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This paper presents a physical input-output table (PIOT) that shows the complete wood and paper flow through the economic system of Germany. The PIOT illustrates the wood and paper flow between different sectors and to different types of final use. It can be used both as a monitoring instrument and for scenario analysis. The hypothetical extraction method is applied in order to assess inter-industry linkages and single out key industries. Despite the wide variety of wood-based products and the versatile use of wood, it turns out that there is a surprisingly linear organization of the production system when it comes to the flow of wood and paper through Germany (“throughput economy”). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the recycling attitudes of consumers in Germany and Japan, based on our nationwide questionnaires. We analyzed consumption behavior as well as recycling behavior in narrow sense, becauseit is important to study the former to see how the supply of recycled materials is balanced with the demand, particularly in Japan which exports little recycled materials. Toilet paper was adopted as a specific good for study, because consumers have options of buying virgin products and recycled products. It was found that German households pay for waste collection specifically and have higher recycling rates than Japanese households. On the other hand, similar figures in German and Japanese consumers were observed with regard to consumption of recycled products. Their purchasing criteria and preference on virginand recycled products of toilet paper were examined by self-report and blind test with 2x 2 experimental design for toilet paper (German versus Japanese, virgin versus recycled). Blind test showed that people prefer domestic and virgin products in both countries. Half of respondents rating virgin products guessed that the products contained recycled material. For Japanese, the material of the sample toilet paper, made from virgin pulp, seems to be a more determining factor thanthe nationality of products, i.e. made in Japan. On the other hand, for Germans, the domestic nature seems to be a more dominant factor than the material, i.e. made from virgin material. Canonical discriminant analysis in conjunction with logistic regression based on self-reporting data detected the characters `multiplied', `appearance' and `brand' as major factors making the difference in preference between the two countries. The possible reasons causing the similarity and dissimilarity between the two countries are discussed with reference to the background history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of networks has been growing attention in recent decades in explaining political behaviour. Political nexus aspects also get on the agenda in studying various resources of status attainment. Despite the general realization of these relevant network implications, some conceptual and measurement issues are still debatable. In this paper, we introduce a new tool for measuring political acquaintanceship networks, the Party Nexus Position Generator (PNPG). We will show how one of the most widely used SNA-instruments, the technique of position generator, could be transformed to apply for the measurement of political networks. We tested the tool in two countries, Germany and Hungary, with surveys administered by different methods: online and face-to-face. The presentation of findings on German and Hungarian political networks may help us understand how the broader settings affect the composition of political networks and their influences on political behavior. Results from two different countries may also contribute to assess the validity of the PNPG tools introduced by our study. • We introduce a new tool for measuring political acquaintanceship networks, the Party Nexus Position Generator (PNPG). • The PNPG tool measures two aspects of ego-network political networks, political nexus diversity, and political homophily. • In this paper, we present some basic and more advanced indices extracted from PNPG. • Studying our indices in a joint framework present a research direction of interest with various comparative perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen is regarded as a key component of future low-carbon energy systems. Yet, for the implementation of hydrogen technologies on a large scale it is necessary to consider social acceptance. Studies on acceptance of hydrogen technologies have resulted in neutral to positive evaluations. This paper extends previous studies by focusing on large-scale hydrogen infrastructure. Within the project ELEGANCY, quantitative data on the acceptance was gathered among the German population. The results confirm the positive perception of hydrogen on a general level. However, the high level of acceptance is decreasing when it comes to infrastructure implementation in the own neighbourhood. In this paper, the gap between acceptance of hydrogen technology on a general level and the level of its infrastructural implementation is analysed, focusing on new pipeline infrastructure. The results show that sociodemographic factors, especially the variable age, as well as project-related factors, especially trust in stakeholders, have a high explanatory power. • Hydrogen technology is highly accepted in the German population. • Acceptance is decreasing, when it comes to large-scale infrastructure. • Effects of NIMBY are related to project-related, personal and place-based factors. • NIMBYism can be addressed through increasing trust in stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While e-shopping may trigger more but shorter trips, i.e., within walkable distances, frequent e-shoppers see private car as more reliable. However, research addressing the interplay between e-shopping and transport mode choice is scarce and mostly focused on urban areas. Against this background, the paper complements current literature by answering the following research question: Is e-shopping behaviour associated with walking to in-store retail instead of using a private car, and what are the differences between urban and rural environments? Germany serves as the spatial laboratory, with the data from the 2017 Mobilität in Deutschland (MiD) survey providing comprehensive insights on mobility and its socio-economic elements. Three logistic regression models are carried out to explore the impact of e-shopping frequency on transport mode choice for three different spatial settings: large agglomerations (≥100,000 inhabitants), urban counties, and rural counties. The results show that people who buy online more frequently in urban and rural counties tend to reach in-store destinations by car instead of walking. On the other hand, the frequency of e-shopping and walking mode choice do not present any association on large urban agglomerations. The socio-economic analysis shows that car owners tend to reach in-store retail by car, while those with higher household incomes are more likely to walk. The paper ends with a discussion of how the results can inform sustainable transport systems to find a balance between online and in-store shopping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We causally analyse the link between immigrants and crime in Germany for 2008–2019. • The effect is positive for the early sub-period and negative or insignificant for the later one. • When analyzing the total period, the estimates average out to zero. • We study the composition of the migrant group. • The type of residence permit plays an important role. The paper empirically analyses the causal relationship between immigrants and crime using data for German administrative districts between 2008 and 2019. Before the refugee crisis (2008–2014), an increase in the current share of immigrants increased the total crime rate. In contrast, the effect was negative (or insignificant) during and after the refugee crisis (2015–2019). When analysing the total period, the estimates average out to zero. Studying more closely the composition of the migrant group, a plausible explanation of the negative (or insignificant) effect of immigrants on crime in the later period is related to a larger share of migrants with a less certain residence status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covid-19 seriously impacts and endangers lives of millions worldwide. To fight the spread of the virus, governments have taken various restricting measures including stay at home orders. Ultimately, the home delivery volume increased significantly, which still bears the risk of human–human infection during the final delivery. From a logisticians perspective, autonomous delivery vehicles (ADVs), which are a contactless delivery solution, have the potential to radically change the way groceries are delivered to customer homes and help to stop the spread of the virus. However, to date, research on user acceptance of ADVs is rare. This paper theoretically extends the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) including gender as a moderator. The study is based on quantitative data collected in Germany through an online questionnaire (n = 501). Data were analysed using structural equation modelling. The results indicate that trust in technology, price sensitivity, innovativeness, performance expectancy, hedonic motivation, social influence, and perceived risk determine behavioural intention. However, some constructs are only significant for women. The findings of this paper have theoretical, managerial and policy contributions and implications within the areas of last-mile delivery and technology acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is based on research conducted with support from the German Academic Exchange (DAAD) Research Stays for Academics funding. While German cities vary in their transport patterns and mobility cultures (Klinger et al. 2013; Scheiner 2012); they have in common federal laws including those defining the purpose of public streets and the basis of rights to them. This paper examines how such higher-level legal norms and rights relating to public streets shape and constrain parking management across heterogenous German cities. Following Treib et al. 