population. In the context of individuals with severe mental health issues, however, it is unclear whether these interventions can be expected to deliver similar positive effects. In fact, one may argue that they have the potential to worsen employment prospects of individuals by adding additional stress to their pre‐existing mental health problems. Hence, this paper estimates the long‐term causal effects of ALMPs on the labour market integration of individuals with self‐reported severe mental health issues and compares estimates to individuals without such issues using unique combined survey and administrative data. Effects are estimated using the innovative double machine learning method and show that ALMPs do not only improve labour market integration of unemployed individuals with severe mental health issues, but they do so more effectively than for other unemployed individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When countries closed their borders to curb the spread of COVID‐19 in spring 2020, seasonal migrant workers in agriculture were either unable to travel or faced unsafe conditions when performing "essential" field work. Some countries, like Germany, subsequently implemented policies to let them travel to work, and simultaneously, called on their residents to temporarily help farmers harvest crops. This paper explores the case of these temporary pandemic workers on Bavarian hops farms. Based on ethnographic research and interviews, this paper discusses the complex relationships between temporary pandemic workers, farmers, and the mostly absent seasonal workers in the exceptional moment of a global pandemic. We argue that in the state of exception of the Corona pandemic in Germany, biopolitical sorting highlighted migrant workers' indispensability and disposability in a peculiar way: their short‐term replaceability through recruited temporary pandemic workers formed a self‐ascribed "parallel universe" or "Coronal bubble". Through new encounters (with farmers) and hands‐on experiences in agricultural fields, the parallel universe often also meant uncomfortable insights into an unjust agricultural system. For those widely unexposed to agriculture, the state of exception revealed both the general and temporary biopolitics of seasonal migrant workers in agriculture and the key role they play for German agriculture as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Antipode is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Innovations in energy transitions are diverse. Community‐led innovations have only recently gained more attention. In the German energy transition, the community‐led approach has resulted in a growing number of innovative renewable energy projects, with prominent examples including bioenergy villages. Although community‐led innovations only constitute a niche within the German energy regime, through the example of bioenergy villages we can see how this approach is able to significantly change the energy regime on a local scale. This paper explores the role of community‐led actions and resources in the implementation process of bioenergy villages in Germany, using the example of the county of Marburg‐Biedenkopf in Hesse. The conceptual background of this paper is based on the analytical frameworks of the multi‐level perspective and strategic niche management. Specifically, it addresses the two recent critiques on the neglect of space and place as well as the neglect of the analysis of community‐based actions. Using this perspective, the paper analyses the spatial and scalar linkages between local community‐driven actions and extra‐local resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Towards the end of the Cold War, the vocabulary of global power, space and economy received a qualitative update. Amongst the terms rapidly gaining prominence since the early 1990s has been the notion of geoeconomics, the coining of which has frequently been attributed to the strategist Edward N. Luttwak. In his interpretation, it signified a transition away from Cold War ideological and military geopolitical competition towards commerce and market‐based geo‐power. Over the past three decades, a 'geoeconomics boom' set in, characterised by think tanks and a varied body of politico‐economic literature making extensive use of the term. Conventionally treated as a neologism, the provenance and earlier iterations of geoeconomics, some dating back more than a century, have been largely ignored by both celebratory and critical accounts. In this paper, we trace and contextualise these earlier instances, leading us to the Geopolitik era in Germany and references to geoeconomics in the United States in the decades after WWII. We thereby offer a critical genealogy of geoeconomics, conceptualised as an object of definitional struggle. Proponents of the term sought to position it variously as a tool of national economic cohesion and competition or as a way of understanding and harnessing shifting global power relations, whilst others sought to subsume geoeconomics to geopolitics. These past struggles track forward into ongoing dialectical tensions between geoeconomics and geopolitics as competing but related geostrategic visions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether the 'style' of individual auditors influences financial reporting quality in Germany. Audit quality in Germany should be uniformly high, because of strong reputational needs, strict controls on operating procedures, and quality enforcement mechanisms. An audit partner's style should not affect this quality level. However, our results do not support this expectation. Exploiting a unique dataset comprising the names of the audit engagement and review partners of listed German companies, we find that audit engagement partners in Germany have a significant influence on audit quality, beyond firm‐ and office‐level factors. In contrast, audit review partners do not have a consistent significant influence on audit quality. We