Western Parts Of Germany Research Articles

Spatiotemporally Explicit Epidemic Model for West Nile Virus Outbreak in Germany: An Inversely Calibrated Approach

Since the first autochthonous transmission of West Nile Virus was detected in Germany (WNV) in 2018, it has become endemic in several parts of the country and is continuing to spread due to the attainment of a suitable environment for vector occurrence and pathogen transmission. Increasing temperature associated with a changing climate has been identified as a potential driver of mosquito-borne disease in temperate regions. This scenario justifies the need for the development of a spatially and temporarily explicit model that describes the dynamics of WNV transmission in Germany. In this study, we developed a process-based mechanistic epidemic model driven by environmental and epidemiological data. Functional traits of mosquitoes and birds of interest were used to parameterize our compartmental model appropriately. Air temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity were the key climatic forcings used to replicate the fundamental niche responsible for supporting mosquito population and infection transmission risks in the study area. An inverse calibration method was used to optimize our parameter selection. Our model was able to generate spatially and temporally explicit basic reproductive number (R0) maps showing dynamics of the WNV occurrences across Germany, which was strongly associated with the deviation from daily means of climatic forcings, signaling the impact of a changing climate in vector-borne disease dynamics. Epidemiological data for human infections sourced from Robert Koch Institute and animal cases collected from the Animal Diseases Information System (TSIS) of the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute were used to validate model-simulated transmission rates. From our results, it was evident that West Nile Virus is likely to spread towards the western parts of Germany with the rapid attainment of environmental suitability for vector mosquitoes and amplifying host birds, especially short-distance migratory birds. Locations with high risk of WNV outbreak (Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Hamburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony) were shown on R0 maps. This study presents a path for developing an early warning system for vector-borne diseases driven by climate change.

Landwirtschaft im nationalen Wettbewerb und die Rolle des Bodenmarktes

Abstract German agriculture exhibits persistent income problems. While larger farms are on average quite profitable, this is consistently not true for the majority of part-time and small- and medium-sized family farms. These farms are particularly prominent in the southern and western parts of Germany while larger family and corporate farms dominate the north and the east. Competition among farms is fierce on land markets. Particularly regions with smaller farms exhibit high land prices, often higher than the Ricardian land rents. This market disequilibria as well as the persistence of income deficits for small farms can be attributed to agricultural subsidies, tax benefits and legal privileges.

Features of intercultural communication of Germans in Germany and abroad

The article describes the specifics of the communicative behavior of Germans in Germany and abroad. The model of communication of Germans within their own country is analyzed. The differences in communicative values between the inhabitants of the eastern and western parts of Germany are described. Highlighted are communicative principles common to all Germans in Germany. The features of the communicative style of the inhabitants of Germany and other German-speaking countries - Austria and Switzerland are studied. The ways of solving the problems of intercultural communication of the inhabitants of German-speaking countries are outlined.

Seroepidemiological Survey of West Nile Virus Infections in Horses from Berlin/Brandenburg and North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Following the introduction of the West Nile virus (WNV) into eastern Germany in 2018, increasing infections have been diagnosed in birds, equines, and humans over time, while the spread of WNV into western Germany remained unclear. We screened 437 equine sera from 2018 to 2020, excluding vaccinated horses, collected from convenience sampled patients in the eastern and western parts of Germany, for WNV-specific antibodies (ELISAs followed by virus/specific neutralization tests) and genomes (RT-qPCRs). Clinical presentations, final diagnoses, and demographic data were also recorded. In the eastern part, a total of eight horses were found WNV seropositive in 2019 (seroprevalence of 8.16%) and 27 in 2020 (13.77%). There were also two clinically unsuspected horses with WNV-specific antibodies in the western part from 2020 (2.63%), albeit travel history-related infections could not be excluded. None of the horse sera contained WNV-specific genomes. Eight horses in eastern Germany carried WNV-IgM antibodies, but only four of these showed typical clinical signs. These results underline the difficulty of detecting a WNV infection in a horse solely based on clinical signs. Thus, WNV circulation is established in the horse population in eastern Germany, but not yet in the western part.

