[Coding in general practice-Will the ICD-11 be a step forward?

PubMed

Kühlein, Thomas; Virtanen, Martti; Claus, Christoph; Popert, Uwe; van Boven, Kees

2018-07-01

Primary care physicians in Germany don't benefit from coding diagnoses-they are coding for the needs of others. For coding, they mostly are using either the thesaurus of the German Institute of Medical Documentation and Information (DIMDI) or self-made cheat-sheets. Coding quality is low but seems to be sufficient for the main use case of the resulting data, which is the morbidity adjusted risk compensation scheme that distributes financial resources between the many German health insurance companies.Neither the International Classification of Diseases and Health Related Problems (ICD-10) nor the German thesaurus as an interface terminology are adequate for coding in primary care. The ICD-11 itself will not recognizably be a step forward from the perspective of primary care. At least the browser database format will be advantageous. An implementation into the 182 different electronic health records (EHR) on the German market would probably standardize the coding process and make code finding easier. This method of coding would still be more cumbersome than the current coding with self-made cheat-sheets.The first steps towards a useful official cheat-sheet for primary care have been taken, awaiting implementation and evaluation. The International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC-2) already provides an adequate classification standard for primary care that can also be used in combination with ICD-10. A new version of ICPC (ICPC-3) is under development. As the ICPC-2 has already been integrated into the foundation layer of ICD-11 it might easily become the future standard for coding in primary care. Improving communication between the different EHR would make taking over codes from other healthcare providers possible. Another opportunity to improve the coding quality might be creating use cases for the resulting data for the primary care physicians themselves.

[Problems of implementing integration management at company level in small and medium-sized enterprises].

PubMed

Hetzel, C; Flach, T; Weber, A; Schian, H-M

2006-05-01

At company level responsibility increases for the employment of workers with health-related problems or disabilities, but realisation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) is lacking. Therefore a model is developed based on theory and a survey. Minimum requirements for "betriebliches Eingliederungsmanagement" (integration management at company level) according to section 84 (2) SGB IX Book 9 of the German Social Code, the main products of the international movement "disability management", a description of roles for realisation and the main sources of employers' support are described. Although external supporting of SMEs is unquestioned, it is expensive and retards own initiative and own activity counting solely on this. Only by developing a minimum of SME's awareness, acceptance and competence, this will open up to (currently suboptimal) external support. Goal is identifying SME managers' attitudes, activities, proposals and expectations referring integration management at company level to derive concepts of SME's support. 13 interviews are analysed by qualitative content analysis identifying the following barriers: information deficit, absence of priority, limited possibilities for transitional work, cost, partially limited workers' self-responsibility, illness as a "tabes" subject. Possibilities overcoming these barriers are delineated. On that basis a model is presented: pragmatically for realisation, a company contact person with minimum competence, uniform external support, institutional partners' integration and quality assurance according to disability management. Interlocking SME world and social insurance world means first to support SME's awareness, acceptance and competence, second to create for SME a central contact in the "rehabilitation jungle" and third to develop SME-suitable premiums according to section 84 (3) SGB IX, Book 9 of the German social code.

[Statement of the Association of Pneumological Clinics and the German Respiratory Society on the coding of invasive and non-invasive ventilation in intensity care].

PubMed

2013-07-01

Mechanical ventilation in patients with respiratory failure represents one of the most important aspects of intensity care. It can be performed invasively and non-invasively depending on the clinical situation and the underlying disease. The expenditure and consumption of resources is the basis of the compensation for each patient case in the German diagnosis related group system. For ventilated patients it is calculated based on the hours of ventilation, according to the standard coding guideline. In this statement, the German Respiratory Society and the Association of Pneumological Clinics aim to clarify some aspects of the coding of invasive and non-invasive ventilation. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

[New forms of medical profession--advertising].

PubMed

Wolter, Udo

2005-04-01

Particularly in the last two years, the legislation of Part V of the German Social Code has challenged the time-honoured system of the physician's own medical practice as the panel doctor's registered office. New forms of outpatient care, for example the health centres, "Heilkunde-GmbHs", and the recently-developed medical care centres, are intended to impact on patients' ambulatory healthcare. Due to the partial employee status of practice owners, and thus the relinquishing of the independent entrepreneurial structuring of their own practices, the construct of the traditional professional code of conduct for physicians is beginning to totter. It remains to be seen whether liberalisation of the model code of conduct will provide a remedy. The principle should, however, be adhered to that advertising in the physician sector must not be unethical, if we understand this to mean not strident, not confusing, and not comparative.

Cultural specificity of socioemotional selectivity: age differences in social network composition among Germans and Hong Kong Chinese.

PubMed

Fung, Helene H; Stoeber, Franziska S; Yeung, Dannii Yuen-lan; Lang, Frieder R

2008-05-01

We examined age differences in social network composition among 330 Germans and 330 Hong Kong Chinese, aged 20 to 91 years. We measured social network composition with the Social Convoy Questionnaire. In both cultures, older age was associated with the same number of close social partners and fewer peripheral social partners than was younger age. However, the patterns of age differences in specific relationships differed across cultures: Age was negatively associated with the proportion of nuclear family members among Germans but the association was positive among Hong Kong Chinese. Age was positively associated with the proportion of acquaintances among Germans but the association was negative among Hong Kong Chinese. We discuss the findings in terms of whether the socioemotional selectivity theory holds in both cultures.

How L2-Learners' Brains React to Code-Switches: An ERP Study with Russian Learners of German

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruigendijk, Esther; Hentschel, Gerd; Zeller, Jan Patrick

2016-01-01

This Event Related Potentials (ERP) study investigates auditory processing of sentences with so-called code-switches in Russian learners of German. It has often been argued that switching between two languages results in extra processing cost, although it is not completely clear yet what exactly causes these costs. ERP presents a good method to…

[Placement of children and adolescents following seclusion and restraint actions–a study on family-court approvals of minors in youth welfare, child and adolescent psychiatry and jail according to Para. 1631 German Civil Code].

PubMed

Kölch, Michael; Vogel, Harald

2016-01-01

According to German law (Para. 1631b German Civil Code), the placement of children and adolescents following seclusion and restraint actions must be approved by a family court. We analyzed the family court data of a court district in Berlin (Tempelhof-Kreuzberg) concerning cases of “placement of minors” between 2008 and 2011. A total of 474 such procedures were discovered. After data clearing and correction of cases (e. g., because of emergency interventions of the youth welfare system taking children into custody according to Para. 42, German Civil Code VIII), 376 cases remained. Of these 376 procedures in the years 2008 to 2011, 127 cases concerned children and adolescents according to Para. 1631b German Civil Code, and 249 procedures were settled either by dismissal, withdrawal or by repealing the initial decision to place the child with restrain or seclusion by means of an interim order or by filing an appeal against the final decision. Of the 127 procedures, 68 concerned girls, who were on average slightly younger than boys (14.5 years vs. 15.1 years). In two thirds of the procedures, the children and adolescents were German citizens. The majority of youths involved were living at home at the time of the procedure, but in 15 % of the case the youths were homeless. Most of the adolescents were treated with restraint in child and adolescent psychiatry. The most frequently quoted reasons for seclusion were substance abuse, suicide risk and running away from home/being homeless.

Political Socialisation at British and West German Universities--or: Whistling in the Dark?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tilford, Roger

1985-01-01

British universities remain autonomous and continue to act as effective agencies of political socialization. The historical ambivalence in the structure of the German university between academic freedom and state regulation remains, inhibiting the German university's value as an agency of political socialization. (Author/RM)

[Changes in clinical standards and the need for adjusting legal standards of care from the point of view of civil law].

PubMed

Rosenberger, Rainer

2007-01-01

The legal standard of medical care is laid down in Sect. 276 of the German Civil Code (principle of due diligence). It applies to both contractual and tortious liability and likewise to the treatment of patients insured under the statutory health insurance scheme and self-payers. The legal standard of care conforms to the clinical standards because medical liability means medical professional liability. Liability law does not distinguish between different standards of care in the treatment of patients insured under the statutory health insurance scheme on the one hand and privately insured patients on the other. Changes in clinical standards immediately affect liability law without the need for formal adaptation of the legal standard of care. Liability law cannot claim more diligence than that owed from a medical point of view. Legislative changes that result in a lowering of medical standards (reduction in the quality of treatment) will have to be accepted by liability law, even if these are regulations pertaining to Social Law (SGB V, Book 5 of the German Social Code). In this respect, the principle of legal unity applies. In consideration of this kind of changes the due diligence requirements for the treatment of patients insured under the statutory health insurance scheme and privately insured patients remain basically equal. If these changes lead to an increase of risk for the patient, the resulting liabilities are not to be attributed to the therapist. What remains to be seen is whether there will be an increased attempt to minimise risk by "additionally purchasing health care services".

German politics of genetic engineering and its deconstruction.

PubMed

Gottweis, H

1995-05-01

Policy-making, as exemplified by biotechnology policy, can be understood as an attempt to manage a field of discursivity, to construct regularity in a dispersed multitude of combinable elements. Following this perspective of politics as a textual process, the paper interprets the politicization of genetic engineering in Germany as a defence of the political as a regime of heterogeneity, as a field of 'dissensus' rather than 'consensus', and a rejection of the idea that the framing of technological transformation is an autonomous process. From its beginning in the early 1970s, genetic engineering was symbolically entrenched as a key technology of the future, and as an integral element of the German politics of modernization. Attempts by new social movements and the Green Party to displace the egalitarian imaginary of democratic discourse into the politics of genetic engineering were construed by the political élites as an attack on the political order of post-World War II Germany. The 1990 Genetic Engineering Law attempted a closure of this controversy. But it is precisely the homogenizing idiom of this 'settlement' which continues to nourish the social movements and their radical challenge to the definitions and codings of the politics of genetic engineering.

[Orthopedic and trauma surgery in the German DRG system. Recent developments].

PubMed

Franz, D; Schemmann, F; Selter, D D; Wirtz, D C; Roeder, N; Siebert, H; Mahlke, L

2012-07-01

Orthopedics and trauma surgery are subject to continuous medical advancement. The correct and performance-based case allocation by German diagnosis-related groups (G-DRG) is a major challenge. This article analyzes and assesses current developments in orthopedics and trauma surgery in the areas of coding of diagnoses and medical procedures and the development of the 2012 G-DRG system. The relevant diagnoses, medical procedures and G-DRGs in the versions 2011 and 2012 were analyzed based on the publications of the German DRG Institute (InEK) and the German Institute of Medical Documentation and Information (DIMDI). Changes were made for the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) coding of complex cases with medical complications, the procedure coding for spinal surgery and for hand and foot surgery. The G-DRG structures were modified for endoprosthetic surgery on ankle, shoulder and elbow joints. The definition of modular structured endoprostheses was clarified. The G-DRG system for orthopedic and trauma surgery appears to be largely consolidated. The current phase of the evolution of the G-DRG system is primarily aimed at developing most exact descriptions and definitions of the content and mutual delimitation of operation and procedures coding (OPS). This is an essential prerequisite for a correct and performance-based case allocation in the G-DRG system.

[ENT medicine and head and neck surgery in the G-DRG system 2008].

PubMed

Franz, D; Roeder, N; Hörmann, K; Alberty, J

2008-09-01

Further developments in the German DRG system have been incorporated into the 2008 version. For ENT medicine and head and neck surgery significant changes concerning coding of diagnoses, medical procedures and concerning the DRG-structure were made. Analysis of relevant diagnoses, medical procedures and G-DRGs in the versions 2007 and 2008 based on the publications of the German DRG institute (InEK) and the German Institute of Medical Documentation and Information (DIMDI). Changes for 2008 focussed on the development of DRG structure, DRG validation and codes for medical procedures. The outcome of these changes for German hospitals may vary depending on the range of activities. The G-DRG system has gained in complexity again. High demands are made on correct and complete coding of complex ENT and head and neck surgery cases. Quality of case allocation within the G-DRG system has been improved. For standard cases quality of case allocation is adequate. Nevertheless, further adjustments of the G-DRG system especially for cases with complex neck surgery are necessary.

[Orthopedic and trauma surgery in the German DRG system 2008].

PubMed

Franz, D; Kaufmann, M; Siebert, C H; Windolf, J; Roeder, N

2008-04-01

The German DRG (diagnosis-related groups) system has been modified and updated into version 2008. For orthopedic and trauma surgery significant changes concerning coding of diagnoses, medical procedures and the DRG structure were made. The modified version has been analyzed in order to ascertain whether the DRG system is suitably qualified to fulfill the demands of the reimbursement system or whether further improvements are necessary. Analysis of the severity of relevant side-effect diagnoses, medical procedures and G-DRGs in the versions 2007 and 2008 was carried out based on the publications of the German DRG institute (InEK) and the German Institute of Medical Documentation and Information (DIMDI). Changes for 2008 focused on the development of DRG structure, DRG validation and codes for medical procedures. The outcome of these changes for German hospitals may vary depending on the range of activities. G-DRG system has become even more complex and the new regulations have also resulted in new problems associated with complications.. High demands are made on correct and complete coding of complex orthopedic and trauma surgery cases. Quality of case allocation within the G-DRG system has been improved. Nevertheless, further improvements of the G-DRG system are necessary, especially for cases with severe injuries.

Screening for social phobia in medical in- and outpatients with the German version of the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN).

PubMed

Sosic, Z; Gieler, U; Stangier, U

2008-06-01

To evaluate the German version of the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN) as a screening device and to report corresponding cut-off scores for different populations. In Study 1, 2043 subjects from a representative sample completed the SPIN. Cut-off values were established on the basis of means and standard deviations. In Study 2, different aspects of validity were examined in a clinical sample comprising 164 subjects, including social phobic individuals, individuals with other anxiety disorders and depression, and non-clinical control subjects. Internal consistency was evaluated. Convergent and divergent validity were explored using several established measures. Finally, the sensitivity and specificity of the German SPIN with regard to social anxiety classification were investigated by means of receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analyses. In Study 1, mean scores and standard deviations were used to determine cut-off scores for the German SPIN. In Study 2, excellent internal consistency and good convergent and divergent validity were obtained. ROC analyses revealed that the German SPIN performed well in discriminating between social phobic individuals on the one hand and psychiatric and non-psychiatric controls on the other. A cut-off score of 25 represented the best balance between sensitivity and specificity. Comparable to the original version, the German SPIN demonstrates solid psychometric properties and shows promise as an economic, reliable, and valid screening device.

Effect of Different Teaching Techniques on the Acquisition of Grammatical Gender by Beginning German Second Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arzt, Jessica; Kost, Claudia

2016-01-01

The grammatical gender of German nouns continues to pose a challenge to second language learners. Following from a connectionist framework, this study explores the effect of two input enhancement techniques, color-coding and gendered actors, on the learning of grammatical gender by beginning learners of German during a vocabulary acquisition…

The Ethnic Dimensions of Social Capital: How Parental Networks Shape Track Placement in Germany.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Werum, Regina E.

This research examined the relationship between parental social capital and children's educational track placement in Germany, and how parental social capital differentially affected the tracking experiences of German and non-German children. Parental social capital was defined as the degree to which adults used family networks or connections to…

[Benefit assessment of medical services in German health service - legal framework, historical and international perspective].

PubMed

Windeler, Jürgen; Lange, Stefan

2015-03-01

The term benefit describes the (positive) causal, patient-relevant consequences of medical interventions, whether diagnostic or therapeutic. Benefit assessments form the basis of rational decision-making within a health care system. They are based on clinical trials that are able to provide valid answers to the question regarding the relevant benefit or harm that can be caused by an intervention. In Germany, evidence-based benefit assessments are fixed by law, i.e., the Social Code Book V. The application and the practical impact of these assessments could be improved.

Soldier, Sailor, Rebel, Rule-Breaker: Masculinity and the Body in the German Far Right

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller-Idriss, Cynthia

2017-01-01

Drawing on a unique digital archive of thousands of images of far right symbols and commercial products in Germany, combined with 62 interviews conducted with German youth and their teachers in 2013-2014, this article examines young Germans' sense of style and their interpretation of far right-wing symbols and codes in commercial products,…

Nazi Education: A Case of Political Socialization.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hirsch, Herbert

1988-01-01

Discusses how the German Nazi party arranged for the political socialization of German children through public education in the 1930s. Topics include philosophy of the Nazi party, political socialization of teachers, and teaching materials for Nazi education. Implications for education's role in politics are explored. (CH)

The Experience in Personal Social Systems Questionnaire (EXIS.pers): Development and Psychometric Properties.

PubMed

Hunger, Christina; Bornhäuser, Annette; Link, Leoni; Geigges, Julian; Voss, Andreas; Weinhold, Jan; Schweitzer, Jochen

2017-03-01

This study presents the theoretical background, development, and psychometric properties of the German and English versions of the Experience in Personal Social Systems Questionnaire (EXIS.pers). It assesses how the members of a personal social system experience their situation within that system. It is designed as a research tool for interventions in which only one member of the system participates (e.g., Family Constellation Seminars). The EXIS.pers was created to measure change on the individual level relating to one's own important personal social system. In Study 1, we used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) for latent variable identification of the original German EXIS.pers (n = 179). In Studies 2 and 3, we used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to examine the dimensionality of the German (n = 634) and English (n = 310) EXIS.pers. Internal consistencies and cross-cultural structural equivalence were assessed. EFA indicated that a four-factor model provided best fit for the German EXIS.pers. For both the German and English EXIS.pers, CFA provided the best fit for a five-factor bi-level model that included a general factor (Experience In Personal Social Systems) and four dimensions (Belonging, Autonomy, Accord, Confidence). Good internal consistencies, external associations, and cross-cultural structural equivalence were demonstrated. This study provides first evidence for the German and English EXIS.pers as an economical and reliable measure of an individual's experience within his or her personal social systems. © 2016 Family Process Institute.

The Educational Governance of German School Social Science: The Example of Globalization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Szukala, Andrea

2016-01-01

Purpose: This article challenges the outsiders' views on European school social science adopting genuine cosmopolitan views, when globalisation is treated in social science classrooms. Method: The article is based on the theoretical framework of educational governance analysis and on qualitative corpus analysis of representative German Laenders'…

[Follow-up Care in the Field of Medical Rehabilitation Concerning Psychosomatic Indications Based on the New Conceptual Framework of the German Pension Insurance].

PubMed

Boes, N

2016-12-01

Mental disorders rank first amongst all causes for disability pensions and second in the field of medical rehabilitation. Especially alarming is the significantly lower age of entry of the mentally ill disability pensioners, compared to those with other indications. Mentally ill people often look back at a long history of diseases before getting in contact with the German pension insurance. In this regard the German pension insurance, which is obligated to effectively support people in order to keep them in working life until reaching the regular retirement age, is facing a big challenge, which stands right next to further demands, due to the demographic change, the increase of chronic diseases, multimorbidity, retirement age of 67 and changes in the working environment.With their activities in the field of medical rehabilitation the German pension insurance is aiming at the reintegration of people whose working capacity is endangered or reduced into the labor force or to prevent them from leaving it early. One of the main challenges notably in the field of mental diseases is to keep the success of the medical rehabilitation long-lasting. In this regard the post-rehabilitation provisions of the German pension insurances offer support according to § 31 I 1 Nr. 1 Social Insurance Code VI, if so required.On January 1st, 2016 the German pension insurance has adopted a new conceptual framework in the field of post rehabilitation which is presented in the following article, covering the range of psychosomatic indications. The aim of the new conceptual framework, which has to be implemented within the next three years, is to establish a nationwide, uniformed and preferably comprehensive follow-up care concept, which can be referred to by everyone, regardless which agency of the German pension insurance is in charge. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

[Standard of integration management at company level and its auditing].

PubMed

Flach, T; Hetzel, C; Mozdzanowski, M; Schian, H-M

2006-10-01

Responsibility at company level for the employment of workers with health-related problems or disabilities has increased, inter alia because of integration management at company level according to section 84 (2) of the German Social Code Book IX. Although several recommendations exist, no standard is available for auditing and certification. Such a standard could be a basis for granting premiums according to section 84 (3) of Book IX of the German Social Code. AUDIT AND CERTIFICATION: One product of the international "disability management" movement is the "Consensus Based Disability Management Audit" (CBDMA). The Audit is a systematic and independent measurement of the effectiveness of integration management at company level. CBDMA goals are to give evidence of the quality of the integration management implemented, to identify opportunities for improvement and recommend appropriate corrective and preventive action. In May 2006, the integration management of Ford-Werke GmbH Germany with about 23 900 employees was audited and certified as the first company in Europe. STANDARD OF INTEGRATION MANAGEMENT AT COMPANY LEVEL: In dialogue with corporate practitioners, the international standard of CBDMA has been adapted, completed and verified concerning its practicability. Process orientation is the key approach, and the structure is similar to DIN EN ISO 9001:2000. Its structure is as follows: (1) management-labour responsibility (goals and objectives, program planning, management-labour review), (2) management of resources (disability manager and DM team, employees' participation, cooperation with external partners, infrastructure), (3) communication (internal and external public relations), (4) case management (identifying cases, contact, situation analysis, planning actions, implementing actions and monitoring, process and outcome evaluation), (5) analysis and improvement (analysis and program evaluation), (6) documentation (manual, records).

[Guideline compliance in hip fracture: results of an external quality-assurance program in North Rhine Westphalia: 2003-2005].

PubMed

Schulze Raestrup, U; Grams, A; Smektala, R

2008-02-01

Whereas the Scottish guidelines are audited annually, nobody evaluates guideline compliance in Germany. Thus, can external quality assurance data pursuant to section 137 of the German Social Code Book V be suitable for auditing guideline compliance? From North Rhine Westphalia, a total of 48,831 cases of femoral fractures near the hip joint were evaluated. Compliance with the guidelines was determined based on preoperative hospital stay, thrombosis, and antibiotic prophylaxis. Guideline rationale was reviewed in terms of mortality and thromboembolism rate. Sixty-four percent of the interventions were performed in a timely manner. Thrombosis prophylaxis was given in 99% of cases. Antibiotics were given as a single shot. There was no connection between mortality and thromboembolism rates or time to surgery. Guideline compliance is similar in German and Scotland. The external quality assurance data are suitable for evaluating guideline compliance. The literature recommends a short time to surgery. Given the short observation period, it was not possible to demonstrate any improvement in outcomes.

How Socially Selective Is the German System of Initial Vocational Education and Training? Transitions into Initial Vocational Training and the Influence of Social Background

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beicht, Ursula; Walden, Günter

2015-01-01

In Germany, social background has a strong influence on school performance in the general educational system. Children from lower social classes have fewer opportunities to gain higher school leaving certificates. In this paper, we ask the question if social selectivity is also present in the German system of vocational education and training.…

[ENT and head and neck surgery in the German DRG system 2007].

PubMed

Franz, D; Roeder, N; Hörmann, K; Alberty, J

2007-07-01

The German DRG system has been further developed into version 2007. For ENT and head and neck surgery, significant changes in the coding of diagnoses and medical operations as well as in the the DRG structure have been made. New ICD codes for sleep apnoea and acquired tracheal stenosis have been implemented. Surgery on the acoustic meatus, removal of auricle hyaline cartilage for transplantation (e. g. rhinosurgery) and tonsillotomy have been coded in the 2007 version. In addition, the DRG structure has been improved. Case allocation of more than one significant operation has been established. The G-DRG system has gained in complexity. High demands are made on the coding of complex cases, whereas standard cases require mostly only one specific diagnosis and one specific OPS code. The quality of case allocation for ENT patients within the G-DRG system has been improved. Nevertheless, further adjustments of the G-DRG system are necessary.

Social Capital of Non-Traditional Students at a German University. Do Traditional and Non-Traditional Students Access Different Social Resources?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brändle, Tobias; Häuberer, Julia

2015-01-01

Social capital is of particular value for the acquisition of education. Not only does it prevent scholars from dropping out but it improves the educational achievement. The paper focuses on access to social resources by traditional and non-traditional students at a German university and asks if there are group differences considering this…

German genes and Turkish traits: ethnicity, infertility, and reproductive politics in Germany.

PubMed

Vanderlinden, Lisa K

2009-07-01

This ethnographic study uses the lens of ethnic difference to examine the experience of infertility and the cultural politics of belonging in modern Germany. The data are derived from participant observation and interviews conducted with forty-one ethnic Germans and thirty-three German Turks undergoing biomedical treatment for infertility at a fertility clinic in Berlin (1998-2000). Through their illness narratives, men and women symbolically link their loss of biological parenthood to losses in other life arenas, such as gender identity, social status and cultural acceptance. Results reveal that while both German Turks and ethnic Germans experience disruption and social suffering from their inability to conform to procreative norms, German Turkish sufferers exhibit higher levels of distress, which directly relates to their dual stigma as outsiders in both German Turkish culture and mainstream German culture. The findings suggest that the tensions surrounding individual reproductive practices are reflective of larger national tensions regarding the constitution of the body politic in an increasingly multicultural Germany.

[The "modernization" of health education in both German states between 1949 and 1975. The example of smoking].

PubMed

Sammer, Christian

2015-01-01

Using the example of smoking, this article scrutinizes the notions of order, educational conduct and images of subjects in the health education of both German states between 1949 and the mid 70s. Drawing on archival sources, publications and educational media from both health ministries, the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum and the Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung I reconstruct the organizational, conceptual and medial shift of health education from "citizenship" to a technology of communication and public relation, needing "scientification" in the 1960s. New epidemiological evidence fostered the belief in an efficacious prevention of manly coded and with smoking associated cardio-vascular diseases by forming healthy behavior. This went hand in hand with the increase of state responsibility for the health of its citizens and the import of new knowledge stemming from social research and new methodological expertise from advertising. At the same time the ideal of a comprehensible citizen shifted into a "socialist personality" that was to be shaped by a hierarchical and consistent education in the German Democratic Republic. In the Federal Republic of Germany the general principle of the self-determined citizen unfolded the antagonism of health education between individual emancipation and imposition.

Genetic variation of the porcine NR5A1 is associated with meat color.

PubMed

Görres, Andreas; Ponsuksili, Siriluck; Wimmers, Klaus; Muráni, Eduard

2016-02-01

Because of the central role of Steroidogenic factor 1 in the regulation of the development and function of steroidogenic tissues, including the adrenal gland, we chose the encoding gene NR5A1 as a candidate for stress response, meat quality and carcass composition in the domestic pig. To identify polymorphisms of the porcine NR5A1 we comparatively sequenced the coding, untranslated and regulatory regions in four commercial pig lines. Single nucleotide polymorphisms could be found in the 3' UTR and in an intronic enhancer, whereas no polymorphisms were detected in the proximal promoter and coding region. A subset of the detected polymorphisms was genotyped in Piétrain x (German Large White x German Landrace) and German Landrace pigs. For the same animals, carcass composition traits, meat quality characteristics and parameters of adrenal function were recorded. Associations with meat color were found for two of the discovered SNPs in Piétrain x (German Large White x German Landrace) and German Landrace pigs but no connections to parameters of adrenal function could be established. We conclude that NR5A1 variations influence meat color in a hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis independent manner and that further regulatory regions need to be analyzed for genetic variations to understand the discovered effects.

[Multiple homicides--forensic and criminologic aspects].

PubMed

Padosch, Stephan A; Schmidt, Peter H; Rothschild, Markus A; Madea, Burkhard

2004-01-01

The interpretation of medicolegal findings in homicide is an important tool of case profiling (so-called "operative case analysis"). In 17 cases of "multiple homicides" involving 22 offenders (21 males, 1 female; mean age 33 years) and 45 victims (21 males, 24 females; mean age 35 years; 41 fatalities, 4 survivors), the autopsy reports and the prosecution authorities' files were retrospectively analysed with regard to individual characteristics of perpetrators and victims, circumstances, and mode of commitment in order to comprehensively characterise relevant forensic and criminologic aspects. 31 victims were found to belong to the close social environment of the perpetrator, and 32 killings were committed in the victim's, perpetrator's or the joint flat. The main motives included greed (n = 7), personal conflicts (n = 5) and concealing of a crime (n = 9). The relevant injuries were attributable to gunshot wounds (n = 13), sharp force (n = 11), blunt force (n = 3), ligature strangulation (n = 3), smothering (n = 6), fire/carbon monoxide (n = 2) and combined impacts (n = 7). In 12 victims, defense injuries were found. The blood alcohol concentration exceeded 1.5 g/l in 5 victims. In 5 offenders, a psychiatric impairment of juridical responsibility was assessed (and 20 German criminal code, n = 1, psychosis; and 21 German criminal code, n = 4; acute alcohol intoxication). As far as data were available, 16 crimes were judged as murder, 12 as manslaughter and one as physical injury with fatal outcome.

Genetic drift. Overview of German, Nazi, and Holocaust medicine.

PubMed

Cohen, M Michael

2010-03-01

An overview of German, Nazi, and Holocaust medicine brings together a group of subjects discussed separately elsewhere. Topics considered include German medicine before and during the Nazi era, such as advanced concepts in epidemiology, preventive medicine, public health policy, screening programs, occupational health laws, compensation for certain medical conditions, and two remarkable guidelines for informed consent for medical procedures; also considered are the Nuremberg Code; American models for early Nazi programs, including compulsory sterilization, abusive medical experiments on prison inmates, and discrimination against black people; two ironies in US and Nazi laws; social Darwinism and racial hygiene; complicity of Nazi physicians, including the acts of sterilization, human experimentation, and genocide; Nazi persecution of Jewish physicians; eponyms of unethical German physicians with particular emphasis on Reiter, Hallervorden, and Pernkopf; eponyms of famous physicians who were Nazi victims, including Pick and van Creveld; and finally, a recommendation for convening an international committee of physicians and ethicists to deal with five issues: (a) to propose alternative names for eponyms of physicians who exhibited complicity during the Nazi era; (b) to honor the eponyms and stories of physicians who were victims of Nazi atrocities and genocide; (c) to apply vigorous pressure to those German and Austrian Institutes that have not yet undertaken investigations to determine if the bodies of Nazi victims remain in their collections; (d) to recommend holding annual commemorations in medical schools and research institutes worldwide to remember and to reflect on the victims of compromised medical practice, particularly, but not exclusively, during the Nazi era because atrocities and acts of genocide have occurred elsewhere; and (e) to examine the influence of any political ideology that compromises the practice of medicine. (c) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc

Motivations of German Hospice Volunteers: How Do They Compare to Nonhospice Volunteers and US Hospice Volunteers?

PubMed

Stelzer, Eva-Maria; Lang, Frieder R

2016-03-01

We examined reasons of volunteering for hospice and nonhospice organizations in a study with 125 volunteers (22-93 years) from the United States and Germany. Motives of US and German hospice volunteers revealed similarities and few differences. Hospice volunteers are involved because they seek to help others, seek new learning experiences, seek social contacts, or seek personal growth. The US hospice volunteers reported motives related to altruistic concerns, enhancement, and social influence as more influential, while German hospice volunteers rated career expectations as being more important. Comparison of German hospice with nonhospice volunteers revealed stronger differences: German hospice volunteers scored higher on altruistic motives, while German nonhospice volunteers yielded higher scores on self-serving motives. Findings contribute to improved understanding of volunteering motivation and of activating or retaining hospice volunteers. © The Author(s) 2014.

The German Statutory Health Insurance Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stassen, Manfred

1993-01-01

Describes the German health insurance system which is mandatory for nearly all German citizens. Explains that, along with pension, accident, and unemployment insurance, health insurance is one of four pillars of the German national social security system. Asserts that controlling costs while maintaining high health care standards is a national…

Urbanization and Insurgency: The Turkish Case, 1976-1980

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-01-01

Political Socialization of West German Terrorism," in Peter Merkl (ed.), Political Violence and Terror, University of California Press, Berkeley...25, 1987. Wasmund, Klaus, "The Political Socialization of West German Terrorism," in Peter Merki (ed.), Political Violence and Terror, University of

The Social Councils in the Universities of East Germany: An Exercise in Democratic Centralism.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giles, Geoffrey J.

The social councils in East German universities are examined in this conference paper. Within the authoritarian structure of East German society, there is not much need for universities to worry about social accountability. They are prevented from straying too far into pure scholarship by ministers who remind them of their duties to the state and…

Brief Report: The Social Responsiveness Scale for Adults (SRS-A)-- Initial Results in a German Cohort

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bolte, Sven

2012-01-01

The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) is a tool for quantitative autism assessment in children and adolescents. The SRS-A addresses social responsiveness in adulthood. Reliability and validity using the German adaptation of the SRS-A was examined in 20 adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), 62 with other mental disorders (CLIN) and 163…

[Data protection, radiation protection and copyright: Problems of transferring results in assessment practice].

PubMed

Klemm, H-T

2015-06-01

In Germany, the medical assessor is subject to the law on contracts for work and services ("Werksvertragsrecht"). When a medical expert assesses a subject on behalf of a third party, there is no contractual relationship between them. In the field of private insurance law and in social insurance law, the medical expert is faced with various procedural requirements. Failing to meet these legal requirements often makes the assessment difficult or even impossible. The transfer of radiographs to the medical assessor is dealt with in the German X-ray regulations ("Röntgenverordnung"). The assessor, who is without doubt an examining doctor, has the right to have the radiographs temporarily made available (§ 28 et al.). Passing on the radiographs is all the more appropriate if by doing so additional X-ray examinations can be avoided. The right of access to medical data in the social security law, apart from X-ray regulations, is regulated by German Civil Code (BGB) § 810 and German Basic Law section 1 paragraph 1 in connection with section 2 paragraph 1 ("§ 810 BGB; Art. 1 Abs. 1, Art. 2 Abs. 1 GG"). In the absence of third party interest worthy of protection, the right of access to assessment records has to be granted to the subject, who will then authorize the examining medical expert to exercise this right. In private insurance law, only the private health insurance has its regulation concerning obtaining information about treatment or the access to medical assessments. In other types of insurance the medical assessor's right of access to medical examination data and/or the basis for medical findings can only be derived from secondary obligations as part of the insurance contract or directly from general constitutional personal rights.

Consulting-Research Froblems with German and American Multinational Firms.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hildebrandt, Herbert W.

International researchers need to be aware of international problems and multinational managerial codes when they work with worldwide organizations. This paper develops the premise that consulting with German multinational companies is more complex than consulting with or researching for American firms. Discussion focuses on the following three…

[New legal regulations for palliative care with implications for politics and practice].

PubMed

Melching, Heiner

2017-01-01

In December 2015 two different laws were adopted. Both are of importance for palliative care. One of the laws criminalizes commercial, "business-like" assisted suicide (§ 217 German Criminal Code), the other one aims to improve hospice and palliative care in Germany. Through the latter far-reaching changes in Social Code Books V and XI, as well as of the Hospital Finance Act have been made. This new Act to Improve Hospice and Palliative Care (HPG) focuses, amongst others, on: (a) Better funding of hospice services, by raising the minimum grant for patients in inpatient hospices paid per day by the health insurance funds by about 28.5%, and for outpatient hospice services by about 18%; (b) further development of general outpatient nursing and medical palliative care, and the networking of different service providers; (c) introduction of an arbitration procedure for service provider agreements to be concluded between the health insurance funds and the teams providing specialized home palliative care (SAPV); (d) the right to individual advice and support by the health insurance funds; (e) care homes may offer their residents advance care planning programs to be funded by the statutory health insurers; (f) palliative care units in hospitals can be remunerated outside the DRG system by per diem rates; (g) separate funding and criteria for multi-professional palliative care services within a hospital.While little concrete impact on hospice and palliative care can be expected following the new § 217 German Criminal Code, the HPG provides a good basis to improve care. For this purpose, however, which complementary and more concrete agreements are made to put the new legal regulations into practice will be crucial.

[Forensic-psychiatric assessment of pedophilia].

PubMed

Nitschke, J; Osterheider, M; Mokros, A

2011-09-01

The present paper illustrates the approach of a forensic psychiatric expert witness regarding the assessment of pedophilia. In a first step it is inevitable to differentiate if the defendant is suffering from pedophilia or if the alleged crime might have been committed because of other motivations (antisociality, sexual activity as redirection, impulsivity). A sound diagnostic assessment is indispendable for this task. In a second step the level of severity needs to be gauged in order to clarify whether the requirement of the entry criteria of §§ 20, 21 of the German penal code are fulfilled. In a third step, significant impairments of self-control mechanisms need to be elucidated. The present article reviews indicators of such impairments regarding pedophilia. With respect to a mandatory treatment order (§ 63 German penal code) or preventive detention (§ 66 German penal code) the legal prognosis of the defendant needs to be considered. The present paper gives an overview of the current state of risk assessment research and discusses the transfer to an individual prognosis critically. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Shaded seafloor relief, backscatter strength, and surficial geology; German Bank, Scotian Shelf, offshore Nova Scotia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Todd, B.J.; Valentine, Page C.

2010-01-01

This map is part of a three-map series of German Bank, located on the Scotian Shelf off southern Nova Scotia.  This map is the product of a number of surveys (1997-2003) that used a multibeam sonar system to map 5321 km2 of the seafloor.  Other surveys collected geological data for scientific interpretation.  This map sheet shows the seafloor topography of German Bank in shaded-relief view and seafloor depth (coded by colour) at a scale of 1:1000,000.  Topographic contours generated from the multibeam data are shown (in white) on the colour-coded multibeam topography at a depth interval of 20 m.  Bathymetic contours (in blue) outside the multibeam survey area, presented at a depth interval of 10 m, are from the Natural Resource Map series (Canadian Hydrographic Service, 1967, 1971a, 1971b, 1972). Sheet 2 shows coloured backscatter strength in shaded-relief view.  Sheet 3 shows seafloor topography in shaded-relief view with colour-coded surficial geological units.

[Quality management and strategic consequences of assessing documentation and coding under the German Diagnostic Related Groups system].

PubMed

Schnabel, M; Mann, D; Efe, T; Schrappe, M; V Garrel, T; Gotzen, L; Schaeg, M

2004-10-01

The introduction of the German Diagnostic Related Groups (D-DRG) system requires redesigning administrative patient management strategies. Wrong coding leads to inaccurate grouping and endangers the reimbursement of treatment costs. This situation emphasizes the roles of documentation and coding as factors of economical success. The aims of this study were to assess the quantity and quality of initial documentation and coding (ICD-10 and OPS-301) and find operative strategies to improve efficiency and strategic means to ensure optimal documentation and coding quality. In a prospective study, documentation and coding quality were evaluated in a standardized way by weekly assessment. Clinical data from 1385 inpatients were processed for initial correctness and quality of documentation and coding. Principal diagnoses were found to be accurate in 82.7% of cases, inexact in 7.1%, and wrong in 10.1%. Effects on financial returns occurred in 16%. Based on these findings, an optimized, interdisciplinary, and multiprofessional workflow on medical documentation, coding, and data control was developed. Workflow incorporating regular assessment of documentation and coding quality is required by the DRG system to ensure efficient accounting of hospital services. Interdisciplinary and multiprofessional cooperation is recognized to be an important factor in establishing an efficient workflow in medical documentation and coding.

Acculturation or Development? Autonomy Expectations among Ethnic German Immigrant Adolescents and Their Native German Age-Mates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Titzmann, Peter F.; Silbereisen, Rainer K.

2012-01-01

This longitudinal study compared immigrant and native adolescents' expectations concerning the timing of conventional socially acceptable and oppositional less socially acceptable forms of autonomy. Based on normative development and a collectivist background among immigrants, both developmental and acculturative change was expected. The sample…

[Epidemiology of occupational skin cancer due to UV-irradiation].

PubMed

Diepgen, T L; Drexler, H; Schmitt, J

2012-10-01

Skin cancer induced by occupational UV-irradiation is not an official occupational disease number in the appendix of the German ordinance on occupational diseases (Berufskrankheitenverordnung (BKV) but can be recognized as a "virtually" occupational disease according to § 9 (2) of the 7th book of the German Social Code (SGB VII). Epidemiological studies have demonstrated a positive, statistically significant and relevant association between occupational UV-irradiation and the risk of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and actinic keratoses (AK). Outdoor workers have on average a 100% higher risk to develop SCC compared to the general population. Therefore, the prerequisites for a new occupational disease are fulfilled and SCC and AK should be reported as an occupational disease if an additional 40% occupationally-related UV-irradiation is documented and the clinical criteria are typical for work- related skin cancer. Epidemiologic evidence also indicates a significant association between work-related UV-irradiation and basal cell carcinoma (BCC) risk: however the results are less consistent and the association is weaker than with SCC. There is an urgent need for further studies in outdoor workers on BCC and lentigo maligna melanoma.

[Translation and validation initiatives of the German version of the Teenage Inventory of Social Skills].

PubMed

Pössel, P; Häussler, B

2004-02-01

A lot of studies show the close connection between low social competence and psychological disturbances of adolescents. To record the social behavior of adolescents among each other the "Teenage Inventory of Social Skills" (TISS) was translated into German and evaluated. The factorial created scales "positive behaviour", and "negative behaviour" show an internal constistuency of alpha = .86 and .85. The 13 to 18 days test-retest reliability amounts to r = .89 for both scales. While there is no substantial correlation between the scale "positive behaviour" and the syndrome scales of the "Youth Self-Report", the scale "negative behaviour" shows the expected correlations with the YSR scales "aggressive behaviour" and "dissocial behaviour". The "Teenage Inventory of Social Skills--German" (TISS-D) seems to be a self-rated, economical and reliable instrument for the recording of sympathy and antipathy generating behavior of adolescents.

Repertoires, Characters and Scenes: Sociolinguistic Difference in Turkish-German Comedy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Androutsopoulos, Jannis

2012-01-01

This paper examines representations of sociolinguistic difference in a German "ethnic comedy" as a means to contribute to a framework for the sociolinguistic study of film. Three levels of analysis of sociolinguistic difference in film are distinguished: repertoire analysis reconstructs the entirety of codes used in a film and their…

The Diffusion of Evidence-Based Practice: Reviewing the Evidence-Based Practice Networks in the United States and German-Speaking Countries.

PubMed

Ghanem, Christian; Lawson, Thomas R; Pankofer, Sabine; Maragkos, Markos; Kollar, Ingo

2017-01-01

Evidence-based practice (EBP) has had a major influence on U.S. social work while it has rarely been adapted in German-speaking countries. This study investigates how knowledge about EBP is diffused within and across geographical contexts. Network analysis methods reveals different diffusion patterns and provide reasons for these differences. For example, the U.S. discourse is self-contained and based on a more homogeneous knowledge base, while the German discourse is more heterogeneous and focuses on a notion of reflexive professionalism. The different conceptual influences within the U.S. and German discourses are discussed in light of future directions of disciplinary social work.

The Parent Version of the Preschool Social Skills Rating System: Psychometric Analysis and Adaptation with a German Preschool Sample

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hess, Markus; Scheithauer, Herbert; Kleiber, Dieter; Wille, Nora; Erhart, Michael; Ravens-Sieberer, Ulrike

2014-01-01

The Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) developed by Gresham and Elliott (1990) is a multirater, norm-referenced instrument measuring social skills and adaptive behavior in preschool children. The aims of the present study were (a) to test the factorial structure of the Parent Form of the SSRS for the first time with a German preschool sample (391…

Students' Perceptions of Socialisation and Gender Role in Japan and Germany.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trommsdorff, Gisela; Iwawaki, Saburo

1989-01-01

Investigated differences in perceptions of socialization and gender roles in 175 Japanese and 120 German university students. Japanese students reported more parental acceptance and control than German students. Japanese students had more traditional gender-role orientations than German students. (RJC)

Prosperity, Sustainable Employment and Social Justice: Challenges for the German Labor Market in the Twenty-First Century

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Möller, Joachim

2014-01-01

This paper analyzes the effects of German labor market reforms on the competitiveness and performance of the German economy. The contribution starts with giving some background information on the rationale behind the reforms and stresses the specific structure of the German economy. We then describe the salient effects of the reforms for…

Factors Influencing Enrollment in Public High School German Courses: Results of a National Survey.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Minert, Roger P.

1992-01-01

Questions regarding reasons students select or decline to study German are examined, based on the results of a survey conducted among students of German in 127 U.S. high schools. Student responses are discussed in the light of academic, demographic, social, and familial considerations, and a profile of the 1990s student of German is constructed.…

Occupational Socialization of Sport Pedagogy Faculty: Two German Case Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merrem, Anne M.; Curtner-Smith, Matthew D.

2018-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the influence of occupational socialization on the perspectives and practices of two female German sport pedagogy faculty members, Heidi and Lisa, regarding physical education (PE) and PE teacher education (PETE). Method: The main data sources were six formal interviews. Supplementary data were…

On the Relevance of Bernstein for German-Speaking Switzerland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bolander, Brook

2009-01-01

This article assesses the relevance of Basil Bernstein for German-speaking Switzerland. It argues that Bernstein is potentially relevant for German-speaking Switzerland in light of contemporary studies which highlight a connection between social background and differential school achievement. After contextualising Bernstein's theoretical outlook…

Youth Research in West and East. Special Report. German Youth Institute Offers Benefit of Its Experience. Sozial-Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maertens, Rita

This social report concerns the efforts of the German Youth Institute in working with other institutes and with other countries to develop youth policies and programs. It begins by describing German and Soviet youth researchers working together to develop a concept for a long-term youth policy based on democratic structures. The German approach to…

[Strengthening of social participation of Turkish seniors].

PubMed

Fietz, Jennifer; Stupp, Barbara

2018-05-04

Traditional municipal services are not successful at reaching Turkish seniors. Compared to native Germans Turkish seniors have a lower social participation. Do native language groups hosted by a German organization promote the social participation of Turkish seniors? How does social participation take place in the ZWAR networks (between work and retirement; a project to strengthen social participation of seniors) and which factors promote or reduce social participation? Qualitative structuring content analysis of two group discussions, which were based on guided interviews. The social participation of Turkish-speaking seniors was strengthened on three levels: (1) through regular meetings of the Turkish ethnic group social relationships were promoted and German language skills and other skills were improved. Through mutual sharing and understanding of the stressors specific to migration, emotional support was provided. The sharing of mutual cultural and linguistic backgrounds created a sense of community and meetings were perceived as an antidote to migrants' exhausting lives in German society. (2) At the organizational level, participation was promoted through extensive group events. Regardless of their cultural background all participants identified as equal ZWAR members. The ZWAR project functioned as an umbrella organization for participation in the intercultural context. (3) Participation in community events created contacts with community stakeholders and fostered volunteer work. Hence, participants were able to use their skills, and therefore broaden their horizons. Turkish ZWAR networks promoted the social participation of members because integration with their ethnic group reduced access barriers, broadened members' scopes of action, and created new opportunities for participation.

[Social security law and evidence-based health care in Germany].

PubMed

Welti, Felix

2007-01-01

The present contribution examines whether German Social Security Law requires or allows the German health care system to follow the principles of evidence-based health care. The discussion will be based on the relevant example of statutory health insurance (Book of Social Code V-SGB V). According to Sect. 2 SGB V health care provision has to follow medical standards, acknowledging medical progress. It has to be effective and efficient. Special therapies are not outlawed, but also have to follow these principles. Efficiency is defined (Sect. 12 SGB V) by the benefits being sufficient and necessary. The responsibility for achieving these goals and supplying the benefits for all people according to need lies with the health care insurance funds along with the physicians' associations (Kassenirztliche Vereinigung) and the hospitals (Sect. 70 SGB V). These organisations cooperate in the Federal Joint Committee (Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss, G-BA, Sect. 92 SGB V), where they have to hear organisations of patients and of the disabled also. The G-BA is allowed by law to exclude therapies not meeting the SGB V criteria. The Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) advises the G-BA and is also responsible for generating evidence. A major political and constitutional controversy has been triggered on the legitimation of the Federal Joint Committee. In its statute the G-BA recurs on evidence-based health care. It examines therapies according to the degree of available evidence and the usability of the evidence in the respective supply setting. The Federal Social Court (Bundessozialgericht, BSG) decided that the decisions of the G-BA could not be challenged for being medically incorrect. In 2005, the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht-BVerfG) decided that a stricter control over the G-BA by the social courts was needed and that in the case of serious disease a lower evidence level might be sufficient. BSG and G-BA will continue to accept the results and methods of Evidence-based Medicine.

Risks for Children? Recent Developments in Early Childcare Policy in Germany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hubenthal, Maksim; Ifland, Anna Maria

2011-01-01

For some years now, a "child-centred social investment strategy" has been gaining influence in the German welfare state. In this context we are witnessing a social-investive turn within the policy for children and families and a significant increase in the importance of early childcare policy. Whereas the German federal government is…

Longitudinal transactions between personality and occupational roles: a large and heterogeneous study of job beginners, stayers, and changers.

PubMed

Denissen, Jaap J A; Ulferts, Hannah; Lüdtke, Oliver; Muck, Peter M; Gerstorf, Denis

2014-07-01

Social norms are central to theoretical accounts of longitudinal person-environment transactions. On the one hand, individuals are thought to select themselves into social roles that fit their personality. On the other hand, it is assumed that individuals' personality is transformed by the socializing pressure of norm demands. These 2 transactional directions were investigated in a large and heterogeneous 5-year longitudinal subsample of job beginners (n = 640, M age = 21.24), job stayers (n = 4,137, M age = 46.63), and job changers (n = 2,854, M age = 44.68) from the German Socio-Economic Panel. Role demands were coded by both students and labor market experts. To demonstrate transactional effects, cross-lagged structural equation models were estimated. Substantial selection effects were found for both job beginners and job changers. There was also evidence for socialization effects, especially for participants who did not change jobs. Depending on the trait and the subsample that was investigated, selection effects were sometimes corresponsive with socialization effects. Personality role demands were temporally consistent across a 4-year period even when individuals changed jobs (heterotypic continuity). This is one of the first empirical demonstrations of the transactional processes that lead to the formation of social niches. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

The relationship between transformational leadership and social capital in hospitals--a survey of medical directors of all German hospitals.

PubMed

Hammer, Antje; Ommen, Oliver; Röttger, Julia; Pfaff, Holger

2012-01-01

The German hospital market has been undergoing major changes in recent years. Success in this new market is determined by a multitude of factors. One is the quality of the social relationships between staff and the presence of shared values and rules. This factor can be considered an organization's "social capital." This study investigates the relationship between social capital and leadership style in German hospitals using a written survey of medical directors. In 2008, a cross-sectional representative study was conducted with 1224 medical directors from every hospital in Germany with at least 1 internal medicine unit and 1 surgery unit. Among the scales included in the standardized questionnaire were scales used to assess the medical directors' evaluation of social capital and transformational leadership in the hospital. We used a multiple linear regression model to examine the relationship between social capital and internal coordination. We controlled for hospital ownership, teaching status, and number of beds. In total, we received questionnaires from 551 medical directors, resulting in a response rate of 45.2%. The participating hospitals had an average of 345 beds. The sample included public (41.3%), not-for-profit (46.9%), and for-profit (11.7%) hospitals. The data, which exclusively represent the perceptions of the medical directors, indicate a significant correlation between a transformational leadership style of the executive management and the social capital as perceived by medical directors. A transformational leadership style of the executive management accounted for 36% of variance of the perceived social capital. The perceived social capital in German hospitals is closely related to the leadership style of the executive management. A transformational leadership style of the executive management appears to successfully strengthen the hospital's social capital.

[German Urological Associations under National Socialism].

PubMed

Krischel, M; Moll, F; Fangerau, H

2011-09-01

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Urologie (German Urological Association), established in 1907, was a German-Austrian medical society in which Jewish physicians held important positions. When the Nazis seized power in 1933, the Austrian Hans Rubritius was president of the society. The non-German presidency and the exclusion of Jewish colleagues from the professional society and medical practice led to a halt of the society's activities. At the same time in the mid 1930s, German urologists founded the Gesellschaft Reichsdeutscher Urologen (Association of Reichs-German Urologists) whose members aligned themselves with Nazi health policies and in turn received professional and personal benefits.

Echoic Memory Interference and Comprehension in a Foreign Language.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenberg, Seth N.; Roscoe, Suzanne

1988-01-01

Study of echoic memory interference among students in college introductory Spanish and German courses revealed that students with weaker listening comprehension skills depended more upon vulnerable sensory codes in echoic memory, while students with stronger comprehension relied on stable higher-order codes. (Author/CB)

[Complexity level simulation in the German diagnosis-related groups system: the financial effect of coding of comorbidity diagnostics in urology].

PubMed

Wenke, A; Gaber, A; Hertle, L; Roeder, N; Pühse, G

2012-07-01

Precise and complete coding of diagnoses and procedures is of value for optimizing revenues within the German diagnosis-related groups (G-DRG) system. The implementation of effective structures for coding is cost-intensive. The aim of this study was to prove whether higher costs can be refunded by complete acquisition of comorbidities and complications. Calculations were based on DRG data of the Department of Urology, University Hospital of Münster, Germany, covering all patients treated in 2009. The data were regrouped and subjected to a process of simulation (increase and decrease of patient clinical complexity levels, PCCL) with the help of recently developed software. In urology a strong dependency of quantity and quality of coding of secondary diagnoses on PCCL and subsequent profits was found. Departmental budgetary procedures can be optimized when coding is effective. The new simulation tool can be a valuable aid to improve profits available for distribution. Nevertheless, calculation of time use and financial needs by this procedure are subject to specific departmental terms and conditions. Completeness of coding of (secondary) diagnoses must be the ultimate administrative goal of patient case documentation in urology.

ELSID-Diabetes study-evaluation of a large scale implementation of disease management programmes for patients with type 2 diabetes. Rationale, design and conduct--a study protocol [ISRCTN08471887].