measure audit quality by the level of a firm's abnormal accruals and its propensity to meet or beat an earnings target. We also find that the 2005 adoption of a new audit quality enforcement system that includes 'naming and shaming' does not reduce the influence of audit partner style on financial reporting quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of health plays an important role in the German language sports pedagogical discussion and in German curricula. It is also important here that the idea of 'Bildung'—an educational ideal in the German tradition which is still of paramount importance and which stems from the obligation of enlightenment and is intended to enable mature judgment—is a normative idea for school lessons. In terms of health in physical education, this throws up the question of whether PE for young people should not simply be focused towards a healthy lifestyle, but rather towards understanding what and how a healthy lifestyle could be and reflect on the role they want it to play in their lives in an emancipatory manner. Therefore, this paper examines the way in which health and health education are considered in current curricula in Germany. A hermeneutic oriented qualitative text analysis is carried out. Alongside differences between the states, the analysis shows an overall tendency towards narrowing down health education. The paper finally seeks to critically discuss this narrowing from a pedagogical perspective as an exemplary process which might be observed in a similar way in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the location choice of German investors in the Czech Republic based on a unique dataset covering all Czech companies with a German equity holder. Using a nested logit approach the impact of agglomeration economies, labour market conditions and distance on location choice is investigated. The main result of the paper is that apart from a low distance to the location of the parent company the attractiveness of a Czech district for German investors is mainly driven by agglomeration economies. Besides localization economies the agglomeration of German companies in a region plays a decisive role. The importance of labour market characteristics differs between investment sectors, sizes and periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary societies are not only "risk societies", but also insurance societies. While the shift of systemic risks from the community to the individual is a distinctive trait of modernity, research on the consequences of this process has focused almost exclusively on welfare state responses aimed at re‐collectivizing societal risks. Individual‐level reactions associated with the need for a private safety net against the uncertainty brought by risk societies have been largely overlooked. What happens to a society and its individuals when private insurance becomes commonplace? Focusing on Germany, we use the data of the German Socio‐Economic Panel (1984–2018) to investigate the attitudinal antecedents and consequences of contracting private insurance. As one of the most important sources of private welfare, life insurance attracts risk‐averse individuals who are highly concerned with public economic affairs and see the market‐based solutions of conservative parties as the best way to safeguard their economic security. While short‐term attitudinal effects are absent, a longitudinal approach reveals that becoming insured gradually increases economic security but also entails withdrawal from public life and aversion to parties that support social redistribution. The loss of dynamism of a society may thus be related not only to public welfare but also to a private institution at the heart of the financial markets, which moreover has privatizing, welfare‐eroding effects. The paper argues for a more general sociology of insurance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, numerous physician practices in industrial and emerging countries are being taken over by private equity firms and integrated into novel physician corporations. This involves private equity firms producing a global wealth chain (GWC) between their investors and the target asset, using offshore financial centres to facilitate tax‐avoiding reflux of capital. Moreover, they are opening up ambulatory health care as an asset for capital investment by overcoming previous market barriers to ambulatory health care via a legal construct. In this paper, we trace the spatial links of these finance‐side and sector‐specific corporate chains based on a capital flow analysis of private equity takeovers of Medical Care Centres (MCCs) in Bavaria, Germany. With our heuristics of a double‐layered GWC, which enables the extraction of value from the German health system, we contribute to the emerging GWC debate that aims to conceptualise the complex and often opaque spatialisations of financialisation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore some of the changes affecting the teaching and learning of secondary geography as a result of the COVID‐19 pandemic. In doing so, it sets a focus on geographical knowledge and its alteration in times of extraordinary measures to diagnose its challenges. Against the background of current debates on competence‐ and standard‐based education from the sociology and history of education as well as from geography education, problem‐centred interviews served to explore the perspectives of 15 German secondary school teachers on the alterations their Geography teaching suffered since the COVID‐19 lockdown. Analytical categories were general challenges, communication with stakeholders, educational media usage, and the role of COVID‐19 in geographical knowledge acquisition. The results uncovered, along with systemic challenges, two main areas in need of consideration to redefine subject‐specific knowledge in times of competence‐based education, namely geography teachers' professional identity and perspectives on the role of