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In a representative sample of female children and adolescents in Germany, Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence was 6.3% (95% CI 4.7%-8.0%). With each year of life, the chance of being seropositive increased by 1.2, indicating a strong force of infection. Social status and municipality size were found to be associated with seropositivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: A key task for countries around the world facing the COVID-19 pandemic was to achieve high vaccination coverage of the population. To overcome "vaccination inertia," governments adopted a variety of policy instruments. These instruments can be placed along a "ladder of intrusiveness" based on their degree of constraint of individual freedoms. The aim of this study is to investigate how the governments of three European countries moved along the ladder of intrusiveness and how the choice of policy instruments was influenced by contextual factors. Methods: The study draws on secondary data sources, including academic and gray literature, policy documents, and opinion polls, over an observation period from December 2020 to summer 2022. The study employs inductive logic to analyze data and identify the factors explaining similarities and differences across England, Germany, and Italy. Findings: The study identifies similarities and differences in how the three countries advanced along the ladder of intrusiveness. Contextual factors such as policy legacy, social acceptability, and ideological orientation contribute to explain the observations. Conclusions: Country-specific contextual factors play an important role in understanding the choice of policy instruments adopted by the three countries. Policy makers should carefully consider these factors when planning immunization strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the rise of the service economy and the growing attractiveness of large cities have created new social inequalities within countries, which have been seen as a source of resentment for people living in the "places that don't matter". We study spatial inequalities in terms of subjective social status using a measure of the place in the social hierarchy that individuals believe they occupy in France (1999-2017) and Germany (1992-2021) on the basis of data from the International Social Survey Program. In France we find important and persistent inequalities between urban and rural areas, as well as between the capital region and all the other regions, partially mediated by income differences. However, the time trend does not show any consistent increase in the geographical differences in subjective status apart from a possible negative trend in rural areas from 2006 to 2010 and in rural places and the outskirts of large cities after 2013 compared to large cities. In Germany, our analysis shows weak differences in subjective social status between urban and rural areas, but large inequalities between the West and East. While this gap is still relevant today, it has partially decreased over the past decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article seeks to tell an emotional history of car use through the genre of life-writing, a source whose use in historical mobility research has recently been advocated by Colin Pooley. It focuses on two diarists, Hugh Miller and Victor Klemperer, to uncover what automobility looked and felt like in interwar Britain and Germany, when modern mass motorisation was emerging. It highlights that experiences of automobility were heterogeneous and dependent on social position, combining the excitement and liberty popularly associated with interwar car use with the banal, frustrating and terrifying. Motorists like Miller and Klemperer felt conflicted about automobility and what it represented. Their inner ambivalence points to a unique emotional engagement with the car, which may help to explain its persistence in twentieth-century society and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Although childhood obesity prevalence has stagnated in many high-income regions after decades of increase, it continues to be a major public health problem with adverse effects. The objective was to examine obesity trends as a function of parental social status to identify obesity disparities among children. Methods Data from school entry examinations from 2009 to 2019 of 14 952 pre-schoolers in one German district were used. Logistic regression models (obesity/overweight as dependent variable) and a linear regression [BMI z -score (BMIz) as dependent variable] were performed adjusted for social status and sex to investigate time trends in overweight and obesity. Results Overall, we found an increase of obesity over time [odds ratio (ORs): 1.03 per year, 95% CI: 1.01–1.06]. Children with low social status had an OR of 1.08 per year (95% CI: 1.03–1.13), while the trend was less expressed in children with high social status (OR: 1.03 per year, 95% CI: 0.98–1.08). The mean BMIz decreased per year (regression coefficient −0.005 per year, 95% CI: −0.01 to 0.0) when considering all children. This decrease was more pronounced in children with high social status (regression coefficient: −0.011 per year, 95% CI: −0.019 to −0.004), compared with a slight increase of 0.014 (95% CI: −0.003 to 0.03) per year among children with low social status. Also, children with low parental social status were heavier and smaller than their peers with high social status. Conclusions Although the mean BMIz decreased among pre-schoolers, obesity prevalence and status-related inequity in obesity prevalence increased from 2009 to 2019 in the region studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research has found that student achievement is positively related to students' social standing in class. However, negative stereotypes about high academic achievers prevail among secondary school students, suggesting that higher achievers might be less well-integrated socially. These stereotypes especially target academically high-achieving boys, students achieving highly in mathematics and sciences, and students performing well in opposite-gender stereotyped subjects. This article tries to link these stereotypes to actual social integration measured by self-report and social network nominations. It tests whether there is a nonlinear relationship between achievement and social integration, and whether high performance in opposite-gender stereotyped ways is associated with lower levels of social integration. Using data from a German large-scale assessment study with about 45,000 ninth-grade students, we investigated the relationship between achievement and multiple facets of social integration (friendship, acceptance, contact, and subjective integration). Overall, the relations between achievement and social integration were positive. Only the facet of friendship followed the hypothesized shape of an inverted U. We found no support for an interaction between general achievement level and gender and no interactions between subject of achievement and gender, except for the facet of acceptance (being asked for help by peers). Girls were asked for help more often than their male classmates, and this gender difference was particularly evident in students who were not as highly achieving. We conclude that high-achieving students are not at a higher risk for social exclusion and that stereotypes seem not to align with actual social relationships in secondary school classes in Germany. Educational Impact and Implications Statement: Our study was in search of patterns indicating a stereotyped choice of social interaction partners in secondary school classrooms. Specifically, we were interested in the social integration of high achievers. Overall, higher achievers are better integrated into their classes. Moreover, we did not find any signs that boys and girls performing well in opposite-gender stereotyped subjects (language and biology vs. mathematics and physics) were liked less by their peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the use of photo ranking exercises together with qualitative interview data to study migrants' perception of social status. It draws on data from a mixed-method study, involving in-depth interviews with migrants from different socio-economic backgrounds and mobility experiences in Germany. The paper focuses on how photo ranking exercises can be combined with more traditional interviewing techniques in order to elicit peoples' subjective perceptions of status mobility in transnational spaces. It demonstrates that ranking exercises can be helpful in the effort to design data collection