PubMed

Joos, Stefanie; Rosemann, Thomas; Heiderhoff, Marc; Wensing, Michel; Ludt, Sabine; Gensichen, Jochen; Kaufmann-Kolle, Petra; Szecsenyi, Joachim

2005-10-04

Diabetes model projects in different regions of Germany including interventions such as quality circles, patient education and documentation of medical findings have shown improvements of HbA1c levels, blood pressure and occurrence of hypoglycaemia in before-after studies (without control group). In 2002 the German Ministry of Health defined legal regulations for the introduction of nationwide disease management programs (DMP) to improve the quality of care in chronically ill patients. In April 2003 the first DMP for patients with type 2 diabetes was accredited. The evaluation of the DMP is essential and has been made obligatory in Germany by the Fifth Book of Social Code. The aim of the study is to assess the effectiveness of DMP by example of type 2 diabetes in the primary care setting of two German federal states (Rheinland-Pfalz and Sachsen-Anhalt). The study is three-armed: a prospective cluster-randomized comparison of two interventions (DMP 1 and DMP 2) against routine care without DMP as control group. In the DMP group 1 the patients are treated according to the current situation within the German-Diabetes-DMP. The DMP group 2 represents diabetic care within ideally implemented DMP providing additional interventions (e.g. quality circles, outreach visits). According to a sample size calculation a sample size of 200 GPs (each GP including 20 patients) will be required for the comparison of DMP 1 and DMP 2 considering possible drop-outs. For the comparison with routine care 4000 patients identified by diabetic tracer medication and age (> 50 years) will be analyzed. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of the German Diabetes-DMP compared to a Diabetes-DMP providing additional interventions and routine care in the primary care setting of two different German federal states.

ELSID-Diabetes study-evaluation of a large scale implementation of disease management programmes for patients with type 2 diabetes. Rationale, design and conduct – a study protocol [ISRCTN08471887

PubMed Central

Joos, Stefanie; Rosemann, Thomas; Heiderhoff, Marc; Wensing, Michel; Ludt, Sabine; Gensichen, Jochen; Kaufmann-Kolle, Petra; Szecsenyi, Joachim

2005-01-01

Background Diabetes model projects in different regions of Germany including interventions such as quality circles, patient education and documentation of medical findings have shown improvements of HbA1c levels, blood pressure and occurrence of hypoglycaemia in before-after studies (without control group). In 2002 the German Ministry of Health defined legal regulations for the introduction of nationwide disease management programs (DMP) to improve the quality of care in chronically ill patients. In April 2003 the first DMP for patients with type 2 diabetes was accredited. The evaluation of the DMP is essential and has been made obligatory in Germany by the Fifth Book of Social Code. The aim of the study is to assess the effectiveness of DMP by example of type 2 diabetes in the primary care setting of two German federal states (Rheinland-Pfalz and Sachsen-Anhalt). Methods/Design The study is three-armed: a prospective cluster-randomized comparison of two interventions (DMP 1 and DMP 2) against routine care without DMP as control group. In the DMP group 1 the patients are treated according to the current situation within the German-Diabetes-DMP. The DMP group 2 represents diabetic care within ideally implemented DMP providing additional interventions (e.g. quality circles, outreach visits). According to a sample size calculation a sample size of 200 GPs (each GP including 20 patients) will be required for the comparison of DMP 1 and DMP 2 considering possible drop-outs. For the comparison with routine care 4000 patients identified by diabetic tracer medication and age (> 50 years) will be analyzed. Discussion This study will evaluate the effectiveness of the German Diabetes-DMP compared to a Diabetes-DMP providing additional interventions and routine care in the primary care setting of two different German federal states. PMID:16202151

Orientations to Learning German: The Effects of Language Heritage on Second-Language Acquisition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Noels, Kimberly A.; Clement, Richard

1989-01-01

A study of college students' motivation for learning, and other social-psychological aspects of second language learning, found students learn German for instrumental, friendship, travel, identification/influence, and knowledge reasons. Fluency was related to motivation, and students of German heritage had higher self-confidence in the German…

World Foods. Good Food, Gift of German Cooking.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Betty F.; And Others

This teacher's guide contains materials to be used in a study of Germany and its cuisine. Unit 1 provides an overview of German geographic, political, economic, social, and cultural characteristics. Unit 2 studies German food habits, nutrition, food preparation, and meal patterns. Each unit contains a list of objectives (e.g., identify the type of…

The Social Stratification of the German VET System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Protsch, Paula; Solga, Heike

2016-01-01

Germany is widely known for its vocational education and training (VET) system and its dual apprenticeship system in particular. What is often overlooked, however, is the vertical stratification within the German VET system. This is the focus of this study. Our analysis shows that the VET system, like the German school system, is highly…

The Hour of the Woman: Memories of Germany's "Crisis Years" and West German National Identity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heineman, Elizabeth

1996-01-01

Investigates the representation of German women in the German media during the allied occupation. Initially vilified as fraternizers, they soon became portrayed as the stoic rebuilders of nation and family as the country moved toward reconstruction. Considers the complex, symbiotic relationships among social memory, popular culture, and historical…

"Resources for each other." The society of German neurologists and psychiatrists and the Nazi "health leadership".

PubMed

Schmuhl, Hans-Walter

2011-11-01

The history of the German Association for Psychiatry and--after its merger with the Society of German Neurologists in 1935--the Society of German Neurologists and Psychiatrists (Gesellschaft deutscher Neurologen und Psychiater, GDNP) during the period of National Socialism has been subjected to only rudimentary research. The conventionally accepted idea that two independent professional associations were "coordinated" from above and turned into the extended arm of Nazi genetic health policy (Erbgesundheitspolitik) against their will must be reconsidered. This paper asks how the relationship between the GDNP and the Nazi state can be described adequately. Psychiatry and neurology as practice and science, and the biopolicy development dictatorship of National Socialism functioned, so the basic thesis, as "resources for each other" (Mitchell Ash).

[Establishing ward-independent, intensive treatment concept in a psychiatric hospital : A model project within the new German remuneration system].

PubMed

Noeker, M; Juckel, G

2017-03-01

Model projects according to § 64b of the Social Code V in the context of the new remuneration system in psychiatry and psychosomatics, offer great possibilities to improve the treatment of people with mental illnesses. This article presents the model project of the University Hospital Bochum, which is essentially characterized by improved transition through the internal hospital sections so that patients can be quickly transferred from inpatient and daycare sections to high frequency outpatient sections with ward-independent therapies (SUL), including outreach home treatment. The SUL is also intended to facilitate preadmission crises, to significantly reduce duration of inpatient treatment and to maximize post-inpatient continuity of treatment.

[Incentivising personal responsibility: conceptual clarification and evidence].

PubMed

Schmidt, Harald

2012-01-01

Two meanings of personal responsibility are distinguished, and different policy options for promoting health and responsibility are presented. Key insights from research seeking to promote personal responsibility through health information and incentives are outlined and discussed with regard to their potential to improve health and reduce cost. Data is presented on the socioeconomic characteristics of incentive programme users. It is concluded that due to different factors the availability of data regarding the effectiveness of incentive programmes is unsatisfactory. Evaluation requirements set out in the German Social Security Code (SGB V) should focus not only on cost, but should also extend to changes in health status and the socioeconomic status of users: provisions should be revised accordingly. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

The integration of two health systems: social stratification, work and health in East and West Germany.

PubMed

Lüschen, G; Niemann, S; Apelt, P

1997-03-01

This is an analysis of system integration, social stratification and work for health status and health care in East and West Germany. It is based on aggregate data and representative survey data of random samples of 2554 adults in both subsystems. Findings show that there were marked differences in life-expectancy prior to unification. The integration of the two systems, which occurred almost totally with regard to terms of West German health care organization, shows adjustment problems in the East for the public Health-Care-Funds and few if any for ambulatory care. The work situation has an impact on health, but there are no significant differences for East versus West. Social stratification variables show an influence on subjective health status for education (East) and for income, social status (West), while physician utilization (despite a preference of specialists by those with higher status) is not significantly determined by stratification variables in either East or West Germany. Beyond the central focus on work and stratification determinants a major finding pertains to a comparatively worse health situation for the aged and for women in what was the former East Germany. System models of Capitalism versus Socialism fit the results and recent history of the two systems to only a limited degree, as the West German corporate health system shows clear limits in following free market principles. The East German system, regardless of its centralized organization and move towards a socialist system, never fully abandoned the traditional model of German health care. Unlike the East German health system, that of West Germany, with its general expansion to 92% of the population, shows an increasing effect for social redistribution. The latter may be a reason why standard indicators of social stratification show less of an impact on health and health care than expected, while conditions at work clearly determine the health of people-the latter being the case in both the former East and West Germany.

Eight Hundred Years of Modern Language Learning and Teaching in the German-Speaking Countries of Central Europe: A Social History

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schröder, Konrad

2018-01-01

The paper gives an overview of FLT in the German-speaking regions of Europe from medieval times to the present day, within a framework of language politics, communicative needs and educational ideologies. The languages addressed are French, Italian, Spanish, English, Russian and Turkish. Basic social and professional data of the various groups of…

Generational Aspects of German National Socialism, 1919-33.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Madden, Paul

1982-01-01

Examines the theory that pre-Hitler Nazism was part of a generational revolt. Research shows that, among new recruits to the National Socialist German Workers Party in that period, there were more than twice as many who were under 30 years old. Socioeconomic and historical factors which made Nazism attractive to German youth are discussed. (AM)

Attitudes towards the Euro: An Empirical Study Based on the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isengard, Bettina; Schneider, Thorsten

2007-01-01

This paper investigates changing attitudes towards the euro over time in Germany using longitudinal micro-data from the German Socio Economic Panel Study. We observe that a large part of the German population was worried about the new currency both before and after its introduction. Social psychological theories provide insight into these…

Child-Free and Unmarried: Changes in the Life Planning of Young East German Women

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adler, Marina A.

2004-01-01

Using evidence from demographic and survey data, this research examines how one decade of post-socialism has changed the life planning of young East German women. Aggregate data reflect marriage and fertility postponement and increased nonmarital birth rates and cohabitation. The analysis shows East German women's stubbornness (Dolling, 2003) in…

Cultural influences on social feedback processing of character traits

PubMed Central

Korn, Christoph W.; Fan, Yan; Zhang, Kai; Wang, Chenbo; Han, Shihui; Heekeren, Hauke R.

2014-01-01

Cultural differences are generally explained by how people see themselves in relation to social interaction partners. While Western culture emphasizes independence, East Asian culture emphasizes interdependence. Despite this focus on social interactions, it remains elusive how people from different cultures process feedback on their own (and on others') character traits. Here, participants of either German or Chinese origin engaged in a face-to-face interaction. Consequently, they updated their self- and other-ratings of 80 character traits (e.g., polite, pedantic) after receiving feedback from their interaction partners. To exclude potential confounds, we obtained data from German and Chinese participants in Berlin [functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)] and in Beijing (behavior). We tested cultural influences on social conformity, positivity biases, and self-related neural activity. First, Chinese conformed more to social feedback than Germans (i.e., Chinese updated their trait ratings more). Second, regardless of culture, participants processed self- and other-related feedback in a positively biased way (i.e., they updated more toward desirable than toward undesirable feedback). Third, changes in self-related medial prefrontal cortex activity were greater in Germans than in Chinese during feedback processing. By investigating conformity, positivity biases, and self-related activity in relation to feedback obtained in a real-life interaction, we provide an essential step toward a unifying framework for understanding the diversity of human culture. PMID:24772075

Cultural influences on social feedback processing of character traits.

PubMed

Korn, Christoph W; Fan, Yan; Zhang, Kai; Wang, Chenbo; Han, Shihui; Heekeren, Hauke R

2014-01-01

Cultural differences are generally explained by how people see themselves in relation to social interaction partners. While Western culture emphasizes independence, East Asian culture emphasizes interdependence. Despite this focus on social interactions, it remains elusive how people from different cultures process feedback on their own (and on others') character traits. Here, participants of either German or Chinese origin engaged in a face-to-face interaction. Consequently, they updated their self- and other-ratings of 80 character traits (e.g., polite, pedantic) after receiving feedback from their interaction partners. To exclude potential confounds, we obtained data from German and Chinese participants in Berlin [functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)] and in Beijing (behavior). We tested cultural influences on social conformity, positivity biases, and self-related neural activity. First, Chinese conformed more to social feedback than Germans (i.e., Chinese updated their trait ratings more). Second, regardless of culture, participants processed self- and other-related feedback in a positively biased way (i.e., they updated more toward desirable than toward undesirable feedback). Third, changes in self-related medial prefrontal cortex activity were greater in Germans than in Chinese during feedback processing. By investigating conformity, positivity biases, and self-related activity in relation to feedback obtained in a real-life interaction, we provide an essential step toward a unifying framework for understanding the diversity of human culture.

Development and evaluation of the efficacy of a web-based 'social norms'-intervention for the prevention and reduction of substance use in a cluster-controlled trial conducted at eight German universities.

PubMed

Helmer, Stefanie M; Muellmann, Saskia; Zeeb, Hajo; Pischke, Claudia R

2016-03-11

Previous research suggests that perceptions of peer substance use are associated with personal use. Specifically, overestimating use in the peer group is predictive of higher rates of personal substance use. 'Social norms'-interventions are based on the premise that changing these misperceived social norms regarding substance use by providing feedback on actual norms is associated with a reduction in personal substance use. Studies conducted in the U.S.A. suggest that 'social norms'-feedback is an effective strategy for reducing substance use among university students. It is unknown whether the effects of a 'social norms'-feedback on substance use can be replicated in a sample of German university students. The objective of this article is to describe the study design and aims of the 'INternet-based Social norms-Intervention for the prevention of substance use among Students' (INSIST)-study, a cluster-controlled trial examining the effects of a web-based 'social norms'- intervention in students enrolled at four intervention universities with those enrolled at four delayed intervention control universities. The INSIST-study is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Health. Eight universities in four regions in Germany will take part in the study, four serving as intervention and four as delayed intervention control universities (randomly selected within a geographic region). Six hundred students will be recruited at each university and will be asked to complete a web-based survey assessing personal and perceived substance use/attitudes towards substance use at baseline. These data will be used to develop the web-based 'social norms'-feedback tailored to gender and university. Three months after the baseline survey, students at intervention universities will receive the intervention. Two months after the launch of the intervention, students of all eight universities will be asked to complete the follow-up questionnaires to assess changes in perceptions of/attitudes toward peer substance use and rates of personal substance use. This study is the first German cluster-controlled trial investigating the influence of a web-based 'social norms'-intervention on perceptions of/attitudes towards substance use and substance use behavior in a large university student sample. This study will provide new information on the efficacy of this intervention strategy in the German university context. DRKS00007635 at the 'German Clinical Trials Register' (17.12.2014).

Approaching German Culture: A Tentative Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tinsley, Royal; Woloshin, David

1974-01-01

A comparative analysis of the five universal problems of cultural orientation: 1) human nature, 2) social relations, 3) man and nature, 4) time, 5) space, as they are reflected in German and American culture. (PP)

The German Radiological Society and the Protagonists of Radiology during the Time of National Socialism--State of Research, Explanation Attempts, Desiderata and Research Prospects.

PubMed

Schmidt, M; Winzen, T; Groß, D

2015-06-01

The intention of the authors is the recognition and critical analysis of efforts to study the history of the German Radiological Society during the time of National Socialism from 1933 to 1945 with the goal of determining existing desiderata and identifying the resulting research prospects. There is a need to study concrete individual biographies of radiologists (members of the German Radiological Society, perpetrators, and victims) and their careers before and after 1945 as well as the importance of the interdisciplinarity of the discipline and the lack of institutional involvement during the "Third Reich". Moreover, the comparatively difficult starting situation of the study of the history of the German Radiological Society is discussed. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

[The Patient Rights Act (PatRG)--part 1: legislative procedure, treatment contract, contracting parties and their obligations to cooperate and inform].

PubMed

Parzeller, Markus; Zedler, Barbara

2013-01-01

The article deals with the new regulations in the German Civil Code (BGB) which came into effect in Germany on 26 Feb 2013 as the Patient Rights Act (PatRG). In Part I, the legislative procedure, the treatment contract and the contracting parties (Section 630a Civil Code), the applicable regulations (Section 630b Civil Code) and the obligations to cooperate and inform (Section 630c Civil Code) are discussed and critically analysed.

East German Children's and Adolescents' Friendship and Moral Reasoning before and after German Reunification

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gummerum, Michaela; Keller, Monika

2012-01-01

Few studies so far have investigated whether abrupt social changes in a society affect the development of friendship and moral reasoning. In this study, 2 cohorts of 188 East German children and adolescents (aged 7, 9, 12, and 15 years) were interviewed in 1990 and 2005. Participants were asked about the importance of close friendship (friendship…

After the Wall: Parental Attitudes to Child Rearing in East and West Germany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uhlendorff, Harald

2004-01-01

In the years following German reunification, East and West German parents (282 mothers and 207 fathers) were interviewed about attitudes to the rearing of their 7- to 13-year-old children and about their social networks. Path analyses show that East German parents engage in more protective and less permissive parenting, and that East German…

Physics, History, and the German Atomic Bomb.

PubMed

Walker, Mark

2017-04-27

Physics, History, and the German Atomic Bomb. This paper examines the German concept of a nuclear weapon during National Socialism and the Second World War. Zusammenfassung: Physik, Geschichte und die deutsche Atombombe. Dieser Aufsatz untersucht die deutsche Vorstellung einer nuklearen Waffe während des Nationalsozialismus und des Zweiten Weltkrieges. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Using Classroom Recordings in Educational History Research. An East German Civics Lesson

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jehle, May; Blessing, Benita

2014-01-01

Students learned in civics lessons in the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) that their socialist society uniquely guaranteed all individuals the right to work, and that, as good socialists, they had the duty to take on socially meaningful work. Using the example of a video recording of an East German civics lesson and its…

[Symptoms of social phobia and their relationship to interpersonal characteristics in a sample of German medical students].

PubMed

Baldauf, Matthias; Thomas, Andrea; Strauß, Bernhard

2014-02-01

The study aimed to detect the frequency of social phobia symptoms in a sample of German medical students and to compare students with and without these symptoms related to interpersonal characteristics. 525 students filled out a battery of self-report questionnaires consisting of the LSAS (Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale), the SPAI (Social Phobia Anxiety Inventory), the IIP-32 (Inventar of interpersonal problems) and the IIM (Inventar of interpersonal motives). Relevant social phobia symptoms were found in 12.2%. Students with symptoms of social phobia differed significantly in subscales of the IIP and the IIM. Students with symptoms of social phobia also had higher scores for interpersonal problems especially related to the main issue of being too "socially avoidant". © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Modernization of the graphics post-processors of the Hamburg German Climate Computer Center Carbon Cycle Codes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stevens, E.J.; McNeilly, G.S.

The existing National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) code in the Hamburg Oceanic Carbon Cycle Circulation Model and the Hamburg Large-Scale Geostrophic Ocean General Circulation Model was modernized and reduced in size while still producing an equivalent end result. A reduction in the size of the existing code from more than 50,000 lines to approximately 7,500 lines in the new code has made the new code much easier to maintain. The existing code in Hamburg model uses legacy NCAR (including even emulated CALCOMP subrountines) graphics to display graphical output. The new code uses only current (version 3.1) NCAR subrountines.

Re-Examining Bernstein: From Peer-Group Ways of Speaking to "Schriftsprache"--A Study of Turkish-German "Hauptschule" Students in Mannheim

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keim, Inken

2009-01-01

This paper begins by looking at responses to Bernstein in Germany in the 1970s that criticized his notions of class difference in sociolinguistic codes. As part of a re-examination of Bernstein's ideas, the paper goes on to look at the current communicative situation in German education where urban schools have many second-generation immigrant…

[Hand surgery in the German DRG System 2007].

PubMed

Franz, D; Windolf, J; Kaufmann, M; Siebert, C H; Roeder, N

2007-05-01

Hand surgery often needs only a short length of stay in hospital. Patients' comorbidity is low. Many hand surgery procedures do not need inpatient structures. Up until 2006 special procedures of hand surgery could not be coded. The DRG structure did not separate very complex and less complex operations. Specialized hospitals needed a proper case allocation of their patients within the G-DRG system. The DRG structure concerning hand surgery increased in version 2007 of the G-DRG system. The main parameter of DRG splitting is the complexity of the operation. Furthermore additional criteria such as more than one significant OR procedure, the patients' age, or special diagnoses influence case allocation. A special OPS code for complex cases treated with hand surgery was implemented. The changes in the DRG structure and the implementation of the new OPS code for complex cases establish a strong basis for the identification of different patient costs. Different case allocation leads to different economic impacts on departments of hand surgery. Whether the new OPS code becomes a DRG splitting parameter has to be calculated by the German DRG Institute for further DRG versions.

[Prevalence of dementia of insured persons with and without German citizenship : A study based on statuatory health insurance data].

PubMed

Stock, Stephanie; Ihle, Peter; Simic, Dusan; Rupprecht, Christoph; Schubert, Ingrid; Lappe, Veronika; Kalbe, Elke; Tebest, Ralf; Lorrek, Kristina

2018-04-01

Elderly people with a non-German background are a fast growing population in Germany. Is administrative prevalence of dementia and uptake of nursing-home care similar in the German and non-German insured? Based on routine data, administrative prevalence rates for dementia were calculated for 2013 from a full census of data from one large sickness fund. Patients with dementia (PWD) were identified via ICD-10 codes (F00; F01; F03; F05; G30). Administrative prevalence of dementia was 2.67% in the study population; 3.06% in Germans, and 0.96% in non-Germans (p value <0.001). Age and sex adjusted prevalence was comparable in the insured with and without German citizenship, except in women aged 80-84 (17.2 vs. 15.4) and for men in the age groups 80-84 (16.5 vs. 14.2), 85-89 years (23.4 vs. 21.5), and above 90 years of age (32.3 vs. 26.3). Standardized to the population of all investigated insured, 31.4% of all Germans with dementia had no longterm care entitlement vs. 35.5% of all patients without German citizenship. Of German patients, 55.1% were institutionalized vs. 39.5% of all patients without German citizenship. There was a higher prevalence of dementia in the very old insured without German citizenship compared to those with German citizenship, especially in men. Non-Germans showed lower uptake of nursing home care compared to Germans. Additionally, Germans had slightly higher nursing care entitlements. It should be investigated further how much of the difference is due to underdiagnosis, cultural differences, or lack of adequate diagnostic work-up.

German Muslims and their engagement in participatory culture: reflections on civic and artistic contributions to the public sphere.

PubMed

Soliman, Asmaa

2017-09-01

This paper examines publics of young German Muslims. Case studies include the singer Huelya Kandemir, the theatre group Uma Lamo and the social network Zahnräder. By focusing on spiritual music publics, theatrical comedy publics and social publics, it tries a new approach to the way in which we understand minority public engagement. In addition to examining the concept of counterpublics, it utilizes the concept of participatory culture, which offers a relevant complement. The study argues that the publics of young German Muslims display multifaceted artistic and civic engagement, which can best be understood in terms of participation in cultural or civic productions and contribution to the wider German public. Features or effects of counterpublics, such as the countering of mainstream representations of minority identities and the offering of alternative discourses, are occasionally reflected in their activities. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2017.

Acculturation or development? Autonomy expectations among ethnic German immigrant adolescents and their native German age-mates.

PubMed

Titzmann, Peter F; Silbereisen, Rainer K

2012-01-01

This longitudinal study compared immigrant and native adolescents' expectations concerning the timing of conventional socially acceptable and oppositional less socially acceptable forms of autonomy. Based on normative development and a collectivist background among immigrants, both developmental and acculturative change was expected. The sample consisted of 523 ethnic German immigrants from the former Soviet Union and 475 native German adolescents, both groups divided into an early (age 12.5years) and a late (age 16years) adolescent group. Results revealed more developmental than acculturative change, as immigrants and natives mostly showed a similar rate of change in autonomy expectations. Acculturative change was found only for oppositional autonomy among late adolescent immigrants, whose later expectations approached those of their native age-mates over time. © 2012 The Authors. Child Development © 2012 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Brief report: When does identity lead to negative affective experiences? A comparison of Turkish-Bulgarian and Turkish-German adolescents.

PubMed

Aydinli-Karakulak, Arzu; Dimitrova, Radosveta

2016-02-01

We examine relationships between social identity domains (ethnic, national, and religious) and negative affect among Turkish-Bulgarian and Turkish-German youth. Path analysis confirmed a multiple social identities (MSI) factor that has negative relations to experiencing negative affect for Turkish youth in both countries. Beyond this negative relationship, the component of national identity showed a positive relationship to negative affect for Turkish-Bulgarians, but not for Turkish-Germans. Our findings indicate that beyond the generally adaptive effect of MSI on youth development, unique components of social identity may not always be an asset: In an assimilative acculturation context (i.e., Bulgaria), the endorsement of national identity was not adaptive. Our research therefore highlights the need for a contextually differentiated view on "healthy" identity formation among immigrants for research and practice. Copyright © 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Validating the German Version of the Quality of Relationship Inventory: Confirming the Three-Factor Structure and Report of Psychometric Properties

PubMed Central

Reiner, Iris; Beutel, Manfred; Skaletz, Christian; Brähler, Elmar; Stöbel-Richter, Yve

2012-01-01

Research on psychosocial influences such as relationship characteristics has received increased attention in the clinical as well as social-psychological field. Several studies demonstrated that the quality of relationships, in particular with respect to the perceived support within intimate relationships, profoundly affects individuals' mental and physical health. There is, however, a limited choice of valid and internationally known assessments of relationship quality in Germany. We report the validation of the German version of the Quality of Relationships Inventory (QRI). First, we evaluated its factor structure in a representative German sample of 1.494 participants by means of confirmatory factor analysis. Our findings support the previously proposed three-factor structure. Second, importance and satisfaction with different relationship domains (family/children and relationship/sexuality) were linked with the QRI scales, demonstrating high construct validity. Finally, we report sex and age differences regarding the perceived relationship support, conflict and depth in our German sample. In conclusion, the QRI is a reliable and valid measurement to assess social support in romantic relationships in the German population. PMID:22662151

The German Physical Society Under National Socialism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoffmann, Dieter; Walker, Mark

2004-12-01

The history of the German Physical Society from 1933 to 1945 is not the same as a comprehensive history of physics under Adolf Hitler, but it does reflect important aspects of physicists' work and life during the Third Reich.

German science and black racism--roots of the Nazi Holocaust.

PubMed

Haas, François

2008-02-01

The Nazi's cornerstone precept of "racial hygiene" gave birth to their policy of "racial cleansing" that led to the murders of millions. It was developed by German physicians and scientists in the late 19th century and is rooted in the period's Social Darwinism that placed blacks at the bottom of the racial ladder. This program was first manifested in the near-extermination of the African Herero people during the German colonial period. After WWI, the fear among the German populace that occupying African troops and their Afro-German children would lead to "bastardization" of the German people formed a unifying racial principle that the Nazis exploited. They extended this mind-set to a variety of "unworthy" groups, leading to the physician-administered racial Nuremberg laws, the Sterilization laws, the secret sterilization of Afro-Germans, and the German euthanasia program. This culminated in the extermination camps.

[Rehabilitation in the system of social benefit law seen from a social policy perspective with special regard to the problems involved in cross carrier cooperation and coordination].

PubMed

Braun, B

2009-06-01

Eight years after Book 9 of the German social code, SGB IX had entered into force, secondary analyses of published reports (for example those of the Federal Rehabilitation Council, BAR) about the existence and functioning of important institutional innovations such as the common service centres or new benefits such as the Personal Budget show many quantitative and qualitative deficiencies in its implementation. Deficits are mainly a lack of transparency, insufficient utilization of the innovative possibilities offered by the law and above all, poor cooperation among the various rehabilitation carriers involved. Among the deficits concerned are some which it has been impossible to eliminate for decades (since the so-called Rehabilitation harmonization law of 1974) by simple legal regulations or by appeals and voluntary self-commitments. To enable the innovative goals of the SGB IX to be reached, more intensive thought should again focus on the sense of having different rehabilitation carriers in place side by side. Irrespective of this issue, the legislator has to sanction obvious offences against the spirit of the SGB IX more strongly than so far.

Changes in Psychological Distress among East German Adolescents Facing German Unification: The Role of Commitment to the Old System and of Self-Efficacy Beliefs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pinquart, Martin; Silbereisen, Rainer K.; Juang, Linda P.

2004-01-01

Abrupt social change, such as the breakdown of a political system of the former communist states, presents a major adaptive challenge to the individual. The authors analyzed whether commitment to the old political system and high self-efficacy beliefs measured before German unification would predict change in psychological distress in East German…

The German Version of the Gaze Anxiety Rating Scale (GARS): Reliability and Validity

PubMed Central

Domes, Gregor; Marx, Lisa; Spenthof, Ines; Heinrichs, Markus

2016-01-01

Objective Fear of eye gaze and avoidance of eye contact are core features of social anxiety disorders (SAD). To measure self-reported fear and avoidance of eye gaze, the Gaze Anxiety Rating Scale (GARS) has been developed and validated in recent years in its English version. The main objectives of the present study were to psychometrically evaluate the German translation of the GARS concerning its reliability, factorial structure, and validity. Methods Three samples of participants were enrolled in the study. (1) A non-patient sample (n = 353) completed the GARS and a set of trait questionnaires to assess internal consistency, test-retest reliability, factorial structure, and concurrent and divergent validity. (2) A sample of patients with SAD (n = 33) was compared to a healthy control group (n = 30) regarding their scores on the GARS and the trait measures. Results The German GARS fear and avoidance scales exhibited excellent internal consistency and high stability over 2 and 4 months, as did the original version. The English version’s factorial structure was replicated, yielding two categories of situations: (1) everyday situations and (2) situations involving high evaluative threat. GARS fear and avoidance displayed convergent validity with trait measures of social anxiety and were markedly higher in patients with GSAD than in healthy controls. Fear and avoidance of eye contact in situations involving high levels of evaluative threat related more closely to social anxiety than to gaze anxiety in everyday situations. Conclusions The German version of the GARS has demonstrated reliability and validity similar to the original version, and is thus well suited to capture fear and avoidance of eye contact in different social situations as a valid self-report measure of social anxiety and related disorders in the social domain for use in both clinical practice and research. PMID:26937638

The German Version of the Gaze Anxiety Rating Scale (GARS): Reliability and Validity.

PubMed

Domes, Gregor; Marx, Lisa; Spenthof, Ines; Heinrichs, Markus

2016-01-01

Fear of eye gaze and avoidance of eye contact are core features of social anxiety disorders (SAD). To measure self-reported fear and avoidance of eye gaze, the Gaze Anxiety Rating Scale (GARS) has been developed and validated in recent years in its English version. The main objectives of the present study were to psychometrically evaluate the German translation of the GARS concerning its reliability, factorial structure, and validity. Three samples of participants were enrolled in the study. (1) A non-patient sample (n = 353) completed the GARS and a set of trait questionnaires to assess internal consistency, test-retest reliability, factorial structure, and concurrent and divergent validity. (2) A sample of patients with SAD (n = 33) was compared to a healthy control group (n = 30) regarding their scores on the GARS and the trait measures. The German GARS fear and avoidance scales exhibited excellent internal consistency and high stability over 2 and 4 months, as did the original version. The English version's factorial structure was replicated, yielding two categories of situations: (1) everyday situations and (2) situations involving high evaluative threat. GARS fear and avoidance displayed convergent validity with trait measures of social anxiety and were markedly higher in patients with GSAD than in healthy controls. Fear and avoidance of eye contact in situations involving high levels of evaluative threat related more closely to social anxiety than to gaze anxiety in everyday situations. The German version of the GARS has demonstrated reliability and validity similar to the original version, and is thus well suited to capture fear and avoidance of eye contact in different social situations as a valid self-report measure of social anxiety and related disorders in the social domain for use in both clinical practice and research.

Forensic case profiling aspects on multiple homicides from the Cologne-Bonn metropolitan area 1985-2000.

PubMed

Schmidt, Peter H; Padosch, Stephan A; Rothschild, Markus A; Madea, Burkhard

2005-10-29

The medicolegal and subsequent criminologic interpretation of forensic and pathological findings in cases of homicide makes up an important tool of case profiling. In a retrospective study of 26 cases of "multiple homicides" involving 31 perpetrators (30 males, 1 female, mean age 33.5 years) and 73 victims (33 males, 40 females, mean age 36 years, 68 fatalities, 5 survivors), autopsy reports and prosecution authorities' files were investigated with regard to individual characteristics of victims and offenders, circumstances as well as mode of commitment. The major aim of this study was to comprehensively elucidate and characterise relevant forensic and criminologic features, which may gain importance for forensic case profiling. Forty-six victims were found in the close social environment of the perpetrator and 45 homicides were committed either in the victim's, the perpetrator's or the shared domicile. The main motives included concealment of a crime (n=13), personal conflicts/domestic arguments (n=7) and greed (n=12). The relevant injuries with regard to the cause of death were attributable to sharp force (n=13), blunt force (n=7), gunshot wounds (n=24), ligature strangulation (n=3), smothering (n=5), fire/carbon monoxide (n=4) and combined impacts (n=11). In 15 cases, so called defence injuries were found. In 5 victims a post-mortem blood alcohol concentration >1.5 g/l was determined. In six perpetrators, a severe psychiatric impairment of juridical responsibility was ascertained (Section 20 German criminal code, n=2, psychosis; Section 21 German criminal code, n=4, acute alcohol intoxication). As far as conviction data were available, 27 crimes were juridically assessed as murder, 12 as manslaughter and one as bodily harm with fatal consequences.

Validation of French and German versions of a Perceived Neighborhood Social Cohesion Questionnaire among young Swiss males, and its relationship with substance use.

PubMed

Dupuis, Marc; Studer, Joseph; Henchoz, Yves; Deline, Stéphane; Baggio, Stéphanie; N'Goran, Alexandra; Mohler-Kuo, Meichun; Gmel, Gerhard

2016-02-01

This study main purpose was the validation of both French and German versions of a Perceived Neighborhood Social Cohesion Questionnaire. The sample group comprised 5065 Swiss men from the "Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors." Multigroup Confirmatory factor analysis showed that a three-factor model fits the data well, which substantiates the generalizability of Perceived Neighborhood Social Cohesion Questionnaire factor structure, regardless of the language. The Perceived Neighborhood Social Cohesion Questionnaire demonstrated excellent homogeneity (α = 95) and split-half reliability (r = .96). The Perceived Neighborhood Social Cohesion Questionnaire was sensitive to community size and participants' financial situation, confirming that it also measures real social conditions. Finally, weak but frequent correlations between Perceived Neighborhood Social Cohesion Questionnaire and alcohol, cigarette, and cannabis dependence were measured. © The Author(s) 2014.

Conformity and Rebellion: Contrasting Styles of English and German Youth, 1900-1933

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gillis, John R.

1973-01-01

This paper attempts to demonstrate that the question of conformity and rebellion is ultimately one of social and political structure by comparing the demographic and economic class lines of the English Boy Scouts and the German Wandervogel. (Author/KM)

Validation of the German Version of the Social Functioning Scale (SFS) for schizophrenia.

PubMed

Iffland, Jona R; Lockhofen, Denise; Gruppe, Harald; Gallhofer, Bernd; Sammer, Gebhard; Hanewald, Bernd

2015-01-01

Deficits in social functioning are a core symptom of schizophrenia and an important criterion for evaluating the success of treatment. However, there is little agreement regarding its measurement. A common, often cited instrument for assessing self-reported social functioning is the Social Functioning Scale (SFS). The study aimed to investigate the reliability and validity of the German translation. 101 patients suffering from schizophrenia (SZ) and 101 matched controls (C) (60 male / 41 female, 35.8 years in both groups) completed the German version. In addition, demographic, clinical, and functional data were collected. Internal consistency was investigated calculating Cronbach's alpha for SFS full scale (α: .81) and all subscales (α: .59-.88). Significant bivariate correlation coefficients were found between all subscales as well as between all subscales and full scale (p <.01). For the total sample, principal component analysis gave evidence to prefer a single-factor solution (eigenvalue ≥ 1) accounting for 48.5 % of the variance. For the subsamples, a two-component solution (SZ; 57.0 %) and a three-component solution (C; 65.6 %) fitted best, respectively. For SZ and C, significant associations were found between SFS and external criteria. The main factor "group" emerged as being significant. C showed higher values on both subscales and full scale. The sensitivity of the SFS was examined using discriminant analysis. 86.5% of the participants could be categorized correctly to their actual group. The German translation of the SFS turned out to be a reliable and valid questionnaire comparable to the original English version. This is in line with Spanish and Norwegian translations of the SFS. Concluding, the German version of the SFS is well suited to become a useful and practicable instrument for the assessment of social functioning in both clinical practice and research. It accomplishes commonly used external assessment scales.

The Rebirth of a World Power? German Unification and the Future of European Security

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-12-01

Government. 17 COSATI CODES 18 SUBJECT TERMS (Continue on reverse if necessary and identify by block number) FIELD GROUP SUB- GROUP German unification...in the balance of power system. Germany (and Prussia) was used as a territorial "shock absorber" to maintain a buffer between the great powers--a...European statecraft was not pressured by internal problems which later forced governments to take actions that aroused the suspicions and fears of the

The Role of the Military in Building Political Community: The Case of the Two German States.

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-01-01

community is represented primarily by three vital intervening outcomes of the political socialization process: a distinct political culture, a separate...case-study attempts to first identify any conscious political socialization processes implemented by the two militaries, and then tries to link these processes to the two distinct German political communities....rapidly engineer political change in these cases, the resurrection and maintenance of a military may especially contribute to the process of political

"You Can Speak German, Sir": On the Complexity of Teachers' L1 Use in CLIL

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gierlinger, Erwin

2015-01-01

Classroom code switching in foreign language teaching is still a controversial issue whose status as a tool of both despair and desire continues to be hotly debated. As the teaching of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) is, by definition, concerned with the learning of a foreign language, one would expect the value of code switching…

Sport in the German Democratic Republic and the People's Republic of China. A Sociopolitical Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McIntyre, Thomas D.

1985-01-01

The use of sports in the German Democratic Republic and the People's Republic of China is both propagandist and ideological. International sports competition can enhance the country's image and domestic sport is a means of political socialization. (DF)

Berlin: United Again.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cogan, John J.

1990-01-01

Compares East and West Berlin before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. Offers divergent viewpoints on German reunification from interviews of two professors: one from East Germany, the other from West Germany. Recommends that social studies classes incorporate current events such as German reunification. (CH)

[Assessment of criminal responsibility in paraphilic disorder. Can the severity of the disorder be assessed with items of standardized prognostic instruments?].

PubMed

Briken, P; Müller, J L

2014-03-01

Assessment of the severity of paraphilic disorders is an important aspect of psychiatric court reports for assessing criminal responsibility and placement in a forensic psychiatric hospital according to the German penal code (§§ 20, 21, 63 StGB). The minimum requirements for appraisal of criminal responsibility published by an interdisciplinary working group under the guidance of the German Federal Court of Justice define the standards for this procedure. This paper presents a research concept that aims to assess the severity of paraphilic disorders by using items of standardized prognostic instruments. In addition to a formal diagnosis according to the international classification of diseases (ICD) and the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental diseases (DSM) criteria, the items "deviant sexual interests" and "sexual preoccupations" from the prognosis instrument Stable 2007 are used to assess the severity of paraphilic disorders. Other criteria, such as "relationship deficits" are used to support the appraisal of the severity of the disorder. The items "sexual preoccupation", "emotional collapse" and "collapse of social support" from the prognosis instrument Acute 2007 are used to assess the capacity for self-control. In a next step the validity and reliability of this concept will be tested.

The Bologna agreement is not suitable for medical education: a German view

PubMed Central

Pfeilschifter, Josef

2010-01-01

Central elements of the Bologna declaration have been implemented in a huge variety of curricula in humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and engineering sciences at German universities. Overall the results have been nothing less than disastrous. Surprisingly, this seems to be the perfect time for German universities to talk about introducing a curriculum that is fully compatible with the Bologna declaration for medical education as well. However, German medical education does not have problems the Bologna declaration is intended to solve, such as quality, mobility, internationalization and employability. It is already in the Post-Bologna age. PMID:21818201

["My first encounter with German urology (1937)". Stefan Wesolowski (1908-2009) - a source in the archives of the German Society for Urology from the oldest corresponding member and promoter of Polish-German relationships].

PubMed

Moll, F H; Krischel, M; Zajaczkowski, T; Rathert, P

2010-10-01

A source in the archives of the German Society of Urology gives us a vivid insight into the situation in Berlin during the 1930s from the perspective of a young Polish doctor, and presents the situation at one of the leading urology institutions of the time in Germany. Furthermore, we learn about the social situation in hospitals as well as the discourse and networking taking place in the scientific community at that time.

Communication, social capital and workplace health management as determinants of the innovative climate in German banks.

PubMed

Köhler, Thorsten; Janssen, Christian; Plath, Sven-Christoph; Reese, Jens Peter; Lay, Jann; Steinhausen, Simone; Gloede, Tristan; Kowalski, Christoph; Schulz-Nieswandt, Frank; Pfaff, Holger

2010-12-01

The present study aims to measure the determinants of the innovative climate in German banks with a focus on workplace health management (WHM). We analyze the determinants of innovative climate with multiple regressions using a dataset based on standardized telephone interviews conducted with health promotion experts from 198 randomly selected German banks. The regression analysis provided a good explanation of the variance in the dependent variable (R² = 55%). Communication climate (β = 0.55; p < 0.001), social capital (β = 0.21; p < 0.01), the establishment of a WHM program (β = 0.13; p < 0.05) as well as company size (β = 0.15; p < 0.01) were found to have a significant impact on an organization's innovative climate. In order to foster an innovation-friendly climate, organizations should establish shared values. An active step in this direction involves strengthening the organizations' social capital and communication climate through trustworthy management decisions such as the implementation of a WHM program.

[Phenomenological anthropological social psychiatry--paving the way for a theoretical reanimation].

PubMed

Thoma, Samuel

2012-11-01

This article tries to link the present lack of theoretical discussion within German Social Psychiatry with a loss of phenomenological and anthropological thought. The so-called Phenomenological Psychiatry used to play a very important role in German psychiatry during the 50 ies until the 70 ies and had strong influences on the first reformers of German psychiatry, such as Walter Ritter von Baeyer, Heinz Häfner, Caspar Kulenkampff, Karl Peter Kisker and Erich Wulff. Their reforms were not only founded by a social criticism put forth by theories such as marxism (Basaglia, Wulff) or structuralism (Foucault) but also by a concrete notion of what it is like to suffer from mental illness and what kind of needs are linked to such suffering. This very notion was given by the phenomenological approach. Finally the article tries to give reasons for today's reciprocal loss of connection of the phenomenological and the socio-psychiatric school. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Design and methodology of the Geo-social Analysis of Physicians' settlement (GAP-Study) in Germany.

PubMed

Groneberg, David A; Boll, Michael; Bauer, Jan

2016-01-01

Unequally distributed disease burdens within populations are well-known and occur worldwide. They are depending on residents' social status and/or ethnic background. Country-specific health care systems - especially the coverage and distribution of health care providers - are both a potential cause as well as an important solution for health inequalities. Registers are built of all accredited physicians and psychotherapists within the outpatient care system in German metropolises by utilizing the database of the Associations of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians. The physicians' practice neighborhood will be analyzed under socioeconomic and demographic perspectives. Therefore, official city districts' statistics will be assigned to the physicians and psychotherapists according to their practice location. Averages of neighborhood indicators will be calculated for each specialty. Moreover, advanced studies will inspect differences by physicians' gender or practice type. Geo-spatial analyses of the intra-city practices distribution will complete the settlement characteristics of physicians and psychotherapists within the outpatient care system in German metropolises. The project "Geo-social Analysis of Physicians' settlement" (GAP) is designed to elucidate gaps of physician coverage within the outpatient care system, dependent on neighborhood residents' social status or ethnics in German metropolises. The methodology of the GAP-Study enables the standardized investigation of physicians' settlement behavior in German metropolises and their inter-city comparisons. The identification of potential gaps within the physicians' coverage should facilitate the delineation of approaches for solving health care inequality problems.

[Incidence and Costs of 1:1 Care in Psychiatric Hospitals in Germany - A Descriptive Analysis Based on the VIPP Project Data Set].

PubMed

Nienaber, André; Schulz, Michael; Noelle, Rüdiger; Wiegand, Hauke Felix; Wolff-Menzler, Claus; Häfner, Sibylle; Seemüller, Florian; Godemann, Frank; Löhr, Michael

2016-05-01

1:1 care is applied for patients requiring close psychiatric monitoring and care like patients with acute suicidality. The article describes the frequency of 1:1 care across different diagnoses and age groups in German psychiatric hospitals. The analysis was based on the VIPP Project from the years 2011 and 2012. A total of 47 hospitals with more than 120,000 cases were included. Object of the analysis was the OPS code 9-640.0 1:1 care. The evaluation was performed on case level. Data of 47 hospitals were included. Of the 121,454 cases evaluated in 2011 3.8 % documented a 1:1 care within the meaning of OPS 9-640.0 additional code. Of the 66 245 male cases a 1:1 care was documented in 3.5 % and the 55 207 female cases was 4.1 %. Compared to 2011, the proportion of 1:1 care in 2012 rose to 4.8 %. The results show that 1:1 care is frequently applied in German psychiatric hospitals. The Data of the VIPP project have proven to be a useful tool to gain information on the frequency of cost-intensive interventions in German psychiatric hospitals. Further analyses should create the possibility of evaluation at the level of the individual codes. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

From Grave Rubbings to Maximilian's Journey.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoffman, Elizabeth; Young, Michael

A high school project growing out of efforts to involve students in a German-American tricentennial celebration and designed to make student-centered activities educationally meaningful to both social studies and German language students is described. The project had the following objectives: (1) to view, through an interdisciplinary approach, the…

West German NATO Policy: The Next Five Years

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-11-01

West German conservatives have been confronted by the rise of the Republican party on the radical right . The causes underlying such political shifts...rise of the radical right Republican party, initially founded in Bavaria by several deputies from the the CDU’s sister party, the Christian Social

West German Teachers on Today's Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Molnar, Alex; And Others

1984-01-01

In 1983, elementary and secondary teachers in West Germany were surveyed concerning the treatment of social themes in school curricula. As in a similar survey conducted in the United States, West German respondents indicated that every theme surveyed was important, with nuclear disarmament and environmental pollution clearly considered the most…

The Role of Social Capital in the Explanation of Educational Success and Educational Inequalities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roth, Tobias

2013-01-01

This article examines the role that social capital plays in school success and in the explanation of social and ethnic inequalities in the German educational system. Based on Coleman's well-known concept of social capital, different aspects of social capital are distinguished, including social network composition, parent-school interaction and…

Community's Discontent: The Ideology of the "Volk" Community in National Socialism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sunker, Heinz

2006-01-01

National Socialism, the German type of fascism, is analysed in this article with respect to the question of its ideological foundations, the ideology of the "Volk" community, and its consequences for a relevant type of social practice, "Volk" welfare. Under National Socialism the form of state social work intervention was…

[Social environment and social network: extent and resources of the daily life of elderly persons].

PubMed

Marbach, J H

2001-08-01

The study asks for factors determining the activity space of the aged. Indicators of old people's activities space are the number of their outdoor activities and their use of the local supply of public facilities. Controversial hypothesis are won from ecological gerontology and psychological attachment theory. At issue in the first place is how personal social networks mold older people's outdoor behavior. Another hypothesis assumes social support of the elderly to be exposed to the laws of reciprocity. The study makes use of a poll titled "life-organization of older people" that was conducted by the German Youth Institute in 1993. Respondents were German 55- to 79-year-olds (N = 4130). Analyses rely on multifactorial analyses of variance. Results back attachment theory and the reciprocity thesis.

[Legal Analysis of the Implementation Rules of Delegation of Home Visits by Family Doctors to Non-Physician Health Professionals: Is the Implementation in Accordance with the Intention of the Law?

PubMed

Ruppel, T; van den Berg, N; Hoffmann, W

2016-10-01

Objective: Triggered by the AGnES model project of the University Medicine Greifswald, the Code of Social Law V was changed by the German Lower and Upper House of Parliament (Bundestag and Bundesrat) in 2008 so that the delegation of GP's activities to non-physician colleagues was allowed under highly restricted preconditions. Delegated home visits should become an integral part of the standard care in Germany. In this study, the implementation of § 87 para 2b clause 5 SGB V, established in Annex 8 of the Federal Collective Agreement, was checked for its legality in terms of qualification. Methods: The problem was checked with the legal methods of interpretation in pursuance of the norm and the methods of systematic, historic and teleologic interpretation. Results: Even though the Parliament clearly required orientation to the AGnES model project (in order to assure safety and effective care of delegated home visits), self-management in the implementation of the law remained far behind these guidelines. The main outcome of the legal analysis was that the implementation arrangements of the Code of Social Law V are predominantly illegal. Conclusions: The parties of the Federal Collective Agreement have to change the arrangements to meet the requirements of the Parliament and to avoid risks of liability for delegating GPs. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Psychohistory before Hitler: early military analyses of German national psychology.

PubMed

Bendersky, J W

1988-04-01

As part of a grandiose post-World War I psychological project to predict the behavior of nations, the U.S. Military Intelligence Division (MID) utilized racial and social psychological theories to explain an alleged problematic German national character. Though unsuccessful, this project has major significance in the history of psychohistory. For the newly discovered MID files reveal that ideas, attitudes, and biases many psychohistorians subsequently identified as manifestations of a peculiar German national character had previously been held by American officers and reputable psychologists. What American analysts would, in 1940, view as symptoms of a maladjusted German mind, their predecessors had, in 1920, considered valid scientific concepts.

Social media targeting of health messages. A promising approach for research and practice.

PubMed

Betsch, Cornelia

2014-01-01

In their contribution, Remschmidt and colleagues (1) put forward an innovative approach for recruiting female, German study participants from diverse social and ethnical backgrounds to assess their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding HPV vaccination. The approach involves placing advertisements on the social media platform Facebook that specify tags for not only the sought after socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender) but also self-relevant aspects of the target group. These tags determine which Facebook users will see the ad. By sequentially adjusting the tags, the researchers were able to recruit different sub-populations, resulting in a final sample similar to a representative German sample for a particular age group.

Smoking in contemporary German television programming.

PubMed

Hanewinkel, Reiner; Wiborg, Gudrun

2007-01-01

To study the prevalence of smoking in German television in 2005. Content analysis of all programmes of the four main national channels Das Erste, ZDF RTL and Pro7 over one week between 3 pm and 12 pm. A total of 395 programmes were analysed (252 h of programming). Each programme was coded regarding whether there was one or more smoking occurrence, defined as active smoking or handling with tobacco products by a character. Smoking was portrayed in 176 (45%) of the programmes. Smoking occurrences were frequent in movies (77%), and in TV magazines (69%). Movies, films, and serials produced in Germany showed more often smoking (65%) compared with productions from abroad (48%; p = 0.051). Smoking is frequently portrayed in German TV.

[German medicine of the age of romanticism (1797-1848) as research problem].

PubMed

Płonka-Syroka, B

1997-01-01

In the period between 1797 and 1848, German medicine was considerably influenced by philosophy. It absorbed ideas deriving from neo-Platonism and vitalism, as well as the modern philosophy of nature (Naturphilosophie), especially the ideas of Schelling. The article presents the main tendencies in the German medicine of that period: the distinct character of German medical thought as compared to the rest of Europe, the deductive character of medical theories, the grounding of medical thought in non-materialist philosophy and its close ties with the Protestant religion. The author's aim is investigate how German medicine of the period evolved away from European standards set by the model of medicine as an empirical science, based on the inductive method of research. The article presents the state of German medicine of the first half of the nineteenth century against the background of socio-cultural factors and relates German medical theory of the period to the social awareness of that time.

Constructing Understandings of End-of-Life Care in Europe: A Qualitative Study Involving Cognitive Interviewing with Implications for Cross-National Surveys

PubMed Central

Bechinger-English, Dorothee; Bausewein, Claudia; Simon, Steffan T.; Harding, Richard; Higginson, Irene J.; Gomes, Barbara

2011-01-01

Abstract Background Although national findings regarding people's end-of-life care (EoLC) preferences and priorities are available within Europe, a lack of research coordination between countries has meant that cross-national understandings of EoLC remain unknown. Purpose To (1) identify English and German understandings of EoLC within the context of an EoLC survey, and (2) to synthesise these understandings to aid interpretation of results from a cross-national survey. Methods An inductive and interpretive two-phased sequential design involving (1) qualitative analysis of cognitive interview data from 15 English and 15 German respondents to develop country-related categories, and (2) qualitative synthesis to identify a conceptually coherent understanding of EoLC. Results Open and axial coding resulted in six English and six German categories. Commonalities included (a) the importance of social and relational dimensions, (b) dynamic decision making comprising uncertainty, (c) a valuing of life's quality and quantity, and (d) expectations for holistic care involving autonomy, choice, and timely information from trusted professionals. Differences involved attention to practical matters, and thoughts about prolongation of life, preferred place of death, and the role of media and context. Synthesis resulted in four concepts with underlying coherence: expectations of a high standard of EoLC involving autonomy, choice, and context; evolving decision making amid anticipated change; thoughts about living and existing; and worldviews shaping EoLC preferences in real and hypothetical scenarios. Conclusion Individual and country-related diversity must be remembered when quantifying EoLC understandings. Inductive-interpretive analysis of cognitive interview data aids interpretation of survey findings. Cross-national research coordination and qualitative synthesis assists EoLC in Europe. PMID:21306232

No grammatical gender effect on affective ratings: evidence from Italian and German languages.