geographical competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that outbreaks of infectious diseases should be understood as socio‐spatial processes with complex geographies. Considering the different dimensions of space through which an outbreak unfolds, facilitates analysing spatial diffusion of infectious disease in contemporary societies. We attempt to highlight four relevant dimensions of space by applying the TPSN framework to the case of the recent COVID‐19 outbreak in Germany. By identifying key processes of disease diffusion in space, we can explain the spatial patterns of the COVID‐19 outbreak in Germany, which did not feature the well‐known patterns of spatially contagious as in or hierarchical diffusion. In contrast, we find superspreading events and especially relocation diffusion based on existing networks, on which the pathogen travelled like a blind passenger, to be more relevant. For us, these findings prove the value of combining relational thinking with geographic analysis for understanding epidemic outbreaks in contemporary societies. This paper argues that outbreaks of infectious diseases should be understood as socio‐spatial processes with complex geographies. By analyzing the early weeks of the COVID‐19 outbreak in Germany in 2020, we highlight the relevance of superspreading events and especially relocation diffusion based on existing networks, on which the pathogen travelled like a blind passenger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has highly valued the contribution of migrant economies to the development of mainly top‐scale metropolises. Migrant economies are considered a crucial asset when it comes to positioning cities internationally, revitalising neighbourhoods and generally securing the social, economic and political inclusion of migrants. Nevertheless, there is a major research gap in empirical evidence on migrant economies beyond metropolitan cities and the impact of the local context on the development of migrant economies in these localities. In order to tackle this blind spot, this paper examines how the local context fosters or hinders the development of migrant economies in two low‐scale German cities. The paper conceptualises 'local context' as comprising economic, political and socio‐cultural factors. In sum, it finds the local conditions less conducive to the development of migrant economies in the cities under scrutiny, for example, because these economies are not an urban policy issue there. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the late 20th century, public discourse in Muslim‐minority countries has centered around the question of how to classify Muslims. In this paper, we compare the state, academic, and self‐classification of Muslims in two countries: the United Kingdom and Germany. We propose that the historical experience of anti‐Semitism makes religion a more salient master category to understand Muslims in Germany, while the history of both anti‐Semitism and anti‐Black racism largely resulting from colonial domination means that religion together with race are master categories used to understand Muslims in the United Kingdom. Through this multilayered ethnographic and historical analysis, we challenge taken‐for‐granted assumptions in both the political and academic milieu about what it means to be Muslim, emphasizing the importance of the interplay between sociopolitical categories and self‐identifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Swiss Political Science Review is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper examines the labor market impacts of the Philippine Dual Training System (DTS), a vocational training program that combines firm‐based on‐the‐job training (OJT) and conventional institution‐based training, using a recent survey that tracked graduates from DTS and regular institution‐based programs. The estimation results using fuzzy regression discontinuity design show a significantly positive impact on the most recent monthly earnings. The impact significantly increases with the OJT intensity, measured by the number of hours a week in OJT. The above results imply that vocational training has to be aligned with actual production technologies and work practices to narrow skill gaps and create positive returns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the representative IAB Establishment Panel in Germany and estimating a heteroskedastic probit model with fixed effects, this paper finds a negative relationship between the existence of owner‐management in an establishment and the probabilities of having a works council or a collective bargaining agreement. We show that family firms which are solely managed by the owners or by external executives significantly differ in the presence of these kinds of worker representation. The probabilities of having works councils and (company‐level) collective agreements increase substantially if just some of the managers do not belong to the owner family. We argue that these differences cannot simply be attributed to an aversion of the owners against co‐determination and unions but suggest taking account of the notion of socio‐emotional wealth prevalent in family firms. In addition, our results support the idea that external managers mainly act as agents rather than stewards in family firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Sociolinguistics is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Drawing on the literature on Commodity Cultures, this paper analyses the deployment of geographical knowledge by German dairy firms in the promotion of (what they regard as) sustainable dairy production. The analysis is based on a content analysis including various materials (e.g. annual reports, sustainability reports, newsletters, advertisements) of 26 companies, covering around 75‐80 per cent of the German dairy market. The empirical findings show that specific forms of geographical knowledge, that is, knowledge about regions of origin, production