methods which are combining substantialist and relational approaches to the study of social class and social positions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardinal Sforza Pallavicino, SJ (1607–67), conceived a procedure for determining natural moral laws by voting under a veil of ignorance. Behind this veil, imagined possible people who are ignorant of their social position, personal characteristics, nation, and the historical period in which they live vote as equals. These possible people are asked to establish a moral law in pursuit of their own and collective happiness, which they are obligated by God to follow. This article discusses Pallavicino's innovative approach to natural law and examines its reception in Southern Germany and (what is now) Austria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Modeling Motherhood in Weimar Germany: Political and Psychological Discourses in Women's Writing" by Katherine E. Calvert is a book that examines the writings of women during the Weimar Republic and their contributions to reevaluating societal assumptions about women's roles. The book explores various political and theoretical perspectives and their impact on discussions about child-rearing and motherhood at the time. Calvert analyzes the reforms pursued by political parties and campaigning groups, the campaigns to liberalize anti-abortion legislation, and the portrayal of motherhood in popular fiction. The book provides a comprehensive account of how women's interests were represented in the political press and fiction of the Weimar period, making it a valuable resource for both undergraduate teaching and advanced scholarship. [Extracted from the article]

This paper discusses the use of photo ranking exercises together with qualitative interview data to study migrants' perception of social status. It draws on data from a mixed-method study, involving in-depth interviews with migrants from different socioeconomic backgrounds and mobility experiences in Germany. The paper focuses on how photo ranking exercises can be combined with more traditional interviewing techniques in order to elicit peoples' subjective perceptions of status mobility in transnational spaces. It demonstrates that ranking exercises can be helpful in the effort to design data collection methods which are combining substantialist and relational approaches to the study of social class and social positions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migration is one of the important parameters that cause social change and transformation. When we look at the history of Turkey, it is seen that there has been an intense migration mobility since the 1950s and almost every structure, such as spatial, artistic, etc., from the socio-economic structure of the country has been affected by these migrations. Among the aforementioned migrations, the external migrations originating from Turkey, which occurred as a result of bilateral agreements with European countries in the 1960s, have a special importance. Because this is the only voluntary migration made by agreements between states in the history of the Republic of Turkey. Cinema films are one of the areas where the artistic reflections of social events and phenomena experienced due to migration can be watched. While migration, poverty, urbanization and social change stand out as the main themes in these films, the above-mentioned external migration experienced as a result of the labor demand arising from European countries, especially Germany, after the Second World War, also indicates that the long-term social effects of migration are reflected in the European countries that migrate. After its appearance in their country, it was reflected in cinema films. In this study, the films " Almanya Acı Vatan ", "Gurbetçi Şaban" "Berlin in Berlin" and "Duvara Karşı", which are about the migration events from Turkey to Germany, were analyzed and sociological, economic, psychological etc. effects are discussed through movies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research analyzes how bourgeois French women thought about, practiced, and performed their identity as mothers in the 1920s and 1930s. Mothers were deeply implicated in government schemes to raise the birthrate to prepare for a future conflict with Germany. However, motherhood was not the monolith that government officials thought it was; each woman experienced it differently based on many factors—most prominently, social class. This study relies on women's correspondence in fashion magazines for a microhistorical view of their lives—invisible from a government standpoint—and considers how they negotiated their identity as mothers within this sociopolitical climate. These women used the columns as social networks in which to define who was a "good" mother, describe how good mothers should raise their children, and uphold their own class status for others to see. Their conversations ultimately reflected both interwar social divisions and writers' changing notions of "good" motherhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We investigated the association between social inequality and participation in a mammography screening program (MSP). Since the German government offers mammography screening free of charge, any effect of social inequality on participation should be due to educational status and not due to the financial burden. Methods: The 'Gutenberg Health Study' is a cohort study in the Rhine-Main-region, Germany. A health check-up was performed, and questions about medical history, health behavior, including secondary prevention such as use of mammography, and social status are included. Two indicators of social inequality (equivalence income and educational status), an interaction term of these two, and different covariables were used to explore an association in different logistic regression models. Results: A total of 4,681 women meeting the inclusion criteria were included. Only 6.2% never participated in the MSP. A higher income was associated with higher chances of ever participating in a mammography screening (odds ratios (OR): 1.67 per €1000; 95%CI:1.26–2.25, model 3, adjusted for age, education and an interaction term of income and education). Compared to women with a low educational status, the odds ratios for ever participating in the MSP was lower for the intermediate educational status group (OR = 0.64, 95%CI:0.45–0.91) and for the high educational status group (0.53, 95%CI:0.37–0.76). Results persisted also after controlling for relevant confounders. Conclusions: Despite the absence of financial barriers for participation in the MSP, socioeconomic inequalities still influence participation. It would be interesting to examine whether the educational effect is due to an informed decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals hold normative ideas about the just distribution of goods and burdens within a social aggregate. These normative ideas guide the evaluation of existing inequalities and refer to four basic principles: (1) Equality stands for an equal distribution of rewards and burdens. While the principle of (2) need takes individual contributions into account, (3) equity suggests a distribution based on merit. The (4) entitlement principle suggests that ascribed (e.g., gender) and achieved status characteristics (e.g., occupational prestige) should determine the distribution of goods and burdens. Past research has argued that preferences for these principles vary with social position as well as the social structure of a society. The Basic Social Justice Orientations (BSJO) scale was developed to assess agreement with the four justice principles but so far has only been fielded in Germany. Round 9 of the European Social Survey (ESS R9 with data collected in 2018/2019) is the first time; four items of the BSJO scale (1 item per justice principle) were included in a cross-national survey program, offering the unique opportunity to study both within and between country variation. To facilitate substantive research on preference for equality, equity, need, and entitlement, this report provides evidence on measurement quality in 29 European countries from ESS R9. Analyzing response distributions, non-response, reliability, and associations with related variables, we find supportive evidence that the four items of the BSJO scale included in ESS R9 produce low non-response rates, estimate agreement with the four distributive principles reliably, and follow expected correlations with related concepts. Researchers should, however, remember that the BSJO scale, as implemented in the ESS R9, only provides manifest indicators, which therefore may not cover the full spectrum of the underlying distributive principles but focus on specific elements of it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The declining 'subjective social status' of the low-educated working class has been advanced as a prominent explanation for right-wing populism. The working class has certainly been adversely affected by rising income inequality over the past decades, but we do not actually know if their perceived standing in the social hierarchy has declined correspondingly over time. This article examines trends in subjective social status in two 'most likely cases' – Germany and the US – between 1980 and 2018. We find that the subjective social status of the working class has not declined in absolute terms. However, there is evidence for relative status declines for the working class in Germany and substantial within-class heterogeneity in both countries. These findings imply that rising income inequality has a nuanced impact on status perceptions. When assessing the role of subjective social status for political outcomes, longitudinal perspectives that consider both absolute and relative changes seem promising. Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at: https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2022.2038892. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic inequality has been consistently rising in recent decades in many Western countries including Germany. This is a pressing issue as greater economic inequality within a society has detrimental consequences for well-being, social stability, productivity, and even life expectancy. However, little is known about how individuals of different ages experience and respond to social inequality across adulthood. Because status differences are perceived as more malleable in young adulthood (i.e., young adults can expect to move up the social ladder) and only manifest across adulthood, we predicted that negative emotional reactions to the perceived standing in the social hierarchy should become increasingly pronounced with age. Consistently, a first study based on a national representative sample in Germany (N = 2,542; 18–91 years) confirmed that subjective social status had a much stronger effect on the acceptance of social inequality among middle-aged and older, as compared with younger, adults. In a second experimental study (N = 387; 18–89 years), participants of any age responded with negative emotional reactions when rising inequality was made salient. However, subjective social status moderated this effect only in middle-aged and older, but not younger, adults. Finally, a third experimental study (N = 605; 18–82 years) showed that, compared with middle-aged and older adults, younger adults maintained stronger upward mobility beliefs that accounted for the age-differential effects of subjective social status on negative emotional reactivity to rising inequality. We discuss the central role of upward mobility beliefs for individuals' responses to social inequality across the adult life span. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers the spatial typology of the garden as a critical case study to expand our understanding of how gender and space intersected in early-modern ideology. Focusing on the transformation of German garden discourse during the long eighteenth century, it explores how both male and female authors instrumentalized the motif of the garden in their efforts to affirm or critique gendered social positions. The selected material, spanning from oeconomic literature to proto-feminist writings, challenges the notion that gender norms were exclusively framed against the backdrop of "private" homes and "public" streets, and sheds light on hitherto unexplored processes and narratives through which spatial structures became inscribed into modern gender relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social participation is an important factor for students' socio-emotional/academic development. The literature on the topic discusses four domains in this regard: friendships, interactions, social acceptance, and self-perception of social inclusion. It shows that marginalized groups (e.g., students with behavioral problems/learning deficiencies/physical disabilities) are experience difficulties in those domains. Little, however, is known about the effect of a migration background (one of the most commonly marginalized groups) in this context. Therefore, self-ratings and peer ratings of 818 fourth graders (148 with a migration background, defined by their first learned language not being German) were assessed. The results of the ANOVA indicate that students with a migration background show a decreased level of friendships, interactions, and social acceptance. Gender effects on self-perceived social inclusion were also found. This suggests that social participation is a rather complex concept, which is also impaired for marginalized groups due to social factors like a migration background. Highlights: Friendships, interactions and social acceptance are negatively affected by a migration background. Self-perception of social inclusion is not affected by a migration background. Self-perception of social inclusion is negatively affected by Gender (boys). Social participation is impaired for students with a migration background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Aim of this study was to investigate the motives for studying dental medicine of pupils and students accepted for first semester. Methods: Motives of pupils from secondary schools (grades 10–12) around Tübingen and accepted students at the Dental School Tübingen were evaluated using a five‐level Likert scale. Information about age, gender, family, apprenticeship and university enrolment was also included in the assessment. Results: A total of 402 out of 409 participants filled out the questionnaires. Of these, 390 (280 females and 110 males) could be evaluated; the mean age was 17.4 years. Sixty‐one planned an apprenticeship and 64 already completed it; 93 were readily accepted at university. All participants highly rated the motives "help patients" and "good career prospects." As next, women chose "diversified activity" and men "scientific interest." Participants who planned an apprenticeship rated "help patients" significantly higher than the other participants, whilst the motive "high responsibility of the dental profession" amongst interviewees with completed apprenticeship was highly significant in comparison with the rest. Conclusion: Empathy for patients and high responsibility of the dental profession are more important than prestige or social standing. An apprenticeship seems to greatly influence the career choice by giving more weight to "high responsibility of the dental profession." In future, such results can help universities design selection tests to target specific groups. The high proportion of female dentists and the attitude towards work and family of the generations Y and Z may bring change to the traditional practice model in Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Depression is clearly associated with mortality in age-adjusted analyses. • Multivariate regression analyses show depression to elevate mortality by multifactorial pathways. • Contrasting previous research, depression had a significant effect on mortality in women. The association of depression with mortality and the significance of explanatory factors, in particularly gender, have remained an issue of debate. We therefore aimed to estimate the effect of depression on all-cause mortality, to examine potential explanatory factors and to assess effect modification by gender. We used Cox regression models to estimate the effect of depression on mortality based on data from the Gutenberg Health Study, which is a prospective cohort study of the adult population in the districts of Mainz and Mainz-Bingen, Germany. Baseline assessment was between 2007 and 2012. Effect modification by gender was measured on both additive and multiplicative scales. Out of 14,653 participants, 7.7% were depressed according to Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9), and 1,059 (7.2%) died during a median follow-up of 10.7 years. Depression elevated the risk of mortality in men and women in age-adjusted models (HR: 1.41, 95%-CI: 1.03–1.92; resp. HR: 1.96, 95%-CI: 1.43–2.69). Adjustment for social status, physical health and lifestyle covariates attenuated the effect and in the fully-adjusted model the hazard ratio was 0.96 (95%-CI: 0.69–1.33) in men and 1.53 (95%-CI: 1.10–2.12) in women. For effect modification by gender, the measure on multiplicative interaction was 0.68 (95%-CI 0.44–1.07) and on