's (2007) typology of modes of governance, the paper argues that certain binding or 'hard' federal policy dimensions frame competing claims to curb space. They do so in ways that privilege parked cars as traffic ; and that constrain the limited political frameworks within which German cities may vary their approaches to parking. They also define the conditions through which emerging forms of mobility are able to be established (Marsden et al. 2020). The paper draws on interviews, primarily with transport planners, undertaken to compare car parking approaches across 8 German cities with different transport mode shares; and on a desktop review of parking and related laws mentioned in these interviews. • Examines how higher-level legal norms and rights shape parking management in German cities of varying transport and mobility cultures. • German road laws restrict parking fines and use of revenue, define the purpose of streets as traffic , and define car parking as traffic. • Following Treib et al's (2007) typology of modes of governance, argues 'hard' federal policy dimensions frame competing claims to curb space. • Implications include high rates of illegal parking; limits to pricing or conversion of street space; and uneven take-up. • Road rights privileging parked cars encode 20th century automobility, and define conditions through which new forms of mobility may emerge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short-term forecasting of electricity generation from variable renewable energy sources is not an end in itself but should provide some net benefit to its user. In the case of electricity trading, which is in the focus of this paper, the benefit can be quantified in terms of an improved economic outcome. Although some effort has been made to evaluate and to improve the profitability of electricity forecasts, the understanding of the underlying effects has remained incomplete so far. In this paper, we develop a more comprehensive theoretical framework of the connection between the statistical and the economic properties of day-ahead electricity forecasts. We find that, apart from the accuracy and the bias, which have already been extensively researched, the correlation between the forecast errors and the market price spread determines the economic implications - a phenomenon which we refer to as 'correlation effect'. Our analysis is completed by a case study on solar electricity forecasting in Germany which illustrates the relevance and the limits of both our theoretical framework and the correlation effect. • The economics of short-term electricity forecasts are studied analytically and empirically. • The value and the risk of forecast-based electricity trading are evaluated. • We find that the economics depend on the correlation of forecast errors with prices. • Hence, the most accurate forecast is not necessarily the most accurate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vaccination is the most celebrated and denigrated achievement of medicine and public health – not only today, but since Edward Jenner's time (1798). In fact, the idea of injecting a mild form of "disease" into a healthy person was attacked even earlier than the discovery of vaccines. The forerunner of Jenner's vaccination with bovine lymph was the inoculation of smallpox material from person to person, which, known in Europe since the beginning of the eighteenth century, was a target of harsh criticism. The reasons for criticizing the Jennerian vaccination and its mandatory practice were medical, anthropological, biological (vaccination is not safe), religious and ethical (it is wrong to inoculate a healthy person with disease), and political (vaccination is a threat to individual freedom). As such, anti-vaccination groups emerged in England, where inoculation was adopted early, as well as overall in Europe and in the United States. This paper focuses on the lesser known debate that arose in Germany in the years 1852–53 about the medical practice of vaccination. This is an a important topic of public health that has aroused a wide debate and comparison especially in recent years and now with pandemic on Sars-Cov-2 (Covid-19) and will probably be the subject of further reflection and consideration in the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental catastrophes, including the increased severity and frequency of climate extremes, can act as "windows of opportunities" that challenge citizens' mental models and motivate them to engage in reflective processes, challenging their pre-conceived ideas. Less well understood is whether experiencing changing weather conditions, common in mid-latitudes, can have a similar effect and increase the citizens' concerns about climate change and their willingness to accept more stringent climate policies. In this paper, we investigate the effects of changing seasonal temperature on the perceived seriousness of climate change and willingness to mitigate climate change. We use data from four yearly waves of a spatially explicit representative population survey in Germany and weather records from the postal code areas in which they live. To our knowledge, this study is the first analysis to link individual perceptions towards climate change and different mitigation options with seasonal temperature changes at specific locations in Europe. The analyzed perceptions were strongly influenced by socio-demographic characteristics and broader societal changes, as well as individual experiences of seasonal temperatures. The results show that experienced seasonal temperature change influences personal climate change concerns as well as the willingness to mitigate climate change, although with a weaker effect. The results indicate that it is the absolute temperature variation experienced that is important, rather than whether it is getting colder or warmer than usual. Considering the influences identified in this study can offer a window of opportunity for more stringent and targeted climate change policy. • Seasonal temperature changes influence climate change perception. • Effects can offer a window of opportunity for more stringent climate change policy. • Governmental mitigation policy solutions less supported than self-determined options. • Perceptions influenced by broader societal changes as well as individual experiences. • Need for targeted climate change communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contemporary times, where most academic research mainly focuses on the factors of economic and environmental sustainability and emissions reduction. Yet, very little attention has been paid to the identification of the factors of renewable energy, which requires appropriate policy-level attention. Consequently, this research investigated two developed economies, i.e., Germany and the USA, from 1991 to 2021 where, the objective of the study includes using novel and robust empirical methods to test the causal relationship between renewable energy and CO2 emissions, economic growth, technological innovations and oil prices. Using the normality and unit root estimators, this study observed that non-normal data distribution, yet all the variables are stationary. Using time-series and panel cointegration tests, the results validate the cointegration between economic growth, oil prices, carbon emission, technological innovation, and renewable energy adoption in the United States whereas Germany does not show cointegration between the variables. This study employ 's the Morlet-Wavelet approaches and key findings show that all these variables have a significant role in improving renewable energy adoption in both the region. Furthermore, results show a unidirectional and bidirectional causal association between the variables via the panel-stacked Granger causality test. This study recommends effective policy ramifications concerning improved investment in technological innovation, improved low-carbon production, and diverting economic growth to renewable energy transition. Use of improved new time-series method of wavelet coherence show the key contribution in this paper with new evidence of time frequency analysis on how external variables affect renewable energy consumption in developed countries of US and Germany. The objective includes understanding the effects of CO2 emissions, economic growth, technological innovations and oil prices on renewable