methods and/or cultural settings, are used to primarily emphasise four sustainability issues: protection of natural/cultural landscapes; climate protection; family, community and local heritage; reciprocity of human‐animal‐nature relations. However, as the promotion of these issues is favoured, among others, by the ambiguity of the term 'sustainability', German dairy firms may capitalise on a variety of constructed narratives and pictures having the power to 'embellish' different dairy practices that are presumed to be sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Germany's economic composition is heterogenous across regions, which makes regional economic projections based on German gross domestic product (GDP) growth unreliable. In this paper, we develop forecasting models for Baden‐Württemberg's economic growth, a regional economy that is dominated by small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises with a strong focus on foreign trade. For this purpose, we evaluate the backcasting and nowcasting performance of mixed data sampling (MIDAS) regressions with forecast combinations against an approximate dynamic mixed‐frequency factor model. Considering a wide range of regional, national, and global predictors, we find that our high‐dimensional models outperform benchmark time series models. Surprisingly, we also find that combined forecasts based on simple single‐predictor MIDAS regressions are able to outperform forecasts from more sophisticated dynamic factor models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergent crisis of affordable urban housing coupled with a sustained decline in internal migration rates in many Western countries warrants a thorough exploration of the relation between housing costs and internal migration. Although it is well established that housing is an important contextual determinant of migration flows, little attention has thus far been paid to the ways in which rising housing costs shape internal migration. In this paper, we use a time‐series of annual intercounty migration in Germany for the period 2004–2017 to examine the association between increasing housing prices and changes in internal migration flows. For this, we apply fixed effects Poisson panel regression models to migration flow tables. Our results show that regions with rising housing costs experience declining inflows. In larger cities, rising housing costs are also associated with increasing outflows. Our study provides new insights into the relationship between house price dynamics and internal migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross‐culturally measurement invariant instruments are useful for the assessment of mental symptoms across cultures. The current study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties and measurement invariance of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS‐21) (DASS) across Pakistan and Germany. German participants were recruited through an online survey (N = 1323), while Pakistani participants were recruited through online survey or paper‐and‐pencil survey (N = 1841). The DASS‐21 showed good reliability, construct and structure validity in both countries. The DASS‐21 indicated partial weak (stress subscale) and partial strong measurement invariance (depression and anxiety subscales) between both countries. Latent mean comparison of depression and anxiety symptoms between Pakistani and German students indicated that Pakistani university students experience more symptoms of depression and anxiety. Results suggest that the DASS‐21 could be used in Pakistan and Germany, but caution should be taken when making direct comparisons between the two countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With an economic impact of EUR 291 billion, Germany is the number‐one European country in terms of tourism revenue. German wine regions have a long history of production, but the value of these regions as tourism destinations has only recently received recognition. In the last few years, wine tourism has gained increasing importance and is believed to result in sustainable development by creating jobs while at the same time preserving a region's heritage. The aim of this paper is to estimate the economic impact of tourism in German wine regions in order to help stakeholders make the right policy and investment decisions. Therefore, a modified multiplier model was developed that allows for the economic impact of wine tourism to be assessed. By collecting 4,448 questionnaires in all 13 German wine regions, travelers provided information about their travel behavior, expenditures, and socio‐demographic characteristics. After conducting segmentation, the economic impact of tourism as well as wine tourism was estimated for each of the wine regions. The results show that tourism in German wine regions has an economic impact of EUR 26.4 billion, providing 384,878 people with their primary income. Due to higher expenditures, wine tourists show a disproportionately high economic impact of EUR 5.0 billion, which makes this niche market generate income for 71,846 people. The right investments in this lucrative market could help balance regional economic disparities and achieve sustainable tourism development in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