additive interaction was RERI=-0.47 (95%-CI -1.24–0.30). The PHQ-9 is a single self-report measure of depression reflecting symptoms of the past two weeks, limiting a more detailed assessment of depression and course of symptoms, which likely affects the association with mortality. Depression elevates mortality by multifactorial pathways, which should be taken into account in the biopsychosocially informed treatment of depression. Effect modification by gender was not statistically significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the social status motive in an experiment at an art‐house cinema in Germany where movie‐goers can make monetary contributions to help the cinema become climate neutral. Our key result is that offering high contributors a "social status gift" that displays their good deed increases both the likelihood of a high contribution and mean contributions. It performs significantly better than previously studied mechanisms, such as the removal of anonymity, the provision of a reference point, or a neutral thank‐you gift, and it also performs better than offering high contributors publicity through social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the beginning of Angela Merkel's chancellorship, German care policy changed considerably. Social policy has gained in prominence and this has affected people with caring responsibilities. Against this background, this paper compares childcare and elderly care policies in terms of gender equality. We focus on policy measures introduced and implemented during the Merkel era and we consider Chancellor Merkel's role in shaping these policies. Based on interviews with parents of young children as well as male and female elderly carers, our analysis discusses the impacts of Merkel-era care policies on lived experiences. We concentrate on effects on caregivers' employment status (maintaining, reducing, or leaving gainful employment for caring). Furthermore, we focus on gender equality effects depending on socio-economic status (SES). The comparison of both policy fields shows that gender in/equality and the gendered division of labour are essentially moderated by Merkel's way of facilitating reconciliation policies. We argue that recent childcare and elderly care policies particularly address middle-class caregivers. In both fields, care policies offer a framework that is used, interpreted, and negotiated differently by individuals, couples, and families, depending on their SES and existing gender norms. Consequently, Merkel-era care policies can reinforce or mitigate gender inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Establishing and implementing rules that would teach pupils to become citizens became a crucial technique for turning those spots on the map of Europe whose sovereignty had shifted after the First World War into lived social spaces. This article uses Arnold Van Gennep's notion that a shift in social status possesses a spatiality and temporality of its own, in order to analyse how principals of secondary schools negotiated transformation in the Belgian–German borderlands. It asks whether and how they were called on to offer training that would make the borderlands more cohesive with the rest of Belgium in terms of the social origins of pupils and the content of study, and examines the extent to which they were historical actors with room for their own decision-making on creating and abolishing a liminal phase, thereby leading secondary education through its rites of passage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerning the determinants of health literacy (HL) mostly socio-demographic or -economic factors have been considered, much less so psychological factors such as self-efficacy. To date, it has mostly been considered to explain the relationship of HL and health outcomes. However, self-efficacy could also be an important determinant for HL. This study therefore examines the effect of self-efficacy on comprehensive HL within the general population in Germany. Data from the German HL Survey (HLS-GER), a cross-sectional, computer-assisted personal interview study among 2000 respondents aged 15+ years in 2014 were used. Self-efficacy was measured using the German version of general self-efficacy short scale (ASKU), comprehensive HL was measured using the German version of the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q47). Correlation and multi-variate linear regression analyses were performed to analyze independent effects of socio-demographic factors—age, gender, social status, educational level and migration background—functional HL and self-efficacy on comprehensive HL. Self-efficacy and comprehensive HL are statistically significantly correlated (Spearman's Rho = 0.405; p  < 0.01), respondents with better self-efficacy had better HL scores. Both concepts are significantly associated with most socio-demographic factors and functional HL. Self-efficacy showed the strongest association with HL in the multivariate analyses (model 2: β =0.310, p  < 0.001). The effect size of the other predictors decreased, when adding self-efficacy into the equation, but remained statistically significant. Self-efficacy is a rather strong predictor of comprehensive HL. Future research and measures to improve HL should therefore take self-efficacy adequately into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early-on in the COVID-19 pandemic when universities were closed as part of the nation-wide public health response to the COVID-19 outbreak, studying and student life significantly changed. Based on limited evidence the aim of this study was to explore the relationship between sense of coherence (SoC), future worries and mental health outcomes among German university students during the early phase of the pandemic. A cross-sectional online survey with n = 14 916 participants was carried out by inviting all private and public universities in Germany. All data were analysed using univariate, bivariate and multivariate statistics. Findings indicate a low and very low wellbeing for 38% of university students. Moreover, 29% reported being affected by at least two health complaints more than once week. Both health outcomes follow a social gradient and could be more frequently observed for respondents with lower subjective social status and female students. Regression analysis revealed significant association between the SoC dimensions and wellbeing (OR: 1.2−2.03) as well as health complaints (OR: 1.58−1.71). A high level of future worries was associated with low/very low wellbeing (OR: 2.83) and multiple health complaints (OR: 2.84). Based on the results, the public health response to the pandemic and university health promotion should therefore consider student mental health as an important target within their policy and action frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During construction work in the 1970s in the centre of Haan, Kreis Mettmann, Germany, numerous burials were discovered and largely destroyed. Only a few cranial remains with peculiar headdresses of non-ferrous metal and associated patches of hair and textiles were collected and later interpreted as the mortal and adorned remains of elite canonesses, dated to the 10th century AD. This was mainly based upon several radiocarbon dates which, today, have to be regarded as blatant fakes. A new interdisciplinary study of the few remaining finds from the site resulted in a completely revised interpretation of the burials and a new chronological attribution to the 17th to 18th century AD. The new date is based upon three different and independent methods that complement each other (osteoarchaeology, AMS 14C-dating, micro x-ray fluorescence). Via comparison with historical images and written sources the metal (brass) headpieces found with the skulls could be identified as "ear-irons" (German: Ohreisen / Dutch: oorijzers) which were part of the female dress and were used to hold bonnets in place. As such, they were associated both with everyday and festive dress, largely independent of social status. In Germany, ear-irons were ubiquitous along the Rhine and were in use up until the mid-19th century. After that, they quickly disappeared and were largely forgotten which contributed to the earlier, faulty attribution of the archaeological finds from Haan. In conjunction with the corrected interpretation and chronological placement of the enigmatic finds, the analyses illuminate that ear-irons were part of the female funerary dress at certain times and in certain regions, which, previously, was largely unknown for Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop and implement a new measure for inequality aversion: two peers are endowed with identical binary lotteries and the only choice they make is whether they want to play out the lotteries independently or with perfect positive correlation (coupling). Coupling has the core reason to prevent outcome inequality. We implement the method in a survey in rural Thailand as well as in a supplemental sample in a lab in Germany. In line with previous literature, coupling is related to being more risk averse, to having social status concerns, and to relying more often on formal and informal insurance. However, coupling is not related to giving in the dictator game. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Evidence on socioeconomic inequalities in infections with the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is still limited as most of the available studies are ecological in nature and individual-level data is sparse. We therefore analysed individual-level data on socioeconomic differences in the prevalence and perceived dangerousness of SARS-CoV-2 infections in local populations. Data were obtained from a population-based seroepidemiological study of adult individuals in two early German SARS-CoV-2 hotspots (n = 3903). Infection was determined by IgG antibody ELISA, RT-PCR testing and self-reports on prior positive PCR tests. The perceived dangerousness of an infection and socioeconomic position (SEP) were assessed by self-reports. Logistic and linear regression were applied to examine associations of multiple SEP measures with infection status and perceptions of dangerousness. Results: We found no evidence of socioeconomic inequalities in SARS-CoV-2 infections by education, occupation, income and subjective social status. Participants with lower education and lower subjective social status perceived an infection as more dangerous than their better-off counterparts. In successfully contained local outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 in Germany, infections may have been equally distributed across the socioeconomic spectrum. But residents in disadvantaged socioeconomic groups might have experienced a higher level of mental distress due to the higher perceived dangerousness of an infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Party membership is usually explained either by resource-based models such as the socioeconomic standard model or with the incentives that a membership can provide. The former approach stresses the role of skills, availability, and social position, while the latter explains membership as an individual cost–benefit calculation. These two aspects are likely interlinked, but so far no empirical combination of both explanations exists. This analysis conventionalizes a typology of young party members that links incentives and resources. A survey among young party members of the German Social Democratic Party (N = 4006) shows that three different types of members can be identified combining incentives and resources. I present a membership typology where the basic conflict between members is whether they seek professional benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For medieval and post-medieval Denmark and northern Germany, trace elements can potentially contribute to our understanding of diet, migration, social status, exposure to urban settings, and disease treatment. Copper, of particular interest as a marker of access to everyday metal items, can be used to clarify socioeconomic distinctions between and within communities. Postmortem alteration of bone (diagenesis), however, must be ruled out before the elements can be used to characterize life in the past. Femoral cortical bone samples of ca. 40 mg were thoroughly decontaminated, and the concentrations of Al, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, As, Sr, Ba, and Pb were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The concentrations of these elements were quantified in bone samples from 553 skeletons from 9 rural and urban cemeteries, and 34 soil samples obtained near three burials. Copper, the primary element of interest in this work, is generally absent from the femoral cortical bone of rural people, although it occurs in high concentrations in the skeletons of the inhabitants of towns. The Cu in medieval to post-medieval bones likely originated from everyday objects, notably kitchen utensils. A rural to urban distinction in Cu concentrations, found repeatedly at two sites, likely resulted from differential access to much-desired, although still utilitarian, household items. An uneven distribution of metal objects used in domestic contexts, demonstrated through bone chemistry, was greater between rural and urban communities than it was within urban centres, at least among the socioeconomic positions sampled in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measuring multidimensional inequality by means of a univariate index requires weighting the dimensions of inequality. This paper explores the normative and empirical problems involved in measuring inequality by estimating hedonic weights on the basis of German microdata. In contrast to previous works, the perception of inequality, derived from subjective social status, has been used to estimate a weighting scheme that includes five dimensions. By aggregating outcomes using a generalized Gini and the hedonic weights, annual multidimensional economic inequality (MDEI) was calculated for the period from 2000 to 2016. The results show that during this period MDEI is significantly higher than when equal weights are used, but lower than income inequality. Until 2006, multidimensional inequality in Germany increased at the same pace as income inequality, but since 2008, the trend of MDEI points downwards if one assumes imperfect substitution between dimensions. The counterfactual decomposition reveals that income contributes to inequality more than any other dimension, but the exceptional reduction in unemployment is the major cause of the decline by the MDEI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although previous research shows that family dynamics and parental socioeconomic status influence the timing of young adults' first entry into homeownership, much less is known about how the role of family factors may vary across countries with different housing systems. In this article, we use panel survey data from Britain and Germany to compare how family life course careers and parental socioeconomic background influence young adults' initial entry into homeownership in these two divergent national contexts. The results show that in Britain, first-time homeownership transitions are tightly synchronized with partnership formation. By contrast, in Germany first moves into homeownership typically occur later around or after the arrival of children. Parental owner-occupation accelerates entry into homeownership in both contexts, while the effects of other parental characteristics are relatively muted. Furthermore, the results highlight how individual socioeconomic factors are critical determinants of entering owner-occupation. This is particularly true in Britain where there is a strong socioeconomic gradient in first-time homeownership transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper provides insights from the extant literature on institutional entrepreneurship in emerging fields which could enable us to understand how the innovative idea of 'energy community' arose, became new practices, and has been institutionalized over time. In August 2008, the people of St. Peter, a Black Forest rural town in Germany, decided to build their own energy co-operative for the operation of the biomass District Heating Plant (DHP). The key driving forces for this comprised a wide range of sustainability-related discourses, such as climate protection, energy supply security, and regional economic development. The biomass DHP, as an environmentally-friendly heating system, has become a taken-for-granted practice and has been presented as an 'inspirational' example to other communities in the region. The main contribution of this study is to develop and use a multi-level analytical framework to elucidate the process of legitimation and sense-making of the notion of the energy community St. Peter. The key conclusions are that institutional entrepreneurs are dispersed across space, social status, sector, and governance levels; their agency is distributed among multiple levels of action and multiple stages of development; and they use a range of social skills to justify their action for institutional change. Therefore, community-based initiatives should draw on multiple discourses that address both individual interests (stable prices and supply