energy which would give evidence to policy makers and environmentalists on how developed countries should improve clean energy adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two comments submitted in critique of our paper (Gössling et al. 2023) present an opportunity to discuss principles of CBA and their use in transport contexts. The critique needs to be discussed in context, as CBA is not an objective tool of evaluation and relies on specific assumptions. For this reason, we begin our response with an introduction to the German transport context, including developments in car ownership and background on the German Climate Protection Act that legally requires all economic sectors to reduce emissions. This framing is important to correctly understand our response to Sieg (2024) as well as Eisenkopf et al. (2024). Overall, we note that many of their criticisms lack merit, while others depend on viewpoint. We conclude that, specifically considering current price levels for fuels, our findings are not in question: a speed limit is warranted for welfare reasons; it is supported by a majority of the population; and it can help closing the emission gap in the transport sector. Findings are also discussed within the wider framework of "desirable" transport systems, illustrating the limitations of CBA and the dangers of tailoring results in ways that lend credibility to specific forms of transport governance, as apparently favored by Sieg (2024) and Eisenkopf et al. (2024). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between locus of control (LOC) and the demand for supplementary health insurance (SUPP). Drawing on longitudinal data from Germany, we document robust evidence that individuals internal LOC increases the take up of supplementary private health insurance (SUPP). We find that the effect of one standard deviation increase in the measure of internal LOC on the probability of SUPP purchase is equivalent to a 14 percent increase in household income. Second, we find that the positive association between self-reported health and SUPP becomes small and insignificant when we control for LOC. These results suggest that LOC might be an unobserved individual trait that can partly explain previously documented evidence of advantageous selection into SUPP. Third, we find comparable results using data from Australia, which enhances the external validity of our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Six analytical categories for local public incumbents in transitioning infrastructure network industries. • Link of analytical categories to the triple embeddedness framework (Geels, 2014). • Iterative theory building – linking public corporate governance and network industries theory with empirical study results. • Empirical evidence from six urban utility companies in Germany and Switzerland. The understanding of incumbents' behaviour in sustainability transitions in the energy sector is gaining increasing scholarly attention. However, two key structural characteristics of many incumbents in the energy sector are hardly taken into account: they are mostly public companies and they are operating in infrastructure network industries. Furthermore, studies on incumbents in the energy sector do not consider the multi-scalar situation of federal energy governance systems, as in Germany and Switzerland. This paper presents six analytical categories, which reveal the specifics of public energy companies and provide categories for a more precise analysis. They are developed through an iterative theory building process, combining empirical evidence from urban utility companies in Germany and Switzerland and theoretical insights from public corporate governance and network industries literature. Finally, the paper discusses, how these categories can be linked to the triple embeddedness framework (Geels, 2014) and transferred to other infrastructure sectors (e.g. the telecommunication or the railway sector) to enrich the understanding of public incumbents in sustainability transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper was to perform a mortality evaluation of skin cancer screening (SCS) in Germany using General Local Health Insurance Fund (AOK) data. AOK-insured men and women aged 35–99 years who died of cutaneous malignant melanoma in 2015–2016 were identified. Controls were AOK-insured people who survived to the end of each case's year of death. For each case, 10 controls were matched. The SCS history of each individual was reconstructed using the billing codes 01745 and 01746. In total, 1037 melanoma deaths and 10,370 controls were included. Cumulative SCS prevalence increased among controls over calendar years, as expected (males and females, 2009: 13.5% and 12.5%; 2015: 52.1% and 55.1%). In contrast, among cases, cumulative SCS prevalence was already high in 2009 and did not show a monotonic increase over the years of diagnosis. Of the 1037 melanoma deaths, 224 (21.6%) had at least one SCS settled in the 12 months after diagnosis. A mortality evaluation with health insurance data alone is not possible because SCS billing codes are not only used for real SCS but also for occasion-related diagnostic work-up of abnormal skin findings. A mortality evaluation with health insurance data requires an individual linking with data of the screening physician and the cancer registries. • The German skin cancer screening program was started in August 2008. • To date, no mortality evaluation has taken place. • Using health insurance data, we conducted a case–control study. • Health insurance data on skin cancer screening in Germany are biased. • Billing codes for screening are also used for diagnostic work-up of skin cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low temperature (LT) heat sources (HS) below 100 °Ccontain high amounts of renewable energy available in the form of air, water, and ground. If leveraged properly, these heat sourcescan be utilized through large-scale heat pumps and other conversion techniques to supply district heating networks and assist in the energy transition. Therefore, all local municipal heat sources need to be assessed for their potential and availability. Individually assessing each heat source, including air (ambient and exhaust), water (rivers, lakes, oceans, wastewater), and soil (surface and deep geothermal) will contribute to more informed decision-making for municipal energy planners. In this regard, this paper suggests an indicator-based heat source evaluation method using open-source data to analyze potential and availability of local renewable heat sources to support large-scale heat pump implementation into district heating in Germany. The authors present a five-step method that introduces a comprehensive indicator-based procedure: (i) identify heat sources, (ii) evaluate the heat source availability and potential based on technical, economical, ecological and regulatory indicators including an assessment of the quantitative data condition and relevance, (iii) approximate the cost of heat source extraction and supply, (iv) compare the potentials and costs and (v) give recommendations to municipal heat planners. The method is demonstrated in a case study, covering the German city of Fellbach. Following this, insights into promising heat sources are discussed to increase the application and understanding for decision-makers, as well as the risks involved with the temporal uncertainty of heat supply. This article serves as guidance to understand the evaluation of low-temperature renewable heat sources based on a step-by-step indicator calculation. • We present a method for assessing energy potentials of low-temperature heat sources. • Distinct steps to identify, evaluate and compare heat sources are outlined. • The method considers time-varying constraints, regulatory, and environmental aspects. • An application is shown on the example of a case study in Fellbach, Germany. • We provide a framework to enable energy planners to leverage natural heat sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The German Rhineland is home to the world's largest opencast lignite coal mine and human-made hole – the Hambach mine. Over the last seven years, RWE, the mine operator, has faced an increase in militant resistance, culminating in the occupation of the Hambacher Forest and acts of civil disobedience and sabotage. The mine provides a European case study to examine the repressive techniques deployed by RWE to legitimise coal mining in the face of a determined opposition. Drawing on political ecology literature and work on corporate counter-movements, this paper peers into extractive industries and their corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagements through the lens of corporate counterinsurgency. We first provide some background to the mine and RWE's unique position in the German political economy. After explaining the rise of resistance, the paper then discusses counterinsurgency in relation to CSR by outlining the different techniques used to win the ‘hearts’ and ‘minds’ of people around the mine. This includes securing the support of political leaders, lobbying, involvement in social events, infrastructure projects, astroturf groups and ecological restoration/offsetting work, which combine with overtly repressive techniques by