River floods cause extensive losses to economy, ecology, and society throughout the world. They are driven by the space‐time structure of catchment rainfall, which is determined by large‐scale, or even global‐scale, atmospheric processes. The identification of coherent, large‐scale atmospheric circulation structures that determine the moisture transport and convergence associated with rainfall‐induced flooding can help improve its predictability and phenomenology. In this paper, we extend a methodology, used for the analysis of extreme rainfall events, to high streamflow events (HSEs). The approach combines multiple machine learning methods to link HSEs to atmospheric circulation patterns. An application to the German streamflow network using reanalysis data for the period 1960 to 2012 is presented. Daily streamflow from 166 gauges, homogeneously distributed across Germany, are used. Geopotential height fields and integrated vapor transport (IVT) are derived from reanalysis data. An unsupervised neural network, Self Organizing Maps, is applied to geopotential height to identify a finite number of circulation patterns (CPs). Event synchronization between CPs and HSEs is used to establish if they are linked or not. If they are linked, the Event Synchronization method computes the delay between the occurrence of a CP and a HSE. Finally, local logistic regression is used to estimate the probability of occurrence of a HSE, as function of CP and IVT. We demonstrate that our approach is very effective to evaluate HSE probability occurrence across Germany. Key Points: Atmospheric circulation patterns that generate high streamflow events in Germany are identifiedEvent synchronization is used to determine synchronization and delay between atmospheric circulation patterns and high streamflow eventsThe occurrence probability of high streamflow events is conditioned on atmospheric circulation patterns and integrated water vapor transport [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates reservoir quality development in tight Upper Carboniferous fluvial sandstones (Westphalian C/D) in the Lower Saxony Basin, NW Germany. The study integrates data from three outcrops (Piesberg, Woitzel and Hüggel) in the south of the basin with that from two wells (Wells A and B) located at gas fields approximately 50 km to the north. Petrographic and petrophysical data are related to the diagenetic evolution of the sandstones and the burial and structural history of the Lower Saxony Basin. The outcrop and subsurface data sets are compared in order to investigate the factors controlling reservoir quality evolution. Upper Carboniferous fluvial sandstones from the Woitzel and Hüggel outcrops and from Wells A and B have similar matrix permeabilities (0.01 to 10 mD), but matrix porosities vary between Well A (average 6%), Well B (average 10%), Woitzel (average 15%), and Hüggel (average 19%). Permeability reduction during burial is related to the formation of clay mineral cement, which was mainly controlled by variations in both the palaeo‐climate and in the sandstones' depositional composition. Matrix porosity was controlled by local differences in burial history related to basin inversion tectonics. The greater amount of inversion‐related uplift at Well B (about 2.8 km) resulted in lower thermal exposure of the Westphalian sandstones at this location, which thus show higher matrix porosities than the sandstones at Well A which were uplifted by only about 1.2 km. Further increases in porosity in the outcrop sandstones may be related to the dissolution of carbonate cement during late‐stage uplift in near‐surface conditions. Upper Carboniferous fluvial sandstones from the Piesberg quarry show the poorest reservoir characteristics compared to the samples from the subsurface and the other outcrops, with matrix porosities averaging 6% and permeabilities <0.01 mD. Reservoir quality reduction was controlled by thermal anomalies associated with a large fault at the Piesberg quarry. By contrast, a few outliers in the sample data sets from Well B and the Piesberg quarry, which have permeabilities of more than 100 mD, show that faulting or natural fracturing may enhance reservoir quality within a particular area. Faults/fractures may act as potential migration pathways for leaching fluids, or may provide fracture‐permeability systems with production potential. Depositional setting, burial‐related diagenetic processes and structural characteristics in the Lower Saxony Basin need to be carefully evaluated in order to provide an improved understanding of the reservoir quality of the Upper Carboniferous sandstones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the importance of establishment size for the German/US labour-productivity gap in manufacturing at the start of the twentieth century. First, we show that the left tail of the employment distribution by establishment size was larger in Germany than in the USA. Second, using US state data for 1909, we find a positive correlation between establishment size and labour productivity. Third, imposing the coefficients of these estimates on establishment-size differences between Germany and the USA, we calculate that a redistribution of German employment to larger establishments, as in the USA, reduces the labour-productivity gap by about 25 per cent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The burden of influenza in primary care is difficult to assess, since most patients with symptoms of a respiratory infection are not tested. The case definition of "medically attended acute respiratory infection" (MAARI) in the German physician sentinel is sensitive; however, it requires modelling techniques to derive estimates of disease attributable to influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Objectives: The objective of this paper was to review and extend our previously published model in order to estimate the burden of RSV and the differential burden of the two influenza B lineages (Victoria, Yamagata) as well as both influenza A subtypes on primary care visits. Methods: Data on MAARI and virological results of respiratory samples (virological sentinel) were available from 2010/11 until 2017/18. We updated the previously published generalized additive regression model to include RSV. Results: We found that the proportion of MAARI due to RSV is substantial only in the 0‐1‐ and 2‐4‐year‐old age groups (0‐1 years old: median 7.5%, range 4.0%‐14.8%; 2‐4 years old: median 6.5%, range 4.0%‐10.3%); in the 0‐1 years old age group, RSV leads in almost all seasons to a higher burden than any influenza type or subtype, but this is reversed in the age group 2‐4 years