security) and collective concerns (environmental protection). In this way, wide public support for transforming existing energy practices into more renewable ones can be achieved. Highlights • This paper provides insights from the literature on institutional entrepreneurship in emerging fields. • It develops and uses a multi-level framework to elucidate the process of legitimation and sense-making of energy practices. • The key findings are that the agency is distributed among multiple levels of action and multiple stages of development. • Energy communities draw on multiple discourses to address both individual and collective concerns of energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many bird populations are made up of social units with differences in size and social status. Of these, the family and flock structure of geese Anserini are among the better known. However, how the association of juvenile geese with their parents in families influences the migration timing and space-use of populations, as well as the events leading to juvenile independence are not well understood. We focus on family size dynamics of the Greater White-fronted Goose Anser a. albifrons on its wintering grounds in the Netherlands and northern Germany, where we gathered 17 years of observation data on foraging flocks and tracked 13 complete families with GPS transmitters. We explored how social status and family size affected wintering site choice and migration timing as well as how and why family sizes decreased. We found that family size decreased strongly during autumn migration, likely from juvenile death due to insufficient fuelling. It further decreased through the winter, here seemingly by juveniles accidentally splitting off during strong disturbance events. Different from previous findings, a large proportion of juveniles became independent during winter. Large families generally arrived later to the wintering grounds, wintered further from the breeding grounds and departed later for spring migration than adults without young. Independent young left for spring migration last. Thus, White-fronted Geese are differential migrants by social status. In combination with the observation of low breeding success in this population in recent years, our findings improve the understanding of its spatial and temporal patterns during winter, and their apparent changes. This can support conservation and management decisions for both White-fronted Geese as well as other large migrants with complex age and social structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is dedicated to the Salonitan stele of the decurion [Tiberius] Julius Maximus from ala Parthorum (CIL 3, 8746; EDH HD050401) and the stele of the duplicarius Cloutius from ala Pannoniorum (CIL 3, 2016; EDH HD054712) as the only epigraphic confirmations of these auxiliary cavalry units in the Roman province of Dalmatia. The prevailing opinion is that they should be dated to the closing years of the Augustan era or the early years of the reign of Tiberius. It is suggested that these cavalry units were posted in the immediate vicinity of Salona in the years following the Pannonian-Dalmatian uprising (6-9 AD). The discovery of the stele of Maximus at Pleštine, southwest of the Klis mountain pass, may indicate that this was exactly where ala Parthorum, or a part of it, was positioned with the task of securing the communication route between Salona and the mainland. The author discusses the social status and origin of the decurion [Tiberius] Julius Maximus, the son of Gaius Julius Tiridates, a Roman-born member of the Parthian aristocracy. The duplicarius Cloutius, the son of Clutamus, came from the Asturian Susarri people of southwest Hispania and was not the only Hispanian admitted at the time to the unit originally composed of Pannonian cavalrymen. The author attempts to determine the time when the alae left Dalmatia. At roughly the beginning of the reign of Tiberius, ala Pannoniorum was transferred to Pannonia, where it kept watch over the roads to the camp in Arrabona. The ala Parthorum was believed to have been transferred to Germania in the first half of the 1st century, where it was confirmed as ala Parthorum et Araborum, but more recent finds from Pisoraca suggest that it was transferred to northwest Hispania at the outset of the Claudian era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The current study investigates potential pathways from socio-economic status (SES) to BMI in the adult population, considering psychological domains of eating behaviour (restrained eating, uncontrolled eating, emotional eating) as potential mediators stratified for sex.Design: Data were derived from the population-based cross-sectional LIFE-Adult-Study. Parallel-mediation models were conducted to obtain the total, direct and indirect effects of psychological eating behaviour domains on the association between SES and BMI for men and for women.Setting: Leipzig, Germany.Subjects: We studied 5935 participants aged 18 to 79 years.Results: Uncontrolled eating mediated the association between SES and BMI in men only and restrained eating in both men and women. Emotional eating did not act as mediator in this relationship. The total effect of eating behaviour domains on the association between SES and BMI was estimated as β=-0·03 (se 0·02; 95 % CI -0·062, -0·003) in men and β=-0·18 (se 0·02; 95 % CI -0·217, -0·138) in women.Conclusions: Our findings do not indicate a strong overall mediation effect of the eating behaviour domains restrained eating, uncontrolled eating and emotional eating on the association between SES and BMI. Further research on other pathways of this association is strongly recommended. Importantly, our findings indicate that, independent from one's social position, focusing on psychological aspects in weight reduction might be a promising approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender pay gaps likely persist in Western societies because both men and women consider somewhat lower earnings for female employees than for otherwise similar male employees to be fair. Two different theoretical approaches explain "legitimate" wage gaps: same-gender referent theory and reward expectations theory. The first approach states that women compare their lower earnings primarily with that of other underpaid women; the second approach argues that both men and women value gender as a status variable that yields lower expectations about how much each gender should be paid for otherwise equal work. This article is the first to analyze hypotheses contrasting the two theories using an experimental factorial survey design. In 2009, approximately 1,600 German residents rated more than 26,000 descriptions of fictitious employees. The labor market characteristics of each employee and the amount of information given about them were experimentally varied across all descriptions. The results primarily support reward expectations theory. Both men and women produced gender pay gaps in their fairness ratings (with the mean ratio of just female-to-male wages being .92). Respondents framed the just pay ratios by the gender inequalities they experienced in their own occupations, and some evidence of gender-specific evaluation standards emerged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study diet quality among pre-schoolers using the Diet Quality Index (DQI) and to investigate differences according to gender, socio-economic status (SES) and overweight/obesity status.Design: Kindergarten-based cross-sectional survey within the ToyBox-study. A standardized protocol was used and parents/caregivers self-reported sociodemographic data and a semi-quantitative FFQ. A total DQI and its four subcomponents (diversity, quality, equilibrium and meal index) were calculated based on this FFQ. High total DQI scores indicate better diet quality than low scores. Results of the total DQI and the subcomponents were reported as percentages of maximum scores (100 %).Setting: Kindergartens in six European countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Poland and Spain).Subjects: European pre-schoolers (aged 3·5-5·5 years) and their parents/caregivers (n 7063).Results: The mean total DQI score was 68·3 %. Mean scores of the subcomponents were 61·7 % for diversity, 56·5 % for quality, 65·4 % for equilibrium and 89·7 % for the meal index. Pre-schoolers of lower-SES backgrounds had lower scores on the total DQI and all its subcomponents. No clear differences were found by gender and overweight status. Results differed slightly according to country.Conclusions: Pre-schoolers scored low on the total DQI and especially on dietary quality, as energy-dense, low-nutritious