PubMed

Montefinese, Maria; Ambrosini, Ettore; Roivainen, Eka

2018-06-06

In this study, we tested the linguistic relativity hypothesis by studying the effect of grammatical gender (feminine vs. masculine) on affective judgments of conceptual representation in Italian and German. In particular, we examined the within- and cross-language grammatical gender effect and its interaction with participants' demographic characteristics (such as, the raters' age and sex) on semantic differential scales (affective ratings of valence, arousal and dominance) in Italian and German speakers. We selected the stimuli and the relative affective measures from Italian and German adaptations of the ANEW (Affective Norms for English Words). Bayesian and frequentist analyses yielded evidence for the absence of within- and cross-languages effects of grammatical gender and sex- and age-dependent interactions. These results suggest that grammatical gender does not affect judgments of affective features of semantic representation in Italian and German speakers, since an overt coding of word grammar is not required. Although further research is recommended to refine the impact of the grammatical gender on properties of semantic representation, these results have implications for any strong view of the linguistic relativity hypothesis.

[Essentials of prevention policy in Germany].

PubMed

Winter, S

2005-05-01

Prevention has become a major task of German health policy. In light of decreasing birth rates and low ages for starting retirement, prevention can contribute to stabilizing the social system by helping to prevent the outburst of diseases, ensure early diagnosis, and facilitate better coping strategies. It can also help to postpone or prevent early retirement and nursing care. To utilize preventive potentials German health policy has initiated the German Forum on Prevention and Health Promotion and a Law on Prevention, which is being negotiated in the German Parliament at present. In order to strengthen prevention, a system will be created that is financed by health, pension, accident and nursing insurance providers together. There will be campaigns, initiation of behavioural changes and setting activities (as required and described by WHO). The system will be controlled by common goals and targets, quality standards and a reporting duty to monitor the efficiency. On the federal level there will be a foundation on prevention and health promotion by the social insurance for the purpose of coordination. The German Forum has existed for 3 years now being a voluntary joint venture of relevant actors in prevention. The aim is to work together and create synergies. At present it is working on four topics: healthy kindergarden and schools, health promotion in firms, healthy aging and organisation and law.

The Planning of Higher Education in the German Democratic Republic

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nast, Manfred

1974-01-01

In the German Democratic Republic educational planning has to guarantee the realisation of several constitutional mandates: admission to universities and colleges in accordance with the principle of achievement, with the requirements of society, and with reference to the social composition of the people and equality of the sexes; the right to work…

Changing Traditions in Germany's Public Schools. International Studies in Education Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dichanz, Horst; Zahorik, John A.

Understanding German elementary and secondary schools requires knowledge of political, geographic, economic, and social aspects of Germany. German schools have developed in accordance with the prevailing influences of their times. People and events, throughout the past 400 years, are discussed. The legal status of education in Germany is similar…

Understanding Youth's Health-Compromising Behaviors in Germany: An Application of the Risk-Behavior Framework.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hazard, Barbara P.; Lee, Che-Fu

1999-01-01

Analyzed the health-compromising behaviors of German youth using responses of 2,330 seventh, eighth, and ninth graders from the German Youth Study. Smoking and drinking are not seen by these students as health-threatening behaviors, but as socially appealing behaviors. Discusses implications for health education. (SLD)

Women in German Literature.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frederiksen, Elke

This course description outlines the general and specific objectives for a course on "Women in German Literature," which investigates the changing literary and social roles of women from the beginning of the 19th Century to the present: women as seen by man, by another woman and in introspection. This course description was successfully used in a…

Teachers as Intercultural Learners: Negotiating German-American Telecollaboration along the Institutional Fault Line.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Belz, Julie A.; Muller-Hartmann, Andreas

2003-01-01

Examines how social, cultural, and institutional affordances and constraints in a telecollaborative foreign language learning partnership shape the agency of online teachers. Details how various aspects of school and schooling impact the negotiation, execution and management of a German-American virtual course from the perspectives of the…

From Broadway to Berlin: Transformative Learning through German Hip-Hop

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sosulski, Michael J.

2013-01-01

This article explores the possibilities for effecting Transformative Learning in students of German language and culture through the use of popular music videos, in both the target and the students' own languages. Transformative Learning, a term that has differing valences in numerous academic disciplines, is employed here in its social-scientific…

[Attitudes towards psychotherapy in South Korea and Germany : A cross-cultural comparative study].

PubMed

Schulz, W; Shin, M A; Schmid-Ott, G

2018-01-01

Due to the relatively recent introduction of psychotherapy in South Korea and against the background of collectivist and Confucian values, it has been suggested that South Koreans harbor more negative attitudes towards psychotherapy compared to Germans and that the social acceptance of psychotherapy is lower. We compared the attitudes of 99 women from South Korea with 98 German women using the questionnaire on attitudes towards psychotherapeutic treatment (FEP). For the study of the South Korean women we translated the questionnaire into the Korean language. The results of the psychometric analysis suggest that the Korean version of the FEP is of acceptable quality. South Korean women reported a significantly more negative attitude towards psychotherapy compared to German women. Furthermore, South Korean women anticipated a more skeptical social attitude towards psychotherapy compared to Germans. The presented results suggest the relevance of cultural imprinting in psychotherapy. They are discussed with respect to culture-specific self-concepts, concepts of disease and healing expectations and the increase of individualistic values in the Korean society.

Effects of Minority Stress, Group-Level Coping, and Social Support on Mental Health of German Gay Men

PubMed Central

Sattler, Frank A.; Wagner, Ulrich; Christiansen, Hanna

2016-01-01

Objective According to epidemiological studies, gay men are at a higher risk of mental disorders than heterosexual men. In the current study, the minority stress theory was investigated in German gay men: 1) it was hypothesized that minority stressors would positively predict mental health problems and that 2) group-level coping and social support variables would moderate these predictions negatively. Methods Data from 1,188 German self-identified gay men were collected online. The questionnaire included items about socio-demographics, minority stress (victimization, rejection sensitivity, and internalized homonegativity), group-level coping (disclosure of sexual orientation, homopositivity, gay affirmation, gay rights support, and gay rights activism), and social support (gay social support and non-gay social support). A moderated multiple regression was conducted. Results Minority stressors positively predicted mental health problems. Group-level coping did not interact with minority stressors, with the exception of disclosure and homopositivity interacting marginally with some minority stressors. Further, only two interactions were found for social support variables and minority stress, one of them marginal. Gay and non-gay social support inversely predicted mental health problems. In addition, disclosure and homopositivity marginally predicted mental health problems. Conclusions The findings imply that the minority stress theory should be modified. Disclosure does not have a relevant effect on mental health, while social support variables directly influence mental health of gay men. Group-level coping does not interact with minority stressors relevantly, and only one relevant interaction between social support and minority stress was found. Further longitudinal or experimental replication is needed before transferring the results to mental health interventions and prevention strategies for gay men. PMID:26943785

Effects of Minority Stress, Group-Level Coping, and Social Support on Mental Health of German Gay Men.

PubMed

Sattler, Frank A; Wagner, Ulrich; Christiansen, Hanna

2016-01-01

According to epidemiological studies, gay men are at a higher risk of mental disorders than heterosexual men. In the current study, the minority stress theory was investigated in German gay men: 1) it was hypothesized that minority stressors would positively predict mental health problems and that 2) group-level coping and social support variables would moderate these predictions negatively. Data from 1,188 German self-identified gay men were collected online. The questionnaire included items about socio-demographics, minority stress (victimization, rejection sensitivity, and internalized homonegativity), group-level coping (disclosure of sexual orientation, homopositivity, gay affirmation, gay rights support, and gay rights activism), and social support (gay social support and non-gay social support). A moderated multiple regression was conducted. Minority stressors positively predicted mental health problems. Group-level coping did not interact with minority stressors, with the exception of disclosure and homopositivity interacting marginally with some minority stressors. Further, only two interactions were found for social support variables and minority stress, one of them marginal. Gay and non-gay social support inversely predicted mental health problems. In addition, disclosure and homopositivity marginally predicted mental health problems. The findings imply that the minority stress theory should be modified. Disclosure does not have a relevant effect on mental health, while social support variables directly influence mental health of gay men. Group-level coping does not interact with minority stressors relevantly, and only one relevant interaction between social support and minority stress was found. Further longitudinal or experimental replication is needed before transferring the results to mental health interventions and prevention strategies for gay men.

[Patient information in urology: current legal situation with particular emphasis on the codification of the contract governing medical treatment in the German Civil Code (BGB)].

PubMed

Fischer, C; Petersilie, F

2014-12-01

The extent and specification of patient information have so far been defined by case law. Henceforth, the rules of patient information are included in a new type of contract, a contract governing medical treatment (Behandlungsvertrag), codified in §§630a-630e of the German Civil Code (BGB). The main conclusions of the case law are now governed by law; however, some new requirements, such as the obligation to inform patients about treatment errors or the stipulation to deliver copies of undersigned documents have been added. This article gives an overview of the codification of patient information, explains how to inform patients, particularly in urology and illustrates where it is still likely that law courts will be concerned with questions of interpretation. Correct patient information is crucial for declarations of informed consent.

[open quotes]Sonya[close quotes] explains

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moss, N.

This article describes observations of Ruth Werner from when she was an agent of the Soviet espionage service (code name [open quotes]Sonya[close quotes]) as related in her interview with the author. The main topics covered in the interview include her opinion and relationship with Klaus Fuchs, the German-born British physicist who passed the secrets of the first atomic bomb to the Russians, and her views on German reunification. Ruth focuses her discussion on her dedication to making the world a better place and the disillusionment she has felt as she reminisces about her past.

[Chronic pain disorder with somatic and psychological factors (F45.41) : Validation criteria on operationalization of the ICD-10-GM diagnosis].

PubMed

Arnold, B; Lutz, J; Nilges, P; Pfingsten, M; Rief, Winfried; Böger, A; Brinkschmidt, T; Casser, H-R; Irnich, D; Kaiser, U; Klimczyk, K; Sabatowski, R; Schiltenwolf, M; Söllner, W

2017-12-01

In 2009 the diagnosis chronic pain disorder with somatic and psychological factors (F45.41) was integrated into the German version of the International Classification of Diseases, version 10 (ICD-10-GM). In 2010 Paul Nilges and Winfried Rief published operationalization criteria for this diagnosis. In the present publication the ad hoc commission on multimodal interdisciplinary pain therapy of the German Pain Society now presents a formula for a clear validation of these operationalization criteria of the ICD code F45.41.

Dimensional structure of the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale according to the analysis of data obtained with a German version.

PubMed

Eidecker, Judith; Glöckner-Rist, Angelika; Gerlach, Alexander L

2010-08-01

The Social Interaction and Anxiety Scale (SIAS) is widely used to assess social interaction anxiety. Yet its dimensional structure is still not well-defined. Especially, the conceptual pertinence of three negatively keyed items has been challenged. In this study, dimensionality of the answers of a student sample to a German SIAS version was first analyzed exploratorily. Subsequently, we tested confirmatorily several measurement models specifying different SIAS dimensions, and investigated how these relate to extraversion. The most reasonable model was cross-validated relying on data from healthy controls and social phobia sufferers. All analyses involved methods suited for an adequate handling of ordinal data. The findings confirm that three negatively keyed items are dubious indicators of social interaction anxiety. Thus, only the remaining 17 items should be used for this purpose in future studies. Analyses of their psychometric properties show, in addition, that they apparently tap three different facets of social interaction anxiety. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Participatory research : Meaning, concept, objectives and methods].

PubMed

Brütt, Anna Levke; Buschmann-Steinhage, Rolf; Kirschning, Silke; Wegscheider, Karl

2016-09-01

Shaping one's own life and feeling equal in society is an essential aspect of participation. Based on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Social Security Code IX and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), participation is relevant for the German health system. The cross-sectional discipline of participation research investigates conditions for self-determined and equal participation in society. Research results can reinforce and promote the participation of humans with disabilities. Participation research uses established quantitative and qualitative approaches. Moreover, participatory research is a relevant approach that demands involving persons with disabilities in decisions in the research process. In the future, it will be important to concentrate findings and to connect researchers. The participation research action alliance (Aktionsbündnis Teilhabeforschung), which was established in 2015, aims to make funding accessible as well as strengthen and profile participation research.

Political Learning by Social Engagement? Chances and Risks for Citizenship Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wohnig, Alexander

2016-01-01

More and more programs of citizenship education in Germany (and other countries) tend to advance democratic citizenship through social learning in communities. A strong emphasis is put on social engagement to get young people involved in politics as well as to teach them participation. A qualitative analysis of selected German social learning…

Social Pedagogical Work with Different Age Groups in Germany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Toporkova, Olga; Glebova, Ekaterina; Vysotskaia, Inna V.; Tikhaeva, Victoria V.

2016-01-01

Background/Objectives: The main objective of the article is to study, analyze and organize the modern German experience in the sphere of social pedagogical and educational work with socially unprotected adults, including youth and the elderly. The retrospective analysis threw light on the background of work with socially unprotected adults in…

How Do Students Perceive the International Dimension in Social Work Education?: An Enquiry among Swedish and German Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trygged, Sven; Eriksson, Bodil

2012-01-01

Globalization, internationalization, and regionalization affect domestic social work. This paper explores how undergraduate students perceive international aspects of their social work education. A questionnaire was distributed to social work undergraduates in Stockholm, Sweden (n = 97), and Darmstadt, Germany (n = 43). Results showed that a…

[Medical thinking and ways of acting in national socialism].

PubMed

Degkwitz, R

1985-06-01

The historical background of the legislative measures to purify the Germanic race and the "practical measures to strengthen the German people" is the biologistic way of thinking in the 19th century. This evolved from Darwinism, leading to the so-called Social Darwinism. Its final consequence was the murdering of "inferior" human beings, which included murdering mentally ill and mentally retarded people. The latter is extensively described in recent literature and is usually considered as a specifically National Socialist or psychiatric action. These view points are discussed, and the literature on this subject is thoroughly reviewed.

[What is a "Considerable Damage to One's Health" in the Sense of German Guardianship Law?

PubMed

Steinert, Tilman; Heinz, Andreas; Hohl-Radke, Felix; Koller, Manfred; Müller, Jürgen; Müller, Sabine; Zinkler, Martin

2016-10-01

The term of a "considerable damage to one's health" is central in German guardianship law with respect to judge's decisions on involuntary commitment and coercive treatment. A legal definition has not been provided, and up to now no explanations from the part of medicine have been available what a "considerable damage to one's health" is in the case of mental illness and how it can be determined. A consensus paper of the German Association of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (DGPPN) explains four possible scenarios of manifestation of such kind of damage, corresponding to somatic illnesses: evidence of structural brain lesions (rare), subjective suffering (sufficient, but not necessary), impairment of functioning in important areas of life, and severe impairment of social participation (e. g. by dangerous behaviour against others). This view corresponds with the WHO's bio-psycho-social concept of health. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Regional and temporal variations in coding of hospital diagnoses referring to upper gastrointestinal and oesophageal bleeding in Germany.

PubMed

Langner, Ingo; Mikolajczyk, Rafael; Garbe, Edeltraut

2011-08-17

Health insurance claims data are increasingly used for health services research in Germany. Hospital diagnoses in these data are coded according to the International Classification of Diseases, German modification (ICD-10-GM). Due to the historical division into West and East Germany, different coding practices might persist in both former parts. Additionally, the introduction of Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs) in Germany in 2003/2004 might have changed the coding. The aim of this study was to investigate regional and temporal variations in coding of hospitalisation diagnoses in Germany. We analysed hospitalisation diagnoses for oesophageal bleeding (OB) and upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) from the official German Hospital Statistics provided by the Federal Statistical Office. Bleeding diagnoses were classified as "specific" (origin of bleeding provided) or "unspecific" (origin of bleeding not provided) coding. We studied regional (former East versus West Germany) differences in incidence of hospitalisations with specific or unspecific coding for OB and UGIB and temporal variations between 2000 and 2005. For each year, incidence ratios of hospitalisations for former East versus West Germany were estimated with log-linear regression models adjusting for age, gender and population density. Significant differences in specific and unspecific coding between East and West Germany and over time were found for both, OB and UGIB hospitalisation diagnoses, respectively. For example in 2002, incidence ratios of hospitalisations for East versus West Germany were 1.24 (95% CI 1.16-1.32) for specific and 0.67 (95% CI 0.60-0.74) for unspecific OB diagnoses and 1.43 (95% CI 1.36-1.51) for specific and 0.83 (95% CI 0.80-0.87) for unspecific UGIB. Regional differences nearly disappeared and time trends were less marked when using combined specific and unspecific diagnoses of OB or UGIB, respectively. During the study period, there were substantial regional and temporal variations in the coding of OB and UGIB diagnoses in hospitalised patients. Possible explanations for the observed regional variations are different coding preferences, further influenced by changes in coding and reimbursement rules. Analysing groups of diagnoses including specific and unspecific codes reduces the influence of varying coding practices.

German beyond the Classroom: From Local Knowledge to Critical Language Awareness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boovy, Bradley

2016-01-01

The article details an "Ausflug" to a Mt. Angel, OR as a model for incorporating engaged learning into the German classroom as a way of enhancing not only students' language acquisition but also to promote social justice learning. I offer both theoretical and practical considerations, informed by scholarship on teaching culture in the…

Recent Experiences in Continuing Education for Social Studies Teachers in the New States of Germany.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

George, Uta

1994-01-01

Reports on a staff development project for in-service teachers from former East German states. Describes the project's background, previous in-service teacher education, and the project's organization. Concludes that economic difficulties and the rise of neo-Nazism makes it imperative for German teachers to develop democratic values. (CFR)

Working the Boundaries between Education and Work: Transformations of the German Educational System Reconsidered

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Niemeyer, Beatrix

2014-01-01

The Lisbon commitment for a European knowledge society together with the subsequently implemented policy of lifelong learning and social inclusion has significantly affected the German educational system and its teaching practices. This article examines the impact of these policy reforms on educational work in Germany through an analysis of the…

World War I and the Attack of Professors of German and the University of Michigan.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilcox, Clifford

1993-01-01

Describes social and intellectual climate at beginning of World War I that was exemplified by overzealous patriots demanding public displays of loyalty. Relates how six professors of German were permanently discharged by University of Ann Arbor. Describes incidents of goading by students and colleagues, and discusses failure of the American…

A Healthy Sorting Machine? Social Inequality in the Transition to Upper Secondary Education in Germany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schneider, Silke L.; Tieben, Nicole

2011-01-01

The German secondary education system is highly stratified. However, the higher tracks have expanded vastly over the last decades, leading to substantial changes in the distribution of students across the different tracks. Following the German re-unification, the school structure itself has also changed to some degree. Furthermore, several smaller…

Cycles of Protest in West Germany: Experiences from Three Decades.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mushaben, Joyce Marie

The effects of the West German peace movement over the past 30 years have led to the development of a new concept of political participation in that country. Since 1950, a proliferation of protest movements has reflected a wide range of ideological, social, and geographic perspectives. Pacifist Protestants and the German Trade Union began sporadic…

Cryptanalysis in World War II--and Mathematics Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hilton, Peter

1984-01-01

Hilton describes the team of cryptanalysts who tried to decipher German and Japanese codes during the Second World War. The work of Turing, essentially developing the computer, is reported, as well as inferences about pure and applied mathematics. (MNS)

The Mediterranean Crucible, 1942-1943: Did Technology or Tenets Achieve Air Superiority

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-01

messages of critical Luftwaffe communications. The decryption, analysis, and dissemination of messages from the German Enigma coding machine, facilitated...the ability to “read the Luftwaffe [Enigma] keys in North Africa from the first day of their introduction” in the theater.5 This system, code ...IRIS no. 118168, in USAF Collection, AFHRA, Part IV, 1. 21 AWPD-42, Part IV, 1. superiority which enables its possessor to conduct air

Socioeconomic disadvantage and schizophrenia in migrants under mental health detention orders.

PubMed

Bulla, Jan; Hoffmann, Klaus; Querengässer, Jan; Ross, Thomas

2017-09-01

Migrants with mental hospital orders according to section 63 of the German criminal code are overrepresented in relation to their numbers in the general population. Subgroups originating from certain world regions are diagnosed with schizophrenia at a much higher rate than others. In the present literature, there is a strong evidence for a substantial correlation between migration, social disadvantage and the prevalence of schizophrenia. This study investigates the relationship between countries of origin, the risk of becoming a forensic patient and the proportion of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Data from a comprehensive evaluation tool of forensic inpatients in the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg (FoDoBa) were compared with population statistics and correlated with the Human Development Index (HDI) and Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). For residents with migration background, the risk ratio to receive a mental hospital order is 1.3 in comparison to non-migrants. There was a highly significant correlation between the HDI of the country of origin and the risk ratio for detention in a forensic psychiatric hospital. The proportion of schizophrenia diagnoses also correlated significantly with the HDI. In contrast, the MPI country rankings were not associated with schizophrenia diagnoses. Two lines of explanations are discussed: first, higher prevalence of schizophrenia in migrants originating from low-income countries, and second, a specific bias in court rulings with regard to involuntary forensic treatment orders for these migrant groups.

Psychosocial working conditions and well-being among immigrant and German low-wage workers.

PubMed

Hoppe, Annekatrin

2011-04-01

Despite a steady increase of immigrant workers in Germany in the past decades, occupational health research has only peripherally addressed psychosocial working conditions and immigrant worker well-being. This study has two aims: (1) to investigate differences in psychosocial stressors and resources between immigrant and German low-wage workers, and (2) to examine group differences in their association with well-being using a structural equation modeling multiple group analysis approach. Eighty-nine immigrant and 146 German postmen of a German mail service company were surveyed. Results reveal more stressors in the social work environment for the immigrant workers than for their German coworkers but similar levels of task-related stressors in both groups. Stressors are more strongly associated with psychological distress among the German workers. In terms of resources, job control serves as a resource only among German workers, whereas supervisor and coworker support are more important for immigrant workers. These differences suggest that cultural factors, previous work experiences, and expectations influence the worker's experience of psychosocial working conditions and have a direct impact on worker health.

Case mix measures and diagnosis-related groups: opportunities and threats for inpatient dermatology.

PubMed

Hensen, P; Fürstenberg, T; Luger, T A; Steinhoff, M; Roeder, N

2005-09-01

The changing healthcare environment world-wide is leading to extensive use of per case payment systems based on diagnosis-related groups (DRG). The aim of this study was to examine the impact of application of different DRG systems used in the German healthcare system. We retrospectively analysed 2334 clinical data sets of inpatients discharged from an academic dermatological inpatient unit in 2003. Data were regarded as providing high coding quality in compliance with the diagnosis and procedure classifications as well as coding standards. The application of the Australian AR-DRG version 4.1, the German G-DRG version 1.0, and the German G-DRG version 2004 was considered in detail. To evaluate more specific aspects, data were broken down into 11 groups based on the principle diagnosis. DRG cost weights and case mix index were used to compare coverage of inpatient dermatological services. Economic impacts were illustrated by case mix volumes and calculation of DRG payments. Case mix index results and the pending prospective revenues vary tremendously from the application of one or another of the DRG systems. The G-DRG version 2004 provides increased levels of case mix index that encourages, in particular, medical dermatology. The AR-DRG version 4.1 and the first German DRG version 1.0 appear to be less suitable to adequately cover inpatient dermatology. The G-DRG version 2004 has been greatly improved, probably due to proceeding calculation standards and DRG adjustments. The future of inpatient dermatology is subject to appropriate depiction of well-established treatment standards.

Prospects for research in haemophilia with real-world data-An analysis of German registry and secondary data.

PubMed

Schopohl, D; Bidlingmaier, C; Herzig, D; Klamroth, R; Kurnik, K; Rublee, D; Schramm, W; Schwarzkopf, L; Berger, K

2018-02-28

Open questions in haemophilia, such as effectiveness of innovative therapies, clinical and patient-reported outcomes (PROs), epidemiology and cost, await answers. The aim was to identify data attributes required and investigate the availability, appropriateness and accessibility of real-world data (RWD) from German registries and secondary databases to answer the aforementioned questions. Systematic searches were conducted in BIOSIS, EMBASE and MEDLINE to identify non-commercial secondary healthcare databases and registries of patients with haemophilia (PWH). Inclusion of German patients, type of patients, data elements-stratified by use in epidemiology, safety, outcomes and health economics research-and accessibility were investigated by desk research. Screening of 676 hits, identification of four registries [national PWH (DHR), national/international paediatric (GEPARD, PEDNET), international safety monitoring (EUHASS)] and seven national secondary databases. Access was limited to participants in three registries and to employees in one secondary database. One registry asks for PROs. Limitations of secondary databases originate from the ICD-coding system (missing: severity of haemophilia, presence of inhibitory antibodies), data protection laws and need to monitor reliability. Rigorous observational analysis of German haemophilia RWD shows that there is potential to supplement current knowledge and begin to address selected policy goals. To improve the value of existing RWD, the following efforts are proposed: ethical, legal and methodological discussions on data linkage across different sources, formulation of transparent governance rules for data access, redefinition of the ICD-coding, standardized collection of outcome data and implementation of incentives for treatment centres to improve data collection. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Social Background, Civic Education and Political Participation of Young People--The German Case

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Onken, Holger; Lange, Dirk

2014-01-01

Due to social and political change the process of young citizens' political socialization was put on a new basis in West European democracies over the last decades. In this article we discuss some aspects of this development and show their consequences. We analyse empirical findings from Germany, focussing on the relevant social factors which…

The Role of Craft Industry in Germany's Social Market Economy. Social Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schroder, Karsten

1992-01-01

Social market economy success in the Federal Republic of Germany is due to free competition, enterprise in the business community, and employees' social security. Craft industries play a major role in Germany's market economy. The craft industry is second only to the manufacturing industry, comprising 23 percent of German firms. There are seven…

Domain-General Contributions to Social Reasoning: Theory of Mind and Deontic Reasoning Re-Explored

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKinnon, Margaret C.; Moscovitch, Morris

2007-01-01

Using older adults and dual-task interference, we examined performance on two social reasoning tasks: theory of mind (ToM) tasks and versions of the deontic selection task involving social contracts and hazardous conditions. In line with performance accounts of social reasoning (Leslie, Friedman, & German, 2004), evidence from both aging and the…

Childhood, Youth and Social Change: A Comparative Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chisholm, Lynne, Ed.; And Others

Written for a 1988 bilateral United Kingdom-West German conference, the chapters in this volume examine childhood and youth as socially constructed life stages within the context of contemporary social and cultural change. Following the editors' introduction are 14 papers: "What Does the Future Hold? Youth and Sociocultural Change in the…

[Coping skills and social support in German long-time survivors of rape in the end of World War II].

PubMed

Eichhorn, Svenja; Klauer, Thomas; Grundke, Elena; Freyberger, Harald J; Brähler, Elmar; Kuwert, Philipp

2012-05-01

The aim of the study was to document perceived social support in a sample of German war-raped women in World War II. Furthermore the impact of this potential resource on today's posttraumatic symptoms should be pointed out. 27 women (M = 80.3 years, SD = 3.1 years) answered each a semi-structured interview and several questionnaires. Perceived social support shows clearly lower values than in the comparative samples. The measured degree of the variable in the present sample bears negative relationship to the actual posttraumatic symptoms of the women. In World War II sexually traumatized women could profit only few from the examined resource. The found negative relationship between perceived social support and posttraumatic symptoms shows additionally the potentially long-lasting impact of these form of coping on psychological health in trauma victims. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Social norm enforcement in ethnically diverse communities

PubMed Central

Zhang, Nan

2018-01-01

Recent waves of immigration to Western nations have fueled a debate over the consequences of ethnic diversity for social cohesion. One prominent argument in this debate holds that diversity is detrimental to trust and cooperation because individuals in heterogeneous communities face difficulties in enforcing social norms across ethnic lines. We examine this proposition in a field experiment involving real-life interactions among residents of multiethnic German neighborhoods. We find significant ethnic asymmetries in the pattern of norm enforcement: Members of the majority “native” German population are more active in sanctioning norm violations, while ethnic minorities are more likely to find themselves the target of sanctions. We interpret these results in light of prevailing status inequalities between ethnic minorities and the native majority. We further calculate that, as a result of ethnic discrimination, social control is likely to rise in communities with moderate minority population shares. PMID:29483253

Exploring the association between social capital and depressive symptoms: results of a survey in German information and communication technology companies.

PubMed

Jung, Julia; Ernstmann, Nicole; Nitzsche, Anika; Driller, Elke; Kowalski, Christoph; Lehner, Birgit; Stieler-Lorenz, Brigitte; Friepörtner, Katharina; Schmidt, Anna; Pfaff, Holger

2012-01-01

This study examines the association between social capital at work and depressive symptoms in employees. Data for this cross-sectional study were collected through an online survey with the full population of employees from six companies in the German information and communication technology sector (response rate: 58.4%). A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed. Results of data from a total of 328 employees suggest that, after controlling for sociodemographic factors, health awareness, and job strain, lower levels of perceived social capital at work are associated with the experience of depressive symptoms (OR = 0.76; 95% CI: 0.64-0.90). Our findings suggest that characteristics of high social capital at work, such as an established environment of trust and a sense of common values and convictions, could be an essential resource for preventing depressive disorders.

Professional psychology in Germany, National Socialism, and the Second World War.

PubMed

Schönpflug, Wolfgang

2017-11-01

Hundreds of positions for psychologists were established after the National Socialists seized power in 1933. It has accordingly been asserted that professional psychology in Germany experienced significant growth during the National Socialist period. An analysis of archival materials and of a recent collection of biographies indicates otherwise, however. German psychology, in fact, declined because of systematic persecution and a surge of emigration, a deficit that subsequent cohorts were barely able to make up until 1945. The new positions for psychologists were mainly in the military testing service, and could only be filled after manpower was shifted from the civilian to the military sector. In 1941, the Ministry of Science and Education released regulations for an innovative practice-oriented national curriculum for psychology. The move was in line with Nazi policy, but it was initiated by a group of protagonists from psychology under the aegis of the German Psychological Association, not the National Socialist German Workers Party, the government, or the military. The present article elaborates how the conception of practice-oriented, state-approved studies was part of the traditional German dual system of academic and professional qualification, and thus actually predated 1933. The new curriculum was largely not implemented because of the exigencies of the war. However, as a regulatory framework it marked a turning point in the merging of academic and professional psychology in Germany. The relationship between academic and professional psychology is also discussed, along with the role of German psychology vis-à-vis National Socialism and the German military. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Assisted suicide: Models of legal regulation in selected European countries and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.

PubMed

Grosse, Claudia; Grosse, Alexandra

2015-10-01

This paper presents three different models of the legal regulation of assisted suicide in European countries. First, the current legal regime governing assisted suicide in the Netherlands is described where both euthanasia and assisted suicide have been legalised. This section also includes some empirical data on euthanasia and assisted-suicide practices in the Netherlands, as well as a comparison with the current legal legislation in Belgium and Luxembourg. Next, Switzerland is presented as a country where euthanasia is punishable by law but assisted suicide is legally allowed, provided it is not carried out with selfish motives. This section also focuses on the assisted-suicide-related case law of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights. Last, the current legal situation regarding assisted suicide in Austria and Germany is described. While the Austrian Penal Code explicitly prohibits assisted suicide, assistance with suicide is not specifically regulated by the German Penal Code. However, medical doctors are not allowed to assist suicides according to the professional codes of conduct drawn up by the German medical associations under the supervision of the health authorities. © The Author(s) 2014.

East German children's and adolescents' friendship and moral reasoning before and after German reunification.

PubMed

Gummerum, Michaela; Keller, Monika

2012-01-01

Few studies so far have investigated whether abrupt social changes in a society affect the development of friendship and moral reasoning. In this study, 2 cohorts of 188 East German children and adolescents (aged 7, 9, 12, and 15 years) were interviewed in 1990 and 2005. Participants were asked about the importance of close friendship (friendship concept) as well as their moral decisions and reasoning in a friendship dilemma. Overall, results show that in 2005, East German participants referred to normative and interpersonal-altruistic-empathic concerns significantly more often than participants interviewed in 1990. Reference to relationship concerns decreased from 1990 to 2005. With few exceptions, these cohort effects were equally found in younger (children) and older (adolescents) age groups.

Gender Segregation in Pre-Adolescent Peer Groups as a Matter of Class: Results from Two German Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pfaff, Nicolle

2010-01-01

This study examines social class differences in the gender segregation of children and pre-adolescents and draws upon data from two recent German studies. Based on longitudinal quantitative data from a representative children's survey, the first analysis suggests that in comparison to children from upper-class families, lower-class children tend…

The Development of the National Library System on the Basis of the German Democratic Republic's Social Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schumann, Wolfgang; Schwarz, Gerhard

This historical review considers the rise of the German Democratic Republic's (GDR) system of libraries since its inception in 1945. Sections detail the following: (1) background; (2) tasks of the state organs in the development of the library network, with attention to legislation, planning, and management of the system; (3) role of the GDR…

Autochthonous Heritage Languages and Social Media: Writing and Bilingual Practices in Low German on Facebook

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reershemius, Gertrud

2017-01-01

This article analyses how speakers of an autochthonous heritage language (AHL) make use of digital media, through the example of Low German, a regional language used by a decreasing number of speakers mainly in northern Germany. The focus of the analysis is on Web 2.0 and its interactive potential for individual speakers. The study therefore…

Adaptive Adjustment of Vocational Aspirations among German Youths during the Transition from School to Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tomasik, Martin J.; Hardy, Sam; Haase, Claudia M.; Heckhausen, Jutta

2009-01-01

The transition from school to work is a central developmental task with long-term implications for the financial and social status of individuals. We argue that dynamic adjustments of aspirations play a decisive role for a successful outcome of the school to work transition, particularly in the context of the German vocational training system.…

Germany unveils €18bn research plan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banks, Michael

2009-07-01

The German government has unveiled an ambitious plan to inject a total of €18bn into teaching and research over the next decade. The German chancellor Angela Merkel, who has a degree in physics, announced that she was releasing the funds despite concerns from her social-democrat coalition partners that financing the package could be difficult in the economic downturn.

Pronominal Address in German: Rules, Anarchy and Embarrassment Potential

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kretzenbacher, Heinz L.; Clyne, Michael; Schupbach, Doris

2006-01-01

Choice of address forms, a socially crucial feature in German communication, is context-dependent on situations (a) where the unmarked form of address is "du" (T), (b) where it is "Sie" (V), and (c) where the two systems (a and b) coexist. The first two situations are, apart from their fuzzy edges, rather clearcut. The third situation, however,…

Knowledge Transfer or Social Competence? A Comparison of German and Canadian Adolescent Students on Their Socio-Motivational Relationships in School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoferichter, Frances; Raufelder, Diana; Eid, Michael; Bukowski, William M.

2014-01-01

This cross-national study investigates the perception of the impact of students' relationships towards teachers and peers on scholastic motivation in a total sample of 1477 seventh and eighth grade German (N?=?1088) and Canadian (N?=?389) secondary school students. By applying Multigroup Confirmatory Latent Class Analysis in Mplus we confirmed…

The changing psychology of culture in German-speaking countries: A Google Ngram study.

PubMed

Younes, Nadja; Reips, Ulf-Dietrich

2017-05-05

This article provides evidence for the long-term affiliation between ecological and cultural changes in German-speaking countries, based on the assumptions derived from social change and human development theory. Based on this theory, the increase in urbanisation, as a measure of ecological change, is associated with significant cultural changes of psychology. Whereas urbanisation is linked to greater individualistic values and materialistic attitudes, rural environments are strongly associated with collectivistic values like allegiance, prevalence of religion, and feelings of belonging and benevolence. Due to an increase in the German urbanisation rate over time, our study investigates whether Germany and the German-speaking countries around show the presumed changes in psychology. By using Google Books Ngram Viewer, we find that word frequencies, signifying individualistic (collectivistic) values, are positively (negatively) related to the urbanisation rate of Germany. Our results indicate that predictions about implications of an urbanising population for the psychology of culture hold true, supporting international universality of the social change and human development theory. Furthermore, we provide evidence for a predicted reversal for the time during and after World War II, reflecting Nazi propaganda and influence. © 2017 International Union of Psychological Science.

Should commercial organ donation be legalized in Germany? An ethical discourse.

PubMed

Keller, F; Winkler, U; Mayer, J; Stracke, S

2007-03-01

We evaluated the arguments pro and con concerning kidney sales from a German perspective. At present, we see social, medical, and ethical reasons why organ selling should not be legalized in Germany. Legalization of organ selling would weaken the principle of solidarity within the German health system. Conversely, profit making will undermine the principle of social justice. Within the present social system in Germany, there is no economic pressure to sell an organ to save life, and there is no medical need to buy a kidney. Also, there exists the risk that opening the market for organ sales will de-motivate potential directed organ donors. Relatives would have more doubts about giving their consent to donate organs of their deceased. Moreover, the historical experience with the "action T4" of the Nazi regime sensitized German society for the categorical imperative set forth by Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), namely that man is not a means, but an end to himself. By selling one's kidney, the donor uses himself as a means and as an instrument for the end result of gaining money. With directed organ donation, the welfare of the recipient is the end result. The pending reform of the German health system needs a more communitarian sense, which will be eroded should organs be sold and no longer donated as gifts. Germany's special historical experience and a deeply embedded consent toward ethical values give reason for the prohibition of organ selling in Germany.

Social media use in German visceral surgeons: a cross-sectional study of a national cohort.

PubMed

Boßelmann, C M; Griffiths, B; Gallagher, H J; Matzel, K E; Brady, R R W

2018-02-01

Engagement in social media is increasing. Medical professionals have been adapting LinkedIn, a professional networking site, and Twitter, a microblogging service, for a number of uses. This development has been described for a number of medical specialties, but there remains a paucity of European data. A study was undertaken to measure the engagement and activity of German visceral surgeons on social media platforms. Visceral surgeons were identified from 15 regional Associations of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (Kassenärztliche Vereinigungen) opt-in registers. A manual search was subsequently performed across key professional social media platforms. The presence of a profile and key markers of use were recorded. In total, 575 visceral surgeons were identified. 523 (93%) were men. 183 (31%) surgeons engaged in professional social media. 22 (3.8%) used Twitter, producing a mean of 16.43 tweets with a mean of 7.57 followers. 137 (24%) surgeons had a profile on LinkedIn with a mean of 46.36 connections. Female surgeons were less connected on LinkedIn (P < 0.005). 60 (10%) used Xing, with a mean of 27.95 connections. There were no significant differences in use of social media between surgeons from Eastern and Western Germany (P = 0.262) or male and female surgeons (P = 0.399). German visceral surgeons are less engaged and less active on social media than previously examined cohorts. Loco-regional, cultural, demographic and regulatory matters may have a significant influence on uptake. If this surgical cohort wishes to have a wider international presence then education on the potential benefits of these tools may be needed. Colorectal Disease © 2017 The Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland.

Perceived Control and Social Activity in Midlife and Older Age: A Reciprocal Association? Findings From the German Ageing Survey.

PubMed

Curtis, Rachel G; Huxhold, Oliver; Windsor, Tim D

2018-06-14

Perceived control may promote social activity in older adults because individuals with greater perceived control have greater confidence in their ability to achieve outcomes and are more likely to choose difficult activities, show persistence, and employ strategies to overcome challenges. Cross-sectional research has linked perceived control with social activity in life span and older adult samples but provides little insight into the direction of influence. We examined reciprocal associations between perceived control and social activity in order to establish temporal sequencing, which is one prerequisite for determining potential causation. Participants were 14,126 midlife and older adults from the German Ageing Survey. Using cross-lagged autoregressive modeling with age as the time metric (40-87 years), we examined reciprocal 3-year lagged associations between perceived control and social activity, while controlling for concurrent associations. Perceived control significantly predicted social activity 3 years later. Reciprocally, social activity significantly predicted perceived control 3 years later. The influence of perceived control on social activity was greater than the influence of social activity on perceived control. The finding that perceived control significantly predicts future social activity has potential implications for developing interventions aimed at promoting social activity in midlife and older adults.

Surgery and national identity in late nineteenth-century Vienna

PubMed Central

Buklijas, Tatjana

2008-01-01

For historians of medicine, the professor Theodor Billroth of the University of Vienna was the leading European surgeon of late nineteenth century and the personification of intervention by organ or body part removal. For social and political historians, he was a German nationalist whose book on medical education heralded the rise of anti-Semitism in the Austrian public sphere. This article brings together and critically reassesses these two hitherto separate accounts to show how, in a period of dramatic social and political change, Viennese surgery split into two camps. One, headed by Billroth, was characterized by an alliance with the German educational model, German nationalism leading to racial anti-Semitism and an experimental approach to the construction of surgical procedure, which heavily relied on the methods of pathological physiology. The other, which followed a long Austrian tradition, stood for a clinically-oriented and strictly organized medical education that catered to an ethnically and socially diverse population and, simultaneously, for an anatomically oriented surgery, largely of the locomotor apparatus. This study shows how, in a major centre of medical education and capital of a multiethnic empire, surgical and national identities were forged together. PMID:18053931

Alexithymia, emotion processing and social anxiety in adults with ADHD.

PubMed

Edel, M-A; Rudel, A; Hubert, C; Scheele, D; Brüne, M; Juckel, G; Assion, Hans-Jörg

2010-09-24

given sparse research on the issue, this study sought to shed light upon the interactions of alexithymia, emotion processing, and social anxiety in adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 73 German adults with ADHD according to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria participated. We used the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) to assess alexithymia, the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) to assess different features of social anxiety, and we applied the German "Experience of Emotions Scalerdquor; (SEE) to measure emotion processing. 40% of the sample were found to meet the DSM-IV criteria of social anxiety disorder, and about 22% were highly alexithymic according to a TAS-20 total score ≥ 61; however, the mean TAS-20 total score of 50.94 ± 9.3 was not much higher than in community samples. Alexithymic traits emerged to be closely linked to emotion processing problems, particularly 'difficulty accepting own emotions', and to social anxiety features. our findings suggest interactions of alexithymia, emotion processing dysfunction, and social anxiety in adults with ADHD, which may entail the therapeutic implication to thoroughly instruct these patients to identify, accept, communicate, and regulate their emotions to aid reducing interaction anxiety.

Fitness as "Social Heritage": A Study of Elementary School Pupils in Berlin

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pfister, Gertrud; Reeg, Annemarie

2006-01-01

Health and fitness among children and adolescents is a subject currently receiving public attention. This article focuses on the fitness of German pupils (third and fourth grades) in five schools in Berlin with widely differing social catchment areas as well as children from differing social backgrounds. Besides an orthopaedic examination and…

Student Employment: Social Differentials and Field-Specific Developments in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacob, Marita; Gerth, Maria; Weiss, Felix

2018-01-01

In this article, we examine social origin differences in employment patterns across different stages of higher education and compare these differences between vocational and academic fields of study. Using data from a large-scale German student survey, we study the development of inequality, according to social origins, in student employment from…

Adult Social Capital and Track Placement of Ethnic Groups in Germany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cheng, Simon; Martin, Leslie; Werum, Regina E.

2007-01-01

The dictum that "context matters" notwithstanding, few researchers have focused on how social capital affects educational outcomes for ethnic groups outside of the United States. Using German Socioeconomic Panel (GSOEP) data, analyses highlight the group-specific effects of parental social capital on track placement among 11-16-year-old…

Social Reproduction and Sex in German Primary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Daniel Scott; Wendt, Heike; Kasper, Daniel

2017-01-01

To understand the relationship between social background and sex in schooling, we use Bourdieu's theory of social reproduction and a feminist perspective of gender as practice. We pose two questions: (1) What is the relationship between economic and cultural capital and achievement for 4th-grade females versus males studying in Germany? (2) Is the…

Lifestyle choices and mental health: a longitudinal survey with German and Chinese students.

PubMed

Velten, Julia; Bieda, Angela; Scholten, Saskia; Wannemüller, André; Margraf, Jürgen

2018-05-16

A healthy lifestyle can be beneficial for one's mental health. Thus, identifying healthy lifestyle choices that promote psychological well-being and reduce mental problems is useful to prevent mental disorders. The aim of this longitudinal study was to evaluate the predictive values of a broad range of lifestyle choices for positive mental health (PMH) and mental health problems (MHP) in German and Chinese students. Data were assessed at baseline and at 1-year follow-up. Samples included 2991 German (M age  = 21.69, SD = 4.07) and 12,405 Chinese (M age  = 20.59, SD = 1.58) university students. Lifestyle choices were body mass index, frequency of physical and mental activities, frequency of alcohol consumption, smoking, vegetarian diet, and social rhythm irregularity. PMH and MHP were measured with the Positive Mental Health Scale and a 21-item version of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale. The predictive values of lifestyle choices for PMH and MHP at baseline and follow-up were assessed with single-group and multi-group path analyses. Better mental health (higher PMH and fewer MHP) at baseline was predicted by a lower body mass index, a higher frequency of physical and mental activities, non-smoking, a non-vegetarian diet, and a more regular social rhythm. When controlling for baseline mental health, age, and gender, physical activity was a positive predictor of PMH, smoking was a positive predictor of MHP, and a more irregular social rhythm was a positive predictor of PMH and a negative predictor of MHP at follow-up. The good fit of a multi-group model indicated that most lifestyle choices predict mental health comparably across samples. Some country-specific effects emerged: frequency of alcohol consumption, for example, predicted better mental health in German and poorer mental health in Chinese students. Our findings underline the importance of healthy lifestyle choices for improved psychological well-being and fewer mental health difficulties. Effects of lifestyle on mental health are comparable in German and Chinese students. Some healthy lifestyle choices (i.e., more frequent physical activity, non-smoking, regular social rhythm) are related to improvements in mental health over a 1-year period.

German Trade Unions on Consolidation Course. Basis-Info 21-2000. Social Policy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pahlke-Grygier, Sabine

New technologies have made radical changes in the way work is done. This development has passed by German trade unions anchored traditionally among workers in industrial production and stuck in the old model of the full-time employee with a predictable career and a job for life. Consequently, between 1991-98, about 3 million out of the former 11…

University Government in Nazi Germany: The Example of Hamburg. Yale Higher Education Program Working Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giles, Geoffrey J.

Many apologies have been made for the part the German universities played in the Third Reich. The general stigma of having failed the people as intellectual leaders clung to the German academics for a long time. Their contention of helplessness before the forces of National Socialism gave rise to fears of similar weakness in the future. Although…

How Gender Fair Are German Schoolbooks in the Twenty-First Century? An Analysis of Language and Illustrations in Schoolbooks for Mathematics and German

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moser, Franziska; Hannover, Bettina

2014-01-01

Schoolbooks convey not only school-relevant knowledge; they also influence the development of stereotypes about different social groups. Particularly during the 1970s and 1980s, many studies analysed schoolbooks and criticised the overall predominance of male persons and of traditional role allocations. Since that time, women's and men's…

Cross-linguistic vowel variation in trilingual speakers of Saterland Frisian, Low German, and High German.

PubMed

Peters, Jörg; Heeringa, Wilbert J; Schoormann, Heike E

2017-08-01

The present study compares the acoustic realization of Saterland Frisian, Low German, and High German vowels by trilingual speakers in the Saterland. The Saterland is a rural municipality in northwestern Germany. It offers the unique opportunity to study trilingualism with languages that differ both by their vowel inventories and by external factors, such as their social status and the autonomy of their speech communities. The objective of the study was to examine whether the trilingual speakers differ in their acoustic realizations of vowel categories shared by the three languages and whether those differences can be interpreted as effects of either the differences in the vowel systems or of external factors. Monophthongs produced in a /hVt/ frame revealed that High German vowels show the most divergent realizations in terms of vowel duration and formant frequencies, whereas Saterland Frisian and Low German vowels show small differences. These findings suggest that vowels of different languages are likely to share the same phonological space when the speech communities largely overlap, as is the case with Saterland Frisian and Low German, but may resist convergence if at least one language is shared with a larger, monolingual speech community, as is the case with High German.

[Development of the 2014 G-DRG system. Departure from coding of secondary diagnoses?].

PubMed

Volkmer, B G; Kahlmeyer, A; Petervari, M; Pechoel, M

2014-01-01

The objective of the German DRG (diagnosis-related groups) system is to adequately reimburse hospital costs using flat rate payments. The goal is to thereby achieve the most adequate representation of hospital costs in flat rate payments. The DRG for 2014 is based on the actual number of cases treated and the costs determined from 2012. For 2014, the current changes of the DRG system for the specialty urology concerning the coding and recording of secondary diagnoses are presented and discussed.

RNA meets disease in paradise.

PubMed

Winter, Julia; Roth, Anna; Diederichs, Sven

2011-01-01

Getting off the train in Jena-Paradies, 60 participants joined for the 12 (th) Young Scientist Meeting of the German Society for Cell Biology (DGZ) entitled "RNA & Disease". Excellent speakers from around the world, graduate students, postdocs and young group leaders enjoyed a meeting in a familiar atmosphere to exchange inspiring new data and vibrant scientific discussions about the fascinating history and exciting future of non-coding RNA research including microRNA, piRNA and long non-coding RNA as well as their function in cancer, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases.

German urologists under national socialism.

PubMed

Krischel, Matthis

2014-08-01

The first full-time professorship for urology at a German university was established in 1937 and in 1942, a rare teaching qualification (Habilitation) for urology was granted, both at the prestigious Berlin University. At the same time, nearly a third of all physicians who worked in the field of urology were classified as "non-Aryan" according to Nazi race laws and were forced out of their profession and their homeland. Many of them committed suicide or, if they refused to flee, were murdered in concentration camps. German urologists also contributed to compulsory sterilization of men according to the "law for the prevention of hereditarily diseased offspring" between 1934 and 1945. Historical sources on the history of urology in Nazi Germany were reviewed and analyzed. These include textbooks and medical journals from the 1930s and 1940s, as well as files from different state and university archives. For urologists, the changing political environment in Germany after 1933 offered possibilities to assert their personal and professional interests. Unfortunately, in many cases, moral principles were thrown overboard, and physicians advanced their own careers and the specialty of urology at the expense of their patients and their Jewish colleagues. Under national socialism, German urologists backed Nazi health and race policies and in exchange gained further professionalization for their specialty, including university positions and increased independence from surgery. Only in recent years has this chapter of German urology's past become a topic of debate among members of the professional society.

Sexological deliberation and social engineering: Albert Moll and the sterilisation debate in late imperial and Weimar Germany.

PubMed

Bryant, Thomas

2012-04-01

The physician and sexologist Albert Moll, from Berlin, was one of the main protagonists within the German discourse on the opportunities and dangers of social engineering, by eugenic interventions into human life in general, as well as into reproductive hygiene and healthcare policy in particular. One of the main sexological topics that were discussed intensively during the late-Wilhelminian German Reich and the Weimar Republic was the question of the legalisation of voluntary and compulsory sterilisations on the basis of medical, social, eugenic, economic or criminological indications. As is clear from Moll's conservative principles of medical ethics, and his conviction that the genetic knowledge required for eugenically indicated sterilisations was not yet sufficiently elaborated, he had doubts and worries about colleagues who were exceedingly zealous about these surgical sterilisations--especially Gustav Boeters from Saxony.

Translations From Kommunist, Number 11, July 1977

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-09-19

of their own role in the administration of social affairs. We understand the patriotic feelings motivating I. Mamedov, chief agronomer of the...and militarism. We must particularly emphasize her role in sobering up the German workers from their social- chauvinist intoxication and in

[Participation as Target of Social Medicine and Nursing Care: - Legal Definition of Long-Term Care Dependency - Strategies to Prevent Long-Term Care Dependency].

PubMed

Nüchtern, Elisabeth; Gansweid, Barbara; Gerber, Hans; von Mittelstaedt, Gert

2017-01-01

Objective: By the "Second Bill to Strengthen Long-Term Care", a new concept of long-term care dependency will be introduced, valid from 2017. Long-term care dependency according to Social Code XI will be defined covering more aspects than today. Therefore, the working group "Nursing Care" of the division "Social Medicine in Practice and Rehabilitation" in the German Society for Social Medicine and Prevention presents their results after working on the social medicine perspective of the definition and prevention of long-term care dependency. Methods: Both the definition and strategies to prevent long-term care dependency are systematically taken into consideration from the point of view of social medicine on the basis of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), as long-term care dependency means a defined condition of disability. Results: Both the current and the new concept of long-term care dependency focus activity limitations. The perspective of social medicine considers the interactions of health condition, its effects on daily activities and personal as well as environmental factors. From this point of view approaches for social benefits concerning prevention and rehabilitation can be identified systematically so as to work against the development and progression of long-term care dependency. The reference to the ICF can facilitate the communication between different professions. The new "graduation" of long-term care dependency would allow an international "translation" referring to the ICF. Conclusion: Experts from the field of social medicine as well as those of nursing care, care-givers and nursing researchers have in common the objective that persons in need of nursing care can participate in as many aspects of life of importance to them in an autonomous and self-determined way. The point of view of social medicine on long-term care dependency is fundamental for all occupational groups that are involved and for their successful cooperation. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

German muslims and the 'integration debate': negotiating identities in the face of discrimination.