old. Conclusions: We succeeded in rearranging our previously published model on MAARI to incorporate RSV as well as the two influenza B lineages (Victoria, Yamagata) in the time period 2010 to 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Analytical Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The global competition for highly-skilled professionals and their knowledge has grown over the past decades. Cities have increasingly become aware of the importance of highly-skilled labour for their future development. The aim of our paper is to analyse urban policies towards highly-skilled migrants. Our paper is based on empirical research in three German university cities, Aachen, Bonn and Cologne. Our results emphasize that there is a growing awareness of local policy-makers concerning this topic. We found that the cities made efforts to create a welcoming culture in order to attract and retain highly-skilled migrants. However, there are differences between our cities regarding their approaches to attract highly-skilled migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use panel data from three waves of a large representative population survey carried out between June and November 2020 to assess in what regards and to what extent different groups of the German population are affected by the COVID‐19 crisis. Using common factor analysis, we show that people's lives are mainly affected in two ways: First, a notable fraction of the population is concerned that they or their family members and friends may get infected with the coronavirus. Second, many people suffer from socio‐economic consequences of the crisis, including a discontinuation of employment, a decrease in household income, and worries about financial troubles. Regressing these two factors on several socio‐demographic characteristics reveals that especially the socio‐economic consequences vary across population groups. Self‐employed persons, marginally employed workers, low‐income households, and families with children appear to be burdened overproportionally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the evolution of geographical concentration in German manufacturing and service sectors over a long time period. Drawing on detailed plant data of 187 industries from 1980 to 2010, we corroborate previous studies and observe substantial concentrations in both sectors. However, we also document a secular trend of deconcentration over three decades, even in knowledge‐intensive industries. By constructing counterfactual distributions, we show that the underlying mechanisms differ across sectors. Dispersion of manufacturing industries is driven by closing or contracting plants within industrial agglomerations, while dispersion of the service sector is fostered by the creation of new plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the last ten years, Chinese outward direct investment (CODI) has undergone dramatic development. It has become increasingly important on the global stage. This paper attempts to integrate the guanxi concept into the Uppsala internationalisation process model to explain CODI motivation, location choice and knowledge acquisition channels. It reveals that Chinese investment in Germany is mainly driven by the desire to explore markets and to search for strategic resources. It favours location rich in network resources. Guanxi acts as an important channel of knowledge acquisition, but it is not as important as contractual linkage because of the limited professional and industry‐related knowledge in the local Chinese community. Chinese capitalism has been shaped into a hybrid form that incorporates both modern corporate management and traditional guanxi utilisation. Research which ignores or overemphasises the role of guanxi could lead to an incorrect understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To report the interim results of the PERPRISE study (Study 509; NCT04202159), which is evaluating perampanel as the only adjunctive anti‐seizure medication (ASM) in adults with focal to bilateral tonic–clonic seizures (FBTCS) or primary generalized tonic–clonic seizures (GTCS). Methods: PERPRISE is an ongoing 12‐month multicenter, prospective, observational, non‐interventional study of perampanel in a real‐world setting in Germany. Patients are aged ≥18 years with FBTCS or GTCS due to focal or idiopathic generalized epilepsy. Perampanel, as an adjunctive therapy to ASM monotherapy ('add‐on therapy') or as a substitute for one ASM in dual therapy ('substitution therapy'), is prescribed in line with its SmPC. The Interim Analysis Set comprises the first 100 patients who received ≥1 dose of perampanel and attended or discontinued prior to the ~6‐month visit. Interim endpoints include retention rate, measures of effects on seizure frequency, and treatment‐emergent adverse events (TEAEs). Results: One hundred patients were included in the Interim Analysis Set (add‐on, n = 43 [43.0%]; substitution, n = 55 [55.0%]; unknown, n = 2). The 6‐month retention rate was 78.0% (add‐on, 83.7%; substitution, 72.7%). For the overall population with GTCS and/or FBTCS, seizure‐freedom rate at 6 months was 58.8% (add‐on, 72.2%; substitution, 47.9%) and 50% responder rate at 6 months was 82.6% (add‐on, 89.2%; substitution, 76.6%). Retention rates and seizure outcomes were better with perampanel as an early‐line treatment than as a late‐line treatment. TEAEs were reported by 48 patients (48.0%), most commonly dizziness (n = 9), fatigue (n = 7), and irritability (n = 7). Sixteen patients (16.0%) withdrew from perampanel treatment due to TEAEs. Significance: The interim analysis of PERPRISE offers insight into the real‐world use of perampanel in Germany, including for the first time, clinical practice data from patients with GTCS and switching ASMs within a dual therapy. Further data from PERPRISE will be of value to inform clinical decision‐making in this patient cohort. Plain Language Summary: Patients with epilepsy often take more than one