food items were more often consumed than highly nutritious food items. Furthermore, already in pre-schoolers lower-SES mothers were less likely to provide a good diet quality and this was consistent for all four subcomponents of the total DQI. Food intake in pre-schoolers should be enhanced, especially in pre-schoolers of lower-SES backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study the quantity and quality of water intake from beverages among pre-schoolers and investigate associations with gender and socio-economic status (SES).Design: Kindergarten-based cross-sectional survey within the large-scale European ToyBox-study. A standardized protocol was used and parents/caregivers filled in sociodemographic data and a semi-quantitative FFQ.Setting: Kindergartens in six European countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Poland and Spain).Subjects: European pre-schoolers (aged 3·5-5·5 years) and their parents/caregivers (n 7051).Results: Mean water intake was 1051 ml/d; plain water, 547 ml/d; plain milk, 241 ml/d; other fruit juice, 104 ml/d; pure fruit juice, 59 ml/d; soft drinks, 55 ml/d; tea, 45 ml/d; sugared and chocolate milk, 37 ml/d; smoothies, 15 ml/d; and light soft drinks, 6 ml/d. Boys had a higher water intake than girls due to a higher consumption of plain water, but more importantly to the consumption of beverages of less quality. Lower-SES pre-schoolers scored better on quantity than high-SES pre-schoolers, but as a consequence of consumption of sugared beverages. Nevertheless, the associations differed by country.Conclusions: The water intake from beverages did not meet the European Food Safety Authority standard of 1280 ml/d; especially in Western European countries water intake from beverages was low. The most important water sources were plain water, milk and fruit juices. Interventions aiming at a proper and sufficient water intake should focus on both quantity and quality. Messages about water and water sources should be clear for everyone and interventions should be sufficiently tailored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The transition from late adolescence to early adulthood (16-20 years) represents a time of exploration and self-discovery for many young people. As such, it is often associated with experimentation in substance use. Vocational students in particular report high substance use. Thus, the aim of this study is to examine patterns and trajectories of their substance use behavior.Methods: On two occasions (interval 18 months), we investigated 5214 students (M=19.39 years; 54% male) from 49 vocational schools in seven German federal states. We identified classes of substance use and trajectories via latent transition analysis, controlling for gender, age, and socio-economic status. Additionally, we investigated work-related (job demands/stress/satisfaction) and psychopathological (depressive symptoms) predictors of substance use via multinomial regressions.Results: We found three latent stages of substance use: low use (baseline: 43%/follow-up: 44%), mainly alcohol use (50%/45%), and polysubstance use (7%/11%). Over time, 10% of alcohol users at baseline transitioned to polysubstance use at follow-up, while there were smaller transition rates (2-9%) between the other stages. Compared to low use, polysubstance use at follow-up was predicted by high job stress (aOR=1.45, 1.07-1.96) at baseline.Conclusions: High alcohol use is associated with bidirectional transitions in young adults. Hence, future research needs to identify mechanisms of change to identify protective factors. Regarding vocational practice, early stress management seems to be a viable path to prevent polysubstance use in vocational students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Socially disadvantaged people have an increased need for medical care due to a higher burden of health problems and chronic diseases. In Germany, outpatient care is chiefly provided by office-based general practitioners and specialists in private practice. People are free to choose the physician they prefer. In this study, national data were used to examine differences in the use of outpatient medical care by socioeconomic status (SES). Methods: The analyses were based on data from 6,754 participants in the Robert Koch Institute’s German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults (DEGS1) aged between 18 and 69 years. The number of outpatient physician visits during the past twelve months was assessed for several medical specializations. SES was determined based on education, occupation, and income. Associations between SES and physician visits were analysed using logistic regression and zero-truncated negative binomial regression for count data. Results: After adjusting for sociodemographic factors and health indicators, outpatients with low SES had more contacts with general practitioners than outpatients with high SES (men: incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 1.25; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.08–1.46; women: IRR = 1.20; 95% CI = 1.07–1.34). The use of specialists was lower in people with low SES than in those with high SES when sociodemographic factors and health indicators were adjusted for (men: odds ratio [OR] = 0.68; 95% CI = 0.51–0.91; women: OR = 0.56; 95% CI = 0.41–0.77). This applied particularly to specialists in internal medicine, dermatology, and gynaecology. The associations remained after additional adjustment for the type of health insurance and the regional density of office-based physicians. Conclusion: The findings suggest that socially disadvantaged people are seen by general practitioners more often than the socially better-off, who are more likely to visit a medical specialist. These differences may be due to differences in patient preferences, physician factors, physician-patient interaction, and potential barriers to accessing specialist care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Conflicting findings were observed in recent studies assessing the association between patients’ area-level socio-economic status and the received number of computed tomography (CT) examinations in children. The aim was to investigate the association between area-level socio-economic status and variation in CT examination practice for pediatric patients in Germany. Methods: Data from Radiology Information Systems for children aged 0 to < 15 years without cancer who had at least one CT examination between 2001 and 2010 were extracted in 20 hospitals across Germany. The small-area German Index of Multiple Deprivation (GIMD) was used to assess regional deprivation. The GIMD scores were classified into least, medium and most deprived areas and linked with the patient’s last known postal code. A multinomial logistic regression model was used to assess the association between patients’ CT numbers and regional deprivation adjusting for age, sex, and location of residence (urban/rural). Results: A total of 37,810 pediatric patients received 59,571 CT scans during the study period. 27,287 (72%) children received only one CT, while n = 885 (2.3%) received six or more. Increasing numbers of CT examinations in non-cancer patients were significantly associated with higher regional deprivation, which increased, although CI overlap, for higher CT categories: ‘2–3 CT’ odds ratio (OR) = 1.45, 95%CI: 1.40–1.50; ‘4–5 CT’ OR = 1.48, 95%CI: 1.38–1.59; ‘6+CT’ OR = 1.54, 95%CI: 1.41–1.69. In addition, male sex, higher age categories, and specific body regions were positively associated with increased numbers of CT examinations. Conclusion: We observed a positive association between regional deprivation and CT numbers in non-cancer pediatric patients. Limitations of the ecological approach and the lack of differentiation of CT details have to be acknowledged. More information on CT indications is necessary for a full assessment of this finding. In addition, further work on ways to assess socio-economic status more accurately may be required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Data on regional differences in the quality of medical care in Germany are scarce. This study aimed to compare outcome quality and medical treatment of pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes between the federal states of Germany. Methods: 24 928 patients (< 18 years of age) with type 1 diabetes and German residence were selected from the Diabetes-Patienten-Verlaufsdokumentation database. Indicators of outcome quality were HbA1C, overweight prevalence, and rate of severe hypoglycemia. To reflect medical treatment, use of insulin pumps and use of rapid-acting or long-acting insulin analogues were