PubMed

Holtz, Peter; Dahinden, Janine; Wagner, Wolfgang

2013-06-01

Based on five focus groups (total N = 56) with German Muslims, we analyze discourses on the experience of discrimination and feelings of national and religious attachment. The focus groups took place in mid to late 2010 in four German cities. Whereas only few participants describe personal discrimination by non-Muslim Germans, almost all participants complain about being collectively discriminated and rejected. This perception triggers processes of confirming their original cultural identity, primarily their Muslim affiliation and of strengthening the boundary towards the wider society. The analysis of the discourse shows the participants to fall back into an essentialized way of thinking that makes their ethnic being incompatible with being German; and they resort to their Muslim roots as a cultural resource for identity construction and self-worth. Others cope with their feeling of rejection by engaging in local politics and sports activities that allows them to attribute themselves a hyphenated identity as Turkish-Germans. The findings are discussed in terms of social identity, psychological essentialism, transnationalized religion, and boundary making.

Kant or Marx? Philosophy and the Origins of Social Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scaff, Lawrence A.

The origins of social science as a discipline are analyzed in terms of the German scientific community before 1920, which tended to define itself according to the theories of Karl Marx or Immanuel Kant. Following a brief introduction about the nature of social science debates in intellectual Germany, section 2 of the paper considers whether the…

Social Change and Individual Change--Developmental Science as Guide Post

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silbereisen, Rainer K.

2012-01-01

From a biopsychosocial perspective on human development, this essay review introduces a model linking social changes at the macro level with individual development at the micro level. German unification and the globalization of economy that followed are taken as a case in point for social changes that have affected the lives of many. It is argued…

When Significant Others Suffer: German Validation of the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS)

PubMed Central

Hunger, Christina; Krause, Lena; Hilzinger, Rebecca; Ditzen, Beate; Schweitzer, Jochen

2016-01-01

There is a need of an economical, reliable, and valid instrument in the German-speaking countries to measure the burden of relatives who care for mentally ill persons. We translated the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS) and conducted a study investigating factor structure, psychometric quality and predictive validity. We used confirmative factor analyses (CFA, maximum-likelihood method) to examine the dimensionality of the German BAS in a sample of 215 relatives (72% women; M = 32 years, SD = 14, range: 18 to 77; 39% employed) of mentally ill persons (50% (ex-)partner or (best) friend; M = 32 years, SD = 13, range 8 to 64; main complaints were depression and/or anxiety). Cronbach’s α determined the internal consistency. We examined predictive validity using regression analyses including the BAS and validated scales of social systems functioning (Experience In Social Systems Questionnaire, EXIS.pers, EXIS.org) and psychopathology (Brief Symptom Inventory, BSI). Variables that might have influenced the dependent variables (e.g. age, gender, education, employment and civil status) were controlled by their introduction in the first step, and the BAS in the second step of the regression analyses. A model with four correlated factors (Disrupted Activities, Personal Distress, Time Perspective, Guilt) showed the best fit. With respect to the number of items included, the internal consistency was very good. The modified German BAS predicted relatives’ social systems functioning and psychopathology. The economical design makes the 19-item BAS promising for practice-oriented research, and for studies under time constraints. Strength, limitations and future directions are discussed. PMID:27764109

A Kid Like Me Across the Sea: A Look into the World of a German Child. Update, 1995. Social Studies Grades 3-4. 2nd Revised Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blankenship, Glen; Muller, Martina, Ed.

This packet is a primary/elementary instructional package targeted at grades 3-4. The four lessons address physical and cultural geography, basic needs, community services and community helpers, transportation and communication, and political symbols. The materials focus on a comparative U.S./German perspective. The lessons include: (1)…

Does Gender-Fair Language Pay Off? The Social Perception of Professions from a Cross-Linguistic Perspective.

PubMed

Horvath, Lisa K; Merkel, Elisa F; Maass, Anne; Sczesny, Sabine

2015-01-01

In many languages, masculine forms (e.g., German Lehrer, "teachers, masc.") have traditionally been used to refer to both women and men, although feminine forms are available, too. Feminine-masculine word pairs (e.g., German Lehrerinnen und Lehrer, "teachers, fem. and teachers, masc.") are recommended as gender-fair alternatives. A large body of empirical research documents that the use of gender-fair forms instead of masculine forms has a substantial impact on mental representations. Masculine forms activate more male representations even when used in a generic sense, whereas word pairs (e.g., German Lehrerinnen und Lehrer, "teachers, fem. and teachers, masc.") lead to a higher cognitive inclusion of women (i.e., visibility of women). Some recent studies, however, have also shown that in a professional context word pairs may be associated with lesser status. The present research is the first to investigate both effects within a single paradigm. A cross-linguistic (Italian and German) study with 391 participants shows that word pairs help to avoid a male bias in the gender-typing of professions and increase women's visibility; at the same time, they decrease the estimated salaries of typically feminine professions (but do not affect perceived social status or competence). This potential payoff has implications for language policies aiming at gender-fairness.

From Scientific Object to Commemorated Victim: the Children of the Spiegelgrund

PubMed Central

Weindling, Paul

2015-01-01

The legacy of German medical research in the era of National Socialism remains contentious, as regards identification of victims, and the appropriate handling of scientific specimens. These questions are acutely posed by the scientific slides, brain sections, and other body parts of victims, who were killed for research. These slides continued to be held by Austrian and German scientific institutes in the second half of the twentieth century. That scientists continued research on these slides between 1945 and the late1980s suggests a disassociation of guilt and responsibility for the deaths of the victims by the German scientific community. PMID:24779110

Governmental and Nongovernmental Youth Welfare in the New German Lander.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gawlik, Marion; And Others

1994-01-01

Survey of the general conditions of youth welfare departments in eastern Germany revealed severe money shortages. Increasing demands on youth welfare, rising social problems, right-wing extremism, and widespread unemployment among youths cause long-term social problems and prohibit effective youth welfare. (RJM)

[Primary Prevention in General Medical Practice: A Survey].

PubMed

Holmberg, C; Muckelbauer, R; Sarganas, G; Braun, V; Heintze, C; Dini, L; Müller-Nordhorn, J

2016-09-16

Aim of the study: According to the German social insurance code §20 Sec. 1, statutory health insurance companies can reimburse up to 80% of costs incurred by primary prevention programs in physical activity, nutrition, stress management and drug consumption. Whether and how many general practitioners (GPs) provide their patients with information on such programs as part of their own practice is unknown. In this study, we investigate to which primary prevention programs primary care physicians refer their patients and whether they take into account reimbursability of programs. Methods: Between November 2010 and February 2011, all GPs with a practice in Berlin (n=1 168) received a questionnaire that assessed if patients were referred to prevention programs and the type of programs they were referred to, if they ensured they are reimbursable and if they themselves offered prevention programs. Descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression was used for analysis. Results: Of 474 respondents (response rate: 41%), 67% were female. Of the respondents, 22% offered reimbursable prevention programs and 42% at out-of-pocket expense. Patients were referred to reimbursable programs by 63%. GPs younger than 50 were twice as likely to offer reimbursable programs in their practice compared to those older than 50 (OR=1.7; 95% KI 1.1-2,8; p-value 0.025). Conclusion: A successful implementation of the new German prevention law needs awareness among GPs about reimbursable prevention programs, which may be lacking in some groups. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

[Different explanatory models for addictive behavior in Turkish and German youths in Germany: significance for prevention and treatment].

PubMed

Penka, S; Krieg, S; Hunner, Ch; Heinz, A

2003-07-01

Due to cultural and social barriers, immigrants seldom frequent centers for information, counseling, and treatment of addictive disorders. We examine cultural differences in the explanatory models of addictive behavior among Turkish and German youths in Germany with statistical devices that map the concepts associated with problems of addiction. Relevant differences were found between the disorder concepts of Turkish and German youth. German but not Turkish youths classified eating disorders among severe addictive disorders and associated them with embarrassment and shame. Concerning substance abuse, German but not Turkish youths clearly differentiated between illegal drug abuse and the abuse of alcohol and nicotine. Nearly half of all Turkish youths rejected central medical concepts such as "physical dependence" or "reduced control of substance intake" as completely inadequate to characterize problems of addictive behavior. Preventive information programs must consider these differences and use concepts that are accepted and clearly associated with addictive behavior by immigrant populations.

Alexithymia, emotion processing and social anxiety in adults with ADHD

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Objective Given sparse research on the issue, this study sought to shed light upon the interactions of alexithymia, emotion processing, and social anxiety in adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Subjects and methods 73 German adults with ADHD according to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria participated. We used the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) to assess alexithymia, the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) to assess different features of social anxiety, and we applied the German 'Experience of Emotions Scale' (SEE) to measure emotion processing. Results 40% of the sample were found to meet the DSM-IV criteria of social anxiety disorder, and about 22% were highly alexithymic according to a TAS-20 total score ≥ 61; however, the mean TAS-20 total score of 50.94 ± 9.3 was not much higher than in community samples. Alexithymic traits emerged to be closely linked to emotion processing problems, particularly 'difficulty accepting own emotions', and to social anxiety features. Discussion/conclusion Our findings suggest interactions of alexithymia, emotion processing dysfunction, and social anxiety in adults with ADHD, which may entail the therapeutic implication to thoroughly instruct these patients to identify, accept, communicate, and regulate their emotions to aid reducing interaction anxiety. PMID:20952350

Rural N(SO) and German middle-class mothers' interaction with their 3- and 6-month-old infants: A longitudinal cross-cultural analysis.

PubMed

Lamm, Bettina; Gudi, Helene; Fassbender, Ina; Freitag, Claudia; Graf, Frauke; Goertz, Claudia; Spangler, Sibylle; Teubert, Manuel; Knopf, Monika; Lohaus, Arnold; Schwarzer, Gudrun; Keller, Heidi

2015-08-01

This study aims to analyze culture-specific development of maternal interactional behavior longitudinally. Rural Cameroonian Nso mothers (n = 72) and German middle-class mothers (n = 106) were observed in free-play interactions with their 3- and 6-month-old infants. Results reveal the expected shift from a social to a nonsocial focus only in the German middle-class mothers' play interactions but not the rural Nso mothers' play. Nso mothers continue their proximal interactional style with a focus on body contact and body stimulation, whereas German middle-class mothers prefer a distal style of interaction with increasing object-centeredness. These cultural differences are in line with broader cultural models and become more accentuated as the infants grow older. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Investigating L2 Performance in Text Chat

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sauro, Shannon; Smith, Bryan

2010-01-01

This study examines the linguistic complexity and lexical diversity of both overt and covert L2 output produced during synchronous written computer-mediated communication, also referred to as chat. Video enhanced chatscripts produced by university learners of German (N = 23) engaged in dyadic task-based chat interaction were coded and analyzed for…

Social medicine vs professional dominance: the German experience.

PubMed Central

Light, D W; Liebfried, S; Tennstedt, F

1986-01-01

This article describes the efforts by German workers' groups and pioneering social physicians to design health care services oriented to prevention and cost-effective treatment. Jews played a key role in developing these prototypes of today's health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and preferred provider organizations (PPOs). The growing success of these services threatened private practitioners in a number of ways. They formed a trade union and took militant action. Stage by stage, the profession asserted its dominance, culminating in an alliance with the National Socialists and Hitler to take over these services and to purge them of socialist and Jewish physicians. Medical societies assisted Hitler in his policies of "purification," and the health care delivery systems shifted from being local, patient-centered, and health-oriented to being national, physician-centered, and focused on curing illness. After World War II, these changes were not reversed as part of denazification, and 40 years later, social medicine has yet to recover. PMID:3510052

Measures of gender role attitudes under revision: The example of the German General Social Survey.

PubMed

Walter, Jessica Gabriele

2018-05-01

Using the example of the German General Social Survey, this study describes how measures of gender role attitudes can be revised. To date measures have focused on the traditional male breadwinner model. However, social developments in female labor force participation, education, and family structure suggest that a revision and adjustment of existing measures are required. First, these measures need to be supplemented with items that represent more egalitarian models of division of labor and the role of the father in the family. Second, the phrasing of existing items needs to be revised. The results of this study indicate that especially regarding the amount of working hours and the age of children, a specification is needed. This study presents a revised measure, to facilitate analyses over time. This revised measure represents two factors: one referring to traditional and one to modern gender role attitudes. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sexological Deliberation and Social Engineering: Albert Moll and the Sterilisation Debate in Late Imperial and Weimar Germany

PubMed Central

Bryant, Thomas

2012-01-01

The physician and sexologist Albert Moll, from Berlin, was one of the main protagonists within the German discourse on the opportunities and dangers of social engineering, by eugenic interventions into human life in general, as well as into reproductive hygiene and healthcare policy in particular. One of the main sexological topics that were discussed intensively during the late-Wilhelminian German Reich and the Weimar Republic was the question of the legalisation of voluntary and compulsory sterilisations on the basis of medical, social, eugenic, economic or criminological indications. As is clear from Moll’s conservative principles of medical ethics, and his conviction that the genetic knowledge required for eugenically indicated sterilisations was not yet sufficiently elaborated, he had doubts and worries about colleagues who were exceedingly zealous about these surgical sterilisations – especially Gustav Boeters from Saxony. PMID:23002295

Is there a "net generation" in veterinary medicine? A comparative study on the use of the Internet and Web 2.0 by students and the veterinary profession.

PubMed

Tenhaven, Christoph; Tipold, Andrea; Fischer, Martin R; Ehlers, Jan P

2013-01-01

Informal and formal lifelong learning is essential at university and in the workplace. Apart from classical learning techniques, Web 2.0 tools can be used. It is controversial whether there is a so-called net generation amongst people under 30. To test the hypothesis that a net generation among students and young veterinarians exists. An online survey of students and veterinarians was conducted in the German-speaking countries which was advertised via online media and traditional print media. 1780 people took part in the survey. Students and veterinarians have different usage patterns regarding social networks (91.9% vs. 69%) and IM (55.9% vs. 24.5%). All tools were predominantly used passively and in private, to a lesser extent also professionally and for studying. The use of Web 2.0 tools is useful, however, teaching information and media skills, preparing codes of conduct for the internet and verification of user generated content is essential.

Reform of prescription drug reimbursement and pricing in the German social health insurance market: a comparison of three scenarios.

PubMed

Gress, Stefan; Niebuhr, Dea; May, Uwe; Wasem, Jürgen

2007-01-01

We review regulation of two important parameters for third-party payers and manufacturers of prescription drugs: regulation of reimbursement and pricing. We find that centralised regulation of reimbursement and pricing prevails in the 15 original EU member countries (EU-15) and in European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries. Compared with countries such as Switzerland, The Netherlands, France and England, regulation in the German social health insurance system is rather unique. First, market approval is nearly always equivalent to reimbursement. Second, manufacturers are free to determine prices but internal reference prices restrict them from actually doing so for generics and therapeutic substitutes. In order to contain rising expenditures for prescription drugs in Germany, and to set incentives for physicians to consider the costs as well as the benefits of prescriptions, three reform scenarios are feasible. The first scenario maintains centralised reimbursement and centralised pricing; the second maintains centralised reimbursement but switches to decentralised pricing (similar to social health insurance in Israel and Medicare in the US). Third-party payers would be able to negotiate with manufacturers about discounts and market shares for genetic and therapeutic substitutes. In the third scenario, pricing and reimbursement would be decentralised (similar to private health insurance in the US). We suggest that the second scenario is a viable compromise between consumer protection and a more competitive and cost-effective market for prescription drugs in German social health insurance and other similar markets for prescription drugs.

(Re)Constructions of Etymology of the Term "Electricity" in French German and Modern Greek Textbooks of Physics of 18th-19th Centuries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Patsopoulos, Dimitrios

2005-01-01

The different and contrasting versions of the etymology of the term "electricity" in Modern Greek textbooks of Physics of the 18th and 19th century, which are influenced by French and German textbooks, are not mere (re)constructions that serve the didactic purposes and objectives of their authors. They are (in)directly related to the social and…

Assessing met and unmet needs in the oldest-old and psychometric properties of the German version of the Camberwell assessment of need for the elderly (CANE)--a pilot study.

PubMed

Stein, Janine; Luppa, Melanie; König, Hans-Helmut; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G

2014-02-01

The current demographic and social developments in our society will lead to a significant increase in treatment and healthcare needs in the future, particularly in the elderly population. The Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly (CANE) was developed in the United Kingdom to measure physical-, psychological-, and environment-related treatment as well as healthcare needs of older people in order to identify their unmet needs. So far, the German version of the CANE has not been established in health services research. Major reasons for this are a lack of publications of CANE's German version and the missing validation of the instrument. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the currently available German version of the CANE in a sample of older primary care patients. Descriptive statistics and inference-statistical analyses were calculated. Patients reported unmet needs mostly in CANE's following sections: mobility/falls, physical health, continence, company, and intimate relationships. Agreement level between patients' and relatives' ratings in CANE was moderate to low. Evidence for the construct validity of CANE was found in terms of significant associations between CANE and other instruments or scores. The study results provide an important basis for studies aiming at the assessment of met and unmet needs in the elderly population. Using the German version of the CANE may substantially contribute to an effective and good-quality health and social care as well as an appropriate allocation of healthcare resources in the elderly population.

[Genesis and political background of "Sonderaktion Krakau" 6 XI 1939].

PubMed

August, J

1998-01-01

The decision to imprison Cracow's University professors on November 6, 1939 was made in connection with the establishment of the so-called General Government, as a second stage of German security police action in nazi-occupied Poland to ensure German rule also over Central and Southern Poland. By this way Sonderaktion Krakau (Special Action Cracow)--as continuation of politische Flurbereinigung (political cleaning up) started in German occupied Western Poland in September 1939--was a part of a second wave of persecution directed against the Polish societies' social classes indicated by Nazi leaders and chiefs of German security police as Poland's leadership, a wave of persecution now, since the end of October 1939, enlarged on Central and Southern Poland. The imprisonment of the Cracow Professors subsequently marked the perspective, that Poland's scientific and academic institutions as a whole would be destroyed, so that in future no Polish scientists, intellectuals and university people even would have the possibility to do scientific work and to have subsistence from doing this kind of work. As a consequence, Poland's intellectuals and university-trained people as a social class in future would disappear indefinitely, and the people of Poland, deprived of intellectual leadership, would be transformed into a mass of dependend lower-class working people, so that the Nazi leaders mournfull future-scenario for their rule in German occupied Central and Eastern Europe would become reality. By this way the imprisonment of the Cracow Professors on November 6, 1939 was the first step to realize Nazi future plans concerning Central and Eastern Europe.

Differentiation and Social Selectivity in German Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schindler, Steffen; Reimer, David

2011-01-01

In this paper we investigate social selectivity in access to higher education in Germany and, unlike most previous studies, explicitly devote attention to semi-tertiary institutions such as the so-called universities of cooperative education. Drawing on rational choice models of educational decisions we seek to understand which factors influence…

Inclusive Education and "Barrierefreiheit": Some Social-Epistemological Considerations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horsthemke, Kai

2017-01-01

"Barrierefreiheit" is a key term in the German inclusion movement, in education and more generally. Sometimes translated as "accessibility," it refers not just to absence of barriers but to freedom from barriers, which in turn indicates a significant social and ethical component. It signals an active, conscious intervention by…

Women in Nazi Germany: Denial by Any Other Name.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owings, Alison

1995-01-01

Discusses the role, socialization, and social attitudes regarding anti-Semitism and the Holocaust among German women living at that time. Describes how many women denied the extent of discrimination against Jews. Maintains that one possible reason is that the drive for survival made denial of the Holocaust easier. (CFR)

Social Structure and Social Change in Eastern Europe.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fischer, George; Schenkel, Walter

This specialized bibliography of scholarly writings since 1945 on Eastern Europe covers the countries of Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia. Distinct entries number about 700 and cover works published in English in the United States and Great Britain and also sources in French and German published…

Postwar Developments in German Political, Social and Security Policies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Kendall L., Ed.

To understand developments in West Germany since World War II, one must consider numerous social, political, economic, military, and educational variables. Important among these are the decline in output orientation, increase in interpersonal political involvement, decline in value placed on politics, stress on democratic decision making,…

[Migrants from the former Soviet Union born in German families and their relatives as patients in forensic units].

PubMed

Hoffmann, Klaus

2007-10-01

Young migrants from Russia born in German families are seen as a special risk group for drug and alcohol addiction as well as for criminality. In Russia, they were marginalized as Germans, now in Germany, they are marginalized as Russians--and they repeat in Germany the internal structures of distrust against the police and other government agencies. In prisons and in forensic units, this group of young German-Russians are strongly over represented compared with to share in the general population. In prisons, they are a problem group mainly speaking Russian language, forming mafia like clans and dealing drugs--all this prevents the rehabilitation. In sharp contrast, a forensic department succeeds in integrating these people by a consequent therapeutic community approach with highly frequent group psychotherapy, intensive work, sports, autonomy in cleaning the rooms and individual teaching possibilities in German language and other specialties with a teacher working on the ward. Despite published negative experiences, it is well possible to improve the legal and social prognosis of Russian-German migrants by applying a consequent milieu- and psychotherapeutic setting utilizing actively the resources of these patients.

The self-image of Greek, Greek-migrant and German adolescents.

PubMed

Siefen, G; Kirkcaldy, B D; Athanasou, J A; Peponis, M

1996-06-01

This paper provides an empirical perspective on the relationship between immigration and self-image in a sample of German and Greek adolescents. The subjects were Greeks (non-migrants, n = 128), Germans (n = 103) and Greek migrants living in West Germany (n = 103). The Offer Self-image Questionnaire (OISQ) was used as a multidimensional measure of psychological, social and sexual self, and family relations. Comparisons were made between the mean scores of the three national groups on subscales of the OSIQ. Greek migrants had quite distinct self-image profiles that were intermediate between non-migrating Greeks and native Germans. Gender and age differences in self-image were pronounced in sub-scales of the OSIQ. Migrants were more emotional than non-migrants, less introverted, more liberal in their sexual attitudes and displayed superior adjustment. Compared with their German counterparts, migrants emerged as more impulsive and emotional, with an inferior body image, higher achievement motivation, lower mental ill-health but with higher adjustment. The results showed that when both Greek samples (non-migrants and migrants) were taken together and compared to Germans then differences emerged and indicated small but significant cross-cultural differences in personality.

Socio-economic status and emotional distress of female Turkish immigrants and native German women living in Berlin.

PubMed

Aichberger, M C; Bromand, Z; Heredia Montesinos, A; Temur-Erman, S; Mundt, A; Heinz, A; Rapp, M A; Schouler-Ocak, M

2012-06-01

Many immigrants face more economic strains and hardship than non-immigrants. Income inequality and an increasing social gap between immigrants and non-immigrants in Europe warrant further studies on the impact of socioeconomic factors on health in immigrant groups. The purpose of this study was to examine the association of socioeconomic status (SES) and emotional distress in women of Turkish descent and in women of German descent. A total of 405 women of German or Turkish descent residing in Berlin were interviewed. Emotional distress was assessed by the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), and SES was examined by level of education, employment status, and income. The associations of emotional distress and SES were estimated in multivariate linear regression analyses. Unemployment was associated with increased levels of emotional distress in all women, with the highest level of distress in the group of unemployed Turkish women. The overall SES level was related to a greater level of emotional distress in Turkish women, but not in German women (-3.2, 95%CI -5.9 - -.5; p=.020 vs. -.8, 95%CI -2.7 - 1.2; p=.431). Further stratified analyses by relationship status revealed that the association of SES and emotional distress only remained significant among single women. The impact of socioeconomic hardship appears to be complicated by social roles and expectations related to these. Further in-depth study of the complex nature of the interaction of social roles and socioeconomic position in female Turkish immigrants in Germany is needed to better understand differing risk patterns for emotional distress. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Workplace stress, lifestyle and social factors as correlates of back pain: a representative study of the German working population.

PubMed

Schneider, Sven; Schmitt, Holger; Zoller, Silke; Schiltenwolf, Marcus

2005-05-01

To investigate the prevalence of back pain in the German working population and the relationship between back pain and workplace stresses, lifestyle and social factors. The first National Health Survey of the Federal Republic of Germany was carried out between October 1997 and March 1999. It comprised a representative epidemiological cross-sectional study of the working population, with a total sample of 3,488 persons between the ages of 18 and 69 years. The participants took part in a medical examination and answered a self-rating questionnaire. The relationship between subjective back pain and workplace stresses and social and lifestyle factors was investigated with bivariate tests and multiple logistical regression analyses. The 7-day prevalence for back pain in the German working population was found to be 34%, and the 1-year prevalence was 60%. The odds ratios were significantly higher in women, persons of lower socioeconomic status, married and depressed persons and non-athletes. Carrying heavy loads or maintaining a single working posture were the most significant work-related correlates of back pain, for members of both the female and male working population, while environmental stress and psychological stress correlated significantly with back pain in men only. This study reports the first representative epidemiological prevalence data for back pain, and its correlates and potential risk factors, for the German working population. To reduce the negative impact of back pain the most promising behavioural and conditional prevention measures in the workplace would be to reduce carrying stress and to vary working posture. In addition, a more active, athletic lifestyle, plus the avoidance of being overweight, should provide an additional protective or preventive effect.

Population-based validation of a German version of the Brief Resilience Scale

PubMed Central

Wenzel, Mario; Stieglitz, Rolf-Dieter; Kunzler, Angela; Bagusat, Christiana; Helmreich, Isabella; Gerlicher, Anna; Kampa, Miriam; Kubiak, Thomas; Kalisch, Raffael; Lieb, Klaus; Tüscher, Oliver

2018-01-01

Smith and colleagues developed the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) to assess the individual ability to recover from stress despite significant adversity. This study aimed to validate the German version of the BRS. We used data from a population-based (sample 1: n = 1.481) and a representative (sample 2: n = 1.128) sample of participants from the German general population (age ≥ 18) to assess reliability and validity. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were conducted to compare one- and two-factorial models from previous studies with a method-factor model which especially accounts for the wording of the items. Reliability was analyzed. Convergent validity was measured by correlating BRS scores with mental health measures, coping, social support, and optimism. Reliability was good (α = .85, ω = .85 for both samples). The method-factor model showed excellent model fit (sample 1: χ2/df = 7.544; RMSEA = .07; CFI = .99; SRMR = .02; sample 2: χ2/df = 1.166; RMSEA = .01; CFI = 1.00; SRMR = .01) which was significantly better than the one-factor model (Δχ2(4) = 172.71, p < .001) or the two-factor model (Δχ2(3) = 31.16, p < .001). The BRS was positively correlated with well-being, social support, optimism, and the coping strategies active coping, positive reframing, acceptance, and humor. It was negatively correlated with somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction, depression, and the coping strategies religion, denial, venting, substance use, and self-blame. To conclude, our results provide evidence for the reliability and validity of the German adaptation of the BRS as well as the unidimensional structure of the scale once method effects are accounted for. PMID:29438435

Cognitive skills and academic achievement of deaf children with cochlear implants.

PubMed

Huber, Maria; Kipman, Ulrike

2012-10-01

To compare cognitive performance between children with cochlear implants (CI) and normal-hearing peers; provide information about correlations between cognitive performance, basic academic achievement, and medical/audiological and social background variables; and assess the predictor quality of these variables for cognition. Cross-sectional study with comparison group, diagnostic test assessment. Data were collected in the authors' clinic (children with CI) and in Austrian schools (normal-hearing children). Forty children with CI (of the initial 65 children eligible for this study), aged 7 to 11 years, and 40 normal-hearing children, matched by age and sex, were tested with (a) the Culture Fair Intelligence Test (CFIT); (b) the Number Sequences subtest of the Heidelberger Rechentest 1-4 (HRT); (c) Comprehension, (d) Coding, (e) Digit Span, and (f) Vocabulary subtests of HAWIK III (German WISC III); (g) the Corsi Block Tapping Test; (h) the Arithmetic Operations subtests of the HRT; and (i) Salzburger Lese-Screening (SLS, reading). In addition, medical, audiological, social, and educational data from children with CI were collected. The children with CI equaled normal-hearing children in (a), (d), (e), (g), (h), and (i) and performed significantly worse in (b), (c) and (f). Background variables correlate significantly with cognitive skills and academic achievement. Medical/audiological variables explain 44.3% of the variance in CFT1 (CFIT, younger children). Social variables explain 55% of CFT1 and 24.5% of the Corsi test. This study augments the knowledge about cognitive skills and academic skills of children with CI. Cognitive performance is dependent on the early feasibility to hear and the social/educational background of the family.

Conflicting Priorities in Social Legislation and Medicine: Gynaeco-oncology Patients and their Right to Participate in Society.

PubMed

Simoes, E; Graf, J; Wallwiener, D; Brucker, S

2015-10-01

Due to the declining mortality rates, malignant diseases have gained a chronic character for many gynaeco-oncology patients. The patients can expect to participate in social life and to an increasing extent in professional life for longer lengths of time. Promotion of rehabilitation and participation is an issue of the German 9th Social Security Code that explicitly places a focus on women. This is mainly of relevance for tumour patients with regard to assessment of the degree of severe disability, to compensate for disease-induced impairments and the possibilities for improving the participation of the afflicted subjects, especially by means of protective rights in professional life. Indeed, tumour patients do sometimes find themselves confronted with conflicting priorities between the entitlements guaranteed by social legislation and the compensation conferred by the health-care services, which can then be avoided when the facts are sufficiently known. For this purpose, the physician must be fully aware of the legal situation. The present article provides an overview of the procedures and reference points for appraisals. Patients need partners among their responsible physicians to help in the assertion of their claims. From the physician's side it is necessary to classify the reported complaints within the ever increasing knowledge about the direct side effects and the long-term side effects of cancer therapies. Against the background of an often life-long mental stress and the uncertain risk of recurrence, it should also be considered whether the concept of healing probation is in support of the targets of long-term disease management and social reintegration, also in the interest of society in general.

German deaf people using text communication: short message service, TTY, relay services, fax, and e-mail.

PubMed

Power, Des; Power, Mary R; Rehling, Bernd

2007-01-01

An online survey of German deaf people demonstrated that they use text communication through Short Message Service (SMS), e-mail, fax, and telephone typewriters (TTY) to communicate within communities of deaf and hearing people. SMS is used most, with more than 96% of respondents having access to a mobile phone. Most use is intrinsic and directed toward sociability (keeping in contact, and making arrangements with friends and family). However, there is some instrumental use (getting tasks or business accomplished, making appointments, and obtaining information). German survey respondents wanted a better relay service, more connectivity among the various technologies, and full interactivity in making calls by any technology. In comparison with an Australian sample, German deaf people could not rely on extensive relay services connecting people with a TTY to hearing telephone subscribers for calls of either a social or business nature.

[Measuring health-related quality of life with the SF-8. Normal sample of the German population].

PubMed

Ellert, U; Lampert, T; Ravens-Sieberer, U

2005-12-01

The SF-8, a relatively new instrument for measuring health-related quality of life, was used in the German National Telephone Health Survey 2003. The SF-8 provides results which are comparable to those of the SF-36, the instrument most commonly used internationally. The German National Telephone Health Survey provides nationally representative data for the residential population in Germany aged 18 and older. In addition to the measurement of health-related quality of life, comprehensive information on chronic illnesses and complaints, health care needs, utilisation of health care, risk factors, risk behaviour and social status is also collected, making differentiated analyses possible. According to the data collected, men rate their quality of life in all dimensions higher than women. With increasing age, quality of life for both men and women decreases in the physical dimensions, while increasing in the mental health dimensions. Apart from chronic disease and pain having a negative impact on health-related quality of life, social differences are also observable, in that worse health-related quality of life is reported by respondents with lower socioeconomic status.

The Prussian Reform Movement: A Case Study in Defense Reform

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-09-01

H ., ed., The German Mind of the 19th Century , Continuum, 1981. Goerlitz, W., History of the German General Staff...set by technology and by the political and social conditions of Prussia in the eighteenth century ."E" ’Frederick H , Miariches Testament von 1768, pp... History of Germany Since 1789. pp. 34-35, Frederick A. Praeger, 1968. "𔃽Holbom, H ., A History of Modem Germany 1648-1840, p. 393, Yale Univ. Press,

Shaping Disciplinary Boundaries: Scientific Practice and Politics in the Methodenstreit Between the German Historical School and the Austrian School of Economics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Sousa, Filomena

In view of the great success enjoyed by the natural sciences by the end of the nineteenth century, scholars working in the social field felt the need to highlight the importance of the human sciences as piece and part of the broad scientific scene. Discussions purporting to the limits and status of the sciences devoted to the study of human behaviour, especially in relation to the logic of the natural sciences, led to the articulation of the conceptual pair Erklären/Verstehen as corresponding to the demarcation between Naturwissenschaften and Geisteswissenschaften. The differentiation between History and Society took central stage in the context of the debates about the scientific parameters shaping disciplinary boundaries and gave rise to the famous Methodenstreit opposing Gustav Schmoller the leader of the German Younger School of Economics to Carl Menger, the founding father of the Austrian School of Economics. The relevance of this episode can be measured by its impact not only on economics, but on the broader context of twentieth century social science, as the Methodenstreit turned on the dispute between Methodological Individualism and Holism. In this essay I tell the story of the divergences between German and Austrian scholars and suggest that the gap between the German Historical School and the Austrian School of Economics may be narrower than standard textbooks suggest.

Does Gender-Fair Language Pay Off? The Social Perception of Professions from a Cross-Linguistic Perspective

PubMed Central

Horvath, Lisa K.; Merkel, Elisa F.; Maass, Anne; Sczesny, Sabine

2016-01-01

In many languages, masculine forms (e.g., German Lehrer, “teachers, masc.”) have traditionally been used to refer to both women and men, although feminine forms are available, too. Feminine-masculine word pairs (e.g., German Lehrerinnen und Lehrer, “teachers, fem. and teachers, masc.”) are recommended as gender-fair alternatives. A large body of empirical research documents that the use of gender-fair forms instead of masculine forms has a substantial impact on mental representations. Masculine forms activate more male representations even when used in a generic sense, whereas word pairs (e.g., German Lehrerinnen und Lehrer, “teachers, fem. and teachers, masc.”) lead to a higher cognitive inclusion of women (i.e., visibility of women). Some recent studies, however, have also shown that in a professional context word pairs may be associated with lesser status. The present research is the first to investigate both effects within a single paradigm. A cross-linguistic (Italian and German) study with 391 participants shows that word pairs help to avoid a male bias in the gender-typing of professions and increase women's visibility; at the same time, they decrease the estimated salaries of typically feminine professions (but do not affect perceived social status or competence). This potential payoff has implications for language policies aiming at gender-fairness. PMID:26834662

Psychological stress in rheumatoid arthritis patients: a comparative Polish-German study: summary of the current conceptualization of the role of stress in rheumatoid arthritis.

PubMed

Bugajska, J; Brzosko, M; Jedryka-Góral, A; Głuszko, P; Zołnierczyk-Zreda, D; Sagan, A; Konarska, M; Rell-Bakalarska, M; Pazdur, J; Zeidler, H; Rihl, M

2010-02-01

Cultural differences in experiencing individual stress in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients might be observed. The aim of the study was to assess quality of life and psychological stress (distress) in RA patients, and to evaluate socio-demographic and disease specific variables predicting stress of patients. The study covered 300 Polish and 137 German RA patients. SF-36v2 scale was used to evaluate the patients' health. Psychological stress was defined as the feeling of "social isolation" and "being a burden" as demanding help in everyday activities. In both countries, the mental and physical health of patients deteriorated and about 50% of patients required support in everyday activities. 95% of Polish and 62% of German patients felt rejected from social activities. For the psychological stress perceived, functional capacity class 3 and male gender were shown to be predictive in Polish patients and living in a small town - in German patients. In the Polish group, the tertiary/bachelor level of education was linked with lower distress level. RA has a serious impact on the mental health owing to a great disease burden. Awareness of impact of the disease on quality of life and psychological stress of patients should be considered in routine clinical practice. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Coping with the DVD Dilemma: Region Codes and Copy Protection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ecke, Peter

2005-01-01

German teachers' use of DVDs, purchased abroad, has become increasingly difficult through restrictions imposed by the motion pictures industry on DVDs, DVD-playing equipment and software. In addition, the law, in particular through the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), has imposed restrictions that negatively affect the fair use of digital…

Negotiation of Meaning and Codeswitching in Online Tandems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kotter, Markus

2003-01-01

Analyzes negotiation of meaning and code switching in discourse between 29 language students from classes at a German and a North American university, who teamed up with their peers to collaborate on projects whose results hey had to present to the other groups in the MOO during the final weeks of the project. (VWL)

[Changes for rheumatology in the G-DRG system 2005].

PubMed

Fiori, W; Roeder, N; Lakomek, H-J; Liman, W; Köneke, N; Hülsemann, J L; Lehmann, H; Wenke, A

2005-02-01

The German prospective payment system G-DRG has been recently adapted and recalculated. Apart from the adjustments of the G-DRG classification system itself changes in the legal framework like the extension of the "convergence period" or the limitation of budget loss due to DRG introduction have to be considered. Especially the introduction of new procedure codes (OPS) describing the specialized and complex rheumatologic treatment of inpatients might be of significant importance. Even though these procedures will not yet develop influence on the grouping process in 2005, it will enable a more accurate description of the efforts of acute-rheumatologic treatment which can be used for further adaptations of the DRG algorithm. Numerous newly introduced additive payment components (ZE) result in a more adequate description of the "DRG-products". Although not increasing the individual hospital budget, these additive payments contribute to more transparency of high cost services and can be addressed separately from the DRG-budget. Furthermore a lot of other relevant changes to the G-DRG catalogue, the classification systems ICD-10-GM and OPS-301 and the German Coding Standards (DKR) are presented.

“Patient trade” in Germany: an ethical issue at the practitioner-clinician interface in 1909 and 2009

PubMed Central

Maehle, Andreas-Holger

2013-01-01

In 2009 the German media featured the so-called “patient trade” scandal. Offending against the rules of the professional code for German doctors, some medical practitioners had accepted bonus payments from specific hospitals for referring patients to them. This article discusses a historical precedent for this scandal, the patient trade affair of 1909, in which several medical professors of the Berlin university clinics were accused of having paid agents for bringing them lucrative private patients. Although the historical contexts were different, then, as in 2009, a commercial attitude towards medical practice clashed with the ethical ideal of the economically disinterested doctor. PMID:21393288

Undergraduate Medical Students Using Facebook as a Peer-Mentoring Platform: A Mixed-Methods Study.

PubMed

Pinilla, Severin; Nicolai, Leo; Gradel, Maximilian; Pander, Tanja; Fischer, Martin R; von der Borch, Philip; Dimitriadis, Konstantinos

2015-10-27

Peer mentoring is a powerful pedagogical approach for supporting undergraduate medical students in their learning environment. However, it remains unclear what exactly peer mentoring is and whether and how undergraduate medical students use social media for peer-mentoring activities. We aimed at describing and exploring the Facebook use of undergraduate medical students during their first 2 years at a German medical school. The data should help medical educators to effectively integrate social media in formal mentoring programs for medical students. We developed a coding scheme for peer mentoring and conducted a mixed-methods study in order to explore Facebook groups of undergraduate medical students from a peer-mentoring perspective. All major peer-mentoring categories were identified in Facebook groups of medical students. The relevance of these Facebook groups was confirmed through triangulation with focus groups and descriptive statistics. Medical students made extensive use of Facebook and wrote a total of 11,853 posts and comments in the respective Facebook groups (n=2362 total group members). Posting peaks were identified at the beginning of semesters and before exam periods, reflecting the formal curriculum milestones. Peer mentoring is present in Facebook groups formed by undergraduate medical students who extensively use these groups to seek advice from peers on study-related issues and, in particular, exam preparation. These groups also seem to be effective in supporting responsive and large-scale peer-mentoring structures; formal mentoring programs might benefit from integrating social media into their activity portfolio.

Quality of Teacher-Child Relationship and Preschoolers' Pro-Social Behaviour in German Kindergartens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glüer, Michael; Gregoriadis, Athanasios

2017-01-01

Teacher-child relationships in early childhood are a crucial prerequisite for children's emotional, social and academic development. Therefore, it is important to be able to measure accurately the quality of interactions among them. The Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS) is a widely accepted instrument in measuring the quality of…

Discursive Construction of Social Presence and Identity Positions in an International Bilingual Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Ute

2017-01-01

This article examines the discursive construction of social presence and identity in a bilingual collaboration between tertiary distance learners of German in New Zealand and Academic English students in Germany. Drawing on positioning theory, this small-scale study investigated the collaborative practices of a group of students, whose synchronous…

[Consistency and Reliability of MDK Expertise Examining the Encoding in the German DRG System].

PubMed

Gaertner, T; Lehr, F; Blum, B; van Essen, J

2015-09-01

Hospital inpatient stays are reimbursed on the basis of German diagnosis-related groups (G-DRG). The G-DRG classification system is based on complex coding guidelines. The Medical Review Board of the Statutory Health Insurance Funds (MDK) examines the encoding by hospitals and delivers individual expertises on behalf of the German statutory health insurance companies in cases in which irregularities are suspected. A study was conducted on the inter-rater reliability of the MDK expertises regarding the scope of the assessment. A representative sample of 212 MDK expertises was taken from a selected pool of 1 392 MDK expertises in May 2013. This representative sample underwent a double-examination by 2 independent MDK experts using a special software based on the 3MTM G-DRG Grouper 2013 of 3M Medica, Germany. The following items encoded by the hospitals were examined: DRG, principal diagnosis, secondary diagnoses, procedures and additional payments. It was analysed whether the results of MDK expertises were consistent, reliable and correct. 202 expertises were eligible for evaluation, containing a total of 254 questions regarding one or more of the 5 items encoded by hospitals. The double-examination by 2 independent MDK experts showed matching results in 187 questions (73.6%) meaning they had been examined consistently and correctly. 59 questions (23.2%) did not show matching results, nevertheless they had been examined correctly regarding the scope of the assessment. None of the principal diagnoses was significantly affected by inconsistent or wrong judgment. A representative sample of MDK expertises examining the DRG encoding by hospitals showed a very high percentage of correct examination by the MDK experts. Identical MDK expertises cannot be achieved in all cases due to the scope of the assessment. Further improvement and simplification of codes and coding guidelines are required to reduce the scope of assessment with regard to correct DRG encoding and its examination. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Social Workers and the NASW "Code of Ethics": Belief, Behavior, Disjuncture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DiFranks, Nikki Nelson

2008-01-01

A quantitative descriptive survey of a national sample of social workers (N = 206) examined discrepancies between belief in the NASW "Code of Ethics" and behavior in implementing the code and social workers' disjunctive distress (disjuncture) when belief and behavior are discordant. Relationships between setting and disjuncture and ethics…

Comparison of health-seeking characteristics of German and Belgian university students.

PubMed

Koop, R; Kartounian, H; Devroey, D

2017-01-01

Introduction. The aim of this study was to determine whether the use of primary health care differs between students enrolled in Belgian and German government-funded universities. The secondary aim of the study was to determine the factors that might explain such a difference. Methods. Participants were recruited through all Belgian and German government-funded universities. Because not all the universities agreed to participate, recruiting was also done through social media groups of the universities. An anonymous online survey was used for data collection. Results. In total, 2238 completed surveys were evaluated, of which 544 from students in Belgium and 1694 from students in Germany. In Belgium, more students had a family physician (87%) as compared to the students in Germany (73%) (p < 0.001). During the two months prior to the study, 37% of the Belgian students and 35% of the German students attended a family physician (p = 0.37). More German students attended a specialist (40%) as compared to the Belgian students (24%) (p<0.001). The German students also attended the emergency department more frequently (6%) as compared to their Belgian counterparts (3%) (p = 0.004). Conclusion. Belgian university students were more likely to attend a primary care physician than the German students. The health care seemed to be better organized for Belgian students and they were more satisfied with the delivered care.

Cultures of categories: Psychological diagnoses as institutional and political projects before and after the transition from state socialism in 1989 in East Germany.

PubMed

Leuenberger, Christine

2007-01-01

How can psychological categories be understood as historical, political, and cultural artifacts? How are such categories maintained by individuals, organizations, and governments? How do macrosocietal changes-such as the transition from state socialism in East Germany in 1989-correlate with changes in the social and organizational structures that maintain psychological categories? This essay focuses on how--pre-1989--the category of neurosis (as a mental disorder) became entwined with East Germany's grand socialist project of creating new socialist personalities, a new society, and a new science and on how diagnostic preferences were adapted, modified, and extended by local cultural and institutional practices. It also examines how post-1989 the category of neurosis became redefined in accord with a formerly West German psychotherapeutic paradigm and was eventually obliterated by the bureaucratic health care system of the new Germany. East German practitioners adopted new therapeutic guidelines and a new language to make sense of the "normal", "neurotic", and "pathological" self in terms of "individualizing forms of knowledge" that tied in with efforts to remake East German citizens as liberal democratic subjects. At the same time, practitioners' clinical practice remained based upon face-to-face encounters in which formal guidelines and stipulations were often superseded by local, interactional, institutional, and cultural practices and contingencies.

The neurological manifestations of trauma: lessons from World War I.

PubMed

Linden, Stefanie C; Hess, Volker; Jones, Edgar

2012-04-01

Changes in the clinical presentation of functional disorders and the influence of social and cultural factors can be investigated through the historical case notes from mental hospitals. World War I (WWI) was a potent trigger of functional disorders with neurological or psychiatric symptoms. We analysed 100 randomly selected case files of German servicemen admitted to the Department of Psychiatry of the Charité Medical School of Berlin University during WWI and classified them according to contemporaneous and retrospective modern diagnoses. We compared the clinical presentations with accounts in the German and British medical literature of the time. Most patients obtained the contemporaneous diagnosis of 'psychopathic constitution' or hysteria reflecting the general view of German psychiatrists that not the war but an individual predisposition was the basis for the development of symptoms. The clinical picture was dominated by pseudoneurological motor or sensory symptoms as well as pseudoseizures. Some soldiers relived combat experiences in dream-like dissociative states that partly resemble modern-day post-traumatic stress disorder. Most servicemen were classified as unfit for military service but very few of them were granted compensation. Severe functional disorders of a neurological character could develop even without traumatic exposure in combat, which is of interest for the current debate on triggers of stress disorders. The high incidence of pseudoseizures accords with the psychiatric literature of the time and contrasts with accounts of war-related disorders in Britain. The tendency of German psychiatrists not to send traumatised servicemen back to active duty also distinguished between German and British practice. Our data contribute to the debate on the changing patterns of human responses to traumatic experience and their historical and social context.

Ideology and ethics. The perversion of German psychiatrists' ethics by the ideology of national socialism.

PubMed

Singer, L

1998-01-01

As soon as Adolf Hitler came to into power in 1933, four laws on racial segregation and race protection were edicted between 1934 and 1935. Schizophrenia, manic-depressive psychoses, epilepsy and alcoholism were regarded as hereditary mental illnesses. These laws were responsible for the sterilisation of 350,000 individuals who were thought to be at the source of the propagation of hereditary illnesses which might endanger the health and the future of the Aryan Germans. On September 1, 1939, Action T4 was launched: it required that all the mentally ill be exterminated. This action, which was run by the highest level of the Reich's chancellery with the help of psychiatrists coming from all backgrounds including university professors, was supposed to grant a serene death to all the mentally ill considered as untreatable. The death sentences were carried out by the medical staff in psychiatric hospitals specially equipped with gas chambers. Following protests, Action T4 was officially stopped on August 24, 1941, but, in reality, continued until the end of the war. The death sentences were carried out using either lethal doses of medication or food deprivation. One hundred and fifty thousand individuals fell victim to that therapeutic extermination which played an economic role as important as the one deemed to social protection. Many German academics, researchers, psychiatrists, geneticians and anthropologists played and active part in these murders which were carried out in the name of Nazi ideology based upon the supremacy of the Northern Germanic race and the necessity to protect it from miscegenation, especially from Jews. In the final part of this paper, the author gives an explanation of the perversion of ethics carried out by German psychiatrists.

Why did so many German doctors join the Nazi Party early?

PubMed

Haque, Omar S; De Freitas, Julian; Viani, Ivana; Niederschulte, Bradley; Bursztajn, Harold J

2012-01-01

During the Weimar Republic in the mid-twentieth century, more than half of all German physicians became early joiners of the Nazi Party, surpassing the party enrollments of all other professions. From early on, the German Medical Society played the most instrumental role in the Nazi medical program, beginning with the marginalization of Jewish physicians, proceeding to coerced "experimentation," "euthanization," and sterilization, and culminating in genocide via the medicalization of mass murder of Jews and others caricatured and demonized by Nazi ideology. Given the medical oath to "do no harm," many postwar ethical analyses have strained to make sense of these seemingly paradoxical atrocities. Why did physicians act in such a manner? Yet few have tried to explain the self-selected Nazi enrollment of such an overwhelming proportion of the German Medical Society in the first place. This article lends insight into this paradox by exploring some major vulnerabilities, motives, and rationalizations that may have predisposed German physicians to Nazi membership-professional vulnerabilities among physicians in general (valuing conformity and obedience to authority, valuing the prevention of contamination and fighting against mortality, and possessing a basic interest in biomedical knowledge and research), economic factors and motives (related to physician economic insecurity and incentives for economic advancement), and Nazi ideological and historical rationalizations (beliefs about Social Darwinism, eugenics, and the social organism as sacred). Of particular significance for future research and education is the manner in which the persecution of Jewish physician colleagues was rationalized in the name of medical ethics itself. Giving proper consideration to the forces that fueled "Nazi Medicine" is of great importance, as it can highlight the conditions and motivations that make physicians susceptible to misapplications of medicine, and guide us toward prevention of future abuse. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Central Role of Neuroscientists under National Socialism.

PubMed

Zeidman, Lawrence A

2016-01-01

Neuroscientists played central roles in the victimization of colleagues and their patients during the era of National Socialism from 1933 to 1945. After helping dismiss Jewish and nonideologically aligned colleagues, German neuroscientists were among the physicians and researchers who joined the Nazi Party and affiliated groups in record numbers. Forced sterilization and then so-called 'euthanasia' of neurological and psychiatric patients were planned and executed by prominent German and Austrian neuroscientists. Other neuroscientists collaborated indirectly by using patients for unethical experimentation to discover the cause of multiple sclerosis or to try to induce epileptic convulsions in a hypoxic state. Some merely used neuropathological material from murdered patients for publications in scientific journals. In the totalitarian state, research funding and academic advancement were awarded to physicians engaged in eugenics research. Opportunism and ideologically tainted science without regard to medical ethics were the motivating factors for collaborating neuroscientists. Some German and Austrian neuroscientists tried to resist Nazi policies, although much more passively than their colleagues in German-occupied countries. French, Dutch, Norwegian, and Danish neuroscientists actively resisted the Nazification of their profession from the beginning and helped to save some patients and colleagues, at great personal risk. Many German, Austrian, Czech, and Polish neurologists were murdered in the Holocaust, and hundreds of thousands of neurological and psychiatric patients were sterilized or murdered in just 12 years. The Nazis used the 'successful' techniques developed in the 'euthanasia' programs to carry out the mass murder of millions in the Holocaust. Today's neuroscientists are obligated to learn of the ethical violations of their predecessors 70-80 years ago. No law will prevent abandonment of the basic principles of ethical patient care and professionalism that can occur in any totalitarian state, but neuroscientists can possibly prevent it. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Selected Economic Translations on Eastern Europe

DTIC Science & Technology

1961-01-09

the Chamber of Technology to Shipbuilding WB The Seven-tear Plan of Peace and Victory of Socialism in the German Democratic Republic confronts us...the kind of ^attitude which concludes from’the fluctuating operating costs in shipbuilding that, we cannot determine the socially needed prime... socially necessary prime or productibn costs must then be determined for these parts or sections,’and a uniform fixed price must then.be ’ ’ established

Stunden abstract. Der Einsatz von Nachrichten im Leistungskurs "Social Problems" (Class-Hour Plan. The Introduction of News in the Honors Course "Social Problems")

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pegler, Klaus

1977-01-01

Gives a detailed ESL (English as a second language) class-hour plan for using a BBC radio news program on vandalism as a social problem. Teaching goals, teaching materials and methodology are discussed. The working texts are appended; the news tests are available free from the author. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

[Can ICF core sets be helpful in preparing a social-medical expert report due to incapacity to work?--a first proposal].