public and private security forces that together attempt to legitimise the mine and stigmatise, intimidate and criminalise activists. This paper contents that counterinsurgency techniques are becoming normalised into the everyday operations of RWE, naturalising its image as ‘good corporate citizen’ and legitimising and invisibilising the violence towards (non)human nature inherent in the corporate-state-mining-complex, as mining is becoming part of the ‘green economy’ and made ‘sustainable’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, rural residents' participation within their local communities has attracted attention within scientific and political debates that focus on sustaining or improving the quality of life in villages. Retired older people feature centrally in these discussions, as they are perceived to have the time and life experience to participate in various local activities. This paper contributes to the existing literature through an examination of older villagers' participation and non-participation within their communities in a strongly ageing rural area in Germany. Applying mixed methods and using survey data compiled for older residents, we identified six groups differentiated according to four types of participative practices and two main rationales for non-participation within villages in this region, thus introducing nuances and complexity to both sides of the participation/non-participation dichotomy. Our comparison of these six groups, considering their socio-economic characteristics and residential histories, revealed that women were underrepresented in positions of responsibility and that poor health and advanced age were primary reasons for non-participation. There were minor differences in the participation of village stayers and incomers, who accounted for a larger share of non-participants. As strategies to sustain or improve local quality of life should accommodate the interests of all residents, we advocate raising awareness regarding non-participant groups within research and policy contexts. • Around 75% of older people participate in various ways in their local communities. • Health concerns and advanced age are key reasons for non-participation. • Village stayers and incomers equally accept responsible positions. • Large proportions of non-participants are incomers and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relationship coffee models are generally characterized by a shortened value chain and efforts to achieve social, economic, and environmental sustainability. In three case studies with farmers organized in cooperatives in Peru and buyers in Austria or Germany, we analyzed the proximity among the geographically distant value chain actors. This paper aims to provide a more nuanced perspective on relational (organizational, institutional, cognitive, and social) proximity in relationship coffee models. The comparative analysis of the proximities in our case studies revealed that initial face-to-face contacts are required to build further proximity dimensions. Proximate relationship coffee models have led to more recognition, pride, a good reputation of the actors, higher coffee quality and thus farm-gate prices, and stable long-term relationships. However, relationship coffees require more coordination and communication among chain actors and advanced farmer skills and efforts to produce high-quality coffee. In relationship coffee models, farmers still depend on buyers and roasters to benefit from higher quality of their green coffee. • Relationship coffee models show geographical and relational proximity. • They needed temporary geographical proximity first to build social or cognitive proximity. • Relational proximity has led to higher quality and prices and stable, long-term relationships. • Relational proximities cannot fully compensate for power imbalances. • Farmers still depend on buyers to access the specialty coffee market and make profits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, political events have reignited contentious debates about psychiatry and democratic governance. This discourse has largely centred around the ethics and morality of public commentary, particularly in relation to the American Psychiatric Association's Goldwater Rule. Yet, few studies have examined the practical implications of health-related limitations due to mental illness in national leadership and the constitutional and legal provisions that surround these issues, including voluntary or involuntary proceedings. Accordingly, this theoretical paper analyses these topics in a German context using the position at the head of the executive: the chancellorship. Germany was selected as a case example as the biggest democracy in Europe with modern legal frameworks representative of the post-World War Two era in European constitutionalism, and for its economic and political influence within the European Union. Throughout this paper, we do not speculate on the mental health of any individual (past or present), but instead explore jurisdictional mechanisms around health-related limitations in German high office. Consequently, we outline relevant constitutional and legal scenarios, and how short- or long-term medical incapacity may determine requisite responses and contingent complexities. This underpins our discussion, where we consider legal ambiguities, functional capacity, and ethical concerns in psychiatric practice. • Theoretically explores mental health-related limitations in high office. • Focuses on position of German chancellorship and various legal scenarios. • Outlines constitutional provisions around voluntary/involuntary proceedings. • Discusses legal ambiguities, functional capacity, and ethical concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the backdrop of pressing infrastructure needs, this paper argues that higher German public investment would not only stimulate domestic demand in the near term, but would also raise output over the longer-run as well as generate beneficial regional spillovers. Although time-to-build delays can weaken the impact of the stimulus in the short-run, the expansionary effects of higher public investment are substantially strengthened by an accommodative monetary policy stance. The current low-interest rate environment presents a window of opportunity to finance higher public investment at historically favorable rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low carbon transitions have been predominantly analysed using quantitative methods, mostly building on present and forecasted data of social metabolism. This paper addresses both the economic and social dimensions of low carbon emissions by analysing the presence of socio-environmental conflicts in Germany. These conflicts appear to be a consequence of unsustainable policies targeting firms' planning and behaviour, mainly based on neoclassical economic thinking and various stakeholder groups that oppose carbon intensive businesses. By applying a Delphi Method with 18 experts, the authors analyse 117 socio-environmental conflicts (e.g. derived from extractive activity, energy production, and infrastructure projects) in Germany. Most of these conflicts include the struggle of various society groups to achieve a low carbon economy but also a more equitable society. The analyses presented in this paper shows that Germany provides both the best and the worse of achieving low carbon paths: a significant investment into renewable energy, but also a strong dependency on lignite which supplies the most polluting power stations of Europe. By addressing the problem from a historical perspective, the authors demonstrate how carbon intensive extractive activity has been one of the major causes for environmental activism and protest in both socialist and capitalist societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New inter-national and transnational complexities of economic and political relationships destabilize extant categories and units of analysis for studying trajectories of social change and explaining commonalities and differences of complex inequalities across countries. New insights on gender regime change emerge by shifting from a singular to a multi-scalar analytical frame. The paper argues that complex inequalities cannot be understood by studying a bounded geographic unit of analysis. Toward this end, the paper compares Germany and Japan in a world regional perspective, applying Walby's gender regime theory. Case comparisons of Germany and Japan not only reveal historical pathways of national developments, but also can show the benefits of a multi-scalar analytic in differentiating varieties and futures of gender regimes. An examination of the care economy shows why a multi-scalar analytic is critical for tracking the economic geographies of reproductive/care labor (both paid and unpaid). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI) is regarded worldwide as one of the most important technologies of the future. In the international context, Germany is not considered a pioneer in the field of AI, and the implementation of AI technologies in German companies is also rather slow. Since the German economy is mainly driven by SMEs, the implementation of AI in SMEs is a key success factor of the national economy. It is known from general studies on digitalization that German SMEs are rather skeptical about new technologies. This paper discusses the implementation prospects of AI in German SMEs based on an empirical survey conducted in 2020 among 283 companies. It shows that the SMEs surveyed tend to use more traditional technologies such as rule-based systems and see the lack of employee qualifications in particular as an implementation hurdle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1980s there is an overall agreement that German academic and applied geography between 1933 and 1945 were closely linked to the ideology and practice of National Socialism. There is very little historical work, however, on how geography was reestablished in Germany after the end of National Socialism. This paper deals with West German geography after 1945 and the attempts to reestablish geography as a legitimate discipline within academia. Taking the influential paper by German geographer Carl Troll as a starting point, this paper deals, on the one hand, with the way geographers positioned geography in relation to National Socialism, and how they told the history of their recent past. It then asks what the defeat of Germany and the experiences of the war in general meant for how geographers in Germany thought about the relation between the discipline and politics. It is argued that a number of cleansing and legitimating strategies that freed geography from direct involvement with National Socialism, went hand in hand with a very quick adaption to the new world order and a rebranding of geography as a science of peace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a reconstructive analysis of village research conducted in Germany between 1952 and 2015. For more than 60 years, information was gathered to document socioeconomic and demographic developments in ten West German villages. In the early 1990s, four East German villages became part of that trend study as well. While the material (e.g., surveys, statistics, and field notes) is fragmented and heterogeneous, it nevertheless provides a unique opportunity for reflection on the changing latent concepts, ideas and motives at work in rural research throughout the years. In this paper, we want to reconstruct changing perspectives on the topos 'village' by focussing on three issues: (i) concepts of and attitudes towards village life, (ii) the roles assigned to the inhabitants in developing the village, and (iii) the role of science in providing policy advice. We can show how over time, the focus of the research shifted from an infrastructure-oriented perspective, overcoming 'rural backwardness' to focus on the village by asking about distinct local practices and identities. Concomitant to the changing view on the inhabitants' agency, perspectives on development strategies and policy recommendations changed from exogenous to endogenous approaches. The trend study in retrospect highlights how local development in its complexity is often beyond political steering or researchers' predictions. • Analysis of over 60 years of village research in Germany. • Concept of "village" has gained complexity. • Farming-families' position changed tremendously. • Perspective changes from urban-normativity towards the normality of the village. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The UK's and Germany's coal phase-out pathways diverge in timing and measures. • Different powers of actor groups contribute to diverging trends in UK and Germany. • Influential German coal corporations and unions slow down coal's decline. • Energy security concerns, domestic mining and economic dependence create resistance. • Reducing the influence incumbents have on policy making might enable coal phase-out. Political decisions and trends regarding coal use for electricity generation developed differently in the UK and Germany, despite being subject to relatively similar climate protection targets and general political and economic conditions. The UK agreed on a coal phase-out by 2024. In Germany, a law schedules a coal phase-out by 2038 at the latest. This paper investigates reasons for the different developments and aims to identify main hurdles and drivers of coal phase-outs by using the Triple Embeddedness Framework. The comparative case study approach reveals that policy outcomes regarding coal consumption are deeply influenced by several actor groups, namely, coal companies, unions, environmental NGOs, and the government. The most discussed aspects of a coal phase-out in both countries are energy security concerns, whether coal is mined domestically, (regional) economic dependence, as well as the relative power of actors with vested interests in coal consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Migration has particularly transformative impacts on the life of migrants. • Translocality is less important for coping, but impacting proactive adaptation. • Families with strong social bonds tend to be more resilient to negative impacts. • Social belonging and future perspectives of migrants shape translocal resilience. Social resilience becomes particularly apparent in difficult times. In many rural regions people face multiple insecurities ranging from environmental change to losses of income and social conflicts. In such situations people often see migration as a path towards a better life – but is migration always the best solution or is it creating new challenges and insecurities? In recent years the nexus between migration and social resilience has increasingly been discussed. While many publications have been looking at in-situ impacts either at the places of origin or the destinations of migration little has been said about the translocal dimension of social resilience. In this paper we will take a look at translocal family networks between rural Thailand and Germany. The aim is to better understand the role of migration and translocality for social resilience. Based on a 10-month multi-sited research process with a mixed-methods approach we found that families with stronger translocal ties are more likely to increase their social resilience. However, this research also shows that it is important to disaggregate social resilience and to raise the question: resilience of whom? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Paper focuses on nature-based measures (NBM) in flood risk management plans (FRMPs). • Actual uptake of NBM in three German states is assessed via document analysis. • NBM uptake in FRMPs is generally low, with divergence across states. • Uptake relates positively to stream order, low flood risks and expected benefits. • Uptake could be enhanced by use of best available data and participatory methods. Nature-based measures (NBMs), understood here as measures such as floodplain restoration that use ecosystem processes to meet societal challenges, are increasingly advocated as promising solutions for managing flood risks. A suitable instrument to implement NBMs are flood risk management plans (FRMPs) stipulated by the EU Floods Directive. While prior research suggests several governance challenges for NBM uptake in FRMPs, little is known so far regarding the actual extent of NBM uptake and its role in decision-making of flood risk management. Germany, with a coherent water policy framework but state-specific implementation conditions, provides a suitable case study for exploring the decision-making practices that are used in the planning process for FRMPs by German federal states with different water governance characteristics. The aim of this study is to analyze the actual uptake of NBMs in German FRMPs, and to explore potential factors of the FRMP preparation and decision-making practices explaining this uptake. Our explorative research design is based on a document analysis method which assesses the contents of FRMPs of three German federal states. The results offer the first empirical evidence of the uptake of NBMs in Germany and insights into how NBMs and other measure types are chosen for FRMPs. Our findings confirm an overall low uptake of NBMs, with diverging preferences for particular NBM types between the three states. Looking across the states, the level of NBM uptake is likely to be higher if rivers with higher stream order are considered in the FRMP's spatial scope, the potential flood risk in a river basin is low, and positive flood impacts and positive cost-benefit ratios are expected. We conclude that FRMPs still hold substantial potential to enhance the NBM uptake in flood risk management planning. To make use of this potential, we suggest three key strategies to increase the change for a better NBM uptake including applying FRMPs at different spatial levels and degrees of details. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• German agricultural policy is stabilised by a sociotechnical imaginary. • The imaginary is based on Germany's long-standing identity as an industrial country. • Agrarwende vision clashes with established sociotechnical imaginary of agriculture. • Tensions between the two are evident in policy style, expertise, and risk framing. Although much research recognises the importance of visions as key ingredients of transformations to sustainability, it remains unclear how and why some visions become collectively binding. This paper uses the lens of sociotechnical imaginaries, i.e., collectively shared, institutionally stabilised, and publicly performed visions of desirable futures, to analyse the so-called Agrarwende (agricultural transformation), a sustainability-oriented reform of German agriculture based on a vision of transformative change towards organic farming. Methodologically, the investigation draws on published historical and contemporary data sources for an in-depth case study of the Agrarwende using content analysis. It shows how a particular sociotechnical imaginary has shaped German agriculture for many decades and explores how three of its constitutive elements - its policy style, expertise, and risk framing – conflict with the vanguard vision of the Agrarwende. The findings suggest that these elements have reinforced one another in shaping the trajectory of the agricultural system, thus co-producing a strong socio-political order in favour of industrial agriculture at the expense of an alternative set of policies, expertise, and risk framing that supports organic agriculture. Taken together, the findings highlight how knowledge and politics shape debates and controversies about what is deemed a desirable future, what is at stake, and for whom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recently-published paper, Galasso et al. (2022) interpreted relatively high levels of unseparated spore tetrads and some darkened miospores which occur immediately below the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (~ 183 Ma) in southwest Germany as resulting from enhanced levels of UV-B radiation due to high levels of volcanism at this time. The present authors consider that this teratological interpretation is unlikely, and more plausible explanations of these phenomena are rapid sedimentation and short transport durations, and reworking respectively. • Aspects of a recently-published paper are critiqued. • Teratological interpretations are rejected. • Sedimentological phenomena and reworking are advocated instead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to better understand retailers' resilience by conducting a micro-level analysis of retailers against the backdrop of the current Covid-19 crisis. Focusing on e-commerce strategies, the paper reveals that for a better understanding of retailer's resilience it proves helpful to analytically differentiate subjective and objective aspects that influence the personal 'capacities to respond', leading to more or less (pro)active reactions (absorptive, adaptive, transformative) to the crisis. This results in the differentiation of four broad response, respectively retailer types. As such, the paper contributes to existing research frameworks by providing analytical categories for defining subjective and objective aspects of resilience as well as by applying this framework to an empirical study on retailers (and urban) resilience during the Covid-19 pandemic. A mixed method approach is applied, which includes a survey as well as expert interviews with retailers located in the German city centre of Würzburg. For urban policy makers the results provide an opportunity to redefine retail policy frameworks contributing to retailers' and urban resilience alike. • The paper contributes to existing research frameworks by providing analytical categories for defining subjective and objective aspects of resilience. • A mixed method approach is applied, which includes a survey as well as expert interviews with retailers located in the German city centre of Würzburg. • The paper reveals the differentiation of four broad response, respectively retailer types. • For urban policy makers the results provide an opportunity to redefine retail policy frameworks contributing to retailers' and urban resilience alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of climate change, coastal areas around the world face multiple interrelated challenges. A range of 'international best practice' approaches have been proposed to address these, including concepts such as integrated coastal zone management, ecosystem-based management and managed retreat. However, such supposedly mobile and transferable approaches often fail to properly account for the differences between local contexts, leading to implementation failures. In response, this paper mobilises the conceptual lenses of 'situated practices' and 'path dependencies' to demonstrate how the emergence and evolution of approaches to planning in coastal communities can generate policy trajectories that constrain the latitude for alternative options. The paper explores the trajectories of coastal planning on the island of Sylt in Germany and Castlemaine Harbour in Ireland. It identifies important path dependencies associated with institutional inertia, collective memories of past hazards and management strategies, the legacies of previous coastal management measures and of coastal development, and the importance of property relations. Overall, the analysis highlights the importance of appreciating the local and historical distinctiveness of coastal areas and communities. It shows that critical attention to context and creating inclusive fora for debate is required to advance climate change adaptation measures that offer opportunities to unlock historically anchored path dependencies which hamper flexibility and reduce resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Only three days after the beginning of the nuclear catastrophe in Fukushima, Japan, on 11 March 2011, the German government ordered 8 of the country''s 17 existing nuclear power plants (NPPs) to stop operating within a few days. In summer 2011 the government put forward a law – passed in parliament by a large majority – that calls for a complete nuclear phase-out by the end of 2022. These government actions were in contrast to its initial plans, laid out in fall 2010, to expand the lifetimes of the country''s NPPs. The immediate closure of 8 NPPs and the plans for a complete nuclear phase-out within little more than a decade, raised concerns about Germany''s ability to secure a stable supply of electricity. Some observers feared power supply shortages, increasing CO2-emissions and a need for Germany to become a net importer of electricity. Now – a little more than a year after the phase-out law entered into force – this paper examines these concerns using (a) recent statistical data on electricity production and demand in the first 15 months after the German government''s immediate reaction to the Fukushima accident and (b) reviews the most recent projections and scenarios by different stakeholders on how the German electricity system may develop until 2025, when NPPs will no longer be in operation. The paper finds that Germany has a realistic chance of fully replacing nuclear power with additional renewable electricity generation on an annual basis by 2025 or earlier, provided that several related challenges, e.g. expansion of the grids and provision of balancing power, can be solved successfully. Already in 2012 additional electricity generation from renewable energy sources in combination with a reduced domestic demand for electricity will likely fully compensate for the reduced power generation from the NPPs shut down in March 2011. If current political targets will be realised, Germany neither has to become a net electricity importer, nor will be unable to gradually reduce fossil fuel generated electricity. Whether the reduction in fossil fuel use will be sufficient to adequately contribute to national greenhouse gas mitigation targets significantly depends on an active policy to promote electricity savings, continuous efforts to increase the use of renewables and a higher share of natural gas (preferably used in combined heat and power plants) in fossil fuel power generation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Industry represents a very promising application area for solar thermal technology, since it accounts for 27% of the total final energy consumption in Germany and uses 74% of its energy consumption as thermal energy. In order to develop this application area, it is necessary to know which industrial sectors have the highest potential and which processes within these sectors are most suitable for the integration of solar heat. For this paper the industrial heat consumption in Germany was analyzed, which leads to the selection of the most promising sectors within industry. Furthermore, the quantitative potential for Germany in total and for 11 selected sectors, that were identified to be most promising for the use of solar heat, was calculated. These are Chemicals, Food and beverages, Motor vehicles, Paper, Fabricated metal, Machinery and equipment, Rubber and plastic, Electrical equipment, Textiles, Printing and Wood. These sectors are analyzed to identify suitable processes for the integration of solar heat. In total the theoretical potential of solar heat for industrial processes below 300°C in Germany accounts for 134TWh per year, the technical potential being 16TWh per year or 3.4% of the overall industrial heat demand. This is the highest share of the European potential of 72TWh per year. The results of this study facilitate the prioritized application of solar thermal energy in industrial sectors and processes for Germany and other countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract Local public health authorities often lack the capacity to adapt to climate change, despite being on the 'front lines' of climate impacts. Upper-level governments are well positioned to create an enabling environment for adaptation and build local public health authorities' capacity, yet adaptation literature has not specified how upper-level governments can build local-level adaptive capacity. In this paper we examine how federal and regional governments can contribute to enabling and supporting public health adaptation to climate change at the local level in federal systems. We outline the local level's self-assessed adaptive capacity for public health adaptation in Canadian and German comparative case studies, in terms of funding, knowledge and skills, organizations, and prioritization, drawing upon 30 semi-structured interviews. Based on interviewees' recommendations and complemented by scientific literature, we develop a set of practical measures that could enable or support local-level public health adaptation. We find that adaptive capacity varies widely between local public health authorities, but most report having insufficient funding and staff for adaptation activities. We propose 10 specific measures upper-level governments can take to build local public health authorities' capacity for adaptation, under the interrelated target areas of: building financial capital; developing and disseminating usable knowledge; collaborating and coordinating for shared knowledge; and claiming leadership. Federal and regional governments have an important role to play in enabling local-level public health adaptation, and have many instruments available to them to fulfill that role. Selecting and implementing measures to enable local public health authorities' adaptive capacity will require tailoring to, and consideration, of the local context and needs. Highlights • Local public health authorities often lack capacity to adapt to climate change. • National and regional governments can play supportive or enabling role. • We propose 10 concrete measures to enable local public health adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the role of ticket-splitting in decreasing the accuracy of recalled previous voting. It suggests that ticket-splitting makes recalling vote choice a more difficult task and thus increases recall error. Using data from three German panel surveys conducted from 1998 to 2008, the paper demonstrates that ticket-splitting increases recall error by a considerable margin, even after controlling for behavioral and attitudinal predictors. This finding suggests that recall accuracy is not a stable voter characteristic. It also lends credence to the notion that the increase in ticket-splitting in recent German elections decreased the accuracy of recalled previous voting. Finally, the evidence suggests that electoral systems affect the validity of survey answers concerning previous vote choice. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Electoral rules should affect parliamentary behavior. In particular, deputies elected from single-member districts should be more likely to deviate from the party line than deputies elected under proportional representation. This paper suggests a framework for conceptualizing and modeling the effect of the type of mandate on deputies’ propensity to cast deviating votes in mixed electoral systems. The proposed modeling strategy uses disaggregated voting data and integrates dependencies among observations in a multi-level design. Empirically, the paper analyses voting behavior in the 16th German Bundestag (2005–2009) and shows that the odds of district MPs to deviate are significantly higher despite frequent claims that the two types of MPs behave alike. However, the behavioral differences cannot be attributed to attempts by district MPs to follow their local constituents as competing principals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Agri-environmental measures (AEM) are the central area-based measures of the second pillar of the Common European Agricultural Policy. Cost-effectiveness of AEMs has to be improved. In this paper a newly designed AEM called result-oriented incentive is empirically analysed for the first time concerning its impacts on environmental effects and cost. Result-oriented financial incentives are linked directly to the desired environmental objectives and allow farmers to choose the most efficient way of management to reach them on their own. In this paper, we present the results of 90 interviews with farmers who have participated in a result-oriented AEM in Baden-Wuerttemberg (Germany). We investigated potential advantages (flexibility, innovation, higher intrinsic motivation and improved continuous adaptation). In addition, we researched disadvantages (transaction costs involved in control efforts, risk for farmers). Our results show that such kind of AEM has a positive impact on cost-effectiveness. However, the concrete design and the implementation process of these AEMs play a crucial role for their successful application. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Farmland conversion has become an increasing concern in China and other parts of the world, including Europe and the USA. Be it for environmental or food security reasons, questions arise concerning how urbanization should be governed, i.e. what rules and regulations could enhance the efficiency and sustainability of land use. Taking a first step toward answering such questions, this paper describes different governance structures for farmland conversion in the Netherlands, Germany, and China. Secondly, it compares five identified differences between these countries in the realms of land property, land use planning, the role of the market, the role of government, and the performance of governance structures. The purpose of this paper is to develop an approach for comparing governance structures for land conversion that: (a) offers some opportunities for exchange of experience between the three countries and (b) provides a framework for further research on governance structures in farmland conversion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines the effects of attitudes toward Turkey''s entry into the European Union on vote choice in the 2005 federal election in Germany. Building on prior research, the paper contrasts the elitist and the policy voting view. The evidence shows that citizens'' opinions about Turkey''s accession to the European Union do not merely reflect group-memberships and political predispositions. They also play a role in influencing voting behaviour with support of Turkey''s entry raising the likelihood to vote for the SPD or the Greens while reducing the probability to cast a vote for right-wing parties, the CDU/CSU and the FDP. Finally, low educated voters are disproportionately susceptible to rely on their attitudes toward enlarging the European Union to contain Turkey. In sum, the evidence contradicts the elitist view and lends support the policy voting view implying that there is an electoral incentive for political elites to respond to public opinion on the Turkey issue. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper analyses how the authority of west German media workers to produce ‘truthful’ representations about unification and eastern Germany after 1989 was discursively constructed. Rather than simply assuming the superiority of western knowledge, I show that the right of western media producers to speak for and about east Germany had to be constructed and defended discursively on a number of registers. Western journalists, in particular, had to demonstrate their credibility towards west and east German audiences, evidence their ability to report objectively and authoritatively, and prove themselves superior in the production of knowledge. Their truth claims had to be negotiated in the midst of a range of competing discourses. The complicated constitution of audiences meant that western journalists had to cast themselves in various different roles to justify their position as ‘knowing subjects’: as explorers, surveyors, observers, commentators, mediators and/or educators. The paper explores, how the divergence between these different positions was reconciled through a number of discursive strategies. I highlight the ambivalences and internal contradictions produced within journalistic discourses as well as through the existence of differentiated audiences. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Socialization in East Germany is a protective factor against corporal punishment in the family. • Younger mothers and older fathers are more likely to use corporal punishment in child-rearing. • Legal regulations regarding the violence-free education have a measurable influence on educational methods of parents. Due to the division of Germany into the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany following the Second World War, large parts of the population of today's Germany were socialized under different socio-economic, political, and legal conditions, which could possibly lead to different experiences with corporal punishment as a method of education. In this paper, we investigate whether being socialized in East or West Germany, respectively, had an influence on childhood experience of corporal punishment. The evaluation is based on a representative German survey (n = 2331) carried out in 2020. In order to investigate the dimensionality of the experience with corporal punishment, we used the method of multiple correspondence analysis. The structures which were discovered using multiple correspondence analysis were subsequently verified using confirmatory factor analyses. We then examined the influence of explanatory variables on different parental punishment styles in a structural equation model. Three main parental punishment styles were identified: non-corporal punishment, mild punishment, and severe punishment. Respondents who were socialized in East Germany had a lower probability of having experienced severe punishment and non-corporal punishment compared to those socialized in West Germany. Our analysis also showed that corporal punishment tended to be more frequently practiced by younger mothers and older fathers. The results of this study indicate that legal regulations regarding non-violent child-raising are not just symbolic, but do indeed have a measurable influence on the educational methods of parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Low reservoir amplitudes in run-of-river hydropower enable extensive grid balancing. • 1 MW of hydropower can facilitate grid integration of up to 11.6 MW of wind or PV. • Potentials for negative balancing services significantly higher than for positive. • Providing balancing services reduces overall energy production. • Nevertheless balancing services can increase the total incomes. The increasing shares of wind energy and photovoltaics in many countries challenge the energy systems in a twofold way. On one hand, there is an increased need for balancing energy in order to compensate abrupt changes in load or power generation. On the other hand, fossil plants being important providers of balancing services are gradually driven out of the system creating a need for renewable substitutes. Due to strict requirements on the upstream water level regime German run-of-river (ROR)-hydropower has until now remained largely unused for providing positive balancing services. However, in this paper we present a novel optimized operation scheme allowing ROR-plants to exactly keep their production schedule and, in addition to that, provide positive and negative balancing services even under these constraints. Our simulations on an exemplary power plant with a very low head show that huge unused balancing power potentials can be expected for ROR-hydropower in Germany enabling a multiplication of fluctuating renewable energy sources. Next to these potentials under current market conditions, this paper elaborates the economic and ecologic aspects of balancing operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Much of the farm work in Germany and Poland relies on migrant workers. • Migrant farmworkers are exposed to fatal and non-fatal accidents at work. • OSH of migrant farmworkers in Central and Eastern Europe has not been studied so far. • Structural vulnerabilities of farmworkers must not be overlooked. • Ethnographic methods gave insights into realities and OSH practices on the farms. • There is a need to research OSH of farmworkers during COVID-19 pandemic. This paper focuses on the occupational safety and health (OSH) of migrant farmworkers in two quite distinct socio-political contexts: Polish farmworkers in Germany and Ukrainian farmworkers in Poland. The authors apply the structural vulnerability concept to shed light on structural factors influencing migrants' vulnerabilities in the workplace and to address this issue through the perspectives of migrant farmworkers. This paper is based on participant observation and individual interviews that the authors conducted in Germany and Poland among migrant farmworkers, as well as semi-structured interviews with employers. The gathered evidence allows us to argue that functioning in different migration regimes results in differences regarding migrants' occupational safety and health, as well as in the levels of agency they are able to exercise given their migration-related positionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Despite a major, policy-driven increase in research on the food – energy – water (FEW) nexus in recent years, research addressing the required changes in policy structures and processes for an effective, integrated governance of FEW nexus resources is still in its infancy. This paper adapts the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework to the requirements and challenges of FEW nexus governance and sets a special focus on action situations, actors, and institutions. The analysis thus contributes to the debate about the practicality and benefits of a comprehensive FEW nexus policy approach. Two different conceptual FEW nexus frameworks are developed, which span the spectrum of possible integration options. The first one describes a holistic integration framework that defines the FEW nexus as a single, fully integrated system. The second one represents vertical policy integration and is largely based on existing structures and a reframing of the present institutional setting. After their theoretical derivation, the two hypothetical frameworks are analyzed with respect to their strengths and weaknesses in governing the FEW nexus using two sample cases of integrated FEW nexus governance in Germany. The results show that effective FEW nexus governance requires a combination of both integration options. Highlights • Two novel FEW nexus governance frameworks are developed. • The holistic FEW nexus framework represents horizontal policy integration. • The FEW nexus cooperation framework represents vertical policy integration. • In Germany, both frameworks are used in current policy measures. • Successful FEW nexus governance requires instruments from both frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the link between innovation and the endowments of creative and science oriented STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – workers at the level of the firm and at the city-/regional-level in Germany. It also looks into whether the presence of these two groups of workers has greater benefits for larger cities than smaller locations, thus justifying policies to attract these workers in order to make German cities ‘smarter’. The empirical analysis is based on a probit estimation, covering 115,000 firm-level observations between 1998 and 2015. The results highlight that firms that employ creative and STEM workers are more innovative than those that do not. However, the positive connection of creative workers to innovation is limited to the boundaries of the firm, whereas that of STEM workers is as associated to the generation of considerable innovation spillovers. Hence, attracting STEM workers is more likely to end up making German cities smarter than focusing exclusively on creative workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A model for the design and operation of novel hydrogen supply chain networks for Germany. • A novel hydrogen based economy from conventional towards renewable technologies. • A valuable and up-to-date dataset of economic, geographic and production data for Germany. Abstract This work provides a comprehensive investigation of the feasibility of hydrogen as transportation fuel from a supply chain point of view. It introduces an approach for the identification the best hydrogen infrastructure pathways making decision of primary energy source, production, storage and distribution networks to aid the target of greenhouse gas emissions reduction in Germany. The minimization of the total hydrogen supply chain (HSC) network cost for Germany in 2030 and 2050 years is the objective of this study. The model presented in this paper is expanded to take into account water electrolysis technology driven by solar and wind energy. Two scenarios are evaluated, including a full range of technologies and “green” technologies using only renewable resources. The resulting model is a mixed integer linear program (MILP) that is solved with the Advanced Integrated Multidimensional Modeling System (AIMMS). The results show that renewable energy as a power source has the potential to replace common used fossil fuel in the near future even though currently coal gasification technology is the still the dominant technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bridges are vital components of high-speed rail (HSR) lines for crossing obstacles such as valleys, rivers, and existing highways or railway lines. The main goal of this paper is to provide a review of the development of HSR bridges in Germany. A short summary of the history of high-speed rail lines is given first. Subsequently, the development of HSR bridges, along with emerging design issues and the two relevant German design guidelines, is reviewed. Further, bridge structure types on German HSR lines, such as simply supported bridges, continuous bridges, arch bridges, integral and semi-integral bridges, composite truss bridges and rigid-frame bridges are discussed. The article concludes with a short discussion about the current situation and future trend of HSR bridges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]