analyzed. Logistic regression models were created for binary variables with federal state as independent predictor. Linear regression was applied for HbA1C and Poisson regression for rate of severe hypoglycemia. Confounders: Sex, age, diabetes duration, migratory background. Results: Disparity was observed for indicators of outcome quality between the 16 federal states of Germany (all p < 0.05). After adjustment, HbA1C varied between 55.8 mmol/mol and 67.3 mmol/mol, overweight prevalence between 10.0 and 15.3 %, severe hypoglycemia ranged from 0.06 events/PY to 0.21 events/PY. Overall, the best outcome quality appeared to be present in Saxony. Medical treatment also differed. The percentage of pediatrics on insulin pumps varied between 26.3 and 51.8 %. The use of rapid-acting analogues ranged from 56.6 to 96.2 % and the use of long-acting analogues varied between 41.9 and 96.9 % (all p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Medical treatment and outcome quality in pediatrics with type 1 diabetes differed within Germany. Disparities in individual socioeconomic status, regional deprivation, or differences in medical reimbursement decisions might have contributed to the patterns observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the interwar period, Transylvanian Saxon nationalists integrated Saxon particularism into a broader German Volksgemeinschaft, stretching from Germany to the Baltic under the rubric of the myth of the German East. However, Saxon identification with the Volksgemeinschaft varied according to the degree to which other Germans matched Saxon particularistic understandings of Germanness. Saxon nationalists identified strongly with Germany, which gave new meaning to the Saxons' imagined civilizing mission in Transylvania. Other historically privileged German communities in eastern Europe such as the Baltic Germans also reinforced Saxon views of the Volksgemeinschaft. However, Saxon nationalists struggled to identify with other Germans in Romania, whose comparatively low socioeconomic standing did not match their expectations. These patterns continued after 1933. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the policies of European Union (EU) Member States that approaches public procurement and its socio-economic dimension. It mentions that Great Britain public procurement law, policy and social value underpins the interpretation of the public procurement rules. It states that the French law, policy and social value is committed to sustainable socio-economic development. It mentions that German law, policy and social value is complex and based on the cascade principle.

Background: Research on inequities in access to health care among asylum-seekers has focused on disparities between asylum-seekers and resident populations, but little attention has been paid to potential inequities in access to care within the group of asylum-seekers. We aimed to analyse the principles of horizontal equity (i.e., equal access for equal need irrespective of socioeconomic status, SES) and vertical equity (higher allocation of resources to those with higher need) among asylum-seekers in Germany.Methods: We performed a secondary exploratory analysis on cross-sectional data obtained from a population-based questionnaire survey among all asylum-seekers (aged 18 or above) registered in three administrative districts in Germany during the three-month study period (N = 1017). Data were collected on health care access (health care utilisation of four types of services and unmet medical need), health care need (approximated by sex, age and self-rated health status), and SES (highest educational attainment and subjective social status, SSS). We calculated odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) in multiple logistic regression models to analyse associations between SES indicators and access to health care under control of need.Results: We contacted 60.4% (614) of the total asylum-seekers population, of which 25.4% (N = 156) participated in the study. Educational attainment showed no significant effect on health care access in crude models, but was positively associated with utilisation of psychotherapists and hospital admissions in adjusted models. Higher SSS was positively associated with health care utilisation of all types of services. The odds of hospitals admissions for asylum-seekers in the medium and highest SSS category were 3.18 times [1.06, 9.59] and 1.6 times [0.49, 5.23] the odds of those in the lowest SSS category. After controlling for need variables none of the SES indicators were significantly associated with measures of access to care, but a positive association remained, indicating higher utilisation of health care among asylum-seekers with higher SES. Age, sex or general health status were the only significant predictors of health care utilisation in fully adjusted models. The adjusted odds of reporting unmet medical needs among asylum-seekers with "fair/bad/very bad" health status were 2.16 times [0.84, 5.59] the odds of those with "good/very good" health status.Conclusion: Our findings revealed that utilisation of health services among asylum-seekers is associated with higher need (vertical equity met). Horizontal equity was met with respect to educational attainment for most outcomes, but a social gradient in health care utilisation was observed across SSS. Further confirmatory research is needed, especially on potential inequities in unmet medical need and on measurements of SES among asylum-seekers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable estimates for differences in life expectancy (LE) by socio-economic position (SEP), that can be assessed in an international context and are comprehensive in terms of considering different SEP dimensions, are missing for the German population so far. The aim of the present study is to fi ll this gap by providing estimates for differences in LE by education, household income, work status and vocational class. The lack of national mortality data by SEP required an innovative methodological approach to estimate LE from survey data with a mortality followup. The main strengths of the method are the low demand on the data, its simple applicability and the estimation of a set of age-specific probabilities of dying. We employed the method to the German Life Expectancy Survey and estimated period life tables for 45 male and 32 female SEP subpopulations. The results show striking differences in LE across all analysed SEP indicators. Among men, LE at age 40 ranges by more than fi ve years between the lowest and highest household income quartiles, more than six years between individuals with low and high education, around ten years across the work status groups, and almost 15 years across the vocational classes. The proportion of those who reach the classic pension age of 65 years also varies considerably, as does the remaining LE at this age. The corresponding differences among women are smaller, yet still notable. The results yield an interesting fi nding for the ongoing discussion about the various consequences of an increased pension age. Moreover, they provide policy-makers, doctors, researchers and public health workers with insights into Germany's most disadvantaged SEP subpopulations and the potential extent of their disadvantages in terms of longevity and mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photovoltaic (PV) system adoption in Germany is mainly driven by a feed-in tariff that guarantees a financial return on investment. To promote adoption in the future absence of this tariff, we explored further motives of homeowners relevant to PV system purchase intention. A sample of 200 homeowners who did not own a PV system participated in an online-survey. Only few homeowners actually planned to adopt a PV system. However, basic willingness to adopt a PV system was high, whereas willingness to pay was low - hinting at a potentially growing market with falling prices. Using path analysis, we show that the subjective norm (i.e. peer behavior and expectations) and the attitude towards PV were strong predictors of purchase intention. Attitude towards PV systems was mainly based on aspirations of social status, autarky, and financial gains, whereas costs, efforts, and risks associated with PV systems were detrimental to attitude. We conclude that to promote further adoption, energy storage systems that increase financial savings and autarky need to be improved and marketed. Furthermore, institutionalized tests of PV systems and labels need to be introduced to reduce risk perceptions among homeowners willing to adopt a PV system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]