PubMed

Kirschneck, M; Legner, R; Armbrust, W; Nowak, D; Cieza, A

2015-04-01

Social-medical expert reports from the German statutory pension insurance are essential for the German statutory pension regulatory authority to decide whether to grant services regarding participation as well as retirement pensions due to incapacity to work.The objective of this investigation is to determine whether the ICF Core Sets and other international approaches, such as the EUMASS Core Sets or ICF Core Set for vocational rehabilitation cover the content of the social-medical expert reports as well as to propose an approach how the ICF can be economically used by the social medicine practitioner when writing a social-medical expert report. A retrospective quantitative study design was used to translate a total of 294 social-medical expert reports from patients with low back pain (LBP) or chronic widespread pain (CWP) into the language of the ICF (linking) by 2 independent health professionals and compare the results with the ICF Core Sets for specific health conditions and other international approaches. The content of social-medical expert reports was largely reflected by the condition specific brief ICF Core Sets, brief ICF Core Sets for vocational rehabilitation and EUMASS Core Sets. The weighted Kappa statistic for the agreement between the 2 health professionals who translated the expert reports were in CWP 0.69 with a bootstrapped confidence interval of 0.67-0.71 and in LBP 0.73 (0.71-0.74). The analyses show that the content of social-medical expert reports varies enormously. A combination of a condition specific brief ICF Core Set as well as vocational rehabilitation and EUMASS ICF Core Sets as well as all ICF-categories from the expert reports that were named at least in 50% of it can largely provide a basis for preparing expert reports. Within the scope of implementation the need for a specific ICF Core Set for expert reports of the German statutory pension insurance should be further analyzed and discussed. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Educacao Intercultural e a Dificuldade de sua Pratica: Um Estudo da Imagem do Migrante e sua Familia em Livros Didaticos Alemaes. (Intercultural Education and the Difficulty of Its Practice: A Study of the Image of the Migrant and His Family in German Textbooks.)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weller, Wivian

1995-01-01

Provides a brief historical report on pedagogical efforts to improve the integration of migrants and their families into German society. Examines the way in which the migrants' social situation has been dealt with in textbooks, particularly in books on politics, history, geography, and occupational education. (PA)

Translations on Eastern Europe Political, Sociological, and Military Affairs, Number 1415

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-07-13

FACTORS West German Commentary Bonn IWE-TAGESDIENST in German No 86/87, 5-6 May 77 p 2 [Report from Berlin: "Crimes of Violence in GDR To Be Researched...ditions for Crimes of Violence and Sex"] [Text] As part of its research tasks socialist criminology in the GDR must also elucidate the question whether in...human existential and be- havioral modes as well as to social structures, their development and de- termination, and which elevates biological factors

Milk and social media: online communities and the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.

PubMed

Abrahams, Sheryl W

2012-08-01

The advent of social networking sites and other online communities presents new opportunities and challenges for the promotion, protection, and support of breastfeeding. This study examines the presence of infant formula marketing on popular US social media sites, using the World Health Organization International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (the Code) as a framework. We examined to what extent each of 11 infant formula brands that are widely available in the US had established a social media presence in popular social media venues likely to be visited by expectant parents and families with young children. We then examined current marketing practices, using the Code as a basis for ethical marketing. Infant formula manufacturers have established a social media presence primarily through Facebook pages, interactive features on their own Web sites, mobile apps for new and expecting parents, YouTube videos, sponsored reviews on parenting blogs, and other financial relationships with parenting blogs. Violations of the Code as well as promotional practices unforeseen by the Code were identified. These practices included enabling user-generated content that promotes the use of infant formula, financial relationships between manufacturers and bloggers, and creation of mobile apps for use by parents. An additional concern identified for Code enforcement is lack of transparency in social media-based marketing. The use of social media for formula marketing may demand new strategies for monitoring and enforcing the Code in light of emerging challenges, including suggested content for upcoming consideration for World Health Assembly resolutions.

Regional and social differences concerning overweight, participation in health check-ups and vaccination. Analysis of data from a whole birth cohort of 6-year old children in a prosperous German city

PubMed Central

Koller, Daniela; Mielck, Andreas

2009-01-01

Background Studies on health inequalities still focus mostly on adults. Research about social disparities and health in children is slowly increasing, also in Germany, but these studies are mostly restricted to individual social variables derived from the parents to determine social class. This paper analyses the data of the medical check-up prior to school enrolment to determine differences concerning overweight, participation in health check-ups and immunization; it includes individual social variables but also regional variables describing the social environment of the children. Methods The dataset includes 9,353 children who started school in 2004 in Munich, Germany. Three dependent variables are included (i.e. overweight, health check-ups, vaccinations). The individual level social variables are: children's sex, mother tongue of the parents, Kindergarten visit. On the small scale school district level, two regional social variables could be included as well, i.e. percentage of single-parent households, percentage of households with low educational level. Associations are assessed by cross tables and regression analyses. The regional level variables are included by multilevel analyses. Results The analyses indicate that there is a large variation between the school districts concerning the three dependent variables, and that there is no district with very 'problematic values' for all three of them (i.e. high percentage of overweight, low levels of health check-ups and vaccinations). Throughout the bivariate and multivariate analyses, the mother tongue of the children's parents shows the most pronounced association with these dependent variables; i.e. children growing up in non-German-speaking families tend to be more overweight and don't visit preventive check-ups as often as children of German-speaking parents. An opposite association can be seen concerning vaccinations. Regional level influences are present as well, but they are rather small when the individual level social variables are controlled for. Conclusion The dataset of the medical check-up prior to school enrolment offers a great opportunity for public health research, as it comprises a whole age cohort. The number and scope of variables is quite limited, though. On one hand, it includes only few variables on health or health related risks. On the other, it would be important to have more information from the region where the children live, e.g. the availability of community and health care services for parents and children, social networks of families with children, areas where children can play outside, traffic noise and air pollution. Despite these shortcomings, the need for specific interventions can already be derived from the data analyzed here, e.g. programs to reduce overweight in children should focus on parents with a mother tongue other than German. PMID:19183444

[Urology and National Socialism illustrated by the example of Leopold Casper (1859-1959)].

PubMed

Moll, F H; Rathert, P; Fangerau, H

2009-09-01

Leopold Casper (1859-1959) was one of the founders of the German Urological Society (DGfU) in 1906. He introduced functional kidney testing and a special cystoscope for ureteral catheterization. In 1913 he was president of the 4th congress held in the German capital Berlin. His textbook on genito-urinary diseases was translated by Charles W. Bonney in 1910 and proved the high quality of his scientific work. As a Jew he was forced to leave Nazi Germany later on in 1933 and from 1941 onwards he lived in New York. The anniversary of his 150th birthday should be remembered with special focus on the exodus of Jewish German scientists during the Nazi period.

It pays to be Herr Kaiser: Germans with noble-sounding surnames more often work as managers than as employees.

PubMed

Silberzahn, Raphael; Uhlmann, Eric Luis

2013-12-01

In the field study reported here (N = 222,924), we found that Germans with noble-sounding surnames, such as Kaiser ("emperor"), König ("king"), and Fürst ("prince"), more frequently hold managerial positions than Germans with last names that either refer to common everyday occupations, such as Koch ("cook"), Bauer ("farmer"), and Becker/Bäcker ("baker"), or do not refer to any social role. This phenomenon occurs despite the fact that noble-sounding surnames never indicated that the person actually held a noble title. Because of basic properties of associative cognition, the status linked to a name may spill over to its bearer and influence his or her occupational outcomes.

Appropriating Risk Factors: The Reception of an American Approach to Chronic Disease in the two German States, c. 1950–1990

PubMed Central

Timmermann, Carsten

2012-01-01

Summary Risk factors have become a dominant approach to the aetiology of chronic disease worldwide. The concept emerged in the new field of chronic disease epidemiology in the United States in the 1950s, around near-iconic projects such as the Framingham Heart Study. In this article I examine how chronic disease epidemiology and the risk factor concept were adopted and adapted in the two German states. I draw on case studies that illuminate the characteristics of the different contexts and different take on traditions in social hygiene, social medicine and epidemiology. I also look at critics of the risk factor approach in East and West Germany, who viewed risk factors as intellectually dishonest and a new surveillance tool.

Radiation exposure of German aircraft crews under the impact of solar cycle 23 and airline business factors.

PubMed

Frasch, Gerhard; Kammerer, Lothar; Karofsky, Ralf; Schlosser, Andrea; Stegemann, Ralf

2014-12-01

The exposure of German aircraft crews to cosmic radiation varies both with solar activity and operational factors of airline business. Data come from the German central dose registry and cover monthly exposures of up to 37,000 German aircraft crewmembers that were under official monitoring. During the years 2004 to 2009 of solar cycle 23 (i.e., in the decreasing phase of solar activity), the annual doses of German aircraft crews increased by an average of 20%. Decreasing solar activity allows more galactic radiation to reach the atmosphere, increasing high-altitude doses. The rise results mainly from the less effective protection from the solar wind but also from airline business factors. Both cockpit and cabin personnel differ in age-dependent professional and social status. This status determines substantially the annual effective dose: younger cabin personnel and the elder pilots generally receive higher annual doses than their counterparts. They also receive larger increases in their annual dose when the solar activity decreases. The doses under this combined influence of solar activity and airline business factors result in a maximum of exposure for German aircrews for this solar cycle. With the increasing solar activity of the current solar cycle 24, the doses are expected to decrease again.

German and Korean mothers' sensitivity and related parenting beliefs

PubMed Central

Ziehm, Jeanette; Trommsdorff, Gisela; Heikamp, Tobias; Park, Seong-Yeon

2013-01-01

This study contributes to a differentiated understanding of maternal sensitivity in cultural and situational context. We investigated differences and similarities in German and Korean mothers' maternal sensitivity. We interviewed 92 German and 100 Korean mothers of first graders about their preference for proactive (anticipating children's needs) or reactive sensitivity (responding to children's direct cues) in different scenarios. Related parenting beliefs were assessed by asking the mothers to explain the reasons why they would prefer specific parenting behaviors. Results revealed significant cultural differences in reactive vs. proactive sensitivity preferences. Overall, German mothers were more likely to indicate that a mother should respond reactively and less likely to report that a mother should act proactively than were Korean mothers. Korean mothers gave preference to both reactive and proactive sensitivity depending on the scenario. With regard to parenting beliefs, analyses revealed that German and Korean mothers who preferred reactive sensitivity mainly explained their choices as attempts to encourage children's development of independence. In contrast, Korean and German mothers with a preference for proactive sensitivity were more likely to report that mothers would assist their children due to their immaturity in dealing with emotional distress. Results are discussed in the framework of the different meanings and functions of maternal sensitivity for socialization in different cultural contexts. PMID:23986740

[Significance of sex and gender studies for anthropology].

PubMed

Kirchengast, Sylvia

2004-09-01

The formation of a special working group for gender studies within the German Anthropological Society (GfA) makes necessary a description of history as well as topics of gender studies within science and biological anthropology. In German speaking countries, gender studies are predominantly associated with social and cultural sciences, although very successful working groups belonging to natural sciences already exist. Unfortunately, up to now gender studies within natural sciences are often interpreted negatively and the existence of sex is denied. This may be due to the long and difficult history of gender studies in natural sciences. For a long time, pseudoscientific misinterpretations of results of gender studies were used to manifest the inferior social position of women. However, since more than thirty years respectable gender studies are integrated in social as well as natural sciences. Gender studies are integrative parts of nearly all subdisciplines of biological anthropology. The formation of a working group for gender studies within the GfA seems therefore to be useful.

Germany's long-term-care insurance: putting a social insurance model into practice.

PubMed

Geraedts, M; Heller, G V; Harrington, C A

2000-01-01

A growing population of elderly has intensified the demand for long-term care (LTC) services. In response to the mounting need, Germany put into effect a LTC Insurance Act in 1995 that introduced mandatory public or private LTC insurance for the entire population of 82 million. The program was based on the organizational principles that define the German social insurance system. Those individuals in the public system and their employers each pay contributions equal to 0.85 percent of each employee's gross wages or salary. Ten percent of the population with the highest incomes have chosen the option of purchasing private long term care insurance. Provisions were made for uniform eligibility criteria, benefits based on level of care needs, cost containment, and quality assurance. Over the first four years of its operation, the system has proved financially sound and has expanded access to organized LTC services. The German system thus may serve as an example for other countries that are planning to initiate social LTC insurance systems in other nations.

Emotional connotations of words related to authority and community.

PubMed

Schauenburg, Gesche; Ambrasat, Jens; Schröder, Tobias; von Scheve, Christian; Conrad, Markus

2015-09-01

We present a database of 858 German words from the semantic fields of authority and community, which represent core dimensions of human sociality. The words were selected on the basis of co-occurrence profiles of representative keywords for these semantic fields. All words were rated along five dimensions, each measured by a bipolar semantic-differential scale: Besides the classic dimensions of affective meaning (valence, arousal, and potency), we collected ratings of authority and community with newly developed scales. The results from cluster, correlational, and multiple regression analyses on the rating data suggest a robust negativity bias for authority valuation among German raters recruited via university mailing lists, whereas community ratings appear to be rather unrelated to the well-established affective dimensions. Furthermore, our data involve a strong overall negative correlation-rather than the classical U-shaped distribution-between valence and arousal for socially relevant concepts. Our database provides a valuable resource for research questions at the intersection of cognitive neuroscience and social psychology. It can be downloaded as supplemental materials with this article.

Does Distance Determine Who Attends a University in Germany?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spiess, C. Katharina; Wrohlich, Katharina

2010-01-01

We analyze the role of distance to the nearest university in the demand for higher education in Germany. Distance could matter due to transaction costs or due to neighborhood effects. We use data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) combined with a database on university postal codes to estimate a discrete choice model of the demand for…

Phonological Working Memory in German Children with Poor Reading and Spelling Abilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steinbrink, Claudia; Klatte, Maria

2008-01-01

Deficits in verbal short-term memory have been identified as one factor underlying reading and spelling disorders. However, the nature of this deficit is still unclear. It has been proposed that poor readers make less use of phonological coding, especially if the task can be solved through visual strategies. In the framework of Baddeley's…

The Intercultural and Non-Formal Learning Processes of Children in Primary School Exchange Programmes in France and Germany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Melin, Valérie; Wagner, Bernd

2015-01-01

This paper is based on educational anthropology, and presents the initial findings of a three-year international comparative study of primary school children's learning-processes during travel and cross-cultural encounters. A French-German research team investigated and here reports on primary school exchange programmes. Open coding of the…

Teaching the Philosophical Concepts of the Holocaust Issue.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Papaleo, Ralph J.

1979-01-01

Examines how social studies and history teachers can help students understand the intellectual origins of German Nazism during World War II. Suggests discussion questions and learning activities. (Author/DB)

The German version of the Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly (CANE): evaluation of content validity and adaptation to the German-speaking context.

PubMed

Stein, Janine; Luppa, Melanie; König, Hans-Helmut; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G

2015-11-01

The Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly (CANE) was developed for the assessment of physical-, psychological-, and environment-related needs in the elderly. The aim of this study was to revise and adapt the German version of the CANE with regard to the content validity of the instrument. Following a multistage approach, face-to-face interviews using the CANE, an expert survey and a multidisciplinary consensus conference were conducted in order to evaluate the frequency and relevance of met and unmet needs in the German elderly population, and to modify the content of the CANE for the German-speaking countries. In Germany, unmet physical needs including physical health, medication, eyesight/hearing/communication, mobility/falls, self-care, and continence were found to have top priority closely followed by social needs (company, intimate relationships, daytime activities, information, and abuse/neglect). Psychological needs were the lowest ranked care category. Experts' proposals for the improvement of the German version of the CANE were collected. All findings were discussed and integrated in the multidisciplinary consensus conference with the result of a revised and adapted CANE that is applicable in the German-speaking context. The provision of an adapted and improved German version of the CANE may substantially contribute to a comprehensive and valid assessment of needs in the elderly population. The results of this study represent an important basis for comprehensive needs assessment in the elderly in the theoretical and practical field of healthcare and health services research.

Variations of Social Pedagogy--Explorations of the Transnational Settlement Movement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koengeter, Stefan; Schroeer, Wolfgang

2013-01-01

Both the German and the international discourses on social pedagogy are shaped by a diachronic perspective on its history, which takes differing national developments as its starting point, and thus sees socio-pedagogical thinking as having its roots in particular nation states. In our article, however, we take a synchronic perspective to show,…

Perceived Demands of Social Change and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents from Different Educational Tracks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pinquart, Martin; Silbereisen, Rainer K.; Grümer, Sebastian

2014-01-01

We analyzed whether perceived demands associated with social change and coping with these demands are related to depressive symptoms in German adolescents from the highest versus middle/lowest educational track. Demands reflected an increase in uncertainty (e.g., risk for getting no job). Adolescents on the highest educational track perceived…

"You Are Getting Too Old, Find a Man and Marry": Social Aspects of Motivation to Choose Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beltman, Susan; Wosnitza, Marold

2008-01-01

This study examines the roles other people play in individuals' decisions to enter into teacher education. Elements of social cognitive and situated theoretical approaches to motivation are combined, using a newly developed instrument. Participants were 303 Australian and German teacher education students. They indicated other people who had…

Common Ground: Practical Ideas To Promote Interdisciplinary Cooperation between Social Studies and Second Language Instructors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKinnon, Mike

This document promotes teaching about foreign cultures through the combined efforts of school social studies and foreign language departments. Using the example of Germany and the German language, the document shows how instructors can take an interdisciplinary approach that broadens student exposure to, and thereby learning of, second cultures.…

Is Expressivism Dead? Reconsidering Its Romantic Roots and Its Relation to Social Constructionism.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fishman, Stephen M.; McCarthy, Lucille Parkinson

1992-01-01

Defends expressivism as a philosophy of composition against attack. Argues on historical grounds that it was the social reform dimension of German romanticism that inspired expressivism. Presents one of the author's classes as one that is committed both to the mastery of philosophic method and to the development of student voices. (RS)

One Speaker, Two Languages. Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives on Code-Switching.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Milroy, Lesley, Ed.; Muysken, Pieter, Ed.

Fifteen articles review code-switching in the four major areas: policy implications in specific institutional and community settings; perspectives of social theory of code-switching as a form of speech behavior in particular social contexts; the grammatical analysis of code-switching, including factors that constrain switching even within a…

Migrant nurses from Vietnam – First experiences in the German long-term care sector

PubMed

Peters, Verena; Braeseke, Grit

2016-11-01

Background: In 2012 a pilot project «recruiting qualified employees for the elderly care sector» commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi) with Vietnam was initiated. 150 Vietnamese candidates with degrees in nursing were recruited and participated in a German language course in Hanoi for six months (level A2). 100 project participants then arrived in Germany in September 2013 and started a (shortened) 2-year training in elderly care at locations in four federal states. The aim was for the Vietnamese to work in German nursing homes for at least three years after completion of the training. The project was implemented by the GIZ Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit and evaluated by the IEGUS Institute for European Healthcare Research and Social Economy from January 2013 to March 2016. Aim: The aim was to explore the possibilities for training of young people from emerging markets to become geriatric nurses in Germany. The results have been used as a foundation for recommendations for companies within the social care sector. Method: The formative and summative evaluation was based on personal interviews, telephone and written questionnaires, consultations and observations. The contribution presents results of the interviews and questionnaires. All relevant stakeholders had been included: The Vietnamese, the nursing and language schools, the nursing providers and mentors. Results: This article summarizes the results of the project evaluation. It gives a first insight into the experiences made from a professional, cultural as well as linguistic point of view.

The dietary trends and social relations in the migration period.

PubMed

Václav, Smrcka; Antónia, Marcsik; Markéta, Svenssonová

2009-01-01

Central Europe is situated just in the place, where two main eastern and western migration waves overlaped in the Migration period (4th to 6th centuries). The progress of the eastern migration wave, its beginning, course and disappearance is characterised by deformations of skulls. The deformations are indirect expression of the migrations of the Huns and the Sarmatian-Alanian tribes. Diet and social stratification at the Sarmatian burial ground Madaras was reconstructed based on the analyses of contents of trace elements Sr, Zn, Pb in 44 skeletons. At Madaras the principal foodstuffs in the diet were of vegetal origin. Based on statistical testing by means of Scheff's test a significant difference (p = 0.0003) in strontium content in the bones of rich women (garnitures 200, 300, 400) was found being the average 506 microg Sr/g of bone) compared with men with iron knife and the individuals without grave goods (garnitures 100, 800) where the average was 268 microg Sr/g of bone. Western migration wave with German tribes in the 6th century characterised by artificial grinding of front teeth was found in the largest Langorbardic burial-ground in Moravia at Luzice. Compact bone of the femora from two Moravian Prelangobardic sites (Vyskov and Strachotin, N-20 skeletons) of German population dated from Migration period was analysed by content of lead as a cultural factor and Zn and Sr from a health point of view. The Pb exposure was much lower than that from the Roman period (5.7-23 microg Pb/g of bone in the German tribes on the north of Danube) being on an average below 3 microg Pb/g of bone tissue. Content of zinc in migrating German population in the region of the middle Danube (Strachotin, at an average of 188 microg Zn/g of bone; Vyskov, at an average of 111 microg Zn/g of bone) are lower than those from the original settlements (230-500 microg Zn/g of bone). The strontium content in bones was directly proportional to the level of social rank. From 20 analysed skeletons from Strachotin and Vyskov signifies the statistic difference between the social groups of warriors in which concentration of strontium (340 microSr/g bone) was higher compared with woman with jewels (204 microSr) and graves without grave goods (228 micro Sr). The societies in the Germans and the Sarmatians were less differentiated than in the La Tène period. Especially the garnitures 400, 500 and 600 feature little differentiation. The garniture 500 is even missing in the Prelangobardic population at Strachotin.

Lungworm Infections in German Dairy Cattle Herds — Seroprevalence and GIS-Supported Risk Factor Analysis

PubMed Central

Schunn, Anne-Marie; Conraths, Franz J.; Staubach, Christoph; Fröhlich, Andreas; Forbes, Andrew; Strube, Christina

2013-01-01

In November 2008, a total of 19,910 bulk tank milk (BTM) samples were obtained from dairy farms from all over Germany, corresponding to about 20% of all German dairy herds, and analysed for antibodies against the bovine lungworm Dictyocaulus viviparus by use of the recombinant MSP-ELISA. A total number of 3,397 (17.1%; n = 19,910) BTM samples tested seropositive. The prevalences in individual German federal states varied between 0.0% and 31.2% positive herds. A geospatial map was drawn to show the distribution of seropositive and seronegative herds per postal code area. ELISA results were further analysed for associations with land-use and climate data. Bivariate statistical analysis was used to identify potential spatial risk factors for dictyocaulosis. Statistically significant positive associations were found between lungworm seropositive herds and the proportion of water bodies and grassed area per postal code area. Variables that showed a statistically significant association with a positive BTM test were included in a logistic regression model, which was further refined by controlled stepwise selection of variables. The low Pseudo R2 values (0.08 for the full model and 0.06 for the final model) and further evaluation of the model by ROC analysis indicate that additional, unrecorded factors (e.g. management factors) or random effects may substantially contribute to lungworm infections in dairy cows. Veterinarians should include lungworms in the differential diagnosis of respiratory disease in dairy cattle, particularly those at pasture. Monitoring of herds through BTM screening for antibodies can help farmers and veterinarians plan and implement appropriate control measures. PMID:24040243

[Implementation of interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy according to OPS 8‑918 : Recommendations of the ad hoc commission for interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy of the German Pain Association].

PubMed

Arnold, B; Böger, A; Brinkschmidt, T; Casser, H-R; Irnich, D; Kaiser, U; Klimczyk, K; Lutz, J; Pfingsten, M; Sabatowski, R; Schiltenwolf, M; Söllner, W

2018-02-01

With the implementation of the German diagnosis-related groups (DRG) reimbursement system in hospitals, interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy was incorporated into the associated catalogue of procedures (OPS 8‑918). Yet, the presented criteria describing the procedure of interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy are neither precise nor unambiguous. This has led to discrepancies in the interpretation regarding the handling of the procedure-making it difficult for medical services of health insurance companies to evaluate the accordance between the delivered therapy and the required criteria. Since the number of pain units has increased in recent years, the number of examinations by the medical service of health insurance companies has increased. This article, published by the ad hoc commission for interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy of the German Pain Association, provides specific recommendations for correct implementation of interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy in routine care. The aim is to achieve a maximum level of accordance between health care providers and the requirements of the medical examiners from health insurance companies. More extensive criteria regarding interdisciplinary multimodal pain treatment in an in-patient setting, especially for patients with chronic and complex pain, are obviously needed. Thus, the authors further discuss specific aspects towards further development of the OPS-code. However, the application of the OPS-code still leaves room regarding treatment intensity and process quality. Therefore, the delivery of pain management in sufficient quantity and quality still remains the responsibility of each health care provider.

Attitudes of Germans towards distributive issues in the German health system.

PubMed

Ahlert, Marlies; Pfarr, Christian

2016-05-01

Social health care systems are inevitably confronted with the scarcity of resources and the resulting distributional challenges. Since prioritization implies distributional effects, decisions regarding respective rules should take citizens' preferences into account. In this study we concentrate on two distributive issues in the German health system: firstly, we analyze the acceptance of prioritizing decisions concerning the treatment of certain patient groups, in this case patients who all need a heart operation. We focus on the patient criteria smoking behavior, age and whether the patient has or does not have young children. Secondly, we investigate Germans' opinions towards income-dependent health services. The results reveal the strong effects of individuals' attitudes regarding general aspects of the health system on priorities, e.g. that individuals with an unhealthy lifestyle should not be prioritized. In addition, experience of limited access to health services is found to have a strong influence on citizens' attitudes, too. Finally, decisions on different prioritization criteria are found to be not independent.

What's science? Where's science? Science journalism in German print media.

PubMed

Summ, Annika; Volpers, Anna-Maria

2016-10-01

This article examines the current state of science coverage in German print media. It deals with the following questions: (1) how the main characteristics of science journalism can be described, (2) whether there is a difference between various scientific fields, and (3) how different definitions of science journalism lead to differing findings. Two forms of science coverage were analyzed in a standardized, two-part content analysis of German newspapers (N = 1730 and N = 1640). The results show a significant difference between a narrow and a broad definition of science journalism. In the classic understanding, science journalism is prompted by scientific events and is rather noncritical. Science coverage in a broad sense is defined by a wider range of journalistic styles, driven by non-scientific events, and with a focus on the statements of scientific experts. Furthermore, the study describes the specific role of the humanities and social sciences in German science coverage. © The Author(s) 2015.

Covert Operation ``Sun God'' - History of German Solar Research in the Third Reich and Under Allied Occupation (German Title: Kommandosache ``Sonnengott'' - Geschichte der deutschen Sonnenforschung im Dritten Reich und unter alliierter Besatzung)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seiler, Michael P.

Between 1939 and 1945 the Luftwaffe of the Third Reich invested large sums in solar research and the establishment of a chain of solar observatories under the code word “Sun God”. Observations of the different phenomena of solar activity were intended to allow a dependable daily prediction of the best frequency bands for long-range military radio. For the development of these research activities the Luftwaffe used a young astrophysicist, who - being the son of a well-known leftist publisher of the Weimar Republic - did appear not well suited to perform “war decisive research” for the Nazi regime: Karl-Otto Kiepenheuer (1910-1975). Circumventing the usual academic tenure, Hitler's war turned the barely thirty-year-old and up to then rather unsuccessful Kiepenheuer into an influential director of a research institution, which he was to remain for the next three decades as well. This book recounts the history of German solar research in the period 1939-1949, her entanglement with the crimes of the Nazi regime as well as her use by the Western Allies until the founding of the German Federal Republic.

The cultural dimension of uncertainty avoidance impacts police-civilian interaction.

PubMed

Giebels, Ellen; Oostinga, Miriam S D; Taylor, Paul J; Curtis, Joanna L

2017-02-01

This research examines how the cultural dimension of uncertainty avoidance-a person's (in)tolerance for uncertain or unknown situations-impacts communication alignment in crisis negotiations. We hypothesized that perpetrators high on uncertainty avoidance would respond better to negotiators who use formal language and legitimize their position with reference to law, procedures, and moral codes. Data were transcriptions of 53 negotiations from a Dutch-German police training initiative, where police negotiators interacted with a high (German) and low (Dutch) uncertainty-avoidant mock perpetrator. Consistent with accounts of cross-cultural interaction, negotiators tended to achieve more alignment in within-culture interactions compared to cross-cultural interactions. Moreover, German negotiators, who scored higher on uncertainty avoidance than the Dutch negotiators, were found to use more legitimizing messages and more formal language than their Dutch counterparts. Critically, irrespective of the negotiators cultural background, the use of these behaviors was a significant moderator of the degree to which negotiator and perpetrator aligned their communicative frames: Using legitimizing and formal language helped with German perpetrators but had no effect on Dutch perpetrators. Our findings show the effects of cultural background on communication alignment and demonstrate the benefits of using more formal language and messages that emphasize law and regulations when interacting with perpetrators high on uncertainty avoidance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Does the Holland Code Predict Job Satisfaction and Productivity in Clothing Factory Workers?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heesacker, Martin; And Others

1988-01-01

Administered Self-Directed Search to sewing machine operators to determine Holland code, and assessed work productivity, job satisfaction, absenteeism, and insurance claims. Most workers were of the Social code. Social subjects were the most satisfied, Conventional and Realistic subjects next, and subjects of other codes less so. Productivity of…

The Social Interactive Coding System (SICS): An On-Line, Clinically Relevant Descriptive Tool.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rice, Mabel L.; And Others

1990-01-01

The Social Interactive Coding System (SICS) assesses the continuous verbal interactions of preschool children as a function of play areas, addressees, script codes, and play levels. This paper describes the 26 subjects and the setting involved in SICS development, coding definitions and procedures, training procedures, reliability, sample…

The functions of music and their relationship to music preference in India and Germany.

PubMed

Schäfer, Thomas; Tipandjan, Arun; Sedlmeier, Peter

2012-01-01

Is the use of music in everyday life a culturally universal phenomenon? And do the functions served by music contribute to the development of music preferences regardless of the listener's cultural background? The present study explored similarities and dissimilarities in the functions of music listening and their relationship to music preferences in two countries with different cultural backgrounds: India as an example of a collectivistic society and Germany as an example of an individualistic society. Respondents were asked to what degree their favorite music serves several functions in their life. The functions were summarized in seven main groups: background entertainment, prompt for memories, diversion, emotion regulation, self-regulation, self-reflection, and social bonding. Results indicate a strong similarity of the functions of people's favorite music for Indian and German listeners. Among the Indians, all of the seven functions were rated as meaningful; among the Germans, this was the case for all functions except emotion regulation. However, a pronounced dissimilarity was found in the predictive power of the functions of music for the strength of music preference, which was much stronger for Germans than for Indians. In India, the functions of music most predictive for music preference were diversion, self-reflection, and social bonding. In Germany, the most predictive functions were emotion regulation, diversion, self-reflection, prompt for memories, and social bonding. It is concluded that potential cultural differences hardly apply to the functional use of music in everyday life, but they do so with respect to the impact of the functions on the development of music preference. The present results are consistent with the assumption that members of a collectivistic society tend to set a higher value on their social and societal integration and their connectedness to each other than do members of individualistic societies.

[The aims of German medical anthropology in countries of the European Community].

PubMed

Sterly, J

1992-07-01

Medical Anthropology deals with the anthropological conditions of health, illness and health care in different societies and cultures, and has to be distinguished in that respect from Social and Industrial Medicine in German language countries which could be considered a kind of official and governmental medicine. While in North America Medical Anthropology has been established at nearly all universities and medical colleges during the last 25 years, corresponding activities in Germany and most other European countries have not reached university level up to now. After referring to general anthropology during the period of enlightenment and to philosophical and medical anthropology in the first half of our century, both to be considered forerunners of medical anthropology in german-speaking countries, an outline of medical anthropology in German-speaking countries, an outline of medical anthropology in the USA is given followed by a survey of questions and problems with which medical anthropology in German-speaking and other European countries has to cope, and would be confronted after the opening of the EC Market in 1993. The article concludes by briefly going into the circumstance of teaching medical anthropology in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Neuroimaging evidence for a role of neural social stress processing in ethnic minority-associated environmental risk.

PubMed

Akdeniz, Ceren; Tost, Heike; Streit, Fabian; Haddad, Leila; Wüst, Stefan; Schäfer, Axel; Schneider, Michael; Rietschel, Marcella; Kirsch, Peter; Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas

2014-06-01

Relative risk for the brain disorder schizophrenia is more than doubled in ethnic minorities, an effect that is evident across countries and linked to socially relevant cues such as skin color, making ethnic minority status a well-established social environmental risk factor. Pathoepidemiological models propose a role for chronic social stress and perceived discrimination for mental health risk in ethnic minorities, but the neurobiology is unexplored. To study neural social stress processing, using functional magnetic resonance imaging, and associations with perceived discrimination in ethnic minority individuals. Cross-sectional design in a university setting using 3 validated paradigms to challenge neural social stress processing and, to probe for specificity, emotional and cognitive brain functions. Healthy participants included those with German lineage (n = 40) and those of ethnic minority (n = 40) from different ethnic backgrounds matched for sociodemographic, psychological, and task performance characteristics. Control comparisons examined stress processing with matched ethnic background of investigators (23 Turkish vs 23 German participants) and basic emotional and cognitive tasks (24 Turkish vs 24 German participants). Blood oxygenation level-dependent response, functional connectivity, and psychological and physiological measures. There were significant increases in heart rate (P < .001), subjective emotional response (self-related emotions, P < .001; subjective anxiety, P = .006), and salivary cortisol level (P = .004) during functional magnetic resonance imaging stress induction. Ethnic minority individuals had significantly higher perceived chronic stress levels (P = .02) as well as increased activation (family-wise error-corrected [FWE] P = .005, region of interest corrected) and increased functional connectivity (PFWE = .01, region of interest corrected) of perigenual anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). The effects were specific to stress and not explained by a social distance effect. Ethnic minority individuals had significant correlations between perceived group discrimination and activation in perigenual ACC (PFWE = .001, region of interest corrected) and ventral striatum (PFWE = .02, whole brain corrected) and mediation of the relationship between perceived discrimination and perigenual ACC-dorsal ACC connectivity by chronic stress (P < .05). Epidemiologists proposed a causal role of social-evaluative stress, but the neural processes that could mediate this susceptibility effect were unknown. Our data demonstrate the potential of investigating associations from epidemiology with neuroimaging, suggest brain effects of social marginalization, and highlight a neural system in which environmental and genetic risk factors for mental illness may converge.

Community health center provider ability to identify, treat and account for the social determinants of health: a card study.

PubMed

Lewis, Joy H; Whelihan, Kate; Navarro, Isaac; Boyle, Kimberly R

2016-08-27

The social determinants of health (SDH) are conditions that shape the overall health of an individual on a continuous basis. As momentum for addressing social factors in primary care settings grows, provider ability to identify, treat and assess these factors remains unknown. Community health centers care for over 20-million of America's highest risk populations. This study at three centers evaluates provider ability to identify, treat and code for the SDH. Investigators utilized a pre-study survey and a card study design to obtain evidence from the point of care. The survey assessed providers' perceptions of the SDH and their ability to address them. Then providers filled out one anonymous card per patient on four assigned days over a 4-week period, documenting social factors observed during encounters. The cards allowed providers to indicate if they were able to: provide counseling or other interventions, enter a diagnosis code and enter a billing code for identified factors. The results of the survey indicate providers were familiar with the SDH and were comfortable identifying social factors at the point of care. A total of 747 cards were completed. 1584 factors were identified and 31 % were reported as having a service provided. However, only 1.2 % of factors were associated with a billing code and 6.8 % received a diagnosis code. An obvious discrepancy exists between the number of identifiable social factors, provider ability to address them and documentation with billing and diagnosis codes. This disparity could be related to provider inability to code for social factors and bill for related time and services. Health care organizations should seek to implement procedures to document and monitor social factors and actions taken to address them. Results of this study suggest simple methods of identification may be sufficient. The addition of searchable codes and reimbursements may improve the way social factors are addressed for individuals and populations.

Leisure activities among older Germans - a qualitative study.

PubMed

Boggatz, Thomas

2013-05-01

Leisure activities contribute to well-being and health in old age. Community nurses should consequently promote such activities among older persons. To do so they need an understanding of older persons' interest in leisure activities. Social contacts, volunteering and pursuit of hobbies and interests constitute the main aspects of leisure. This study aimed to determine the attitudes of older Germans to these aspects to identify user types of leisure time facilities. A qualitative study was conducted within a community-based project in an industrial town in West Germany. Data were collected with semi-structured guideline interviews and evaluated with qualitative content analysis according to Mayring. With regard to social contacts attitudes ranged from limited need for contacts to being a reliable member in an older persons' club. Social engagement is only found among the latter. Pursuit of hobbies and interest ranged from being a minimal user of leisure time facilities to refined expectations. Inflexible group structures may prevent potential users from participation despite having a programme in accordance with target group needs. Attitudes to leisure activities can be described as a combination of two dimensions: the degree of social involvement and the desired refinement of hobbies and interest. Community nurses who organise social afternoons need to assess these attitudes and should steer social dynamics of in a way that facilitates access for newcomers. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Comparative Intergroup Relations and Social Incorporation in Two Multilingual Societies: Canada and Switzerland. Occasional Paper No. 95-03.1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmid, Carol

A study of national identity and social integration in two multilingual societies, Canada and Switzerland, examines the relations between Quebec and anglophone Canada and between French and German Switzerland. First, the historical setting for the emergence of multilingualism is outlined for both countries, and the demography of the major language…

Social Influences on Fertility: A Comparative Mixed Methods Study in Eastern and Western Germany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bernardi, Laura; Keim, Sylvia; von der Lippe, Holger

2007-01-01

This article uses a mixed methods design to investigate the effects of social influence on family formation in a sample of eastern and western German young adults at an early stage of their family formation. Theoretical propositions on the importance of informal interaction for fertility and family behavior are still rarely supported by systematic…

New Horizontal Inequalities in German Higher Education? Social Selectivity of Studying Abroad between 1991 and 2012

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Netz, Nicolai; Finger, Claudia

2016-01-01

On the basis of theories of cultural reproduction and rational choice, we examine whether access to study-abroad opportunities is socially selective and whether this pattern changed during educational expansion. We test our hypotheses for Germany by combining student survey data and administrative data on higher education entry rates. We find that…

Is there a “net generation” in veterinary medicine? A comparative study on the use of the Internet and Web 2.0 by students and the veterinary profession

PubMed Central

Tenhaven, Christoph; Tipold, Andrea; Fischer, Martin R.; Ehlers, Jan P.

2013-01-01

Introduction: Informal and formal lifelong learning is essential at university and in the workplace. Apart from classical learning techniques, Web 2.0 tools can be used. It is controversial whether there is a so-called net generation amongst people under 30. Aims: To test the hypothesis that a net generation among students and young veterinarians exists. Methods: An online survey of students and veterinarians was conducted in the German-speaking countries which was advertised via online media and traditional print media. Results: 1780 people took part in the survey. Students and veterinarians have different usage patterns regarding social networks (91.9% vs. 69%) and IM (55.9% vs. 24.5%). All tools were predominantly used passively and in private, to a lesser extent also professionally and for studying. Outlook: The use of Web 2.0 tools is useful, however, teaching information and media skills, preparing codes of conduct for the internet and verification of user generated content is essential. PMID:23467682

Cross cultural differences in health related quality of life in adolescents with cystic fibrosis.

PubMed

Abbott, J; Baumann, U; Conway, S; Etherington, C; Gee, L; Von Der Schulenburg, J M; Webb, K

2001-12-15

Quality of Life (QoL) is an important outcome measure in health care and pharmacological trials. The trend towards multinational clinical trials may be problematic because it is unclear as to whether, or to what extent, QoL-measures are comparable across cultures. This study compared QoL between English and German adolescents with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and their healthy peers. The study comprised a cross-sectional design. The English subjects formed two groups; 58 adolescents with CF and 49 healthy controls. The German subjects consisted of 26 adolescents with CF and 75 healthy controls. Quality of life was measured using the English and German versions of the SF-36. Demographic (age and gender) and clinical data (FEV1% predicted and BMI) were also recorded. The English and German CF groups had similar age-adjusted lung function and body mass index. Both the English CF and control groups reported a poorer quality of life than their respective German counterparts across several domains of the SF-36. These were limitations in activities due to physical health problems and emotional difficulties, social functioning, energy and vitality and pain. The differences in quality of life between English and German adolescents with CF appear to be either culturally determined or due to idiosyncrasies in the translations of the SF-36. rather than a consequence of their disease or its management.

[Analysis of potential for research on giving birth in an upright position in German hospitals].

PubMed

Mattern, Elke; Voigt-Radloff, Sebastian; Ayerle, Gertrud M

2014-01-01

In German hospitals, three quarters of all low-risk pregnant women give birth in the supine position, despite the fact that German, British and WHO guidelines do not recommend a supine birthing position which is associated with a higher risk to the health of both mother and fetus. Based on 22 RCTs with 7,280 participants, a systematic Cochrane review (Gupta et al., 2012) revealed that an upright position - compared with a supine or lithotomy position - (1) has a positive impact on fetal heart rate patterns, (2) reduces the requirement for analgesic or anaesthetic medications in the second stage of labour, and (3) results in fewer episiotomies and (4) fewer instrumental deliveries. There is a lack of evidence regarding perceived maternal autonomy, self-efficacy and anxiety when giving birth. Furthermore, evidence on long-term effects is absent. Some studies indicate that the choice of an upright birthing position might be boosted by a supporting physical and social environment and by specially trained midwives. There is a need for a feasibility study and a subsequent cluster RCT in the German healthcare context in order to investigate the effects of the upright posture for birthing on perceived maternal autonomy, self-efficacy and anxiety, on the reduction of perinatal complications and on long-term complaints. The complex experimental intervention consists of (1) evidence-based and user-friendly information for women and their partners, (2) facilitating the choice for an upright labour position by special training for midwives and (3) providing a supportive physical and social environment. Within the first study phase, the exploration of feasibility in terms of access to the target group and acceptance of the intervention by pregnant women, their partners and midwives is recommended. Thereby, the implementation of guidelines for upright labour and birth, the documentation and collection of outcome and cost data could be evaluated. Non-German instruments for measuring benefits, harms and long-term effects could be adapted to and validated for the German context. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Measuring Co-Presence and Social Presence in Virtual Environments - Psychometric Construction of a German Scale for a Fear of Public Speaking Scenario.

PubMed

Poeschl, Sandra; Doering, Nicola

2015-01-01

Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) applications use high levels of fidelity in order to produce high levels of presence and thereby elicit an emotional response for the user (like fear for phobia treatment). State of research shows mixed results for the correlation between anxiety and presence in virtual reality exposure, with differing results depending on specific anxiety disorders. A positive correlation for anxiety and presence for social anxiety disorder is not proven up to now. One reason might be that plausibility of the simulation, namely including key triggers for social anxiety (for example verbal and non-verbal behavior of virtual agents that reflects potentially negative human evaluation) might not be acknowledged in current presence questionnaires. A German scale for measuring co-presence and social presence for virtual reality (VR) fear of public speaking scenarios was developed based on a translation and adaption of existing co-presence and social presence questionnaires. A sample of N = 151 students rated co-presence and social presence after using a fear of public speaking application. Four correlated factors were derived by item- and principle axis factor analysis (Promax rotation), representing the presenter's reaction to virtual agents, the reactions of the virtual agents as perceived by the presenter, impression of interaction possibilities, and (co-)presence of other people in the virtual environment. The scale developed can be used as a starting point for future research and test construction for VR applications with a social context.

Undergraduate Medical Students Using Facebook as a Peer-Mentoring Platform: A Mixed-Methods Study

PubMed Central

Gradel, Maximilian; Pander, Tanja; Fischer, Martin R; von der Borch, Philip; Dimitriadis, Konstantinos

2015-01-01

Background Peer mentoring is a powerful pedagogical approach for supporting undergraduate medical students in their learning environment. However, it remains unclear what exactly peer mentoring is and whether and how undergraduate medical students use social media for peer-mentoring activities. Objective We aimed at describing and exploring the Facebook use of undergraduate medical students during their first 2 years at a German medical school. The data should help medical educators to effectively integrate social media in formal mentoring programs for medical students. Methods We developed a coding scheme for peer mentoring and conducted a mixed-methods study in order to explore Facebook groups of undergraduate medical students from a peer-mentoring perspective. Results All major peer-mentoring categories were identified in Facebook groups of medical students. The relevance of these Facebook groups was confirmed through triangulation with focus groups and descriptive statistics. Medical students made extensive use of Facebook and wrote a total of 11,853 posts and comments in the respective Facebook groups (n=2362 total group members). Posting peaks were identified at the beginning of semesters and before exam periods, reflecting the formal curriculum milestones. Conclusions Peer mentoring is present in Facebook groups formed by undergraduate medical students who extensively use these groups to seek advice from peers on study-related issues and, in particular, exam preparation. These groups also seem to be effective in supporting responsive and large-scale peer-mentoring structures; formal mentoring programs might benefit from integrating social media into their activity portfolio. PMID:27731859

Health-related quality of life in breast cancer: A cross-cultural survey of German, Japanese, and South Korean patients.

PubMed

Shim, Eun-Jung; Mehnert, Anja; Koyama, Atsuko; Cho, Seong-Jin; Inui, Hiroki; Paik, Nam-Sun; Koch, Uwe

2006-10-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in breast cancer patients across countries, and to cross-culturally examine the impact of psychosocial factors on HRQOL. A total of 413 women with breast cancer from Germany (n = 195), Japan (n = 112), and Korea (n = 106) completed a survey assessing HRQOL and HRQOL-related factors. HRQOL was measured using the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-8). Measures of psychological distress (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Impact of Event Scale-Revised), coping (Dealing with Illness Inventory-German Revised), and social support (Illness-Specific Social Support Scale-German Revised) were included. The effect of the factor country on physical QOL was seen to be significant, but small (P = 0.049, ES = 0.018). The scales of General Health (P = 0.023), Vitality (P = 0.004), and Role Emotional (P = 0.003) differed across countries, with the South Korean patients having lower scores compared to the German and Japanese patients. The nature of the impact of psychosocial factors on HRQOL did not differ greatly across countries except with regard to avoidance, however, the degree to which these factors influence HRQOL did differ greatly. Overall, depression, depressive coping, and problematic support showed a strong detrimental effect on the HRQOL of breast cancer patients. Results from this study suggest that strategies which target an improvement of HRQOL in cancer patients should also consider the patients' cultural and healthcare system contexts. Interventions are needed to improve detrimental psychosocial factors.

Legal requirements for optimal haemophilia treatment in Germany.

PubMed

Brackmann, Hans-Hermann

2014-11-01

The clinical benefits of early prophylaxis in the treatment of haemophilia have been unquestioned since publication of the results of the first randomized study. The question of whether or not prophylaxis is cost-effective remains to be proven. For European physicians treating haemophilia patients, and for German clinicians in particular, the law largely supports the use of prophylaxis in haemophilia, but many doctors are unaware of this. The aim of this review was therefore to describe the German legal framework and outline how it can be used to support appropriate clinical decision-making in the treatment of haemophilia and justify the use of prophylaxis to health insurers and third-party payers. The German Disability Equalisation Law and German Social Law Books V and IX outline legal requirements to prevent or ameliorate disability, and support the argument that all haemophilia patients, including adults, have the right to receive appropriate, adequate, and cost-effective treatment. "Appropriate" treatment means that it must be in accordance with state-of-the-art medical knowledge taking into account medical progress. "Adequate" treatment must be conducive to the goals of haemophilia management, which are to prevent bleeds, treat bleeding episodes, maintain and/or restore joint function, and integrate patients into a normal social life. This can only be achieved when long-term treatment is adequately dosed and regularly administered for as long as it is required. Thankfully, with the availability of virus-safe factor concentrates, the introduction of home treatment programmes, and the law on our side, we are in a very strong position to achieve these goals. © 2013.

The Gender Lens: Development of a learning aid to introduce gender medicine.

PubMed

Weyers, Simone; Vervoorts, Anja; Dragano, Nico; Engels, Miriam

2017-01-01

Background and aim: Gender medicine takes into account biological and social differences between men and women in terms of prevalence and course of disease, diagnosis and therapy. Medical students should be made aware of this in the early stages of medical education. However, there is hardly any teaching material currently available. This article presents the adaption and first use of the German "Gender Lens," a tool to introduce gender medicine to medical students. Method: The original Canadian "Gender Lens Tool" was translated into German, tested by (n=5) teachers and adapted based on current scientific concepts. The instrument was applied and evaluated using qualitative methods in a student focus group (n=4). It was then piloted in a cohort of fourth-semester students (n=247) in a seminar addressing gender medicine. These experiences were evaluated using quantitative methods. Results: The German translation of the Gender Lens offers students a framework with which to analyze sex and gender differences in terms of the "prevalence, diagnosis, course, therapy and prevention" of a specific disease. Furthermore, it enables a refined search for causes such as "biological disposition, attitudes and behaviors, family and social networks, occupational and material circumstances and experiences with the health care system." Recommendations were received from the student groups regarding teaching methods. Male and female fourth-semester students agreed that the Gender Lens is useful as an introduction to gender medicine. Discussion: Initial experiences with the Gender Lens adapted for the German curriculum suggest that such a learning aid can contribute to raising awareness of gender medicine in medical students.

Inverse gender gap in Germany: social dominance orientation among men and women.

PubMed

Küpper, Beate; Zick, Andreas

2011-02-01

Across cultures studies show that men score higher on social dominance orientation than women. This gender gap is considered invariant, but conflicting explanations are discussed: Some authors refer to evolutionary psychology and perceive the gender gap to be driven by sociobiological factors. Other authors argue that social roles or gender-stereotypical self-construals encouraged by intergroup comparisons are responsible for attitudinal gender difference. In Study 1 we analyzed sex differences in social dominance orientation in three German probability surveys (each n > 2300). Unexpectedly, the analyses yielded an inverse gender gap with higher values for social dominance orientation in women than in men. Interactions with age, education, political conservatism, and perceived inequity indicated that the inverse gender gap can be mainly attributed to older, conservative, (and less educated) respondents, and those who feel they get their deserved share. In Study 2 we replicated the well-known gender gap with men scoring higher than women in social dominance orientation among German students. Results are interpreted on the basis of biocultural interaction, which integrates the sociobiological, social role, and self-construal perspectives. Our unusual findings seem to reflect a struggle for status by members of low-status groups who consider group-based hierarchy the most promising option to improve their status. While younger women take advantage of a relational, feminine self-construal that leads to lower social dominance orientation in young women than in young men, older women are supposed to profit from an agentic self-construal that results in stronger social dominance orientation values. Specific characteristics of the culture in Germany seem to promote this strategy. Here, we discuss the female ideal of the national socialist period and the agentic female social role in the post-war era necessitated by the absence of men.

Linking social change and developmental change: shifting pathways of human development.

PubMed

Greenfield, Patricia M

2009-03-01

P. M. Greenfield's new theory of social change and human development aims to show how changing sociodemographic ecologies alter cultural values and learning environments and thereby shift developmental pathways. Worldwide sociodemographic trends include movement from rural residence, informal education at home, subsistence economy, and low-technology environments to urban residence, formal schooling, commerce, and high-technology environments. The former ecology is summarized by the German term Gemeinschaft ("community") and the latter by the German term Gesellschaft ("society"; Tönnies, 1887/1957). A review of empirical research demonstrates that, through adaptive processes, movement of any ecological variable in a Gesellschaft direction shifts cultural values in an individualistic direction and developmental pathways toward more independent social behavior and more abstract cognition--to give a few examples of the myriad behaviors that respond to these sociodemographic changes. In contrast, the (much less frequent) movement of any ecological variable in a Gemeinschaft direction is predicted to move cultural values and developmental pathways in the opposite direction. In conclusion, sociocultural environments are not static either in the developed or the developing world and therefore must be treated dynamically in developmental research.

Association of lay beliefs about causes of depression with social distance.

PubMed

Cleveland, H-R; Baumann, A; Zäske, H; Jänner, M; Icks, A; Gaebel, W

2013-11-01

The aim of this study was to examine the association of lay attributions about causes of depression with attitudes and prejudiced behaviour towards people with depression. Subjects (1631 German-speakers aged 18 and over, randomly selected) were interviewed in two German cities by telephone using a standardized questionnaire. The survey assessed knowledge about depression, stereotypical attitudes and social distance towards persons with depression. The results indicate that a majority of the respondents holds predominantly non-pejorative attitudes towards persons with depression. The majority estimated psychosocial causes as being most important for the genesis of depression. Stronger social distance was linked to an estimation of personal causes as relevant. Subgroup differences were apparent with respect to age, sex and reported contact to people with depression. Improvements in the education of the public about depression should be based on a multifactorial model. Future interventions should promote contact with people with depression and place special emphasis on conveying information in a suitable manner depending on the needs of different target groups. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[Validation of the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale (PACS) in a German Sample: Psychometric Properties and Association with Eating Behavior, Body Image and Self-Esteem].

PubMed

Claire Mölbert, Simone; Hautzinger, Martin; Karnath, Hans-Otto; Zipfel, Stephan; Giel, Katrin

2017-02-01

The Physical Appearance Comparison Scale (PACS [14]) is the most commonly used validated measure of body-related social comparison habits. Here we investigate reliability and construct validity of the PACS in a German sample. Participants (n=75 men, n=75 women and n=25 women with a confirmed diagnosis of anorexia nervosa) completed the PACS along with measures of eating disorder pathology, body image and self-esteem. Results show an adequate internal consistency of the PACS for the female subgroups and medium to high correlations with eating disorder pathology, body image and self-esteem. PACS total score differed significantly between groups, with men scoring lowest and women with anorexia nervosa scoring highest. We conclude that the PACS is a sufficiently reliable and valid measure of body-related social comparison habits in women. In men, it should only be used with special care. The PACS is generally suitable to promote patient studies testing the role of social comparisons for the patho-mechanisms of eating disorders. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

[Caricatures of aging in German newspapers and magazine cartoons. Historical comparison between the 1960s and the present].