medication for seizure control. This 12month study looked at patients in Germany receiving perampanel as only add‐on medication. The interim analysis shows, that at 6 months, over 70% of the 100 patients continued to use perampanel; 59% experienced no seizures during treatment with perampanel, and in 83%, seizure frequency was reduced by half. Side effects occurred in 48% of patients (most commonly dizziness, fatigue, and irritability) and caused 16% to withdraw from the study. Overall, perampanel was a suitable as only add‐on medication for patients with epilepsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides new evidence on the magnitude and determinants of regional differences in the gender pay gap. On the basis of a comprehensive data set of all full‐time employees in Germany, we explain the profound variation of the gender pay gap at a small‐scale level with theory‐based individual and job‐related characteristics. Using the Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition, we find pronounced spatial differences in the impact of the considered determinants. Whereas gender differences in job‐related characteristics are important drivers in regions with a high gender pay gap, individual characteristics come into effect in regions with a low and negative gap. The results underscore the role played by the establishment composition in a region and the kind of jobs provided for gendered earnings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: We show that Bertrand et al.'s (QJE, 2015,) finding of a sharp drop in the relative income distribution within married couples at the point where wives start to earn more than their husbands is unstable across different estimation procedures and varies across contexts. We apply the estimators by McCrary (JoE, 2008, McC) and Cattaneo et al. (JASA, 2020, CJM) to administrative data from the United States and Germany and compare their performance in a simulation. Large bins cause McC to substantially overreject the null hypothesis, and mass points close to the potential discontinuity affect McC more than CJM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protected areas (PA) provide conservation benefits and ecosystem services that spill over the boundaries of jurisdictions to other regions. In this paper we analyse the foundations of and design options for ecological fiscal transfers (EFT) that may internalize such positive external effects. We propose a model for integrating ecological indicators into the intergovernmental fiscal transfer system between federal and state-level governments in Germany. Our approach is performance oriented and would thus compensate those states that designate an above-average share of their area for nature conservation purposes. The suggested EFT design builds upon the existing fiscal equalization system and complies with the legal requirements for indicators determining fiscal needs. We employ an econometric analysis to demonstrate that, on average, sparsely populated states in Germany provide more PA per capita and would thus be eligible for increased fiscal transfers. A quantitative model of the fiscal transfer scheme is then used to estimate the marginal financial effects of integrating ecological indicators into federal-state fiscal relations in Germany. Moving beyond the specific case presented, we discuss the implications in terms of the specific role of EFT as a policy instrument within the broader conservation policy mix. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the role of the European Union (EU) in facilitating concessions between member states which, paradoxically, pursue discrepant foreign interests. First, the article develops a theoretical framework for the under‐researched Europeanization model of cross‐loading. Here, strategic socialization, experiential learning, and policy transfer conceptualize how national actors adopt cooperative practices from the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) into their bilateral level. Meanwhile, rational institutionalism and the politics of scale help theorize tactical coalition‐ and consensus‐building specifically between discrepant national interests, with regard to states' complementary influence capabilities within the CFSP. Second, the article tests cross‐loading to confirm Poland's conciliatory Russia policy in 2008–14 as an EU‐induced concession to Germany. Arguably, Poland who pursued its strategic interests in the Eastern Partnership tactically adopted Germany's approach towards developing parallel EU–Russia policies. Poland thus recognized German skills to build consensus on the Eastern Partnership with stronger and Russian‐oriented member states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the possibility to precipitate and to extract DNA, or RNA using an active water/ethanol Janus droplet. The active Janus droplet is initially formed by a single droplet made of a water/ethanol mixture in an oil/surfactant solution. This active droplet self-propels and absorbs surfactant molecules, by advection, while moving in the oily phase. The surfactant absorption leads to a phase separation of the water/ethanol mixture and the formation of an active Janus droplet. This active Janus droplet is made of a water-rich leading droplet and an ethanol-rich trailing droplet. We employ this phase separation method to precipitate and to extract DNA, RNA, or DNA/RNA mixtures independently, in an automatic manner. This automatic precipitation and extraction of DNA, or RNA, is achieved by tuning their water solubility with the addition of salt and then it is demonstrated by fluorescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses how workers in Germany's automotive industry developed power in the process of a transnational carve out - namely the carve-out of the rubber and plastics department of the German automotive supplier ZF Friedrichshafen AG to the Chinese based Zhuzhou Times New Material Technology Co., Ltd. in 2013. The worker's actions