PubMed

Polanski, F

2014-06-01

The focus of this study was the collective images of aging that were unconsciously used despite rationally led social discourse on aging. Hypothesized was that despite changes in aging over the last 50 years these images went unaltered and thereby negative stereotypes of previous generations were maintained. In an effort to verify this hypothesis images of aging in cartoons were empirically examined, a first in the field of German language. Using a social scientific operationalization of age stereotypes and culturally historical topoi as a basis, a content analysis was conducted on 2,546 cartoons (with 8,882 characters) from the years 1960-1964 and 2007. In general both young and old age are equally encoded with negative connotations by deficient characteristics and acknowledged stereotypes partially significantly more often in the cartoons from 2007 than from 1960-1964. The last 50 years have seen no substantial changes in the images of aging as depicted by magazine and newspaper cartoons. Humor requires more frequent analysis as it often unconsciously reveals socially unacceptable images of aging, even those embedded in science.

The different behavioral intentions of collectivists and individualists in response to social exclusion.

PubMed

Pfundmair, Michaela; Graupmann, Verena; Frey, Dieter; Aydin, Nilüfer

2015-03-01

We investigated how participants with collectivistic and individualistic orientation cope with social exclusion on a behavioral level. In Studies 1 and 2, we found participants with more individualistic orientation to indicate more antisocial behavioral intentions in response to exclusion than in response to inclusion; however, participants with more collectivistic orientation did not differ in their behavioral intentions between exclusion and inclusion. In the third and fourth study, we replicated our findings across cultures: German and U.S. participants indicated more antisocial and avoiding behavioral intentions under exclusion than under inclusion, whereas Turkish and Indian participants did not differ in their behavioral intentions between exclusion and inclusion. In Studies 3 and 4, only German and U.S. participants were significantly affected by exclusion, showing more negative mood, which correlated with their behavioral intentions. In Study 4, the different behavioral intentions of collectivists and individualists were mediated by a different threat experience. The findings emphasize the role of self-construal and culture, as well as the self-threat inherent in exclusion. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Zur Frage der Textauswahl in einem Lesekurs fuer die Sozialwissenschaften (On the Question of the Choice of Textbooks in a Course in the Social Sciences)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Apelt, Hans-Peter

1974-01-01

Passages from three selected samples of textbooks are used to show what requirements are made of textbooks in the social sciences. Some hints are given to the teacher for converting reading suggestions into instructional material. Short texts from Karl Marx are also suggested. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

[Study of efficiancy of teleconsultation: the Telepathology Consultation Service of the Professional Assoziation of German Pathologists for the screening program of breast carcinoma].

PubMed

Schrader, T; Hufnagl, P; Schlake, W; Dietel, M

2005-01-01

In the autumn a German screening program was started for detecting breast cancer in the population of women fifty and above. For the first time in this program, quality assurance rules were established: All statements of the radiologists and pathologists have to be confirmed by a second opinion. This improvement in quality is combined with a delay in time and additional expence. A new Telepathology Consultation Service was developed based on the experiences of the Telepathology Consultation Center of the UICC to speed up the second opinion process. The complete web-based service is operated under MS Windows 2003 Server, as web server the Internet Information Server, and the SQL-Server (both Microsoft) as the database. The websites, forms and control mechanism have been coded in by ASP scripts and JavaScript. A study to evaluate the effectiveness of telepathological consultation in comparison to conventional consultation has been carried out. Pathologists of the Professional Association of German Pathologists took part as well as requesting pathologists and as consultants for other participants. The quality of telepathological diagnosis was comparable to the conventional diagnosis. Telepathology allows a faster respond of 1 to 2 day (conventional postal delay). The time to prepare a telepathology request is about twice as conventional. This ratio may be inverted by an interface between the Pathology Information System and the Telepathology Server and the use of virtual microscopy. The Telepathology Consultation Service of the Professional Association of German Pathologists is a fast and effective German-language, internet-based service for obtaining a second opinion.

[Romanticism in German medicine in the light of home historiography of 1802-1945].

PubMed

Plonka-Syroka, B

1998-01-01

The German non-materialist medicine of the first half of the 19th century is presently a subject of advanced historical studies, carried out in Europe and USA. Until the mid-20th century, however, it was only the German authors who produced literature dedicated to the above-mentioned medicine. The purpose of this study is to present to the Polish reader the main trends in the German medical historiography that have been taking up the subject for 150 years. The historians of German medicine distinguished trends in the post-war period as the studies of the history of their native medical historiography developed. A Polish historian taking up the task of characterizing of the main methodological trends in German medical historiography is faced with the necessity to take position on the findings of German authors who took up the above-mentioned subject earlier. In my studies I worked mainly on the findings of the following authors: Nelly Tsouyopoulos, Urban Wiesing and Hans-Uwe Lammel. They served me as a guide to the old historical-medical literature that I managed to reach in the libraries of Dresden and Leipzig. Some of the German studies (H. Haeser, J. Petersen) were translated to Polish language and in those cases I leaned on the Polish translators. In this study I discuss the following methodological trends in historiography of German medicine of the 1st half of the 19th century: eclectic trends, philosophical trends, positivistic trends, neo-romantic trends, and social-cultural trends. I also present the analysis of theories of the most important representatives of the trends. Thanks to this I could reconstruct the process of shaping of the discussed epoch image in the light of various concepts of its description. As a result different characteristics of the epoch were grasped although the factography level they referred to was common. This study outlines also further developoment of the historiography of the discussed subject in the second half of the 20th century.

Latest Trends in German Political Socialisation Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Claussen, Bernhard

1979-01-01

Presents an overview of the most notable among recent books on political socialization in West Germany and indicates trends among these publications in areas of research methodology, objectives, stress on empirical studies, and theoretical models. (Author/DB)

Diet reconstruction in the Roman era.

PubMed

Smrcka, V; Jambor, J; Gladykowska-Rzeczycka, J; Marczik, A

2000-01-01

The samples from the proximal femora were taken from 12 cementeries from the Roman period. The skeletons date from the 1st-4th centuries A.D. Trace element analysis was used in order to reconstruct the basic diet. The sites that best corresponded to the model of Old Germanic diet described by ancient authors "meat, milk and cheese" were found in the Pruszcz Gdanski East Pomerania region close to the Baltic sea as well as in region Halle (Niemberg) and not far from Donau (Sládkovicovo). This diet is characterized by a large amount of protein and consequently of zinc. In the original Old Germanic region in a time period of more than 1000 years (from 400 B.C. to 700 A.D.) there is the same type of trace elements sources for bones and also the same type of the diet. This possibly distinguishes Germanic soldiers (aboriginal) from others groups in Roman legionary camps. It seems that the Donau River is very important for predicting the type of diet in the Roman period. North of the river animal component prevails south of the river vegetal component prevails. The rich agricultural land along the Donau River and in the Pannonian plains affects social arrangement as well as the structure of bones in Germans and Sarmats in the 2nd-4th centuries. Lead became a civilization element. It appeared in the diet of the Greek and Romans. Contamination varied with different social classes. We have found higher lead concentration in the femurs of the Germans than in those of the Sarmatians. The highest concentration we found was in Pannonian towns (Gorsium, Sopianae) and legionary camps (Straubing, Gerulata). In reference to age, the maxima of the highest lead concentrations in Gerulata II are between 11 and 13 years of age and between 40 and 50 years.

Development of a new injury cost scale.

PubMed

Zeidler, F; Pletschen, B; Scheunert, D; Mattern, B; Alt, B; Miksch, T; Eichendorf, W; Reiss, S

1993-12-01

The Automobile Technique Research Association at Frankfurt, the Institute for Forensic Medicine at Mainz, the Federal Highway Research Institute at Bergisch-Gladbach, the German Motor Vehicle Inspection Association at Stuttgart, and the German Worker's Compensation at St. Augustin have completed a joint research project dealing with injury costs due to automobile accidents. The data for this social cost analysis were based on costs for administrative expenses, medical treatment, rehabilitation measures, social security payment, and loss of income, which were all paid by Worker's Compensation for single, well-documented injuries to the working population in West Germany (15 to 65 years old). The data base used included 15,407 injured and 1,026 fatal road accident victims. Tables are presented which show the costs associated with various injury levels. The result is an injury cost scale (ICS) that might be a base for establishing priorities of safety measures. The ICS has to be seen as supplemental to the AIS.

What does media use reveal about personality and mental health? An exploratory investigation among German students.

PubMed

Brailovskaia, Julia; Margraf, Jürgen

2018-01-01

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between personality traits, mental health variables and media use among German students. The data of 633 participants were collected. Results indicate a positive association between general Internet use, general use of social platforms and Facebook use, on the one hand, and self-esteem, extraversion, narcissism, life satisfaction, social support and resilience, on the other hand. Use of computer games was found to be negatively related to these personality and mental health variables. The use of platforms that focus more on written interaction (Twitter, Tumblr) was assumed to be negatively associated with positive mental health variables and significantly positively with depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms. In contrast, Instagram use, which focuses more on photo-sharing, correlated positively with positive mental health variables. Possible practical implications of the present results for mental health, as well as the limitations of the present work are discussed.

Effects of globalisation on higher engineering education in Germany - current and future demands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morace, Christophe; May, Dominik; Terkowsky, Claudius; Reynet, Olivier

2017-03-01

Germany is well known around the world for the strength of its economy, its industry and for the 'German model' for higher engineering education based on developing technological skills at a very high level. In this article, we firstly describe the former and present model of engineering education in Germany in a context of the globalisation of the world economy and of higher education, in order to understand how it covers the current demand for engineering resources. Secondly, we analyse the impact of globalisation from a technological perspective. To this end, we describe initiatives for innovation driven by the German federal government and engineering societies, and summarise the first impacts on engineering education and on social competence for engineers. Thirdly, we explore to what extent engineering education in Germany trains engineers in social and intercultural competency to comply with the future demands of the challenge of globalisation.

Intelligence Secrecy and Transparency: Finding the Proper Balance from the War of Independence to the War on Terror (Strategic Insights, Volume 6, Issue 3, May 2007)

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-05-01

NIE), requested by Congress, prior to the House and Senate vote to authorize the President to use force against Iraq. Secretary of State Colin ... Bamford , The Puzzle Palace (London: Penguin Books, 1982), and David Kahn, Seizing the Enigma: The Race to Break the German U-Boat Codes 1939-1943

’Offsets’ for NATO Procurement of the Airborne Warning and Control System: Opportunities and Implications

DTIC Science & Technology

1976-02-01

the Anglo-French ; azel ’, the German B9715, and the Italian Ag129--all appear responsi- e to a U.S. need for an Advanced Scout -32- Helicopter (ASH...currencies by OECD using IMF parity rates, or average of annual range of flexible rates. -86- code (individual chemicals, such as sulphuric acid , etc.), it is

One? "Dos" Drei. A Study of Code Switching in Child Trilingualism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davidiak, Elena

2010-01-01

This longitudinal study focuses on the language production of two siblings, aged 6 and 9 at the beginning of the data collection period, who have been brought up in a bilingual family in New York. The parents of the two girls are native speakers of German and Spanish, respectively, and English for them is the language of education and the larger…

Fremdsprachenerwerb in einer individualisierten Lernsituation. Eine Beschreibung von Lernverhalten (Foreign Language Acquisition in an Individualized Learning Situation. A Description of Learning Behavior)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Extra, G.

1974-01-01

The introduction reviews and compares the audiolingual and cognitive code-learning methods. An experiment was conducted using audiolingual methods to show that learning behavior diverges considerably from the expectations set up by that method. Several charts and diagrams present the analyzed results. (Text is in German.) See FL 507 969 for…

Multiparticipant Chat Analysis: A Survey

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-02-26

language variation (e.g., regional speech in Germany [6]; code-switching in German-speaking regions of Switzerland [84] and Indian IRC channels [77]), and...messages which may be missed in high- tempo situations [19], and automated analysis of chat messages [13]. Finally, the high number of chat messages can...Androutsopoulos, E. Ziegler, Exploring language variation on the internet: Regional speech in a chat community, in: Proceedings of the Second International

Assessing the Viability of Social Media for Disseminating Evidence-Based Nutrition Practice Guideline Through Content Analysis of Twitter Messages and Health Professional Interviews: An Observational Study

PubMed Central

Kenne, Deric; Wolfram, Taylor M; Abram, Jenica K; Fleming, Michael

2016-01-01

Background Given the high penetration of social media use, social media has been proposed as a method for the dissemination of information to health professionals and patients. This study explored the potential for social media dissemination of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Evidence-Based Nutrition Practice Guideline (EBNPG) for Heart Failure (HF). Objectives The objectives were to (1) describe the existing social media content on HF, including message content, source, and target audience, and (2) describe the attitude of physicians and registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) who care for outpatient HF patients toward the use of social media as a method to obtain information for themselves and to share this information with patients. Methods The methods were divided into 2 parts. Part 1 involved conducting a content analysis of tweets related to HF, which were downloaded from Twitonomy and assigned codes for message content (19 codes), source (9 codes), and target audience (9 codes); code frequency was described. A comparison in the popularity of tweets (those marked as favorites or retweeted) based on applied codes was made using t tests. Part 2 involved conducting phone interviews with RDNs and physicians to describe health professionals’ attitude toward the use of social media to communicate general health information and information specifically related to the HF EBNPG. Interviews were transcribed and coded; exemplar quotes representing frequent themes are presented. Results The sample included 294 original tweets with the hashtag “#heartfailure.” The most frequent message content codes were “HF awareness” (166/294, 56.5%) and “patient support” (97/294, 33.0%). The most frequent source codes were “professional, government, patient advocacy organization, or charity” (112/277, 40.4%) and “patient or family” (105/277, 37.9%). The most frequent target audience codes were “unable to identify” (111/277, 40.1%) and “other” (55/277, 19.9%). Significant differences were found in the popularity of tweets with (mean 1, SD 1.3 favorites) or without (mean 0.7, SD 1.3 favorites), the content code being “HF research” (P=.049). Tweets with the source code “professional, government, patient advocacy organizations, or charities” were significantly more likely to be marked as a favorite and retweeted than those without this source code (mean 1.2, SD 1.4 vs mean 0.8, SD 1.2, P=.03) and (mean 1.5, SD 1.8 vs mean 0.9, SD 2.0, P=.03). Interview participants believed that social media was a useful way to gather professional information. They did not believe that social media was useful for communicating with patients due to privacy concerns and the fact that the information had to be kept general rather than be tailored for a specific patient and the belief that their patients did not use social media or technology. Conclusions Existing Twitter content related to HF comes from a combination of patients and evidence-based organizations; however, there is little nutrition content. That gap may present an opportunity for EBNPG dissemination. Health professionals use social media to gather information for themselves but are skeptical of its value when communicating with patients, particularly due to privacy concerns and misconceptions about the characteristics of social media users. PMID:27847349

Assessing the Viability of Social Media for Disseminating Evidence-Based Nutrition Practice Guideline Through Content Analysis of Twitter Messages and Health Professional Interviews: An Observational Study.

PubMed

Hand, Rosa K; Kenne, Deric; Wolfram, Taylor M; Abram, Jenica K; Fleming, Michael

2016-11-15

Given the high penetration of social media use, social media has been proposed as a method for the dissemination of information to health professionals and patients. This study explored the potential for social media dissemination of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Evidence-Based Nutrition Practice Guideline (EBNPG) for Heart Failure (HF). The objectives were to (1) describe the existing social media content on HF, including message content, source, and target audience, and (2) describe the attitude of physicians and registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) who care for outpatient HF patients toward the use of social media as a method to obtain information for themselves and to share this information with patients. The methods were divided into 2 parts. Part 1 involved conducting a content analysis of tweets related to HF, which were downloaded from Twitonomy and assigned codes for message content (19 codes), source (9 codes), and target audience (9 codes); code frequency was described. A comparison in the popularity of tweets (those marked as favorites or retweeted) based on applied codes was made using t tests. Part 2 involved conducting phone interviews with RDNs and physicians to describe health professionals' attitude toward the use of social media to communicate general health information and information specifically related to the HF EBNPG. Interviews were transcribed and coded; exemplar quotes representing frequent themes are presented. The sample included 294 original tweets with the hashtag "#heartfailure." The most frequent message content codes were "HF awareness" (166/294, 56.5%) and "patient support" (97/294, 33.0%). The most frequent source codes were "professional, government, patient advocacy organization, or charity" (112/277, 40.4%) and "patient or family" (105/277, 37.9%). The most frequent target audience codes were "unable to identify" (111/277, 40.1%) and "other" (55/277, 19.9%). Significant differences were found in the popularity of tweets with (mean 1, SD 1.3 favorites) or without (mean 0.7, SD 1.3 favorites), the content code being "HF research" (P=.049). Tweets with the source code "professional, government, patient advocacy organizations, or charities" were significantly more likely to be marked as a favorite and retweeted than those without this source code (mean 1.2, SD 1.4 vs mean 0.8, SD 1.2, P=.03) and (mean 1.5, SD 1.8 vs mean 0.9, SD 2.0, P=.03). Interview participants believed that social media was a useful way to gather professional information. They did not believe that social media was useful for communicating with patients due to privacy concerns and the fact that the information had to be kept general rather than be tailored for a specific patient and the belief that their patients did not use social media or technology. Existing Twitter content related to HF comes from a combination of patients and evidence-based organizations; however, there is little nutrition content. That gap may present an opportunity for EBNPG dissemination. Health professionals use social media to gather information for themselves but are skeptical of its value when communicating with patients, particularly due to privacy concerns and misconceptions about the characteristics of social media users. ©Rosa K Hand, Deric Kenne, Taylor M Wolfram, Jenica K Abram, Michael Fleming. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 15.11.2016.

Do Therapists Google Their Patients? A Survey Among Psychotherapists

PubMed Central

Herzberg, Philipp Y

2016-01-01

Background The increasing use of the Internet and its array of social networks brings new ways for psychotherapists to find out information about their patients, often referred to as patient-targeted googling (PTG). However, this topic has been subject to little empirical research; there has been hardly any attention given to it in Germany and the rest of Europe and it has not been included in ethical guidelines for psychotherapy despite the complex ethical issues it raises. Objective This study explored German psychotherapists’ behavior and experiences related to PTG, investigated how these vary with sociodemographic factors and therapeutic background, and explored the circumstances in which psychotherapists considered PTG to be appropriate or not. Methods A total of 207 psychotherapists responded to a newly developed questionnaire that assessed their experience of and views on PTG. The study sample was a nonrepresentative convenience sample recruited online via several German-speaking professional therapy platforms. Results Most therapists (84.5%, 174/207) stated that they had not actively considered the topic of PTG. However, 39.6% (82/207) said that they had already looked for patient information online (eg, when they suspected a patient may have been lying) and 39.3% (81/207) knew colleagues or supervisors who had done so. Only 2.4% (5/207) of therapists had come across PTG during their education and training. Conclusions It is essential to provide PTG as a part of therapists’ education and training. Furthermore, the complex problems concerning PTG should be introduced into codes of ethics to provide explicit guidance for psychotherapists in practice. This report provides initial suggestions to open up debate on this topic. PMID:26733210

[Standards for treatment in forensic committment according to § 63 and § 64 of the German criminal code : Interdisciplinary task force of the DGPPN].

PubMed

Müller, J L; Saimeh, N; Briken, P; Eucker, S; Hoffmann, K; Koller, M; Wolf, T; Dudeck, M; Hartl, C; Jakovljevic, A-K; Klein, V; Knecht, G; Müller-Isberner, R; Muysers, J; Schiltz, K; Seifert, D; Simon, A; Steinböck, H; Stuckmann, W; Weissbeck, W; Wiesemann, C; Zeidler, R

2017-08-01

People who have been convicted of a crime due to a severe mental disorder and continue to be dangerous as a result of this disorder may be placed in a forensic psychiatric facility for improvement and safeguarding according to § 63 and § 64 of the German Criminal Code (StGB). In Germany, approximately 9000 patients are treated in clinics for forensic psychiatry and psychotherapy on the basis of § 63 of the StGB and in withdrawal centers on the basis of § 64 StGB. The laws for treatment of patients in forensic commitment are passed by the individual States, with the result that even the basic conditions differ in the individual States. While minimum requirements have already been published for the preparation of expert opinions on liability and legal prognosis, consensus standards for the treatment in forensic psychiatry have not yet been published. Against this background, in 2014 the German Society for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychosomatics and Neurology (DGPPN) commissioned an interdisciplinary task force to develop professional standards for treatment in forensic psychiatry. Legal, ethical, structural, therapeutic and prognostic standards for forensic psychiatric treatment should be described according to the current state of science. After 3 years of work the results of the interdisciplinary working group were presented in early 2017 and approved by the board of the DGPPN. The standards for the treatment in the forensic psychiatric commitment aim to initiate a discussion in order to standardize the treatment conditions and to establish evidence-based recommendations.

Green politics in Germany: what is Green health care policy?

PubMed

Wörz, M; Wismar, M

2001-01-01

For the first time ever, a Green party has governed in Germany. From September 1998 to January 2001 the German Green party, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, held the Federal Ministry of Health. Little has been said so far about Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and its relation to health policy. This article is intended to fill that void. An analysis of the health policy program of the Greens reveals that it centers around moving the health sector toward more comprehensiveness and decentralization, strengthened patients' rights, increased use of preventive and alternative medicine, and a critique of the German cost-containment debate and policy. The current health policy program of the Greens is closest to that of the Party of Democratic Socialism, and to a lesser extent it has affinities to the program of the Social Democratic Party. The health policy program of Bündnis 90/Die Grünen is furthest from those of the Christian Democratic Union and the Free Democratic Party. The health care reforms passed in 1998 and 1999 were not a shift toward a "Green paradigm" of health care policy, because they included no fundamental changes. In addition, cost-containment is still a major political goal in German health care policy.

Ernst Rüdin, 1874-1952: a German psychiatrist and geneticist.

PubMed

Weber, M M

1996-07-26

Ernst Rüdin (1874-1952) was one of the major representatives of German psychiatry, genetics, and eugenics in the first half of the twentieth century. Born in Switzerland, he was influenced early on by his brother-in-law Alfred Ploetz, who propagated the ideas of social Darwinism and "racial hygiene" in Germany after 1890. Rüdin began his career in psychiatry at Emil Kraepelin's clinic in Munich, where he developed the concept of "empirical genetic prognosis" of mental disorders. He published his first results on the genetics of schizophrenia in 1916. From 1917-1945 Rüdin was director of the Genealogical-Demographic Department at the German Institute for Psychiatric Research, which Kraepelin had founded. After a short interruption from 1925-1928, Rüdin returned to Munich and enlarged the department. After 1933 the National Socialist government and party endorsed Rüdin's work by supplying financial and manpower support. Nazi health policy required a scientific basis to justify its actions, and Rüdin's ideas corresponded partially with this kind of thinking. In 1934 he prepared the official commentary on the "Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring." The connections of Rüdin's department to National Socialism can be understood as one of the main reasons for the critical attitude towards psychiatric genetics in Germany after 1945.

[Creating a 'Germanic' public health: national-socialism, human genetics, and eugenics in the Netherlands].

PubMed

Snelders, Stephen

2007-01-01

The consequences of the uses of concepts of heredity in society and health care are not simply determined. This is demonstrated by a study of Dutch National Socialist doctors and biologists in the Second World War. During the German occupation of the Netherlands SS-biologist W.F.H. Stroër (1907-1979) and SS-doctor J.A. van der Hoeven (1912-1998) attempted to create a eugenic research and health care institute in the Netherlands. Heredity was accorded a key role in National Socialist plans for reorganization of Dutch health care. The ideas of the SS-eugenicists were closely related to those of leading geneticists and eugenicists in the Netherlands. Eugenic ideas were spread among all political ideologies. As late as November 1942 cooperation between the SS and non-Nazi geneticists was still discussed. The hardening of the political climate during the war created more explicit dividing lines between them. The SS-researchers did not believe in the existence of well-defined and separated races. They rejected a purely genetic determinism and advocated measures of social hygiene next to a positive and negative eugenics in the creation of a more healthy Germanic people and a purer race. Racial and genetic concepts were not exclusively translated into eugenic policies directed at human reproduction.

Searching the Social Sciences Citation Index on BRS.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Janke, Richard V.

1980-01-01

Concentrates on describing and illustrating by example the unique BRS features of the online Social Sciences Citation Index. Appendices provide a key to the BRS/SSCI citation elements, BRS standardized language codes, publication type codes, author's classification of BRS/SSCI subject category codes, search examples, and database specifications.…

De Novo Transcriptome of the Hemimetabolous German Cockroach (Blattella germanica)

PubMed Central

Zhou, Xiaojie; Qian, Kun; Tong, Ying; Zhu, Junwei Jerry; Qiu, Xinghui; Zeng, Xiaopeng

2014-01-01

Background The German cockroach, Blattella germanica, is an important insect pest that transmits various pathogens mechanically and causes severe allergic diseases. This insect has long served as a model system for studies of insect biology, physiology and ecology. However, the lack of genome or transcriptome information heavily hinder our further understanding about the German cockroach in every aspect at a molecular level and on a genome-wide scale. To explore the transcriptome and identify unique sequences of interest, we subjected the B. germanica transcriptome to massively parallel pyrosequencing and generated the first reference transcriptome for B. germanica. Methodology/Principal Findings A total of 1,365,609 raw reads with an average length of 529 bp were generated via pyrosequencing the mixed cDNA library from different life stages of German cockroach including maturing oothecae, nymphs, adult females and males. The raw reads were de novo assembled to 48,800 contigs and 3,961 singletons with high-quality unique sequences. These sequences were annotated and classified functionally in terms of BLAST, GO and KEGG, and the genes putatively coding detoxification enzyme systems, insecticide targets, key components in systematic RNA interference, immunity and chemoreception pathways were identified. A total of 3,601 SSRs (Simple Sequence Repeats) loci were also predicted. Conclusions/Significance The whole transcriptome pyrosequencing data from this study provides a usable genetic resource for future identification of potential functional genes involved in various biological processes. PMID:25265537

Facing the Guilt and Commemorating the Victims: German Radiology and Radiation Oncology During National Socialism.

PubMed

Eckert, Franziska; Weindling, Paul; Ley, Astrid; Lang, Hans-Joachim; Lang, Sascha; Moser, Gabriele

2018-04-01

Whereas the scientific community is aware of atrocities committed by medical doctors like Mengele, the specifics of radiology and radiation oncology during National Socialism remain largely unknown. Starting in 2010, the German Radiology Association and the German Association of Radiation Oncology coordinated a national project looking into original archival material. A national committee convened in 2013 to discuss the project's findings, which were also the subject of a symposium at the University of Tuebingen in 2016 on radiology under National Socialism. The project identified approximately 160 radiologists who were victimized because of their Jewish descent, among them Gustav Bucky (known for the Bucky factor in x-ray diagnostics). Radiologists throughout Germany took part in forced sterilizations. The "Schutzstaffel," commonly known as SS, had a special radiology unit that was established for tuberculosis screening. Radiation was also used for sterilization experiments in the Auschwitz concentration camp with subsequent surgical procedures to enable histological analysis of the irradiated tissue. Reflection on medicine during the Holocaust will be strengthened by specific facts related to the respective medical field. Radiologists were involved in atrocious medical experiments as well as in supporting Nazi policies in Germany. These facts provoke ethical considerations about marginalized patient groups and doctor-patient communication. They also raise questions about "evidence-based" medicine as sole justification for medical procedures. In summary, historical studies will be able to help in the professional identity formation of radiologists gaining awareness to ethical issues of today. Copyright © 2017 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Social and emotional self-efficacy at work.

PubMed

Loeb, Carina; Stempel, Christiane; Isaksson, Kerstin

2016-04-01

Research has shown that self-efficacy is often one of the most important personal resources in the work context. However, because this research has focused on cognitive and task-oriented self-efficacy, little is known about social and emotional dimensions of self-efficacy at work. The main aim of the present study was to investigate social and emotional self-efficacy dimensions at work and to compare them to a cognitive and task-oriented dimension. Scales to measure social and emotional self-efficacy at work were developed and validated and found to be well differentiated from the cognitive task-oriented occupational self-efficacy scale. Confirmatory factor analyses of data from 226 Swedish and 591 German employees resulted in four separate but correlated self-efficacy dimensions: (1) occupational; (2) social; (3) self-oriented emotional; and (4) other-oriented emotional. Social self-efficacy explained additional variance in team climate and emotional self-efficacy in emotional irritation and emotional exhaustion, over and above effects of occupational self-efficacy. Men reported higher occupational self-efficacy, whereas social and emotional self-efficacy revealed no clear gender differences. The scales have strong psychometric properties in both Swedish and German language versions. The positive association between social self-efficacy and team climate, and the negative relationships between self-oriented emotional self-efficacy and emotional irritation and emotional exhaustion may provide promising tools for practical applications in work settings such as team-building, staff development, recruitment or other training programs aiming for work place health promotion. The next step will be to study how social and emotional self-efficacy relate to leadership, well-being and health over time. © 2016 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[Cooperation between professional association and scientific society].

PubMed

Schroeder, A; Hakenberg, O W

2013-08-01

Developments in health economics, urological sciences and social as well as demographic conditions pose numerous problems for the field of urology. In order to solve these problems a close cooperation between the professional association and the scientific society are needed which at first sight seem to have very different interests. The increasing complexity and interdependency in all areas of the healthcare system make a simple separation of interests between the scientific society and the professional association impossible. The Professional Association of German Urologists and the German Society of Urology have acknowledged this situation for many years and have intensified their close collaboration.

Migrant children in the German kindergarten: data, problems, and pedagogical models.

PubMed

Feil, C

1985-12-01

The integration of migrant children into German society is a controversial pedagogical task for educational institutions. An important part of this task is assigned to the kindergarten, since the early learning of social values and norms increases the chance of integration. The increasing number of migrant children in kindergartens has confronted teachers with new problems and changed tasks. In the 1980s, almost all kindergartens have migrant children enrolled in them; in some urban areas, there are kindergartens with 50% or more migrant children students. Some migrant children confront the use, or the continous use, of the German language for the 1st time in kindergarten. A secondary danger is abandoning a child with incomplete knowledge and inadequate German. These children will encounter new language problems in school. Although very little information is available on migrant parents' opinions of kindergartens, the limited data available indicate that parents generally respond favorably, although they fear alienation from their children. The migrant parents expect the kindergartens to teach their children German. The German kindergarten will not and cannot prepare children for life in their home country, even if it is kindly disposed towards a multitude of cultures. The kindergarten is only able to prepare children for life in Germany. Migrant children have special problems with bilingualism and cultural distance. Migrant children do not "cause" problems. Rather they offer an occasion to reflect on the work of the kindergarten and to include new and different experiences.

The Use of Coding Methods to Estimate the Social Behavior Directed toward Peers and Adults of Preschoolers with ASD in TEACCH, LEAP, and Eclectic ''BAU'' Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sam, Ann; Reszka, Stephanie; Odom, Samuel; Hume, Kara; Boyd, Brian

2015-01-01

Momentary time sampling, partial-interval recording, and event coding are observational coding methods commonly used to examine the social and challenging behaviors of children at risk for or with developmental delays or disabilities. Yet there is limited research comparing the accuracy of and relationship between these three coding methods. By…

20 CFR 404.1001 - Introduction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... work because of changes in the law. (c) The Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code (Code... Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950..., your social security benefits are based on your earnings that are on our records. (Subpart I of this...

The State-Owned Enterprise as a Vehicle for Stability

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-01

economies focused on the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany ), in the context of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. While a lecturer...resources, and steel; (c) financial services such as banks, insurance companies, and social security administrations; and (d) social services such as... deregulation (1980-present) following the stagflation of the early 1970s and early 1980s, all in accordance with the philosophy of Friedrich Hayek, as

Education after Auschwitz in a United Germany: A Comparative Analysis of the Teaching of the History of National Socialism in East and West Germany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meseth, Wolfgang

2012-01-01

This article explores the teaching of the history of National Socialism in East and West Germany. Against the backdrop of the dual politics of memory that existed before reunification, the article examines how the divergent value systems of the two German nations came together to produce a single national conception of "Education after…

Social background of the discovery and the reception of the periodic law of the elements: recognizing the contributions of Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev and Julius Lothar Meyer.

PubMed

Kaji, Masanori

2003-05-01

The favorable and relatively rapid reception of Mendeleev's periodic table of the elements can be attributed, in part at least, to his social connections. These connections were evident in the recently organized Russian Chemical Society. In addition, Mendeleev enjoyed the support of the editorial board of the journal of the German Chemical Society.

JPRS Report, East Europe

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-03-27

loans, we need more investments, more coop- failed to perform its function . All plans that should have eration on a qualified, equal basis...of probands who espouse neo-Nazi ideas. (For lack of GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC necessary primary data, the author of this article is unable to provide...social the socialized sector fell over the year by about 2.5 percent, activist functioned . I must say with satisfaction that and in the private

Not Just Any Child Care Center? Social and Ethnic Disparities in the Use of Early Education Institutions with a Beneficial Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Becker, Birgit; Schober, Pia Sophia

2017-01-01

This study investigates social and ethnic differences in the use of early childhood education and care (ECEC) centers with different learning environments in an ECEC system with universal state-subsidized provision and low fees. Based on the German National Educational Panel Study-Kindergarten Cohort from 2011, we matched data on 587 groups in 253…

When a Social Worker Becomes a Voluntary Commissioner and Calls on the Code of Ethics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greif, Geoffrey L.

2004-01-01

When practicing in a new arena, where does a social worker turn for guidance? This article discusses the author's experiences as chair of a governor-appointed Special Commission to Study Sexual Orientation Discrimination. The Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers proved a useful guide in framing the social work role and in…

To Accept One's Fate or Be Its Master: Culture, Control, and Workplace Choice.

PubMed

Eisen, Charis; Ishii, Keiko; Miyamoto, Yuri; Ma, Xiaoming; Hitokoto, Hidefumi

2016-01-01

Utilizing three student (Study 1) and non-student samples (Study 2), we examined cultural differences in workplace choice for North Americans, Germans, and Japanese. We focused on the desire for control as a potential mediator (i.e., the underlying mechanism) to explain cultural differences in this important life decision. Given culturally divergent embodiments of independent vs. interdependent models of agency, we expected and found that, compared to North Americans and Germans, Japanese were more likely to prefer a workplace with a payment system that maintains social order rather than one that rewards individual achievement. Furthermore, we found that Japanese tend to give greater consideration to family opinions in their choice of workplace. As predicted, desire for control (i.e., the motivation to have control over various events) was stronger for North Americans and Germans than Japanese, and explained cultural differences in choice of workplace.

[Factorial structure and psychometric criteria of the German translation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory--Student Version by Schaufeli et al. (MBI-SS)].

PubMed

Gumz, Antje; Erices, Rainer; Brähler, Elmar; Zenger, Markus

2013-02-01

The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is the most commonly used instrument in research on burnout. For the German translation of the MBI student version (MBI-SS), the postulated 3-factorial structure of the questionnaire could be confirmed using confirmatory analyses. The internal consistencies of the scales can be classified as good. First findings underline the construct validity of the questionnaire. As expected, burnout was associated with psychic and somatic complaints as well as with experienced social support. Couples reported higher "Efficiency" levels. Academic studies became less important with increasing duration. Time pressure during the last month was correlated with "Exhaustion". The presented findings on factorial structure and validity speak for the applicability of MBI-SS for research projects on students of German institutes of higher education. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Standards of nutrition for athletes in Germany.

PubMed

Diel, F; Khanferyan, R A

2013-01-01

The Deutscher Olympische Sportbund (DOSB) founded recently an advisory board for German elite athlete nutrition, the 'Arbeitsgruppe (AG) Ernahrungsberatung an den Olympiastutzpunkten'. The 'Performance codex and quality criteria for the food supply in facilities of German elite sports' have been established since 1997. The biochemical equivalent (ATP) for the energy demand is calculated using the DLW (Double Labeled Water)-method on the basis of RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) and BMR (Basic Metabolic Rate) at sport type specific exercises and performances. Certain nutraceutical ingredients for dietary supplements can be recommended. However, quality criteria for nutrition, cooking and food supply are defined on the basis of Health Food and the individual physiological/social-psychological status of the athlete. Especially food supplements and instant food have to be avoided for young athletes. The German advisory board for elite athlete nutrition publishes 'colour lists' for highly recommended (green), acceptable (yellow), and less recommended (red) food stuff.

[Barriers in the attendance of health care interventions by immigrants].

PubMed

Bermejo, I; Hölzel, L P; Kriston, L; Härter, M

2012-08-01

Analysis of barriers regarding attendance at the health care system under consideration of cultural and migration-related factors. Cross-sectional survey with immigrants from Turkey (n = 77), Spain (n = 67), Italy (n = 95) and German resettlers from the former Soviet Union (n = 196), recruited on migration and addiction services of the German Caritasverband, the Arbeiterwohlfahrt and migrant organizations. Spanish and Italian immigrants mainly search for help within their families and social environment. Immigrants from the former Soviet Union use home remedies and experience more linguistic difficulties as barriers for the use of health services, just like Turkish immigrants. Turkish immigrants reported feeling misunderstood regarding their cultural peculiarities by the expert staff as another main barrier. Other major influencing factors were German language proficiency and the subjective wellbeing in Germany. The consideration of cultural-related as well as linguistic factors in health care services is an essential contribution for improving health care of immigrants.

[Urology and National Socialism: the fate of Alexander von Lichtenberg 1880-1949].

PubMed

Moll, F H; Krischel, M; Rathert, P; Fangerau, H

2010-09-01

Alexander von Lichtenberg (1880-1949) was one of the famous members of the German Urological Society (DGU) in pre-war Germany. He introduced excretion urography and a special TURP Instrument. In 1928 he was president of the 8th meeting held in the German capital Berlin. His Handbook of Urology, released by Ferdinand Springer publishing house, was a trendsetter in establishing urology as a specialty in Germany and bringing together the whole wisdom of all aspects of urology. He was the founder of the famous Maximilian Nitze Award of the DGU. As a Jew he-like many others-was forced to leave Nazi Germany after 1933. Even in Hungary, his native country, he again had to resist anti-Semitic hostility. Later on he lived in Mexico. Alexander von Lichtenberg has to be remembered with special focus on the exodus of German Jewish scientists during the Nazi time.

To Accept One’s Fate or Be Its Master: Culture, Control, and Workplace Choice

PubMed Central

Eisen, Charis; Ishii, Keiko; Miyamoto, Yuri; Ma, Xiaoming; Hitokoto, Hidefumi

2016-01-01

Utilizing three student (Study 1) and non-student samples (Study 2), we examined cultural differences in workplace choice for North Americans, Germans, and Japanese. We focused on the desire for control as a potential mediator (i.e., the underlying mechanism) to explain cultural differences in this important life decision. Given culturally divergent embodiments of independent vs. interdependent models of agency, we expected and found that, compared to North Americans and Germans, Japanese were more likely to prefer a workplace with a payment system that maintains social order rather than one that rewards individual achievement. Furthermore, we found that Japanese tend to give greater consideration to family opinions in their choice of workplace. As predicted, desire for control (i.e., the motivation to have control over various events) was stronger for North Americans and Germans than Japanese, and explained cultural differences in choice of workplace. PMID:27445904

The Pacification Campaign of Madagascar: 1896-1905

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-01-01

and 1940s. This was no improvised brutality. My German colleague, Rudolf Scharping revealed on 9 April details of a covert Serbian plan, code-named...administrator arrived to begin attempts to transfer authority to local institutions and to work to improve security and boost the economy. Steiner , a...Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic’s crackdown on ethnic Albanians in the province. Steiner also said he would focus on creating jobs in the province

Reichsrundschreiben 1931: pre-Nuremberg German regulations concerning new therapy and human experimentation.

PubMed

Sass, H M

1983-05-01

This is the first re-publication and first English translation of regulations concerning Human Experimentation which were binding law prior to and during the Third Reich, 1931 to 1945. The introduction briefly describes the duties of the Reichsgesundheitsamt, which formulated these regulations. It then outlines the basic concept of the Richtlinien for protecting subjects and patients on the one hand and for encouraging New Therapy and Human Experimentation on the other hand. Major issues, like personal responsibility of the physician or researcher, teaching of ethics of research and therapy, and research and therapy on vulnerable populations, are compared with the regulations in the Nuremberg Code and subsequent regulations influenced by the Nuremberg Code.

Operational Tsunami Modelling with TsunAWI for the German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System: Recent Developments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rakowsky, N.; Harig, S.; Androsov, A.; Fuchs, A.; Immerz, A.; Schröter, J.; Hiller, W.

2012-04-01

Starting in 2005, the GITEWS project (German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System) established from scratch a fully operational tsunami warning system at BMKG in Jakarta. Numerical simulations of prototypic tsunami scenarios play a decisive role in a priori risk assessment for coastal regions and in the early warning process itself. Repositories with currently 3470 regional tsunami scenarios for GITEWS and 1780 Indian Ocean wide scenarios in support of Indonesia as a Regional Tsunami Service Provider (RTSP) were computed with the non-linear shallow water modell TsunAWI. It is based on a finite element discretisation, employs unstructured grids with high resolution along the coast and includes inundation. This contribution gives an overview on the model itself, the enhancement of the model physics, and the experiences gained during the process of establishing an operational code suited for thousands of model runs. Technical aspects like computation time, disk space needed for each scenario in the repository, or post processing techniques have a much larger impact than they had in the beginning when TsunAWI started as a research code. Of course, careful testing on artificial benchmarks and real events remains essential, but furthermore, quality control for the large number of scenarios becomes an important issue.

Phonological working memory in German children with poor reading and spelling abilities.

PubMed

Steinbrink, Claudia; Klatte, Maria

2008-11-01

Deficits in verbal short-term memory have been identified as one factor underlying reading and spelling disorders. However, the nature of this deficit is still unclear. It has been proposed that poor readers make less use of phonological coding, especially if the task can be solved through visual strategies. In the framework of Baddeley's phonological loop model, this study examined serial recall performance in German second-grade children with poor vs good reading and spelling abilities. Children were presented with four-item lists of common nouns for immediate serial recall. Word length and phonological similarity as well as presentation modality (visual vs auditory) and type of recall (visual vs verbal) were varied as within-subject factors in a mixed design. Word length and phonological similarity effects did not differ between groups, thus indicating equal use of phonological coding and rehearsal in poor and good readers. However, in all conditions, except the one that combined visual presentation and visual recall, overall performance was significantly lower in poor readers. The results suggest that the poor readers' difficulties do not arise from an avoidance of the phonological loop, but from its inefficient use. An alternative account referring to unstable phonological representations in long-term memory is discussed. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Social responsibility of nursing: a global perspective.

PubMed

Tyer-Viola, Lynda; Nicholas, Patrice K; Corless, Inge B; Barry, Donna M; Hoyt, Pamela; Fitzpatrick, Joyce J; Davis, Sheila M

2009-05-01

This study addresses social responsibility in the discipline of nursing and implications for global health. The concept of social responsibility is explicated and its relevance for nursing is examined, grounded in the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics and the International Council of Nurses Code of Ethics. Social justice, human rights, nurse migration, and approaches to nursing education are discussed within the framework of nursing's social responsibility. Strategies for addressing nursing workforce issues and education within a framework of social responsibility are explored.

[25 Years After Re-Unification of Germany: An Overview on Eastern German Psychiatry. Part 1: Post-War Era, Pavlovization, Psychopharmacological Era and Social Psychiatric Reform Movement].

PubMed

Steinberg, H

2016-04-01

This is the first of a 2-part study on the history of psychiatry in Eastern Germany, i. e. the Soviet Occupied Zone and later German Democratic Republic. It mainly covers the years post World War II up until the beginning of the 1970s. The first post-war years were determined by the new power holders' attempts to overcome National Socialist (Nazi) heritage and to re-organize mental health and care in general. The doctrine of a strict denazifization in East Germany must, however, be regarded as a myth. Promoted by centralized organization, there was an increase in communist party-ideological influence and harassment as well as aligning scientific views and research with Soviet paradigms (Pavlovization) during the 1950s and early 1960s. This, however, led to an enormous rise in exodus of skilled labor to West Germany, which in turn further increased the notorious lack of staff. After the erection of the inner-German wall, this problem was mitigated, yet never fully solved over the 40 years of the existence of the GDR. Despite adverse conditions, East German psychiatrists made major original contributions to the development of psychiatry in general, at least up until the 1960s. Academic psychiatry was mainly based on biological concepts that were further promoted by new somatic and psychopharmacological therapeutic options. In the 1960s, social psychiatric reformist forces emerged, primarily in the large psychiatric hospitals. The improvements achieved by these forces, however, were not implemented on a nation-wide scale, but mainly restricted to one particular or several institutions. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

The face of appearance-related social pressure: gender, age and body mass variations in peer and parental pressure during adolescence.

PubMed

Helfert, Susanne; Warschburger, Petra

2013-05-17

Appearance-related social pressure plays an important role in the development of a negative body image and self-esteem as well as severe mental disorders during adolescence (e.g. eating disorders, depression). Identifying who is particularly affected by social pressure can improve targeted prevention and intervention, but findings have either been lacking or controversial. Thus the aim of this study is to provide a detailed picture of gender, weight, and age-related variations in the perception of appearance-related social pressure by peers and parents. 1112 German students between grades 7 and 9 (mean age: M = 13.38, SD = .81) filled in the Appearance-Related Social Pressure Questionnaire (German: FASD), which considers different sources (peers, parents) as well as various kinds of social pressure (e.g. teasing, modeling, encouragement). Girls were more affected by peer pressure, while gender differences in parental pressure seemed negligible. Main effects of grade-level suggested a particular increase in indirect peer pressure (e.g. appearance-related school and class norms) from early to middle adolescence. Boys and girls with higher BMI were particularly affected by peer teasing and exclusion as well as by parental encouragement to control weight and shape. The results suggest that preventive efforts targeting body concerns and disordered eating should bring up the topic of appearance pressure in a school-based context and should strengthen those adolescents who are particularly at risk - in our study, girls and adolescents with higher weight status. Early adolescence and school transition appear to be crucial periods for these efforts. Moreover, the comprehensive assessment of appearance-related social pressure appears to be a fruitful way to further explore social risk-factors in the development of a negative body image.

The face of appearance-related social pressure: gender, age and body mass variations in peer and parental pressure during adolescence

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Appearance-related social pressure plays an important role in the development of a negative body image and self-esteem as well as severe mental disorders during adolescence (e.g. eating disorders, depression). Identifying who is particularly affected by social pressure can improve targeted prevention and intervention, but findings have either been lacking or controversial. Thus the aim of this study is to provide a detailed picture of gender, weight, and age-related variations in the perception of appearance-related social pressure by peers and parents. Methods 1112 German students between grades 7 and 9 (mean age: M = 13.38, SD = .81) filled in the Appearance-Related Social Pressure Questionnaire (German: FASD), which considers different sources (peers, parents) as well as various kinds of social pressure (e.g. teasing, modeling, encouragement). Results Girls were more affected by peer pressure, while gender differences in parental pressure seemed negligible. Main effects of grade-level suggested a particular increase in indirect peer pressure (e.g. appearance-related school and class norms) from early to middle adolescence. Boys and girls with higher BMI were particularly affected by peer teasing and exclusion as well as by parental encouragement to control weight and shape. Conclusion The results suggest that preventive efforts targeting body concerns and disordered eating should bring up the topic of appearance pressure in a school-based context and should strengthen those adolescents who are particularly at risk - in our study, girls and adolescents with higher weight status. Early adolescence and school transition appear to be crucial periods for these efforts. Moreover, the comprehensive assessment of appearance-related social pressure appears to be a fruitful way to further explore social risk-factors in the development of a negative body image. PMID:23680225

Qualitative Data Analysis for Health Services Research: Developing Taxonomy, Themes, and Theory

PubMed Central

Bradley, Elizabeth H; Curry, Leslie A; Devers, Kelly J

2007-01-01

Objective To provide practical strategies for conducting and evaluating analyses of qualitative data applicable for health services researchers. Data Sources and Design We draw on extant qualitative methodological literature to describe practical approaches to qualitative data analysis. Approaches to data analysis vary by discipline and analytic tradition; however, we focus on qualitative data analysis that has as a goal the generation of taxonomy, themes, and theory germane to health services research. Principle Findings We describe an approach to qualitative data analysis that applies the principles of inductive reasoning while also employing predetermined code types to guide data analysis and interpretation. These code types (conceptual, relationship, perspective, participant characteristics, and setting codes) define a structure that is appropriate for generation of taxonomy, themes, and theory. Conceptual codes and subcodes facilitate the development of taxonomies. Relationship and perspective codes facilitate the development of themes and theory. Intersectional analyses with data coded for participant characteristics and setting codes can facilitate comparative analyses. Conclusions Qualitative inquiry can improve the description and explanation of complex, real-world phenomena pertinent to health services research. Greater understanding of the processes of qualitative data analysis can be helpful for health services researchers as they use these methods themselves or collaborate with qualitative researchers from a wide range of disciplines. PMID:17286625

Qualitative data analysis for health services research: developing taxonomy, themes, and theory.

PubMed

Bradley, Elizabeth H; Curry, Leslie A; Devers, Kelly J

2007-08-01

To provide practical strategies for conducting and evaluating analyses of qualitative data applicable for health services researchers. DATA SOURCES AND DESIGN: We draw on extant qualitative methodological literature to describe practical approaches to qualitative data analysis. Approaches to data analysis vary by discipline and analytic tradition; however, we focus on qualitative data analysis that has as a goal the generation of taxonomy, themes, and theory germane to health services research. We describe an approach to qualitative data analysis that applies the principles of inductive reasoning while also employing predetermined code types to guide data analysis and interpretation. These code types (conceptual, relationship, perspective, participant characteristics, and setting codes) define a structure that is appropriate for generation of taxonomy, themes, and theory. Conceptual codes and subcodes facilitate the development of taxonomies. Relationship and perspective codes facilitate the development of themes and theory. Intersectional analyses with data coded for participant characteristics and setting codes can facilitate comparative analyses. Qualitative inquiry can improve the description and explanation of complex, real-world phenomena pertinent to health services research. Greater understanding of the processes of qualitative data analysis can be helpful for health services researchers as they use these methods themselves or collaborate with qualitative researchers from a wide range of disciplines.

Measuring the quality of life in mild to very severe dementia: testing the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of the German version of the QUALIDEM.

PubMed

Dichter, Martin Nikolaus; Schwab, Christian G G; Meyer, Gabriele; Bartholomeyczik, Sabine; Dortmann, Olga; Halek, Margareta

2014-05-01

Quality of life (Qol) is an increasingly used outcome measure in dementia research. The QUALIDEM is a dementia-specific and proxy-rated Qol instrument. We aimed to determine the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability in residents with dementia in German nursing homes. The QUALIDEM consists of nine subscales that were applied to a sample of 108 people with mild to severe dementia and six consecutive subscales that were applied to a sample of 53 people with very severe dementia. The proxy raters were 49 registered nurses and nursing assistants. Inter-rater and intra-rater reliability scores were calculated on the subscale and item level. None of the QUALIDEM subscales showed strong inter-rater reliability based on the single-measure Intra-Class Correlation Coefficient (ICC) for absolute agreement ≥ 0.70. Based on the average-measure ICC for four raters, eight subscales for people with mild to severe dementia (care relationship, positive affect, negative affect, restless tense behavior, social relations, social isolation, feeling at home and having something to do) and five subscales for very severe dementia (care relationship, negative affect, restless tense behavior, social relations and social isolation) yielded a strong inter-rater agreement (ICC: 0.72-0.86). All of the QUALIDEM subscales, regardless of dementia severity, showed strong intra-rater agreement. The ICC values ranged between 0.70 and 0.79 for people with mild to severe dementia and between 0.75 and 0.87 for people with very severe dementia. This study demonstrated insufficient inter-rater reliability and sufficient intra-rater reliability for all subscales of both versions of the German QUALIDEM. The degree of inter-rater reliability can be improved by collaborative Qol rating by more than one nurse. The development of a measurement manual with accurate item definitions and a standardized education program for proxy raters is recommended.

[Reform steps toward networking sheltered workshops and the general labour market].

PubMed

Wendt, S

2010-02-01

Only 0.16% of disabled employees are enabled to change from sheltered workshops to the general labour market. At the same time the number of disabled employees in sheltered workshops is increasing more than anticipated. Investigations into the growing admissions to sheltered workshops resulted in recommendations to improve the practice of change over. More and more admissions of students having finished special schools could be reduced by improved cooperation between special schools and the local employment market. Special schools should offer suitable job trainings and support students to develop an understanding of the requirements of specific jobs and of their opportunities to develop their skills to do these jobs. In 2009, supported employment has been regulated in social security law, lasting up to three years and aimed at qualifying disabled youngsters for employment in the general labour market instead of entering sheltered workshops. The majority of admissions to sheltered workshops in the meantime concern people with psychological handicaps, with more than 30% however leaving the workshops later on. For this population, "virtual sheltered workshops" are offering more suitable means for reintegration in the general labour market, such as temporary employment in the general labour market or in occupations with small earnings. The personal budget for work is meant to be a model project within the German Länder, to transfer personal support from the sheltered workshop into the general labour market. The conference of German Länder Ministers of Social Affairs has been active since 2007 to develop a concept for reform of the social security law concerning integration assistance for disabled people, which in future is to concentrate on individual needs, removal of obstacles in the law to facilitate the transition from sheltered workshops into the general labour market. The "Deutsche Verein für öffentliche und private Fürsorge" (German association for public and private welfare) has contributed valuable suggestions to the reform debate, all of which should be realized by the German Government during the seventeenth legislative period. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart, New York.

Historical and cultural aspects of the provision of care at an indigenous healthcare service facility.

PubMed

Ribeiro, Aridiane Alves; Arantes, Cássia Irene Spinelli; Gualda, Dulce Maria Rosa; Rossi, Lídia Aparecida

2017-06-01

This case study aimed to interpret the underlying historical and cultural aspects of the provision of care at an indigenous healthcare service facility. This is an interpretive, case study-type research with qualitative approach, which was conducted in 2012 at the Indigenous Health Support Center (CASAI) of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Data were collected by means systematic observation, documentary analyses and semi-structured interviews with ten health professionals. Data review was performed according to an approach based on social anthropology and health anthropology. The anthropological concepts of social code and ethnocentrism underpinned the interpretation of outcomes. Two categories were identified: CASAI, a space between streets and village; Ethnocentrism and indigenous health care. Healthcare practice and current social code are influenced by each other. The street social code prevails in the social environment under study. The institutional organization and professionals' appreciation of the indigenous biological body are decisive to provision of care under the streets social code perspective. Professionals' concepts evidence ethnocentrism in healthcare. Workers, however, try to adopt a relativized view vis-à-vis indigenous people at CASAI.

Intercoder Reliability of Mapping Between Pharmaceutical Dose Forms in the German Medication Plan and EDQM Standard Terms.

PubMed

Sass, Julian; Becker, Kim; Ludmann, Dominik; Pantazoglou, Elisabeth; Dewenter, Heike; Thun, Sylvia

2018-01-01

A nationally uniform medication plan has recently been part of German legislation. The specification for the German medication plan was developed in cooperation between various stakeholders of the healthcare system. Its' goal is to enhance usability and interoperability while also providing patients and physicians with the necessary information they require for a safe and high-quality therapy. Within the research and development project named Medication Plan PLUS, the specification of the medication plan was tested and reviewed for semantic interoperability in particular. In this study, the list of pharmaceutical dose forms provided in the specification was mapped to the standard terms of the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare by different coders. The level of agreement between coders was calculated using Cohen's Kappa (κ). Results show that less than half of the dose forms could be coded with EDQM standard terms. In addition to that Kappa was found to be moderate, which means rather unconvincing agreement among coders. In conclusion, there is still vast room for improvement in utilization of standardized international vocabulary and unused potential considering cross-border eHealth implementations in the future.

Can Rising Instructional Time Crowd out Student Pro-Social Behaviour? Unintended Consequences of a German High School Reform. CEP Discussion Paper No. 1495

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krekel, Christian

2017-01-01

We study whether raising instructional time can crowd out student pro-social behaviour. To this end, we exploit a large educational reform in Germany that has raised weekly instructional hours for high school students by 12.5% as a quasi-natural experiment. Using a difference-in-differences design, we find that this rise has a negative and…

How Could Lay Perspectives on Successful Aging Complement Scientific Theory? Findings From a U.S. and a German Life-Span Sample

PubMed Central

Jopp, Daniela S.; Wozniak, Dagmara; Damarin, Amanda K.; De Feo, Melissa; Jung, Seojung; Jeswani, Sheena

2015-01-01

Purpose of the Study: This article investigates lay perspectives of the concept of successful aging in young, middle-aged, and older adults from 2 cultures, the United States and Germany, to potentially guide the development of scientific theories of successful aging. The empirical findings are embedded in a comprehensive overview of theories of successful aging and life-span development and offer implications for theory development. Design and Methods: Two samples of young, middle-aged, and older adults from the United States (N = 151) and Germany (N = 155) were asked about definitions and determinants of successful aging. Codes were developed to capture common themes among the answers, resulting in 16 categories. Results: Themes mentioned included resources (health, social), behaviors (activities), and psychological factors (strategies, attitudes/beliefs, well-being, meaning). There were striking similarities across countries, age, and gender. Health and Social Resources were mentioned most frequently, followed by Activities/Interests, Virtues/Attitudes/Beliefs, Well-being, and Life management/Coping. Age differences were limited to Growth/Maturation and Respect/Success, and gender differences were limited to Social Resources and Well-being. Educational and cultural effects were limited to psychological factors and Education/Knowledge, which were more often mentioned by U.S. participants and individuals with more education. Implications: Young, middle-aged, and older lay persons from the United States and Germany have quite similar concepts of successful aging, which they view in far more multidimensional terms than do established scientific theories (Rowe & Kahn, 1998). Given evidence that factors mentioned by laypeople do promote successful aging, considering them in more comprehensive theoretical models may enhance our understanding. PMID:24958719

Just sustainability? Sustainability and social justice in professional codes of ethics for engineers.

PubMed

Brauer, Cletus S

2013-09-01

Should environmental, social, and economic sustainability be of primary concern to engineers? Should social justice be among these concerns? Although the deterioration of our natural environment and the increase in social injustices are among today's most pressing and important issues, engineering codes of ethics and their paramountcy clause, which contains those values most important to engineering and to what it means to be an engineer, do not yet put either concept on a par with the safety, health, and welfare of the public. This paper addresses a recent proposal by Michelfelder and Jones (2011) to include sustainability in the paramountcy clause as a way of rectifying the current disregard for social justice issues in the engineering codes. That proposal builds on a certain notion of sustainability that includes social justice as one of its dimensions and claims that social justice is a necessary condition for sustainability, not vice versa. The relationship between these concepts is discussed, and the original proposal is rejected. Drawing on insights developed throughout the paper, some suggestions are made as to how one should address the different requirements that theory and practice demand of the value taxonomy of professional codes of ethics.

[Work place health promotion programmes of the statutory German Pension Insurance].

PubMed

Meffert, C; Mittag, O; Jäckel, W H

2013-12-01

In 2009, the amendment of § 31 Abs. 1 Nr. 2 SGB VI gave the German Pension Insurance the opportunity to provide outpatient medical treatments for insured people who have an occupation with particularly high risk of health. Ever since, the German Pension Insurance has developed various work place prevention programmes, which have been implemented as pilot projects. This article aims at systematically recording and comparatively analyzing these programmes in a synopsis which meets the current state of knowledge. We developed an 8 page questionnaire focusing on work place prevention programmes by the German Pension Insurance. This questionnaire was sent to people in charge of all programmes known to us. All programmes have been drafted -across indications. They are aiming at insured people who already suffer from first health disorders but who are not in imminent need of rehabilitation. However, the concrete target groups at which the specific programmes are aimed differ (shift workers, nurses, elderly employees). Another difference between the various programmes is the setting (in- or outpatients) as well as the duration. All programmes are using existing structures offered by the German Pension Insurance. They provide measures in pension insurance owned rehabilitation centers. It would be desirable to link these performances with internal work place health promotion and offers of other social insurances. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Public challenge and endorsement of sex category ambiguity in online debate: 'The sooner people stop thinking that gender is a matter of choice the better'.

PubMed

Sweeting, Helen; Maycock, Matthew William; Walker, Laura; Hunt, Kate

2017-03-01

Despite academic feminist debate over several decades, the binary nature of sex as a (perhaps the) primary social classification is often taken for granted, as is the assumption that individuals can be unproblematically assigned a biological sex at birth. This article presents analysis of online debate on the BBC news website in November 2013, comprising 864 readers' responses to an article entitled 'Germany allows 'indeterminate' gender at birth'. It explores how discourse reflecting Western essentialist beliefs about people having one sex or 'the other' is maintained in debates conducted in this online public space. Comments were coded thematically and are presented under five sub-headings: overall evaluation of the German law; discussing and disputing statistics and 'facts'; binary categorisations; religion and politics; and 'conversations' and threads. Although for many the mapping of binary sex onto gender was unquestionable, this view was strongly disputed by commentators who questioned the meanings of 'natural' and 'normal', raised the possibility of removing societal binary male-female distinctions or saw maleness-femaleness as a continuum. While recognising that online commentators are anonymous and can control their self-presentation, this animated discussion suggests that social classifications as male or female, even if questioned, remain fundamental in public debate in the early 21 st century. © 2016 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation for SHIL.

[Company health promotion as a possible preparatory stage of effective rehabilitation].

PubMed

Köpke, K-H

2012-01-01

In Section 20a of Book 5 of the German Social Code (SGB V), the legislator obliged the health insurance funds to carry out company health promotion in cooperation with the accident insurance agency in charge. He thus created a foundation for more health and secure earnings or employment potential in the companies. At the same time company health promotion permits detecting threats to this potential. That helps to identify a possible need for rehabilitation at an earlier stage and to take appropriate action.To verify whether and how this instrument of preventive health policy is being used, an empirical study explored the actual application of that legal provision in small and medium-sized enterprises in particular. The law, administrative measures and company everyday evidence were set against each other under legal and de facto aspects, which showed obvious deficits in applying the law. Proposals for better company health promotion are derived from these findings. In the first place, actors in administration and self-management of the statutory health and accident insurance schemes are addressed to this end, in anticipation of enhanced implementation. A premature reduction of earning capacity could thus be counteracted. Pension insurants could retain gainful employment for a longer time, companies would have a more reliable employee basis. Social insurance carriers, notably the health and pension insurance schemes, would have to spend less in the end. A development like that would be a benefit for all--including the state. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Study protocol of the ASD-Net, the German research consortium for the study of Autism Spectrum Disorder across the lifespan: from a better etiological understanding, through valid diagnosis, to more effective health care.

PubMed

Kamp-Becker, Inge; Poustka, Luise; Bachmann, Christian; Ehrlich, Stefan; Hoffmann, Falk; Kanske, Philipp; Kirsch, Peter; Krach, Sören; Paulus, Frieder Michel; Rietschel, Marcella; Roepke, Stefan; Roessner, Veit; Schad-Hansjosten, Tanja; Singer, Tania; Stroth, Sanna; Witt, Stephanie; Wermter, Anne-Kathrin

2017-06-02

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a severe, lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder with early onset that places a heavy burden on affected individuals and their families. Due to the need for highly specialized health, educational and vocational services, ASD is a cost-intensive disorder, and strain on health care systems increases with increasing age of the affected individual. The ASD-Net will study Germany's largest cohort of patients with ASD over the lifespan. By combining methodological expertise from all levels of clinical research, the ASD-Net will follow a translational approach necessary to identify neurobiological pathways of different phenotypes and their appropriate identification and treatment. The work of the ASD-Net will be organized into three clusters concentrating on diagnostics, therapy and health economics. In the diagnostic cluster, data from a large, well-characterized sample (N = 2568) will be analyzed to improve the efficiency of diagnostic procedures. Pattern classification methods (machine learning) will be used to identify algorithms for screening purposes. In a second step, the developed algorithm will be tested in an independent sample. In the therapy cluster, we will unravel how an ASD-specific social skills training with concomitant oxytocin administration can modulate behavior through neurobiological pathways. For the first time, we will characterize long-term effects of a social skills training combined with oxytocin treatment on behavioral and neurobiological phenotypes. Also acute effects of oxytocin will be investigated to delineate general and specific effects of additional oxytocin treatment in order to develop biologically plausible models for symptoms and successful therapeutic interventions in ASD. Finally, in the health economics cluster, we will assess service utilization and ASD-related costs in order to identify potential needs and cost savings specifically tailored to Germany. The ASD-Net has been established as part of the German Research Network for Mental Disorders, funded by the BMBF (German Federal Ministry of Education and Research). The highly integrated structure of the ASD-Net guarantees sustained collaboration of clinicians and researchers to alleviate individual distress, harm, and social disability of patients with ASD and reduce costs to the German health care system. Both clinical trials of the ASD-Net are registered in the German Clinical Trials Register: DRKS00008952 (registered on August 4, 2015) and DRKS00010053 (registered on April 8, 2016).

Psychiatric disorders and urbanization in Germany

PubMed Central

Dekker, Jack; Peen, Jaap; Koelen, Jurrijn; Smit, Filip; Schoevers, Robert

2008-01-01

Background Epidemiological studies over the last decade have supplied growing evidence of an association between urbanization and the prevalence of psychiatric disorders. Our aim was to examine the link between levels of urbanization and 12-month prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders in a nationwide German population study, controlling for other known risk factors such as gender, social class, marital status and the interaction variables of these factors with urbanization. Methods The Munich Composite International Diagnostic Interview (M-CIDI) was used to assess the prevalence of mental disorders (DSM-IV) in a representative sample of the German population (N = 4181, age: 18–65). The sample contains five levels of urbanization based on residence location. The epidemiological study was commissioned by the German Ministry of Research, Education and Science (BMBF) and approved by the relevant Institutional Review Board and ethics committee. Written informed consent was obtained for both surveys (core survey and Mental Health Supplement). Subjects did not get any financial compensation for their study participation. Results Higher levels of urbanization were linked to higher 12-month prevalence rates for almost all major psychiatric disorders (with the exception of substance abuse and psychotic disorders). The weighted prevalence percentages were highest in the most urbanized category. Alongside urbanization, female gender, lower social class and being unmarried were generally found to be associated with higher levels of psychopathology. The impact of urbanization on mental health was about equal (for almost all major psychiatric disorders) in young people and elderly people, men and women, and in married and single people. Only people from a low social class in the most urbanized settings had more somatoform disorders, and unmarried people in the most urbanized settings had more anxiety disorders. Conclusion Psychiatric disorders are more prevalent among the inhabitants of more urbanized areas. probably because of environmental stressors. PMID:18201380

Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS): Optimal cut points for remission and response in a German sample.

PubMed

von Glischinski, M; Willutzki, U; Stangier, U; Hiller, W; Hoyer, J; Leibing, E; Leichsenring, F; Hirschfeld, G

2018-02-11

The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) is the most frequently used instrument to assess social anxiety disorder (SAD) in clinical research and practice. Both a self-reported (LSAS-SR) and a clinician-administered (LSAS-CA) version are available. The aim of the present study was to define optimal cut-off (OC) scores for remission and response to treatment for the LSAS in a German sample. Data of N = 311 patients with SAD were used who had completed psychotherapeutic treatment within a multicentre randomized controlled trial. Diagnosis of SAD and reduction in symptom severity according to the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, served as gold standard. OCs yielding the best balance between sensitivity and specificity were determined using receiver operating characteristics. The variability of the resulting OCs was estimated by nonparametric bootstrapping. Using diagnosis of SAD (present vs. absent) as a criterion, results for remission indicated cut-off values of 35 for the LSAS-SR and 30 for the LSAS-CA, with acceptable sensitivity (LSAS-SR: .83, LSAS-CA: .88) and specificity (LSAS-SR: .82, LSAS-CA: .87). For detection of response to treatment, assessed by a 1-point reduction in the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, rating, a reduction of 28% for the LSAS-SR and 29% for the LSAS-CA yielded the best balance between sensitivity (LSAS-SR: .75, LSAS-CA: .83) and specificity (LSAS-SR: .76, LSAS-CA: .80). To our knowledge, we are the first to define cut points for the LSAS in a German sample. Overall, the cut points for remission and response corroborate previously reported cut points, now building on a broader data basis. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) - What we know and what we should know - The knowledge of German health professionals and parents.

PubMed

Landgraf, Mirjam N; Albers, Lucia; Rahmsdorf, Birte; Vill, Katharina; Gerstl, Lucia; Lippert, Michaela; Heinen, Florian

2018-05-01

The objective of our study was to evaluate the knowledge about fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and the implementation of the German guideline for FASD among different professionals in the health and social system and among parents with children with FASD. A questionnaire about FASD, containing 20 items, was sent by post to all children's hospitals (n = 287), all hospitals for child and adolescent psychiatry (n = 173), all social paediatric centres (n = 162), all neuropaediatricians (n = 129) and all youth welfare offices (n = 672) in Germany. Furthermore a link to the questionnaire as online version was put in the member's newsletter by 14 relevant professional societies. Besides, the questionnaire was distributed personally to the attendees of the annual national FASD conference (n = 363). Altogether 428 persons took part in the survey. 273 participants were professionals and 155 parents of children with FASD. More than 95% of the professionals and parents knew that alcohol consumption during pregnancy constitutes a risk for the child. The prevalence of maternal alcohol consumption and of FASD was underestimated. Although approx. 70% of the professionals knew which disorders belong to FASD just a few could tell their specific deficits. Questions regarding effective intervention for children with FASD and the long-term outcome were only partially answered correctly. Professionals in the German health and social system are aware of FASD but underestimate the level of damage and the impact on every day functioning of the affected people. Copyright © 2018 European Paediatric Neurology Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cultural and linguistic transferability of the multi-dimensional OxCAP-MH capability instrument for outcome measurement in mental health: the German language version.

PubMed

Simon, Judit; Łaszewska, Agata; Leutner, Eva; Spiel, Georg; Churchman, David; Mayer, Susanne

2018-06-05

Mental health conditions affect aspects of people's lives that are often not captured in common health-related outcome measures. The OxCAP-MH self-reported, quality of life questionnaire based on Sen's capability approach was developed in the UK to overcome these limitations. The aim of this study was to develop a linguistically and culturally valid German version of the questionnaire. Following forward and back translations, the wording underwent cultural and linguistic validation with input from a sample of 12 native German speaking mental health patients in Austria in 2015. Qualitative feedback from patients and carers was obtained via interviews and focus group meetings. Feedback from mental health researchers from Germany was incorporated to account for cross-country differences. No significant item modifications were necessary. However, changes due to ambiguous wordings, possibilities for differential interpretations, politically unacceptable expressions, cross-country language differences and differences in political and social systems, were needed. The study confirmed that all questions are relevant and understandable for people with mental health conditions in a German speaking setting and transferability of the questionnaire from English to German speaking countries is feasible. Professional translation is necessary for the linguistic accuracy of different language versions of patient-reported outcome measures but does not guarantee linguistic and cultural validity and cross-country transferability. Additional context-specific piloting is essential. The time and resources needed to achieve valid multi-lingual versions should not be underestimated. Further research is ongoing to confirm the psychometric properties of the German version.

Suicide on Instagram - Content Analysis of a German Suicide-Related Hashtag.

PubMed

Arendt, Florian

2018-06-21

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-29-year-olds globally. Unfortunately, the suicide-related content on Instagram, a popular social media platform for youth, has not received the scholarly attention it deserves. The present study provides a content analysis of posts tagged as #selbstmord, a German suicide-related hashtag. These posts were created between July 5 and July 11, 2017. Approximately half of all posts included words or visuals related to suicide. Cutting was by far the most prominent method. Although sadness was the dominant emotion, self-hate and loneliness also appeared regularly. Importantly, inconsistency - a gap between one's inner mental state (e.g., sadness) and one's overtly expressed behavior (e.g., smiling) - was also a recurring theme. Conversely, help-seeking, death wishes, and professional awareness-intervention material were very rare. An explorative analysis revealed that some videos relied on very fast cutting techniques. We provide tentative evidence that users may be exposed to purposefully inserted suicide-related subliminal messages (i.e., exposure to content without the user's conscious awareness). We only investigated the content of posts on one German hashtag, and the sample size was rather small. Suicide prevention organizations may consider posting more awareness-intervention materials. Future research should investigate suicide-related subliminal messages in social media video posts. Although tentative, this finding should raise a warning flag for suicide prevention scholars.

Attitudes towards suicide attempts broadcast on social media: an exploratory study of Chinese microblogs.

PubMed

Li, Ang; Huang, Xiaoxiao; Hao, Bibo; O'Dea, Bridianne; Christensen, Helen; Zhu, Tingshao

2015-01-01

Introduction. Broadcasting a suicide attempt on social media has become a public health concern in many countries, particularly in China. In these cases, social media users are likely to be the first to witness the suicide attempt, and their attitudes may determine their likelihood of joining rescue efforts. This paper examines Chinese social media (Weibo) users' attitudes towards suicide attempts broadcast on Weibo. Methods. A total of 4,969 Weibo posts were selected from a customised Weibo User Pool which consisted of 1.06 million active users. The selected posts were then independently coded by two researchers using a coding framework that assessed: (a) Themes, (b) General attitudes, (c) Stigmatising attitudes, (d) Perceived motivations, and (e) Desired responses. Results and Discussion. More than one third of Weibo posts were coded as "stigmatising" (35%). Among these, 22%, 16%, and 15% of posts were coded as "deceitful," "pathetic," and "stupid," respectively. Among the posts which reflected different types of perceived motivations, 57% of posts were coded as "seeking attention." Among the posts which reflected desired responses, 37% were "not saving" and 28% were "encouraging suicide." Furthermore, among the posts with negative desired responses (i.e., "not saving" and "encouraging suicide"), 57% and 17% of them were related to different types of stigmatising attitudes and perceived motivations, respectively. Specifically, 29% and 26% of posts reflecting both stigmatising attitudes and negative desired responses were coded as "deceitful" and "pathetic," respectively, while 66% of posts reflecting both perceived motivations, and negative desired responses were coded as "seeking attention." Very few posts "promoted literacy" (2%) or "provided resources" (8%). Gender differences existed in multiple categories. Conclusions. This paper confirms the need for stigma reduction campaigns for Chinese social media users to improve their attitudes towards those who broadcast their suicide attempts on social media. Results of this study support the need for improved public health programs in China and may be insightful for other countries and other social media platforms.

[Self-Stigma of Depression Scale SSDS - Evaluation of the German Version].

PubMed

Makowski, Anna Christin; Mnich, Eva E; von dem Knesebeck, Olaf

2017-05-12

Objectives A better understanding of self-stigma facilitates the development and evaluation of anti-stigma measures. In this study, the Self-Stigma of Depression Scale (SSDS) is applied for the first time in Germany. The focus lies on feasibility and psychometric characteristics of the scale. Methods Data stem from a representative population survey in Germany (N = 2,013). The 16 items of the original SSDS are used to assess anticipated self-stigma in case of depression. Main component analysis is applied to analyze the factor structure. Results The original version of the SDSS could not be replicated in the German sample. Instead of four, three factors emerged in the German version. They are similar to three subscales of the original SSDS: "social inadequacy", "help-seeking inhibition" and "self-blame". The internal reliability of the total scale as well as of the first two subscales is acceptable. Conclusion SSDS is a multidimensional construct and can serve as an important instrument in research regarding self-stigma of depression in Germany. A further development of the German scale is recommended in order to gain greater insight into the nature of (anticipated) depression self-stigma. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Measurement Invariance and Latent Mean Differences in the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS): Does the German Version of the RIAS Allow a Valid Assessment of Individuals with a Migration Background?

PubMed Central

Gygi, Jasmin T.; Fux, Elodie; Grob, Alexander; Hagmann-von Arx, Priska

2016-01-01

This study examined measurement invariance and latent mean differences in the German version of the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS) for 316 individuals with a migration background (defined as speaking German as a second language) and 316 sex- and age-matched natives. The RIAS measures general intelligence (single-factor structure) and its two components, verbal and nonverbal intelligence (two-factor structure). Results of a multi-group confirmatory factor analysis showed scalar invariance for the two-factor and partial scalar invariance for the single-factor structure. We conclude that the two-factor structure of the RIAS is comparable across groups. Hence, verbal and nonverbal intelligence but not general intelligence should be considered when comparing RIAS test results of individuals with and without a migration background. Further, latent mean differences especially on the verbal, but also on the nonverbal intelligence index indicate language barriers for individuals with a migration background, as subtests corresponding to verbal intelligence require higher skills in German language. Moreover, cultural, environmental, and social factors that have to be taken into account when assessing individuals with a migration background are discussed. PMID:27846270

The health status of Russian-speaking immigrants in Germany.

PubMed

Tselmin, S; Korenblum, W; Reimann, M; Bornstein, S R; Schwarz, P E H

2007-12-01

Germany developed today into a country of immigration, which creates an additional burden for the social security system and results in a new challenge for the healthcare. In the last 17 years more than two million "Russia Germans" have been repatriated and about two hundred thousand Jewish refugees have resettled in Germany from the former Soviet Union. Nevertheless relevant data concerning migration-related public health care are very scare. Search of PubMed and Journals extracts combined with the own researches, analysing the health status indices of the Russian-speaking immigrants in Germany. Both repatriates of German origin and Jewish refugees demonstrated higher prevalence of impaired lipid metabolism in comparison with native population. 42 % of the 503,040 HBsAg (hepatitis B s-Antigen) carriers in Germany were migrants. The Jewish refugees demonstrated the highest rates of depression and anxiety and the highest levels of awakening cortisol. On the other side German resettlers showed lower cardiovascular as well as all-cause death rates compared to the native Germans. The development of adequate health care programmes to address migratory aspects as well as the establishment of quality standards will realistically enhance the capability of responding rapidly to migrant health aspects and help to tackle inequalities in health.

Not a slippery slope or sudden subversion: German medicine and national socialism in 1933.

PubMed

Hanauske-Abel, H M

1996-12-07

The history of medicine this century is darkened by the downfall of the German medical profession, exposed during the doctors' trial at Nuremberg in 1946. Relying largely on documents published during 1933 in German medical journals, this paper examines two widely accepted notions of those events, metaphorically termed "slippery slope" and "sudden subversion." The first connotes a gradual slide over infinitesimal steps until, suddenly, all footing is lost; the second conveys forced take over of the profession's leadership and values. Both concepts imply that the medical profession itself became the victim of circumstances. The slippery slope concept is a prominent figure of argument in the current debate on bioethics. The evidence presented here, however, strongly suggests that the German medical community set its own course in 1933. In some respects this course even outpaced the new government, which had to rein in the profession's eager pursuit of enforced eugenic sterilizations. In 1933 the convergence of political, scientific, and economic forces dramatically changed the relationship between the medical community and the government. That same convergence is occurring again and must be approached with great caution if medicine is to remain focused on the preservation of physical and medical integrity.

Deus ex machina or e-slave? Public perception of healthcare robotics in the German print media.

PubMed

Laryionava, Katsiaryna; Gross, Dominik

2012-07-01

The news media plays a central role in providing information regarding new medical technologies and exerts an influence on their social perception, understanding, and assessments. This study, therefore, analyzes how healthcare robotics are portrayed in the German print news media. It examines whether the risks and opportunities of new medical technologies are presented in a balanced manner and investigates whether or not print media coverage of these technologies is affected by science-fiction discourse, in which robots appear mostly as a threat to humans. Ten years of German print media coverage (2000-2010) have been studied by means of systematic, standardized content analysis. Reporting focuses predominantly on beneficial advancements in medical practice and the advantages of robotics for patients, medical staff, and society. The results show that the dominant relationship between robots and humans that is transmitted in print media in medical contexts is positive, with robots mostly portrayed as assistants, colleagues, or even friends. Only a small number of articles report ethical questions and risks. In contrast to science-fiction discourse, the German print media provides a positive picture of robotics to the lay public.

Frequency of Victimization Experiences and Well-Being Among Online, Offline, and Combined Victims on Social Online Network Sites of German Children and Adolescents.

PubMed

Glüer, Michael; Lohaus, Arnold

2015-01-01

Victimization is associated with negative developmental outcomes in childhood and adolescence. However, previous studies have provided mixed results regarding the association between offline and online victimization and indicators of social, psychological, and somatic well-being. In this study, we investigated 1,890 German children and adolescents (grades 5-10, mean age = 13.9; SD = 2.1) with and without offline or online victimization experiences who participated in a social online network (SNS). Online questionnaires were used to assess previous victimization (offline, online, combined, and without), somatic and psychological symptoms, self-esteem, and social self-concept (social competence, resistance to peer influence, esteem by others). In total, 1,362 (72.1%) children and adolescents reported being a member of at least one SNS, and 377 students (28.8%) reported previous victimization. Most children and adolescents had offline victimization experiences (17.5%), whereas 2.7% reported online victimization, and 8.6% reported combined experiences. Girls reported more online and combined victimization, and boys reported more offline victimization. The type of victimization (offline, online, combined) was associated with increased reports of psychological and somatic symptoms, lower self-esteem and esteem by others, and lower resistance to peer influences. The effects were comparable for the groups with offline and online victimization. They were, however, increased in the combined group in comparison to victims with offline experiences alone.

Frequency of Victimization Experiences and Well-Being Among Online, Offline, and Combined Victims on Social Online Network Sites of German Children and Adolescents

PubMed Central

Glüer, Michael; Lohaus, Arnold

2015-01-01

Victimization is associated with negative developmental outcomes in childhood and adolescence. However, previous studies have provided mixed results regarding the association between offline and online victimization and indicators of social, psychological, and somatic well-being. In this study, we investigated 1,890 German children and adolescents (grades 5–10, mean age = 13.9; SD = 2.1) with and without offline or online victimization experiences who participated in a social online network (SNS). Online questionnaires were used to assess previous victimization (offline, online, combined, and without), somatic and psychological symptoms, self-esteem, and social self-concept (social competence, resistance to peer influence, esteem by others). In total, 1,362 (72.1%) children and adolescents reported being a member of at least one SNS, and 377 students (28.8%) reported previous victimization. Most children and adolescents had offline victimization experiences (17.5%), whereas 2.7% reported online victimization, and 8.6% reported combined experiences. Girls reported more online and combined victimization, and boys reported more offline victimization. The type of victimization (offline, online, combined) was associated with increased reports of psychological and somatic symptoms, lower self-esteem and esteem by others, and lower resistance to peer influences. The effects were comparable for the groups with offline and online victimization. They were, however, increased in the combined group in comparison to victims with offline experiences alone. PMID:26734598

"Spiegeldorf": Nazi Appeals in Weimar Germany.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sprague, Gregory A.

The paper discusses rationales for simulation gaming and describes "Spiegeldorf," a socio-historical game which simulates socioeconomic conditions in early 1930 Germany and Nazi party tactics used to gain mass support. Objectives are to identify characteristic Nazi tactics and points of political ideology, describe German social classes…

Dialectical Imagery and Postmodern Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davison, Kevin G.

2006-01-01

This article suggests utilizing dialectical imagery, as understood by German social philosopher Walter Benjamin, as an additional qualitative data analysis strategy for research into the postmodern condition. The use of images mined from research data may offer epistemological transformative possibilities that will assist in the demystification of…

Visitors Abroad.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lepke, Helen; And Others

Seven German-American cross-cultural social situations are presented in English, each followed by a multiple-choice question concerning the etiquette or cultural implications of the actions. An answer key provides comments to stimulate class discussion. These everyday situations occur in Germany or the United States, and include eating at a…

What does media use reveal about personality and mental health? An exploratory investigation among German students

PubMed Central

Margraf, Jürgen

2018-01-01

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between personality traits, mental health variables and media use among German students. The data of 633 participants were collected. Results indicate a positive association between general Internet use, general use of social platforms and Facebook use, on the one hand, and self-esteem, extraversion, narcissism, life satisfaction, social support and resilience, on the other hand. Use of computer games was found to be negatively related to these personality and mental health variables. The use of platforms that focus more on written interaction (Twitter, Tumblr) was assumed to be negatively associated with positive mental health variables and significantly positively with depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms. In contrast, Instagram use, which focuses more on photo-sharing, correlated positively with positive mental health variables. Possible practical implications of the present results for mental health, as well as the limitations of the present work are discussed. PMID:29370275

[Paul Konitzer (1894-1947): hygienist, physician, social medicine and health politician].

PubMed

Schneck, Peter

2004-01-01

Paul Konitzer was one of the outstanding and well-known physicians in the years after the World War II in East-Germany. THe paper describes his professional way as hygienist, social medical, municipal physician and last but not least as health politician in the times of four different political regimes: the imperial era in Germany till 1918, the time of "Weimarer Republic" till 1933, the Nazi dictatorship till 1945 and the early years in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany. The life of Konitzer is a typical example of the fate of a German doctor in the first half of the 20th century. Konitzer was arrested in February 1947 by the Soviet Military Government in Berlin in connection with some political troubles and reproach with a typhus epidemic in a German camp for Russian Prisoners of War in the Nazi era. On April 22nd 1947 he died in prison of Dresden by suicide without condemnation.

[Who exactly are these "persons with limitations in daily living skills"? : Survey of insured persons based on health insurance data].

PubMed

Runte, Rebecca; Müller, Rolf

2016-12-01

In recent years German long-term care insurance coverage has gradually been extended to include services for people with limitations in daily living skills. Until now, however, it was unclear who exactly people with limited daily living skills are. The study aimed to characterize people with limited daily living skills who use additional support services as defined by § 45b of the Social Services Code XI (SGB XI). This study was based on a survey of 1284 people with limited daily living skills who used additional support services (§ 45b SGB XI). The data were analyzed descriptively. The average recipient was 81 years old, mainly in care level I and the majority of them were exclusively cared for by relatives. Of these recipients 61 % were diagnosed with dementia, 73.4 % had medium cognitive impairments while more than half could no longer carry out the instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). Statistics on people with limited daily living skills should be included in publications and reports so that the need for care and assistance can be estimated more precisely.

[Treatment motivation of patients admitted for substance abuse treatment according to the section 64 StGB regulation].

PubMed

Schalast, N

2000-09-01

Describe treatment motivation in offenders with addiction problems, who enter treatment in forensic hospital departments according to section 64 of the German penal code. Consider relevance of treatment motivation with regard to course and outcome of treatment. 83 patients were interviewed within the first days of psychiatric detention and after six month of treatment. They also filled in questionnaires on treatment motivation. Hospital staff reported another six month later about course of treatment. Most patients express awareness of drug/alcohol related problems and an intention to participate in treatment. But only a minority of patients shows a very strong motivation to stay abstinent from alcohol/drugs. More than half of the patients relapse during the first year of treatment. In more than one third of the cases, psychiatric detentions are cancelled due to a negative assessment of prognosis of further treatment. Most of these patients are returned to prison. Initial treatment motivation shows some relevance with regard to course of treatment. But negative outcomes of treatment shouldn't be explained simply as effects of insufficient motivation. A conception of treatment fostering hope and social competence seems to be most effective in strengthening treatment motivation.

[Medical Rehabilitation as an Attractive Field of Work for Medical Doctors? - A Qualitative Survey].

PubMed

Lederle, Mareike; Kotzjan, Priscilla Simone; Niehues, Christiane; Brüggemann, Silke; Bitzer, Eva-Maria

2017-10-01

In the German Health system there is an increasing competition in the recruitment of specialised staff, especially for rehabilitation centres, which are deemed less attractive. Therefore, this study examines the attractiveness of the field of medical rehabilitation from the point of view of medical professionals. We conducted 16 semi-structured interviews with doctors from 7 rehabilitation centres with different medical specialisations. The interviews were digitized and transcribed. A structured content analysis was carried out using the software MAXQDA 11. 745 codes were identified and assigned to the categories "attractiveness", "unfavourable aspects" and "special features" of rehabilitation. Regarding medical rehabilitation, the interviewees appreciated especially the predictable, flexible working environment with little time pressure. Other than working with rehabilitative patients working as part of an interdisciplinary team was of high importance for the interviewees. Among the special features of rehabilitation in comparison with acute care were the higher relevance of the bio-psycho-social model of health and illness as well as the higher proportion of communication and organisation. Medical rehabilitation in Germany is an attractive field of work for medical doctors. This fact should be considered more with regards to rehabilitation's public image. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

[Scabies as an occupational disease].

PubMed

Lukács, J; Schliemann, S; Elsner, P

2015-03-01

Scabies is an infectious skin disease caused by the human itch mite (Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis). It is mainly transmitted by direct skin-to-skin contact. The spread of scabies can cause major difficulties in healthcare institutions, particularly in residential homes for the elderly. The disease is characterized by intense nocturnal itching, erythematous papules arranged in a linear order, and scratching resulting in excoriations. The diagnosis is confirmed by identification of the mite or by finding one or more mite tunnels in the skin. An individually occurring case does not need to be reported. If two or more cases occur in the same institution, the company physician and the appropriate public health department are to be informed in Germany. In case of a suspected scabies infection in medical personnel due to exposure in their work setting, medical notification to the statutory occupational accidents' insurance (Nr. 3101) is to be issued in accordance with § 202, Volume VII of the German Social Code. First line treatment is topical therapy with 5 % permethrin. If scabies control is required in an institution, systemic treatment with ivermectin may be considered. In the case of a scabies outbreak, all patients, contact persons, and staff must be treated simultaneously.

Towards a social discount rate for the economic evaluation of health technologies in Germany: an exploratory analysis.

PubMed

Schad, Mareike; John, Jürgen

2012-04-01

Over the last decades, methods for the economic evaluation of health care technologies were increasingly used to inform reimbursement decisions. For a short time, the German Statutory Health Insurance makes use of these methods to support reimbursement decisions on patented drugs. In this context, the discounting procedure emerges as a critical component of these methods, as discount rates can strongly affect the resulting incremental cost-effectiveness ratios. The aim of this paper is to identify the appropriate value of a social discount rate to be used by the German Statutory Health Insurance for the economic evaluation of health technologies. On theoretical grounds, we build on the widespread view of contemporary economists that the social rate of time preference (SRTP) is the adequate social discount rate. For quantifying the SRTP, we first apply the market behaviour approach, which assumes that the SRTP is reflected in observable market interest rates. As a second approach, we derive the SRTP from optimal growth theory by using the Ramsey equation. A major part of the paper is devoted to specify the parameters of this equation. Depending on various assumptions, our empirical findings result in the range of 1.75-4.2% for the SRTP. A reasonable base case discount rate for Germany, thus, would be about 3%. Furthermore, we deal with the much debated question whether a common discount rate for costs and health benefits or a lower rate for health should be applied in health economic evaluations. In the German social health insurance system, no exogenously fixed budget constraint does exist. When evaluating a new health technology, the health care decision maker is obliged to conduct an economic evaluation in order to examine whether there is an economically appropriate relation between the value of the health gains and the additional costs which are given by the value of the consumption losses due to the additional health care expenditures. Therefore, a discount rate lower than the SRTP for consumption should be applied if an increase in the consumption value of health is expected. However, given the limited empirical evidence on the relationship between consumption and the value of health, it is hardly possible to make reliable forecasts of this value. Regarding the practice of the German evaluation authority, it is not recommended to use differential discounting in the base case. Instead, the issue of differential discounting should be addressed in sensitivity analyses. Reducing the discount rate for health compared to the rate for costs by a figure in the range between near 0% and 3% may be considered to be appropriate for Germany.

Equality marker in the language of bali

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wajdi, Majid; Subiyanto, Paulus

2018-01-01

The language of Bali could be grouped into one of the most elaborate languages of the world since the existence of its speech levels, low and high speech levels, as the language of Java has. Low and high speech levels of the language of Bali are language codes that could be used to show and express social relationship between or among its speakers. This paper focuses on describing, analyzing, and interpreting the use of the low code of the language of Bali in daily communication in the speech community of Pegayaman, Bali. Observational and documentation methods were applied to provide the data for the research. Recoding and field note techniques were executed to provide the data. Recorded in spoken language and the study of novel of Balinese were transcribed into written form to ease the process of analysis. Symmetric use of low code expresses social equality between or among the participants involves in the communication. It also implies social intimacy between or among the speakers of the language of Bali. Regular and patterned use of the low code of the language of Bali is not merely communication strategy, but it is a kind of communication agreement or communication contract between the participants. By using low code during their social and communication activities, the participants shared and express their social equality and intimacy between or among the participants involve in social and communication activities.

[The German Ophthalmological Society (DOG) during the Period of National Socialism].

PubMed

Rohrbach, J M

2006-11-01

Sixty-one years after the end of the Hitler dictatorship, the history of the German Ophthalmological Society (DOG) has still hardly been investigated. According to different sources, especially the reports of the DOG congresses 1934, 1936, 1938, and 1940, the following picture can be drawn: 1. The seizure of power ("Machtergreifung") of Adolf Hitler was appreciated by most of the DOG members. 2. After a change of the constitution the DOG came under the control of the "Reichsinnenministerium". However, it escaped the egalitarianism ("Gleichschaltung") and remained relatively independent. 3. Approximately 40 % of the heads of the German university eye clinics who were the most influential DOG representatives were members of the national socialistic German working party (NSDAP). Almost all of these joined the party in 1933 or later. 4. Up to the last congress in Dresden, 1940, the DOG activities were quite extensive. After that time the activities strongly declined. 5. The "Law for the prevention of genetically disabled offspring" ("Gesetz zur Verhütung erbkranken Nachwuchses") from January 1st 1934 was intensely discussed by the DOG. Some prominent ophthalmologists and DOG members were at least in part responsible for the sterilisations because of "congenital blindness". However, as far as it is known, the DOG itself did not intervene directly concerning the practice of sterilisation. 6. Between 1932 and 1940, the DOG lost approximately 12 % of its members. Many of these stemmed from foreign countries, and many were German Jews. The latter left the DOG, as Walther Löhlein stated after the end of the war, "voluntarily". However, a main reason for leaving the DOG was very likely the feeling of being unwanted. The national socialism had several disastrous effects on ophthalmology. Although single DOG members participated in the excesses, the DOG as an organization was not directly involved. However, taking into consideration that more than 10 % of the members of the pre-Hitler era left their scientific society it is a matter of interpretation whether the DOG remained completely innocent between 1933 and 1945.

Debating Sex: Education Films and Sexual Morality for the Young in Post-War Germany, 1945-1955.

PubMed

Winkler, Anita

2015-01-01

After 1945 rapidly climbing figures of venereal disease infections menaced the health of the war-ridden German population. Physicians sought to gain control over this epidemic and initiated large-scale sex education campaigns to inform people about identification, causes and treatment of VD and advised them on appropriate moral sexual behaviour as a prophylactic measure. Film played a crucial role in these campaigns. As mass medium it was believed film could reach out to large parts of society and quickly disseminate sexual knowledge and moral codes of conduct amongst the population. This essay discusses the transition of the initial central role of sex education films in the fight against venereal disease in the immediate post-war years towards a more critical stance as to the effects of cinematographic education of the young in an East and West German context.

Debating Sex: Education Films and Sexual Morality for the Young in post-War Germany, 1945-55

PubMed Central

Winkler, Anita

2015-01-01

Summary After 1945 rapidly climbing figures of venereal disease infections menaced the health of the war-ridden German population. Physicians sought to gain control over this epidemic and initiated large-scale sex education campaigns to inform people about identification, causes and treatment of VD and advised them on appropriate moral sexual behaviour as a prophylactic measure. Film played a crucial role in these campaigns. As mass medium it was believed film could reach out to large parts of society and quickly disseminate sexual knowledge and moral codes of conduct amongst the population. This essay discusses the transition of the initial central role of sex education films in the fight against venereal disease in the immediate post-war years towards a more critical stance as to the effects of cinematographic education of the young in an East and West German context. PMID:26403056

Simulation of German PKL refill/reflood experiment K9A using RELAP4/MOD7. [PWR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hsu, M.T.; Davis, C.B.; Behling, S.R.

This paper describes a RELAP4/MOD7 simulation of West Germany's Kraftwerk Union (KWU) Primary Coolant Loop (PKL) refill/reflood experiment K9A. RELAP4/MOD7, a best-estimate computer program for the calculation of thermal and hydraulic phenomena in a nuclear reactor or related system, is the latest version in the RELAP4 code development series. This study was the first major simulation using RELAP4/MOD7 since its release by the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). The PKL facility is a reduced scale (1:134) representation of a typical West German four-loop 1300 MW pressurized water reactor (PWR). A prototypical scale of the total volume to power ratio wasmore » maintained. The test facility was designed specifically for an experiment simulating the refill/reflood phase of a Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA).« less

Social curiosity and gossip: related but different drives of social functioning.

PubMed

Hartung, Freda-Marie; Renner, Britta

2013-01-01

The present online-questionnaire study examined two fundamental social behaviors, social curiosity and gossip, and their interrelations in an English (n = 218) and a German sample (n = 152). Analyses showed that both samples believed that they are less gossipy but more curious than their peers. Multidimensional SEM of self and trait conceptions indicated that social curiosity and gossip are related constructs but with different patterns of social functions. Gossip appears to serve predominantly entertainment purposes whereas social curiosity appears to be more driven by a general interest in gathering information about how other people feel, think, and behave and the need to belong. Relationships to other personality traits (N, E, O) provided additional evidence for divergent validity. The needs for gathering and disseminating social information might represent two interlinked but different drives of cultural learning.

Social Curiosity and Gossip: Related but Different Drives of Social Functioning

PubMed Central

Hartung, Freda-Marie; Renner, Britta

2013-01-01

The present online-questionnaire study examined two fundamental social behaviors, social curiosity and gossip, and their interrelations in an English (n = 218) and a German sample (n = 152). Analyses showed that both samples believed that they are less gossipy but more curious than their peers. Multidimensional SEM of self and trait conceptions indicated that social curiosity and gossip are related constructs but with different patterns of social functions. Gossip appears to serve predominantly entertainment purposes whereas social curiosity appears to be more driven by a general interest in gathering information about how other people feel, think, and behave and the need to belong. Relationships to other personality traits (N, E, O) provided additional evidence for divergent validity. The needs for gathering and disseminating social information might represent two interlinked but different drives of cultural learning. PMID:23936130

Body dysmorphic concerns, social adaptation, and motivation for psychotherapeutic support in dermatological outpatients.

PubMed

Ritter, Viktoria; Fluhr, Joachim W; Schliemann-Willers, Sibylle; Elsner, Peter; Strauß, Bernhard; Stangier, Ulrich

2016-09-01

Dermatologists are increasingly confronted with patients affected by body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). BDD is characterized by excessive preoccupation with one or more perceived defect(s) or flaw(s) in physical appearance which are not observable or appear slight to others. So far, there have been only few studies examining the prevalence of BDD in dermatological outpatients. In addition, the need for psychotherapeutic support in dermatological outpatients with body dysmorphic concerns has not yet been systematically examined. The objective of the present study was therefore to investigate the frequency of body dysmorphic concerns as well as social adaptation and the need for psychotherapeutic support in the aforementioned patient group. A total of 252 dermatological outpatients seen at a German university hospital were consecutively enrolled, and examined using the Dysmorphic Concerns Questionnaire, the Social Adaptation Self-Evaluation Scale, and the German version of the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment Scale. 7.9 % of all outpatients (unselected sample) showed positive test results, suggesting clinically relevant body dysmorphic concerns. Patients with clinically relevant body dysmorphic concerns exhibited poor social adaptation. Contrary to expectations, these patients revealed a high motivation for change, indicating the necessity for psychotherapeutic support. Our findings confirm previous prevalence rates of BDD in dermatological outpatients, and highlight the need for providing psychotherapeutic support to dermatological patients. © 2016 Deutsche Dermatologische Gesellschaft (DDG). Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Disease-Specific Trends of Comorbidity Coding and Implications for Risk Adjustment in Hospital Administrative Data.

PubMed

Nimptsch, Ulrike

2016-06-01

To investigate changes in comorbidity coding after the introduction of diagnosis related groups (DRGs) based prospective payment and whether trends differ regarding specific comorbidities. Nationwide administrative data (DRG statistics) from German acute care hospitals from 2005 to 2012. Observational study to analyze trends in comorbidity coding in patients hospitalized for common primary diseases and the effects on comorbidity-related risk of in-hospital death. Comorbidity coding was operationalized by Elixhauser diagnosis groups. The analyses focused on adult patients hospitalized for the primary diseases of heart failure, stroke, and pneumonia, as well as hip fracture. When focusing the total frequency of diagnosis groups per record, an increase in depth of coding was observed. Between-hospital variations in depth of coding were present throughout the observation period. Specific comorbidity increases were observed in 15 of the 31 diagnosis groups, and decreases in comorbidity were observed for 11 groups. In patients hospitalized for heart failure, shifts of comorbidity-related risk of in-hospital death occurred in nine diagnosis groups, in which eight groups were directed toward the null. Comorbidity-adjusted outcomes in longitudinal administrative data analyses may be biased by nonconstant risk over time, changes in completeness of coding, and between-hospital variations in coding. Accounting for such issues is important when the respective observation period coincides with changes in the reimbursement system or other conditions that are likely to alter clinical coding practice. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

Evaluating the benefits of commercial building energy codes and improving federal incentives for code adoption.

PubMed

Gilbraith, Nathaniel; Azevedo, Inês L; Jaramillo, Paulina

2014-12-16

The federal government has the goal of decreasing commercial building energy consumption and pollutant emissions by incentivizing the adoption of commercial building energy codes. Quantitative estimates of code benefits at the state level that can inform the size and allocation of these incentives are not available. We estimate the state-level climate, environmental, and health benefits (i.e., social benefits) and reductions in energy bills (private benefits) of a more stringent code (ASHRAE 90.1-2010) relative to a baseline code (ASHRAE 90.1-2007). We find that reductions in site energy use intensity range from 93 MJ/m(2) of new construction per year (California) to 270 MJ/m(2) of new construction per year (North Dakota). Total annual benefits from more stringent codes total $506 million for all states, where $372 million are from reductions in energy bills, and $134 million are from social benefits. These total benefits range from $0.6 million in Wyoming to $49 million in Texas. Private benefits range from $0.38 per square meter in Washington State to $1.06 per square meter in New Hampshire. Social benefits range from $0.2 per square meter annually in California to $2.5 per square meter in Ohio. Reductions in human/environmental damages and future climate damages account for nearly equal shares of social benefits.

Opening the gift: social inclusion, professional codes and gift-giving in long-term mental healthcare.

PubMed

Ootes, S T C; Pols, A J; Tonkens, E H; Willems, D L

2013-03-01

Deinstitutionalisation has not only made the social inclusion of clients a key objective in long-term mental healthcare, it may also affect the role of the care professional. This article investigates whether the social inclusion objective clashes with other long-standing professional values, specifically when clients give gifts to care professionals. In making a typology of gifts, we compare the literature on gift-giving with professional codes for gifts and relate both to the objective of social inclusion of clients. Our typology draws on an analysis of ethnographic fieldwork carried out in 2007/2008 at a Dutch mental healthcare centre. We identify four types of gifts for professionals in long-term mental healthcare, each relating individually to professional codes and the objective of social inclusion of clients. Only the 'personal gift' directly supports social inclusion, by fostering personal relationships between professionals and clients. Acceptance of this type of gift is advocated only for long-term care professionals. We suggest that professional codes need to consider this typology of gifts, and we advocate promoting reflexivity as a means of accounting for professional behaviour in deinstitutionalised care settings.

Belgium--The French Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sägesser, Caroline

2017-01-01

Since 1993, Belgium has been a federal state where education is entrusted to the Communities. There are three Communities in Belgium: Flemish, French and German-speaking. They are responsible for personal matters (mainly education, culture and social affairs). There are also three Regions in Belgium: Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels. Regions are…

Restructuring Schools for Democracy in the Former East Germany.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dumas, Wayne; Dumas, Alesia; Lee, William B.

1996-01-01

Discusses the contentious relationship between educators within the former East Germany and their West German cohorts following reunification. The problems have stemmed from conflicting ideologies and traditions (Marxist versus Christian Democrat and Social Democrat) as well as differences concerning school organization and educational objectives.…

Positive Peer Culture with German Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steinebach, Christoph; Steinebach, Ursula

2009-01-01

Children and youth develop the ability to surmount difficult life challenges through a combination of external supports and internal strengths. Positive peers can contribute substantially to growth in resilient coping and problem-solving skills. Positive Peer Culture (PPC) programs are designed to strengthen supportive social bonds, competence,…

Social capital in a regional inter-hospital network among trauma centers (trauma network): results of a qualitative study in Germany.

PubMed

Loss, Julika; Weigl, Johannes; Ernstberger, Antonio; Nerlich, Michael; Koller, Michael; Curbach, Janina

2018-02-26

As inter-hospital alliances have become increasingly popular in the healthcare sector, it is important to understand the challenges and benefits that the interaction between representatives of different hospitals entail. A prominent example of inter-hospital alliances are certified 'trauma networks', which consist of 5-30 trauma departments in a given region. Trauma networks are designed to improve trauma care by providing a coordinated response to injury, and have developed across the USA and multiple European countries since the 1960s. Their members need to interact regularly, e.g. develop joint protocols for patient transfer, or discuss patient safety. Social capital is a concept focusing on the development and benefits of relations and interactions within a network. The aim of our study was to explore how social capital is generated and used in a regional German trauma network. In this qualitative study, we performed semi-standardized face-to-face interviews with 23 senior trauma surgeons (2013-14). They were the official representatives of 23 out of 26 member hospitals of the Trauma Network Eastern Bavaria. The interviews covered the structure and functioning of the network, climate and reciprocity within the network, the development of social identity, and different resources and benefits derived from the network (e.g. facilitation of interactions, advocacy, work satisfaction). Transcripts were coded using thematic content analysis. According to the interviews, the studied trauma network became a group of surgeons with substantial bonding social capital. The surgeons perceived that the network's culture of interaction was flat, and they identified with the network due to a climate of mutual respect. They felt that the inclusive leadership helped establish a norm of reciprocity. Among the interviewed surgeons, the gain of technical information was seen as less important than the exchange of information on political aspects. The perceived resources derived from this social capital were smoother interactions, a higher medical credibility, and joint advocacy securing certain privileges. Apart from addressing quality of care, a trauma network may, by way of strengthening social capital among its members, serve as a valuable resource for the participating surgeons. Some member hospitals could exploit the social capital for strategic benefits.

Validation of a brief form of the Perceived Neighborhood Social Cohesion questionnaire.

PubMed

Dupuis, Marc; Baggio, Stéphanie; Gmel, Gerhard

2017-02-01

The aim of this study was the validation of a brief form of the Perceived Neighborhood Social Cohesion questionnaire using data from 5065 men from the "Cohort Study on Substance-Use Risk Factors." A 9-item scale covering three factors was proposed. Excellent indices of internal consistency were measured (α = .93). The confirmatory factor analyses resulted in acceptable fit indices supporting measurement invariance across French and German forms. Significant correlations were found between the brief form of the Perceived Neighborhood Social Cohesion questionnaire, and satisfaction and self-reported health, providing evidence of the concurrent validity of the scale. Perceived neighborhood social cohesion, and depression and suicide attempts were negatively associated, sustaining the protective effect of perceived social cohesion.