were successful because they used their production network knowledge and decided against a strategy of pure co-operative co-determination but implemented a strategy of resistance. They concentrated their resistance on the weak points within the value creation processes of the automotive production network. On the basis of this, the authors argue that production network knowledge can be used to develop collective power within organisations. The study is based on qualitative interviews with ZF observing participation of workers events and a press analyses on the particular acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the theoretical concept that a city is always influenced by the relations it has to its hinterland and to other cities. Taylor and colleagues point out that city-city relations and city-hinterland relations can be understood as two sides of a coin. Using this conception the polycentric structure and dynamics of the German urban system can be described through: (i) metropolitan functions representing city-hinterland relations (cosmopolitanity) and (ii) a network of cities representing city-city relations (connectivity). Measuring separately the degrees of cosmopolitanity and connectivity, we look at whether the German urban system after reunification has grown together, becoming one balanced urban system, and what role Berlin - as the new capital in the overall system - now has. The results of the two perspectives are compared and analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last 25 years, a large number of studies have looked at the demographic differences between the previously divided eastern and western parts of Germany. The two regions have converged with respect to mortality and overall fertility levels. But in terms of family formation behaviour, differences remain. Non-marital births are the norm in eastern Germany, whereas they are still the exception in western Germany. Various explanations for these differences have been offered, with the most persuasive linking policy and socio-economic conditions in eastern and western Germany after 1945 with the persistence of regional patterns. Here, we show that the non-marital fertility divide pre-dates the 1945 division of Germany. Indeed, already in the early 20th century, the areas of eastern Germany that made up the German Democratic Republic had, on average, roughly twice the non-marital fertility levels of western Germany. In the first part of our paper, we document the history of this longstanding pattern and provide a set of explanations for its emergence. In the second part, we apply multi-level models to birth register data to explore whether East-West differences in nonmarital fertility would remain even under scenarios such as convergence in secularisation levels and economic conditions. The persistence of the past suggests that explanations for family formation differences between eastern and western Germany based solely on themost recent and current conditions are incomplete, and that convergence, if it occurs at all, will take longer than anticipated, perhaps lasting many decades or more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies about Islamist‐inspired terror attacks in the Western world have identified a recently declining impact on public opinion. What explains this development? I argue that the wider audience of terrorist attacks has become desensitized. Cognitive desensitization occurs when citizens increasingly expect an attack, reducing the likelihood of attitudinal change. Emotional desensitization occurs when audiences lose sensitivity to attacks, tempering emotional arousal. To assess the implications of desensitization, I analyze a survey conducted around the Berlin Christmas market attack in 2016 and account for baseline information of the surveyed individuals, an approach not used before due to data limitations. I find that attitudes like trust in government, national identification, and views of Islam remain unchanged. Sadness and anger are heightened in the immediate aftermath of the attack. The wider German audience may thus have expected an attack but still be emotionally sensitive to it in the short term. These findings are relevant as political leaders have justified important policy changes in fields like migration and even war making with reference to supposed shifts in public opinion after attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Especially for extreme precipitation or floods, there is considerable spatial and temporal variability in long term trends or in the response of station time series to large-scale climate indices. Consequently, identifying trends or sensitivity of these extremes to climate parameters can be marked by high uncertainty. When one develops a nonstationary frequency analysis model, a key step is the identification of potential trends or effects of climate indices on the station series. An automatic clustering procedure that effectively pools stations where there are similar responses is desirable to reduce the estimation variance, thus improving the identification of trends or responses, and accounting for spatial dependence. This paper presents a new hierarchical Bayesian approach for exploring homogeneity of response in large area data sets, through a multicomponent mixture model. The approach allows the reduction of uncertainties through both full pooling and partial pooling of stations across automatically chosen subsets of the data. We apply the model to study the trends in annual maximum daily stream flow at 68 gauges over Germany. The effects of changing the number of clusters and the parameters used for clustering are demonstrated. The results show that there are large, mainly upward trends in the gauges of the River Rhine Basin in Western Germany and along the main stream of the Danube River in the south, while there are also some small upward trends at gauges in Central and Northern Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]