Social phobia as a comorbid condition in sex offenders with paraphilia or impulse control disorder.

PubMed

Hoyer, J; Kunst, H; Schmidt, A

2001-07-01

Studies on the prevalence of social anxiety in sex offenders show mixed results. This may be due to social anxiety being heightened only in diagnostic subgroups of sex offenders, namely in paraphiliacs. In study 1, 72 mentally disordered sexual delinquents and 30 controls were screened for social anxiety with the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and the Social Phobia Scale by Mattick and Clarke (German versions). In study 2, 55 mentally disordered sexual delinquents were diagnosed with a structured clinical interview. In both studies, sex offenders were categorized as either paraphilic or impulse control disordered (without paraphilia) according to research criteria. Study 1 showed markedly heightened scores for social anxiety in paraphiliacs, particularly for social interaction anxiety. Study 2 found a high lifetime and point prevalence of social phobia in paraphiliacs for which corroborating evidence was again found in questionnaire results. Implications for further research, diagnostic procedures, and therapy are discussed.

Stature signals status: The association of stature, status and perceived dominance - a thought experiment.

PubMed

Hermanussen, Michael; Scheffler, Christiane

2016-11-01

Background: There is a common perception that tall stature results in social dominance. Evidence in meerkats suggests that social dominance itself may be a strong stimulus for growth. Relative size serves as the signal for individuals to induce strategic growth adjustments . Aim: We construct a thought experiment to explore the potential consequences of the question: is stature a social signal also in humans? We hypothesize that (1) upward trends in height in the lower social strata are perceived as social challenges yielding similar though attenuated upward trends in the dominant strata, and that (2) democratization, but also periods of political turmoil that facilitate upward mobility of the lower strata, are accompanied by upward trends in height. Material and methods: We reanalyzed large sets of height data of European conscripts born between 1856-1860 and 1976-1980; and annual data of German military conscripts, born between 1965 and 1985, with information on height and school education. Results: Taller stature is associated with higher socioeconomic status. Historic populations show larger height differences between social strata that tend to diminish in the more recent populations. German height data suggest that both democratization, and periods of political turmoil facilitating upward mobility of the lower social strata are accompanied by a general upward height spiral that captures the whole population. Discussion: We consider stature as a signal. Nutrition, health, general living conditions and care giving are essential prerequisites for growth, yet not to maximize stature, but to allow for its function as a lifelong social signal. Considering stature as a social signal provides an elegant explanation of the rapid height adjustments observed in migrants, of the hitherto unexplained clustering of body height in modern and historic cohorts of military conscripts, and of the parallelism between changes in political conditions, and secular trends in adult human height since the 19 th century.

American cinema and the construction of masculinity in film in the Federal Republic after 1945.

PubMed

Leal, Joanne

2012-01-01

Since 1945, film in the Federal Republic has maintained an ambivalent relationship to American cinema and its embedded ideologies and nowhere is this more evident than in (West) German film's representations of masculinity. This article focuses on three historical moments when political and social shifts resulted in a problematising of male identities in the Federal Republic: the mid-1950s, the early 1970s and the late 1990s. Cinema responded to a perceived destabilisation of gender norms by exploring constructions of German masculinity in relation to the ambivalently received models of male identity offered by American cinema. With a detailed analysis of three specific examples – Georg Tressler's Die Halbstarken (1956), Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Der amerikanische Soldat (1970) and Fatih Akin's Kurz und schmerzlos (1998) – this article investigates the manner in which German cinema engages with these competing conceptions of masculinity and demonstrates the ways in which divergent understandings of gender identity can impact on representations of national and ethnic identity.

Accidents in Germany: evaluation of the german telephone health survey 2004.

PubMed

Saß, Anke-Christine

2008-09-01

In the year 2006 there were over 19 000 fatal accidents in Germany and estimates put the number of accidental injuries at more than 8 million. Detailed information on the pattern of accidents is indispensable for the definition of priorities in accident prevention. The German Telephone Health Survey 2004 provides representative cross-sectional data on the health of German residents from 18 years of age (n = 7341). Questions on the prevalence of accidents (13 items) were selected for analysis. Every tenth interviewee reported being injured in an accident in the previous 12 months. Men, particularly young men, are at greater risk of accidents than women. Almost one third of all accidents occurred at home. Social status had no influence on the probability of having an accident, but did affect where the accident happened. The survey yields information on the overall pattern of non-fatal accidents in Germany. The data point to target groups for accident prevention measures.

Differential effects of school experiences on active citizenship among German and Turkish-origin students.

PubMed

Jugert, Philipp; Eckstein, Katharina; Noack, Peter

2016-12-14

While research suggests that schools can foster active citizenship among youth, studies have not tested whether ethnic minority youth may benefit differently from school experiences than ethnic majority youth. In this study of 219 students (138 German majority and 81 Turkish-origin minority; M age  = 18.26; 55% females), we examined the association between different experiences at school and 4 indicators of youth active citizenship, controlling for various socio-demographic characteristics. Although value of social studies was associated with three out of four active citizenship indicators among both ethnic groups, the effects of the other school-related variables on active citizenship were moderated by ethnicity. Specifically, indicators of classroom climate, such as open classroom climate and classroom community, were only associated with greater active citizenship among Turkish-minority youth, while participatory factors, such as engagement in school decisions, were only associated with active citizenship among native German youth. © 2016 International Union of Psychological Science.

Psychiatric governance, völkisch corporatism, and the German Research Institute of Psychiatry in Munich (1912-26). Part 1.

PubMed

Engstrom, Eric J; Burgmair, Wolfgang; Weber, Matthias M

2016-03-01

This is the first of two articles exploring in depth some of the early organizational strategies that were marshalled in efforts to found and develop the German Research Institute of Psychiatry (Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Psychiatrie) in 1917. After briefly discussing plans for a German research institute before World War I, the article examines the political strategies and networks that Emil Kraepelin used to recruit support for the institute. It argues that his efforts at psychiatric governance can best be understood as a form of völkisch corporatism which sought to mobilize and coordinate a group of players in the service of higher biopolitical and hygienic ends. The article examines the wartime arguments used to justify the institute, the list of protagonists actively engaged in recruiting financial and political support, the various social, scientific and political networks that they exploited, and the local contingencies that had to be negotiated in order to found the research institute. © The Author(s) 2016.

[An assessment tool for analysing the early vocal development of young children with cochlear implant].

PubMed

Lang, S; Leistner, S; Sandrieser, P; Kröger, B J

2009-05-01

Early vocal development of German-speaking cochlear implant recipients has rarely been assessed so far. There-fore the purpose of this study was to describe the early vocal development following successful implantation. A case study was designed to assess the temporal progression of early vocal development in a young cochlear implant recipient who was bilaterally implanted at the age of 8;3 months. Data were collected during one year by recording parent-child interactions on a monthly basis. The first recording was made before the onset of the signal-processors, the 12 following recordings were made during the first year of implant use. The child's vocalizations were classified according to the vocalization categories and developmental levels from the Stark Assessment of Early Vocal Development--Revised (SAEVD-R). This assessment tool was translated into German in this study and used with German-speaking children for the first time. It allows a coding of prelinguistic utterances via auditory perceptual analysis. The results show an overall decrease of early vocalizations and an increase of speech-like vowels and consonants. In the first six months no apparent progress took place; The child produced almost exclusively vocalizations from Levels 1-3. In the second half of the year an increase of canonical utterances (Level 4) and advanced forms (Level 5) was observed. However, vocalizations beyond the canonical babbling phase, especially vocants and closants as well as their combinations, continued to be dominant throughout the first year of implant use. The progress of development of the child investigated in this study is comparable to other children implanted at young age who had also been assessed with the SAEVD-R. In comparison to normal-hearing children, the implanted child's development seemed to progress slightly faster. Interrater- and intrarater-reliability using the SAEVD-R were measured for two independent observers and for a first and second coding procedure and revealed to be acceptable to good. The use of SAEVD-R for an implanted German-speaking child allowed the investigation of prelinguistic vocal development before the onset of words. The fact that early vocalizations remain the dominant form throughout the first year of hearing experience emphasizes the importance of documenting and analysing prelinguistic vocal development in order to monitor progression of speech acquisition.

Texas Studies in Bilingualism. Spanish, French, German, Czech, Polish, Sorbian, and Norwegian in the Southwest. (With a Concluding Chapter on Code-Switching and Modes of Speaking in American Swedish.) Studia Linguistica Germanica.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilbert, Glenn G., Ed.

This book contains studies of seven non-English languages spoken in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, as well as a final chapter based on data obtained from Swedish-English bilinguals in Massachusetts, Illinois, and Minnesota. The individual studies are: Lurline H. Coltharp, "Invitation to the Dance: Spanish in the El Paso Underworld"; Janet B.…

Investigating How German Biology Teachers Use Three-Dimensional Physical Models in Classroom Instruction: a Video Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Werner, Sonja; Förtsch, Christian; Boone, William; von Kotzebue, Lena; Neuhaus, Birgit J.

2017-07-01

To obtain a general understanding of science, model use as part of National Education Standards is important for instruction. Model use can be characterized by three aspects: (1) the characteristics of the model, (2) the integration of the model into instruction, and (3) the use of models to foster scientific reasoning. However, there were no empirical results describing the implementation of National Education Standards in science instruction concerning the use of models. Therefore, the present study investigated the implementation of different aspects of model use in German biology instruction. Two biology lessons on the topic neurobiology in grade nine of 32 biology teachers were videotaped (N = 64 videos). These lessons were analysed using an event-based coding manual according to three aspects of model described above. Rasch analysis of the coded categories was conducted and showed reliable measurement. In the first analysis, we identified 68 lessons where a total of 112 different models were used. The in-depth analysis showed that special aspects of an elaborate model use according to several categories of scientific reasoning were rarely implemented in biology instruction. A critical reflection of the used model (N = 25 models; 22.3%) and models to demonstrate scientific reasoning (N = 26 models; 23.2%) were seldom observed. Our findings suggest that pre-service biology teacher education and professional development initiatives in Germany have to focus on both aspects.

Living Up to the Code's Exhortations? Social Workers' Political Knowledge Sources, Expectations, and Behaviors.

PubMed

Felderhoff, Brandi Jean; Hoefer, Richard; Watson, Larry Dan

2016-01-01

The National Association of Social Workers' (NASW's) Code of Ethics urges social workers to engage in political action. However, little recent research has been conducted to examine whether social workers support this admonition and the extent to which they actually engage in politics. The authors gathered data from a survey of social workers in Austin, Texas, to address three questions. First, because keeping informed about government and political news is an important basis for action, the authors asked what sources of knowledge social workers use. Second, they asked what the respondents believe are appropriate political behaviors for other social workers and NASW. Third, they asked for self-reports regarding respondents' own political behaviors. Results indicate that social workers use the Internet and traditional media services to stay informed; expect other social workers and NASW to be active; and are, overall, more active than the general public in many types of political activities. The comparisons made between expectations for others and their own behaviors are interesting in their complex outcomes. Social workers should strive for higher levels of adherence to the code's urgings on political activity. Implications for future work are discussed.

Reviewing the Challenges and Opportunities Presented by Code Switching and Mixing in Bangla

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hasan, Md. Kamrul; Akhand, Mohd. Moniruzzaman

2015-01-01

This paper investigates the issues related to code-switching/code-mixing in an ESL context. Some preliminary data on Bangla-English code-switching/code-mixing has been analyzed in order to determine which structural pattern of code-switching/code-mixing is predominant in different social strata. This study also explores the relationship of…

Reviewing the Challenges and Opportunities Presented by Code Switching and Mixing in Bangla

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hasan, Md. Kamrul; Akhand, Mohd. Moniruzzaman

2014-01-01

This paper investigates the issues related to code-switching/code-mixing in an ESL context. Some preliminary data on Bangla-English code-switching/code-mixing has been analyzed in order to determine which structural pattern of code-switching/code-mixing is predominant in different social strata. This study also explores the relationship of…

[Rainer Werner Fassbinder's "Garbage, the city and death"-- a German landscape of the soul].

PubMed

Vogt, R

1995-04-01

No other recent "art event" has aroused so much public debate in Germany as Fassbinder's play "Garbage, City, Death" (1976). The controversy it sparked on its appearance has still not entirely died down. In a painstaking psychoanalytic interpretation Vogt first shows that the play achieves an artistic representation of the unconscious dilemma besetting the second generation of non-Jewish Germans in their relationship to National Socialism. In Fassbinder's play this dilemma, which is bound up with vicarious guilt feelings, is however only presented and not in any way worked out. The upshot is that all those forms of identification with German traditions that have been repudiated on a conscious level re-enter, as it were by the back door, and attain a new virulence. The author demonstrates that at the heart of the play a mechanism of guilt-refusal is operative that inverts the historical culprit-victim relation and makes the Germans themselves into the real victims. In the second part of his article Vogt is concerned to situate the play and the controversy surrounding it in a broader political context--Bitburg (1985), the "historians' conflict" (1986), Jenninger's speech (1988)--revealing a specific collective psychological inscape in present-day Germany for which, in its profounder well-springs, Fassbinder's play may be legitimately regarded as symptomatic. Fassbinder (born 1945) articulates for his generation aspects of an "ethnic disturbance" (George Devereux) which continues to persist precisely because there is a German past "that refuses to go away" (Ernst Nolte).

Prevalence and Risk Factors for Depressive Disorders in Adults with Intellectual Disability.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meins, Wolfgang

1993-01-01

Evaluation of 798 adults with intellectual disability in German residential facilities and group homes revealed that subjects did not seem especially vulnerable to depressive disorders. Almost 5% were identified with depressive disorder. Those with depressive disorders experienced reduced social support. Age, epilepsy, and etiology did not show…

Lifelong Political Socialization, Consciousness and Political Agency in Israel Today

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michel, Dirk

2007-01-01

This article deals with the nexus between biographical experiences in political extraordinary times of crisis, disaster and terror and their influence on political orientations. At the centre of interest is the reconstruction of political orientations related to two different historical-political groups of Jewish Germans who had immigrated or…

Determinants of Students' Success at University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Danilowicz-Gösele, Kamila; Lerche, Katharina; Meya, Johannes; Schwager, Robert

2017-01-01

This paper studies the determinants of academic success using a unique administrative data set of a German university. We show that high school grades are strongly associated with both graduation probabilities and final grades, whereas variables measuring social origin or income have only a smaller impact. Moreover, the link between high school…

Forming Social Capital: The Bruderhof Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spielhagen, Frances R.; Cooper, Bruce S.

2002-01-01

Examines schools of the Bruderhof, a small, German, Protestant sect which arrived in the United States in 1954. This self-sufficient, educational community runs two businesses directly related to children's needs. Bruderhof education has its roots in the educational philosophy of Friedrich Froebel. The Bruderhof community provides in full four…

Variation in Swedish Address Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norrby, Catrin

2006-01-01

This article explores variation in address in contemporary Swedish in Sweden-Swedish and Finland-Swedish. The research is part of a large-scale Australian project on changes in the address systems of French, German and Swedish. The present article focuses on results from 72 social network interviews conducted in Sweden (Gothenburg) and Finland…

Population. Readings for Senior Secondary Social Studies. Updated 1989.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Victoria International Development Education Association (British Columbia).

This document contains the information kit developed for the annual Model Summit Conferences for schools in the Victoria, British Columbia (Canada) and surrounding school districts. Materials germane to the conference topic were compiled and assembled for participants. The materials are of current interest, concise, simple and provide a balanced…

Caregiving and Adults with Intellectual Disabilities Affected by Dementia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Courtenay, Ken; Jokinen, Nancy S.; Strydom, Andre

2010-01-01

Authors conducted a systematic review of the available Dutch, English, and German language literature for the period 1997-2008 on the current knowledge on social-psychological and pharmacological caregiving with respect to older adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) affected by dementia. Authors note that caregiving occurs on a personal level…

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Consensus-Based Child Abuse Case Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldbeck, L.; Laib-Koehnemund, A.; Fegert, J. M.

2007-01-01

Objective: This study evaluates the effects of expert-assisted child abuse and neglect case management in the German child welfare and healthcare system as perceived by the case workers themselves. Methods: Case workers with different professions (social workers, counselors, clinic-based and office-based psychotherapists, and physicians)…

Peer and Teacher Relationships in German School Shooters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bondu, Rebecca; Scheithauer, Herbert

2014-01-01

Bullying, rejection, and social exclusion are often considered key contributing factors in school shootings, but recent studies have questioned their importance. One weakness in the previous research is its almost exclusive focus on U.S. American perpetrators. Therefore, we examined files of inquiry pertaining to seven school shootings in Germany…

Learning Regions in Germany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thinesse-Demel, Jutta

2010-01-01

In 2000, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) launched the programme "Learning Regions--Providing Support for Networks'" in cooperation with the Lander. It was co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF). Some 90 regions were selected and financially supported. After one year, 71 regions continued to build-up…

Extrabudgetary Funding and Institutional Relationships between Higher Education, Industry, and Social Partners.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schulte, Peter

2003-01-01

Describes one German university's efforts over 10 years to institutionalize relationships with small- and mid-sized industry and local enterprises, thereby increasing extra-budgetary funding for applied research projects. These joint efforts offer students the opportunity to acquire both theoretical knowledge and practical training during their…

Stages in Educational Reform; The Max Planck Institute Has Produced a Report on Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pfeffer, Gottfried

1981-01-01

Outlines the Max Planck Institute's exhaustive report on West German educational trends since World War II. An analysis of the effects of changing social values and demographic factors on educational policy, school organization, enrollment trends, curriculum design, and teaching methods is included. (AM)

[The fight against venereal diseases in different political systems].

PubMed

Scholz, A

2003-07-01

The fight against venereal diseases (VD) has often been influenced by the prevailing political and social conditions. At the end of 19th century the increase of VD demanded new strategies. In 1902 the German Society for the Control of VD was founded in Berlin. It was then followed by the foundation of the International Society against VD in Brussels in 1899. In the German empire and during the Nazi regime, authoritarian structures dominated the strategies against VD. The individual had to submit the interests of the society. Sociopolitical aspects influenced the discussions in the fight against VD during the Weimar republic. In 1927 the new laws to control VD met liberal demands.

Implications of a Non-Unified Command System and the Need for a Unified Command System in Zambia

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-12

vein, it is indicated that the concept of Chief of General Staff would have been advantageous in the development of the Defence Forces had it been well...process. For example, British failures during the Crimean War caused the British to look towards the German General Staff system in effect during the...economic and social development . Nevertheless, any meaningful economic and social development needs to be well protected and anchored upon an effective

Special Operations Forces Language Transformation Strategy Needs Assessment Project: Final Project Report

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-03-15

German (includes romance languages, etc.) CAT III/IV Language More difficult languages to acquire for native English speakers. Examples: Cantonese ...conversations on practical, social , and professional topics in my required AOR language. 52.9 62.1 51.9 51.9 52.0 SOF Language Transformation...67.6 85.7 77.2 67.5 71.9 73.1 63.6 67.6 63.0 I feel confident in my ability to participate in informal conversations on practical, social , and

Social science and Sozialwissenschaft: Categorical and institutional boundaries of knowledge.

PubMed

Sonnert, Gerhard

2018-05-16

This article explores how linguistic categories affect boundary work in scholarly knowledge production. Whereas the German language knows the unified concept of Wissenschaft for all branches of scholarship represented at universities, the English language separates science from the arts or humanities and does not commonly engage an overarching concept. This has had consequences for American social science, which are traced both in the discourse shaping its development and in the deployment and distribution of institutional resources. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The social disutility of software ownership.

PubMed

Douglas, David M

2011-09-01

Software ownership allows the owner to restrict the distribution of software and to prevent others from reading the software's source code and building upon it. However, free software is released to users under software licenses that give them the right to read the source code, modify it, reuse it, and distribute the software to others. Proponents of free software such as Richard M. Stallman and Eben Moglen argue that the social disutility of software ownership is a sufficient justification for prohibiting it. This social disutility includes the social instability of disregarding laws and agreements covering software use and distribution, inequality of software access, and the inability to help others by sharing software with them. Here I consider these and other social disutility claims against withholding specific software rights from users, in particular, the rights to read the source code, duplicate, distribute, modify, imitate, and reuse portions of the software within new programs. I find that generally while withholding these rights from software users does cause some degree of social disutility, only the rights to duplicate, modify and imitate cannot legitimately be denied to users on this basis. The social disutility of withholding the rights to distribute the software, read its source code and reuse portions of it in new programs is insufficient to prohibit software owners from denying them to users. A compromise between the software owner and user can minimise the social disutility of withholding these particular rights from users. However, the social disutility caused by software patents is sufficient for rejecting such patents as they restrict the methods of reducing social disutility possible with other forms of software ownership.

19 CFR 24.26 - Automated Clearinghouse credit.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

...; payer identification number (importer number or Social Security number or Customs assigned number); and...; payer identifier (importer number or Social Security number or Customs assigned number or filer code if... or warehouse withdrawal number for a deferred tax payment, or bill number); payment type code...

German Kava Ban Lifted by Court: The Alleged Hepatotoxicity of Kava (Piper methysticum) as a Case of Ill-Defined Herbal Drug Identity, Lacking Quality Control, and Misguided Regulatory Politics.

PubMed

Kuchta, Kenny; Schmidt, Mathias; Nahrstedt, Adolf

2015-12-01

Kava, the rhizome and roots of Piper methysticum, are one of the most important social pillars of Melanesian societies. They have been used for more than 1000 years in social gatherings for the preparation of beverages with relaxing effects. During the colonial period, extract preparations found their way into Western medicinal systems, with experience especially concerning the treatment of situational anxiety dating back more than 100 years. It therefore came as a surprise when the safety of kava was suddenly questioned based on the observation of a series of case reports of liver toxicity in 1999 and 2000. These case reports ultimately led to a ban of kava products in Europe - a ban that has been contested because of the poor evidence of risks related to kava. Only recently, two German administrative courts decided that the decision of the regulatory authority to ban kava as a measure to ensure consumer safety was inappropriate and even associated with an increased risk due to the higher risk inherent to the therapeutic alternatives. This ruling can be considered as final for at least the German market, as no further appeal has been pursued by the regulatory authorities. However, in order to prevent further misunderstandings, especially in other markets, the current situation calls for a comprehensive presentation of the cardinal facts and misconceptions concerning kava and related drug quality issues. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

[Blind alleys and misconceptions in public health].

PubMed

Müller, H E

1995-07-01

The concept of hygiene was created in the 19th century although Hippocrates had already conceived an influence of atmosphere, soil and water on human health. The concept of a public health organisation, however, is a fairly recent one. Environmental and social hygiene were the two poles of the new discipline that focussed on public health. However, the ideologies of capitalism, communism and socialism as well as of social darwinism and "survival of the elite" discredited social hygiene. The decline of totalitarianism was associated with a "loss of face" of state-controlled medicine, including social hygiene. Both the post-World War II German constitution and the previous German statutory health insurance ordinance had blocked it, and hence, no Federal bill on public health was carried. The consequences of this disregard of public health are poor protection by vaccination, a gap in compulsory notification and in epidemics control and high rates of nosocomial infections. Absolutely no development of the science of epidemiology was possible whereas that of medical microbiology is choked by the system now in existence. There is a great misconception within individual hygiene by identifying it merely with cleanliness. Hygiene became a synonym for cleanliness, although that had evolved during a long cultural sociological process centuries before hygiene was established. The modern evolution of the science of hygiene shows the danger that emphasis on healthy lifestyles or on environmental protection may result in regulations and finally in a tyranny that may threaten the liberty of human rights. The so-called "principle of concern" is an example of such irrationality because there is no sensible proportion between risk and expense.

[Rationing in German health care with particular consideration of oncology: view points of German stakeholders--a qualitative interview study].

PubMed

Lange, J; Gönner, C; Vollmann, J; Rauprich, O

2015-01-01

Germany is at the beginning of a discussion about possible rationing in the health-care system. Cancer treatment, which is often cost-intensive but not always cost-effective, is frequently considered as a field for rationing. Against this background, we conducted semi-structured, guideline-based interviews with different stakeholders of the German health-care system and analysed them with the help of grounded theory techniques. The goal of the study was to collect the experiences and opinions of members of the German Medical Review Board of the Statutory Health Insurance Funds (MDK), leading officials in central administrations of the German health-care sector and health politicians (members of the Parliamentary Committee for Health of the Federal German Parliament, the Bundestag) regarding cost-considerations in treatment decisions in health care with a special focus on oncology. (1) Cost-considerations have a limited role in the daily routine of the interviewed experts; (2) the interviewed personnel of the MDK were open to discuss rationing, while the group of leading officials was ambivalent and the health politicians rejected rationing and its discussion altogether; (3) the awareness of the opportunity costs of medical services varied with the profession of the interviewee: the members of the MDK saw opportunity costs primarily within the field of medicine, the leading officials noted the opportunity costs for other social services, and the health policy makers interpreted opportunity costs under fiscal budgetary aspects; (4) according to the interviewees, decisions on rationing require a legal basis, which should be based on a broad public discussion and an interdisciplinary debate among experts; (5) defining criteria for rationing was regarded as being outside of the professional competence of the interviewees; however, a preference with regard to the criterion of cost-effectiveness became apparent. The results of this study indicate that the strongest opposition to a debate on rationing in Germany does not stem from the medical, but rather from the political sector. The criteria for rationing suggested in the theoretical debate are in need of a context-sensitive examination and specification for the field of oncology. A possible approach to constructively promote the debate on rationing is a stronger focus on social opportunity costs of health care. The exact role of experts in a discourse on rationing, which was emphasised by the interviewees, requires a thorough determination. It is necessary to differentiate between the roles of impartial experts and stakeholders. Decisions on rationing can ultimately only be legitimised politically by parliament. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Differences in the implementation of diagnosis-related groups across clinical departments: a German hospital case study.

PubMed

Ridder, Hans-Gerd; Doege, Vanessa; Martini, Susanne

2007-12-01

This article aims to examine the implementation process of diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) in the clinical departments of a German hospital group and to explain why some gain competitive advantage while others do not. To investigate this research question, we conducted a qualitative study based on primary data obtained in six clinical departments in a German hospital group between 2003 and 2005. We chose the case study method in order to gain deep insights into the process dynamics of the implementation of DRGs in the six clinical departments. The dynamic capability approach is used as a theoretical foundation. Employing theory-driven categories we focused on idiosyncratic and common patterns of "successful coders" and "unsuccessful coders." To observe the implementation process of DRGs, we conducted 43 semistructured interviews with key persons, carried out direct observations of the monthly meetings of the DRG project group, and sampled written materials. "Successful coders" invest into change resources, demonstrate a high level of acceptance of innovations, and organize effective processes of coordination and learning. All clinical departments only put an emphasis on the coding aspects of the DRGs. There is a lack of vision regarding the optimization of patient treatment processes and specialization. Physicians are the most important key actors, rather than the main barriers.

[A debate of the legal regulation of organ transplantation in West and East Germany (1960 - 1989). A comparative study].

PubMed

Lohmeier, Jens; Gross, Dominik

2013-01-01

The debate on the legal frameworks of organ transplantation in Germany began in the 1960s with the upcoming of new medical treatments. Since there were two German States at that time, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR), the process of the discussion on the way to legislation took place under two very different circumstances. In 1975 the GDR implemented a decree regarding the legal aspects of organ transplantation. Meanwhile the discussion in the FRG proceeded with no result until 1997. The analysis of articles in German medical and juridical journals in the period 1960-1989 showed that the discussion in the GDR was less intensive than in the FRG and nearly stopped after the decree from 1975. The majority of the East-German authors preferred an arrangement that will keep the next of kin of a deceased person out of the process of organ transplantation. They argued for the so-called "Widerspruchslösung" (dissent solution): During his lifetime, the donor must have denied organ removal after his death; otherwise organ explantation will be performed. The law of 1975 was consistent with this preference. In West-Germany the motifs concerning the legal aspects of organ transplantation changed over the time. The discussion started with the same arguments that were used in East-Germany. The physicians wished some kind of "Widerspruchslösung" manifested by a draft law, but their requests changed over time. In the early 1980s, most of the West-German authors pleaded for what had become the code of practice because no bill was passed by the politicians: the "Zustimmungslösung" (consent solution). The physician was obliged to ask the next of kin if there was any statement of the potential donor towards organ donation. Some authors even considered a bill unnecessary, as the system organ transplantation in West-Germany was working well without it. A massive change in the West-German medical society from fighting for a "Widerspruchslösung" to acceptance of a "Zustimmungslösung" or even no legal frame at all was observed.

International medical students' expectations and worries at the beginning of their medical education: a qualitative focus group study.

PubMed

Huhn, Daniel; Huber, Julia; Ippen, Franziska M; Eckart, Wolfgang; Junne, Florian; Zipfel, Stephan; Herzog, Wolfgang; Nikendei, Christoph

2016-01-28

The number of international students has increased substantially within the last decade. Due to cultural barriers, this specific group faces diverse challenges. In comparison to German colleagues, international medical students perform significantly lower in clinical examinations and exceed the average duration of study; they suffer from personal distress as well as insufficient support. Within the present study, their individual perspectives, expectations, hopes and fears were examined. Four focus groups with first-year international medical students (N = 16) were conducted in October 2013. Each 60- to 90-min discussion was audiotaped, transcribed and analysed using qualitative methods. International medical students go abroad in search of good study-conditions. For the choice of place of study, affordability, social ties as well as an educational system following the achievement principle are decisive factors. While contact with German-students and other international students is seen as beneficial, international medical students are most concerned to encounter problems and social exclusion due to language deficits and intercultural differences. Facilitating the access to university places, the provision of financial aid and, moreover, social support, nurturing cultural integration, would greatly benefit international medical students. Hereby, the establishment of specific medical language courses as well as programs fostering intercultural-relations could prove to be valuable.

Depression, Somatization, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children Born of Occupation After World War II in Comparison With a General Population.

PubMed

Kaiser, Marie; Kuwert, Philipp; Braehler, Elmar; Glaesmer, Heide

2015-10-01

At the end of World War II and during the first decade after the war, roughly 200,000 children were fathered in intimate contacts between German women and foreign soldiers. The experiences of these German occupation children (GOC) have been so far described in case reports and from historical perspective only. Research on psychosocial consequences of growing up as a GOC has been missing so far. This study examined traumatic experiences, posttraumatic stress disorder, somatization, and depression in GOC (N = 146) using self-report instruments: Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale and Patient Health Questionnaire. Findings have then been compared with a representative birth cohort-matched sample from the German general population (N = 977). German occupation children showed significantly higher prevalence rates of most traumatic experiences, higher point prevalence rates of full and partial posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and somatization than the control group. In summary, GOC often grew up under difficult conditions (e.g., poverty, single mothers, and stigmatization). Even decades later, they showed higher rates of different mental disorders and higher comorbidity. These findings underline the complex and long-term impact of their burdened social, financial, and familial conditions. The results underpin the importance of conceptualizing occupation children as a vulnerable group in postconflict settings.

[Immigrated Physicians: Chances and Challenges].

PubMed

Hohmann, Isabel; Glaesmer, Heide; Nesterko, Yuriy

2018-01-19

In the health care infrastructure of Germany a demand for physicians with immigrant background exists. The situation of immigrated physicians is largely unexplored so far. In the framework of a pilot study stressors and resources of physicians with immigrant background have been explored concerning their migration-related experiences at German hospitals, and within the medical team. As part of a qualitative analysis 8 physicians with immigrant background have been interviewed (problem-centered interview) from July to September 2014. The respondents stemmed from countries of the European Union and of non-EU countries. They have worked for 1-4,5 years in different German hospitals. Stressors and challenges derived from a lack in German language skills, different medical skills, cooperation in the team, and from dealing with a new health care system. Perceived discrimination by colleagues and patients represented a particular burden. In the meantime physicians with immigrant background disposed resources on different levels as on communicational, medical, social and organizational levels. The results highlight the particular demands that physicians with immigrant background face. Future research should explore potentials of stressors and resources for physicians with immigrant background by using quantitative methods; in terms of a multi-perspective approach German colleagues and patients should be included. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

48 CFR 2301.105-1 - Publication and code ar-rangement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 true Publication and code ar-rangement. 2301.105-1 Section 2301.105-1 Federal Acquisition Regulations System SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION GENERAL SOCIAL SECURITY ACQUISITION REGULATION SYSTEM Purpose, Authority, Issuance 2301.105-1...

[Social psychiatry in the field of contrasting context between psychiatry and Social Medicine].

PubMed

Dietrich, Sandra; Born, Anja; Holzinger, Anita

2006-11-01

There has been a discussion going on that Social Psychiatry has entered a state of crisis in terms of its socio-scientific roots. Little is known, however, about its relationship to Social Medicine. The question is whether Social Psychiatry, having grown apart from Sociology, has also lost its scientific relation to Social Medicine. A systematic literature analysis of all works published in "Psychiatrische Praxis" - PP and "Das Gesundheitswesen"--GHW in the years 2004/2005 was done. All works concerning Social Psychiatry were analysed. The same procedure was applied to all abstracts, posters and presentations for the annual meetings of the German Society of Social Medicine and Prevention (DGSMP). 10 % off all articles published in GHW and 97 % in PP address issues of Social Psychiatry. Apart from similarities in terms of their theoretical, practical and institutional background and the research methods applied, there are a number of differences. Social Psychiatry has not lost its scientific relation to Social Medicine, however, the scientific cooperation between the two needs to be intensified.

Understanding Mixed Code and Classroom Code-Switching: Myths and Realities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, David C. S.

2008-01-01

Background: Cantonese-English mixed code is ubiquitous in Hong Kong society, and yet using mixed code is widely perceived as improper. This paper presents evidence of mixed code being socially constructed as bad language behavior. In the education domain, an EDB guideline bans mixed code in the classroom. Teachers are encouraged to stick to…

Developmental Origins, Epigenetics, and Equity: Moving Upstream.

PubMed

Wallack, Lawrence; Thornburg, Kent

2016-05-01

The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease and the related science of epigenetics redefines the meaning of what constitutes upstream approaches to significant social and public health problems. An increasingly frequent concept being expressed is "When it comes to your health, your zip code may be more important than your genetic code". Epigenetics explains how the environment-our zip code-literally gets under our skin, creates biological changes that increase our vulnerability for disease, and even children's prospects for social success, over their life course and into future generations. This science requires us to rethink where disease comes from and the best way to promote health. It identifies the most fundamental social equity issue in our society: that initial social and biological disadvantage, established even prior to birth, and linked to the social experience of prior generations, is made worse by adverse environments throughout the life course. But at the same time, it provides hope because it tells us that a concerted focus on using public policy to improve our social, physical, and economic environments can ultimately change our biology and the trajectory of health and social success into future generations.

Demographic Histories, Isolation and Social Factors as Determinants of the Genetic Structure of Alpine Linguistic Groups

PubMed Central

Coia, Valentina; Capocasa, Marco; Anagnostou, Paolo; Pascali, Vincenzo; Scarnicci, Francesca; Boschi, Ilaria; Battaggia, Cinzia; Crivellaro, Federica; Ferri, Gianmarco; Alù, Milena; Brisighelli, Francesca; Busby, George B. J.; Capelli, Cristian; Maixner, Frank; Cipollini, Giovanna; Viazzo, Pier Paolo; Zink, Albert; Destro Bisol, Giovanni

2013-01-01

Great European mountain ranges have acted as barriers to gene flow for resident populations since prehistory and have offered a place for the settlement of small, and sometimes culturally diverse, communities. Therefore, the human groups that have settled in these areas are worth exploring as an important potential source of diversity in the genetic structure of European populations. In this study, we present new high resolution data concerning Y chromosomal variation in three distinct Alpine ethno-linguistic groups, Italian, Ladin and German. Combining unpublished and literature data on Y chromosome and mitochondrial variation, we were able to detect different genetic patterns. In fact, within and among population diversity values observed vary across linguistic groups, with German and Italian speakers at the two extremes, and seem to reflect their different demographic histories. Using simulations we inferred that the joint effect of continued genetic isolation and reduced founding group size may explain the apportionment of genetic diversity observed in all groups. Extending the analysis to other continental populations, we observed that the genetic differentiation of Ladins and German speakers from Europeans is comparable or even greater to that observed for well known outliers like Sardinian and Basques. Finally, we found that in south Tyroleans, the social practice of Geschlossener Hof, a hereditary norm which might have favored male dispersal, coincides with a significant intra-group diversity for mtDNA but not for Y chromosome, a genetic pattern which is opposite to those expected among patrilocal populations. Together with previous evidence regarding the possible effects of “local ethnicity” on the genetic structure of German speakers that have settled in the eastern Italian Alps, this finding suggests that taking socio-cultural factors into account together with geographical variables and linguistic diversity may help unveil some yet to be understood aspects of the genetic structure of European populations. PMID:24312576

Demographic histories, isolation and social factors as determinants of the genetic structure of Alpine linguistic groups.

PubMed

Coia, Valentina; Capocasa, Marco; Anagnostou, Paolo; Pascali, Vincenzo; Scarnicci, Francesca; Boschi, Ilaria; Battaggia, Cinzia; Crivellaro, Federica; Ferri, Gianmarco; Alù, Milena; Brisighelli, Francesca; Busby, George B J; Capelli, Cristian; Maixner, Frank; Cipollini, Giovanna; Viazzo, Pier Paolo; Zink, Albert; Destro Bisol, Giovanni

2013-01-01

Great European mountain ranges have acted as barriers to gene flow for resident populations since prehistory and have offered a place for the settlement of small, and sometimes culturally diverse, communities. Therefore, the human groups that have settled in these areas are worth exploring as an important potential source of diversity in the genetic structure of European populations. In this study, we present new high resolution data concerning Y chromosomal variation in three distinct Alpine ethno-linguistic groups, Italian, Ladin and German. Combining unpublished and literature data on Y chromosome and mitochondrial variation, we were able to detect different genetic patterns. In fact, within and among population diversity values observed vary across linguistic groups, with German and Italian speakers at the two extremes, and seem to reflect their different demographic histories. Using simulations we inferred that the joint effect of continued genetic isolation and reduced founding group size may explain the apportionment of genetic diversity observed in all groups. Extending the analysis to other continental populations, we observed that the genetic differentiation of Ladins and German speakers from Europeans is comparable or even greater to that observed for well known outliers like Sardinian and Basques. Finally, we found that in south Tyroleans, the social practice of Geschlossener Hof, a hereditary norm which might have favored male dispersal, coincides with a significant intra-group diversity for mtDNA but not for Y chromosome, a genetic pattern which is opposite to those expected among patrilocal populations. Together with previous evidence regarding the possible effects of "local ethnicity" on the genetic structure of German speakers that have settled in the eastern Italian Alps, this finding suggests that taking socio-cultural factors into account together with geographical variables and linguistic diversity may help unveil some yet to be understood aspects of the genetic structure of European populations.

Posttest analysis of international standard problem 10 using RELAP4/MOD7. [PWR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hsu, M.; Davis, C.B.; Peterson, A.C. Jr.

RELAP4/MOD7, a best estimate computer code for the calculation of thermal and hydraulic phenomena in a nuclear reactor or related system, is the latest version in the RELAP4 code development series. This paper evaluates the capability of RELAP4/MOD7 to calculate refill/reflood phenomena. This evaluation uses the data of International Standard Problem 10, which is based on West Germany's KWU PKL refill/reflood experiment K9A. The PKL test facility represents a typical West German four-loop, 1300 MW pressurized water reactor (PWR) in reduced scale while maintaining prototypical volume-to-power ratio. The PKL facility was designed to specifically simulate the refill/reflood phase of amore » hypothetical loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA).« less

[Social-Emotional Competence in Young Children with Hearing, Visual or Intellectual Impairments - an Explorative Study with the ITSEA].

PubMed

Sarimski, Klaus; Hintermair, Manfred; Lang, Markus

2016-10-01

Social-Emotional Competence in Young Children with Hearing, Visual or Intellectual Impairments - an Explorative Study with the ITSEA Early emotional and social competence is considered as an important requirement for social participation in family and child care settings. We report on a study exploring the usefulness of the competence scales as a part of the "Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment" (ITSEA) for one- to three-year old children in a sample of 253 toddlers with hearing, visual or intellectual impairments. Internal consistency of the six scales is good (alpha > .86). An ANOVA reveals significant differences between the three groups and a correlation with additional disabilities. These explorative results support the development of a German standardization of the ITSEA.

Mass, Mobility, and the Red Army’s Road to Operational Art, 1918-1936

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-07-01

Combined Arms Center CAC 8c. ADDRESS (City, State, and ZIP Code) 10. SOURCE OF FUNDING NUMBERS C AC PROGRAM IPROJECT ITASK WORK UNIT -~ Ft. Leavenworth...tsarist government’s adoption of the Grand Program for rearmament in 1912 thus threatened to change the military balance on the continent.’ Those forces...for which the "Great Program of 1912" provided did create a window of vulnerability which German officers assumed would open around 1917. This in its

[Representation of cystectomy and urinary diversion in the G-DRG system 2010: an example for the complexity of the reimbursement system].

PubMed

Volkmer, B; Petervari, M; de Geeter, P

2011-01-01

Cystectomy and urinary diversion is an excellent example for the growing complexity of the G-DRG (German diagnosis-related groups) system. Based on different diagnoses (malignant tumor of the urinary tract, benign disease of the urinary tract, malignant tumor of the female genital tract, or malignant tumor of the male genital tract), identical cases may lead to very different codes, resulting in even more differences in reimbursement.

The U.S. Navy in Operation Overlord Under the Command of Rear Admiral Alan G. Kirk

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-05-19

assault on the beaches. 14. SUBJECT TERMS 15. NUMBER OF PAGES Operation Overlord, COSSAC, Admiral Alan G. Kirk, U.S. Navy 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECUriLY ...Allies’ smal2 but growing forces. 5 Although reluctant to confront the German Army in France, Brooke admitted that reasons existed to take the Qamble; the...After Kirk took command of TF122, the pace of American landing craft and personnel arrival into Britain rapidly increased. Kirk told Stark that the

[Economics and ethics in public health?].

PubMed

Blum, R

1999-01-01

The topic suggests a conflict between ethics and economy in medical care. It is often argued that today's welfare state in affluent societies with their social insurance systems makes it easier for the doctor to translate ethical demands into reality without being hampered by economic restrictions. Both doctors and patients took advantage of this system of medical care by mingling social guarantees for health with the doctor's income. Hence, medical expenses expanded rapidly, additionally promoted by technical progress in medicine. This entailed a proportionate increase in medical expenses in relation to personal income, especially wage income. Budgets of state authorities were streamlined or deficits became larger. This state of affairs was promoted further by mechanisms of distribution of national income in accordance with the slogan "less state, more market". While national income continued to grow, although at a slower rate, the number of jobless persons grew continually and thus also the social expenses, this was not due, as is usually assumed and pretended, to an economic crisis. Society and economy are facing a crisis of distribution of national income under conditions of technical progress as a job killer, making economic production more productive and efficient. Not taking into account the new challenge of social market economy--the German innovation in market economy creating the economic miracle after World War II--reforms of the system of medical care took place and are still continuing along market principles, particularly the latest German reform law leading to individual contracts between patients and their doctors in respect of cost charging. However, marketing principles promote economy in medicine, but they do not promote medical ethics. Further German guidelines for medical care should take stock of past experiences. There will be more competition in the "growing market of medical care" (private and public) and this will need--as economic experience has shown and economists have affirmed--new organisational devices to ensure better outcomes for the individual patient as a consumer and the doctors as suppliers. More responsibility should be given to the different suppliers of collective security in medical care (private or social systems of insurance). No individual patient as a mere consumer has a genuine chance in handling contracts with doctors carefully who are considered to be "gods in white" according to a popular German saying. These consumers have only a slight chance when arguing in courts of justice for the performance of contracts. Diagnosis and therapy, the system of doctors who treat members of statutory social insurance schemes (National Health general practitioners in the U.K.) and doctors as "free entrepreneurs" in the growing market of medical care should be separated due to the different rules of charging costs and offering medical care. "Classless medical care" does not have a better chance by applying market principles. The same is true for ethics versus economy. Doctors as "free entrepreneurs" must learn that markets will not guarantee reimbursement of costs but react to supply and demand. Hence, regulation of medical care by economic instruments creates better chances even for ethics in medical care against economy.

Fertility and social interaction at the workplace: Does childbearing spread among colleagues?

PubMed

Pink, Sebastian; Leopold, Thomas; Engelhardt, Henriette

2014-09-01

This research investigates whether colleagues' fertility influences women's transitions to parenthood. We draw on Linked-Employer-Employee data (1993-2007) from the German Institute for Employment Research comprising 33,119 female co-workers in 6579 firms. Results from discrete-time hazard models reveal social interaction effects on fertility among women employed in the same firm. In the year after a colleague gave birth, transition rates to first pregnancy double. This effect declines over time and vanishes after two years. Further analyses suggest that the influence of colleagues' fertility is mediated by social learning. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Consensus and stratification in the affective meaning of human sociality

PubMed Central

Ambrasat, Jens; von Scheve, Christian; Conrad, Markus; Schauenburg, Gesche; Schröder, Tobias

2014-01-01

We investigate intrasocietal consensus and variation in affective meanings of concepts related to authority and community, two elementary forms of human sociality. Survey participants (n = 2,849) from different socioeconomic status (SES) groups in German society provided ratings of 909 social concepts along three basic dimensions of affective meaning. Results show widespread consensus on these meanings within society and demonstrate that a meaningful structure of socially shared knowledge emerges from organizing concepts according to their affective similarity. The consensus finding is further qualified by evidence for subtle systematic variation along SES differences. In relation to affectively neutral words, high-status individuals evaluate intimacy-related and socially desirable concepts as less positive and powerful than middle- or low-status individuals, while perceiving antisocial concepts as relatively more threatening. This systematic variation across SES groups suggests that the affective meaning of sociality is to some degree a function of social stratification. PMID:24843121

Reference Dosimetry according to the New German Protocol DIN 6800-2 and Comparison with IAEA TRS 398 and AAPM TG 51*

PubMed Central

Zakaria, A; Schuette, W; Younan, C

2011-01-01

The preceding DIN 6800-2 (1997) protocol has been revised by a German task group and its latest version was published in March 2008 as the national standard dosimetry protocol DIN 6800-2 (2008 March). Since then, in Germany the determination of absorbed dose to water for high-energy photon and electron beams has to be performed according to this new German dosimetry protocol. The IAEA Code of Practice TRS 398 (2000) and the AAPM TG-51 are the two main protocols applied internationally. The new German version has widely adapted the methodology and dosimetric data of TRS-398. This paper investigates systematically the DIN 6800-2 protocol and compares it with the procedures and results obtained by using the international protocols. The investigation was performed with 6 MV and 18 MV photon beams as well as with electron beams from 5 MeV to 21 MeV. While only cylindrical chambers were used for photon beams, the measurements of electron beams were performed by using cylindrical and plane-parallel chambers. It was found that the discrepancies in the determination of absorbed dose to water among the three protocols were 0.23% for photon beams and 1.2% for electron beams. The determination of water absorbed dose was also checked by a national audit procedure using TLDs. The comparison between the measurements following the DIN 6800-2 protocol and the TLD audit-procedure confirmed a difference of less than 2%. The advantage of the new German protocol DIN 6800-2 lies in the renouncement on the cross calibration procedure as well as its clear presentation of formulas and parameters. In the past, the different protocols evoluted differently from time to time. Fortunately today, a good convergence has been obtained in concepts and methods. PMID:22287987

Reference Dosimetry according to the New German Protocol DIN 6800-2 and Comparison with IAEA TRS 398 and AAPM TG 51.

PubMed

Zakaria, A; Schuette, W; Younan, C

2011-04-01

The preceding DIN 6800-2 (1997) protocol has been revised by a German task group and its latest version was published in March 2008 as the national standard dosimetry protocol DIN 6800-2 (2008 March). Since then, in Germany the determination of absorbed dose to water for high-energy photon and electron beams has to be performed according to this new German dosimetry protocol. The IAEA Code of Practice TRS 398 (2000) and the AAPM TG-51 are the two main protocols applied internationally. The new German version has widely adapted the methodology and dosimetric data of TRS-398. This paper investigates systematically the DIN 6800-2 protocol and compares it with the procedures and results obtained by using the international protocols. The investigation was performed with 6 MV and 18 MV photon beams as well as with electron beams from 5 MeV to 21 MeV. While only cylindrical chambers were used for photon beams, the measurements of electron beams were performed by using cylindrical and plane-parallel chambers. It was found that the discrepancies in the determination of absorbed dose to water among the three protocols were 0.23% for photon beams and 1.2% for electron beams. The determination of water absorbed dose was also checked by a national audit procedure using TLDs. The comparison between the measurements following the DIN 6800-2 protocol and the TLD audit-procedure confirmed a difference of less than 2%. The advantage of the new German protocol DIN 6800-2 lies in the renouncement on the cross calibration procedure as well as its clear presentation of formulas and parameters. In the past, the different protocols evoluted differently from time to time. Fortunately today, a good convergence has been obtained in concepts and methods.

The Practice of Professional Doctorates: The Case of a U.K.-Based Distance DBA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simpson, Colin; Sommer, Daniela

2016-01-01

In light of the prominent role of socio-materiality in contemporary social scientific, and particularly educational research, this article uses two practice-based theories to investigate the experiences of German business management professionals on a U.K.-based DBA delivered in Germany. We specifically take concepts from cultural historical…

Current Evaluation Practices of Diversity Trainers in German-Speaking Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rohmann, Anette; Froncek, Benjamin; Mazziotta, Agostino; Piper, Verena

2017-01-01

Diversity training has been greatly expanded in recent years in order to help people deal with the challenges of increased social diversity. However, little is known about the systematic evaluation of diversity training. The present research surveyed 172 diversity trainers concerning their evaluation practices with regard to diversity training.…

Class Council between Democracy Learning and Character Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Budde, Jürgen; Weuster, Nora

2017-01-01

Purpose: Class council has become a popular approach for character education and democracy learning in German schools. However, it is not clear if the expectations are met in social practice. Approach: The data was gained with an ethnographical multiple method approach within three contrasting secondary schools. The study is informed by practice…

From Critique of Ideology to Politics: Habermas on "Bildung"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sørensen, Asger

2015-01-01

Considering the German idea of "Bildung," I argue that it is a central concern of Habermas. First, he criticized the idea of being educated as a sign of innate abilities, emphasizing instead the significance of the social conditions of the upbringing. Subsequently, inspired by Adorno, he performed an analysis of "Bildung,"…

Socioeconomic Status of Farmers and Economic Development in Two Communities of Southern Brazil.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sturm, Alzemiro E.; Riedl, Mario

This paper is concerned with the problem of social inequalities and economic development in rural communities. Two ethnically different communities were chosen in the most southern state of Brazil: Garibaldi, of descendants from Italian immigrants, and Candelaria, of descendants from German immigrants. The data were gathered through application of…

Substantive Nonadditivity in Rural Sociological Research: A Note on Induced Collinearity and Measurement and Testing of Effects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Michael K.; Farmer, Frank L.

Theories employed to explain regularities in social behavior often contain explicit or implicit reference to the presence of nonlinear and/or nonadditive (i.e., multiplicative) relationships among germane variables. While such nonadditive features are theoretically important, the inclusion of quadratic or multiplicative terms in structural…

Dimensions of Eighteenth-Century Educational Thinking in Germany: Rhetoric and Gender Anthropology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lohmann, Ingrid; Mayer, Christine

2008-01-01

The development of pedagogical science in eighteenth-century Germany unfolded in close connection with the emergence of the modern bourgeoisie and its emancipation from a still absolutist society. While social and political structures in Britain and France were changed by revolutions, the relative weakness of the German bourgeoisie led to the…

"Intelligence Testing and Minority Students: Foundations, Performance Factors, and Assessment Issues" [book review].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jensen, Arthur R.

2002-01-01

This book focuses on topics germane to cognitive abilities viewed from a "minority psychology" perspective. The most contentious chapters concern test bias and heredity, with culture, socioeconomic status, and case viewed as the chief explanations for test score differences between social classes and racial and ethnic groups. The reviewer…

Moving the Borders: Multiculturalism and Global Citizenship in the German Social Studies Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ortloff, Debora Hinderliter

2011-01-01

Background: In many countries, working towards a truly inclusive national citizenship means deconstructing hegemonic structures that are deeply entrenched. Moving outside of the borders toward a global citizenship hints at giving up on what has been a long road toward multicultural citizenship. A balance between including and empowering diverse…

Multilingual, like Franz Kafka

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kramsch, Claire

2008-01-01

This paper explores the social and cultural dimensions of individual multilingualism by focusing on a semi-autobiographical essay written in 1917 by an author who is usually read as a monolingual German writer but who was, in fact, multilingual and multicultural: Franz Kafka. The story is about an ape who, in order to survive his capture by the…

Norms and Goals of Appraisal of German Teachers for Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilbert, Jurgen; Grunke, Matthias

2010-01-01

Although there is an ongoing debate about which achievement feedback is most useful, the majority of researchers agree that social comparisons and a focus on competition are inappropriate for students with learning disabilities and otherwise academically-challenged students. They are highly at-risk to be unfavorably influenced by inappropriate…