Digital Political Participation of Western and Eastern Parts of Germany Residents (based on Change.org Online Petitions)

The article shows the results of a study aimed at finding the determinants, which describe the petitioning activity of the residents of the western and eastern parts of Germany. The research material consists of 1,036 petitions from the German-language segment of Change.org during the period of 2012–2018 (322 petitions from eastern part of Germany, 714 petitions from western part of Germany). A thematic classifier based on the analysis of electronic petitions was created. It subdivided all the petitions into 18 thematic groups, for example, human rights, animal protection, culture, politics, migration issues, proposals for reforming certain areas of life, transport system, Internet, protection and support for people with disabilities and rare diseases, financial questions, environmental protection, housing issues, weapons/spirits/tobacco/drugs, healthcare, elderly people, education, sports, sustainable development. Statistically significant differences between western and eastern territories were found only in the animal protection thematic group. It is stated that the bipolar construct East/West rooted in the historical logic of the legacy of socialism and capitalism on the German territories could not explain the logic of the petitioning activity of the contemporary Germans. Moreover, the historical heritage/separation factor is found in the socio-economic problems of the regions, but it is not critical while determining the values and civic activism of German people.

Job Movement and Real Wage Flexibility in Eastern and Western Parts of Germany

We use a unique microdata set that covers the 1984–2009 period to estimate real wage flexibility in Eastern and Western parts of Germany. Empirical analysis reveals that wages of male job stayers in the Eastern and Western parts of Germany are rigid, which leads to significant wage flexibility for internal and external movers. At the aggregate level, wages of the external movers are more flexible than the wages of job stayers in bust periods (when labour market is slack) and more rigid than the wages of job stayers in boom periods (when labour market is tight). In overall terms, the West German labour market is mature but conditions in the East German labour market are consistent with transition economies. Wage flexibility in Germany’s labour market can be attributed to relatively more flexible wages of the external and internal movers in a slack labour market.

FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SYSTEM OF PROFESSIONAL PEDAGOGICAL EDUCATION IN GERMANY IN THE EUROPEAN CONTEXT

The article provides historical and pedagogical analysis of the formation and development of professional pedagogical education in Germany in the European context. It is investigated that the governing bodies and the management of education in each of the German states in particular, developed and implemented the stages of the organization of professional and pedagogical training and its content. Its effectiveness, which for centuries was provided with purposeful state support, consecutive educational policy, thought-out reforms based on democratic principles (except for the period of the fascist dictatorship) is proved. Creation of favorable conditions for the joint education of representatives of different faiths, throughout almost the entire period described above, affirms the democratism of the future teachers’ professional training. Significant contribution to the training of pedagogical staff both by German universities, alongside with the pedagogical training colleges created on their basis, and by individual teacher training colleges is revealed. It is pointed out that the institutions of such a type were the main ones for training teachers in the late 18th and in the 19th centuries in Germany, France, Switzerland and other European countries. Thus, in imitation, “pedagogical Stammbaum” were formed on the territory of Galicia. Later on, teacher training colleges preparing teachers for people’s schools were formed on the basis of reforms implementation.It is proved that after the Second World War, differences in future teachers training in the eastern and western parts of Germany became particularly noticeable. Implementation of the organizational and structural reorganization of pedagogical education only started after the reunification of the GDR and the FRG into a unitary state. Lack of the unified nationwide educational system was and still remains the most important peculiarity of future teachers’ professional training. Each of the federal states has its own characteristic features of training, having inherited the division into two phases – theoretical and practical, after which students take state examinations. Special attention is paid to the elucidation of experience of future teachers practical training. The motto “There should be nothing in science that has no deal with practice, there should be nothing in practice that is not substantiated by science”, which has been known since 1843 is successfully implemented in the pedagogical educational institutions of Germany.

Establishing Cultural Fronts in East and West Germany

This paper examines the development of German postwar culture in the eastern and western zones as a function of the felt need to use culture in the denazification of Germany. The Kulturbund (Cultural Federation for the Democratic Renewal of Germany), founded by the exile writer Johannes R. Becher in 1945, was the primary institutional expression of this concern, which was widespread among the four occupying powers and German anti-Nazis. At the same time, however, there was a strong feeling in the postwar period that traditional German culture itself needed to be called into question and transformed because of its previous failure to prevent the triumph of Nazism. The paper explores the initial antifascist consensus, characterized by broad cooperation among the occupying powers and relative cultural conservatism, and the way that this consensus began to break down in 1947 under the pressures of the emerging Cold War. This breakdown led to increasing emphasis, after 1947, on the need to transform culture itself, and to growing criticism of traditional cultural conservatism. This emphasis was particularly strong in the western parts of Germany and differentiated the west from the east. It received institutional expression in the creation of the Congress for Cultural Freedom in 1950.

The intricate geographies of gender ideologies in Germany

Due to Germany’s recent history, the country represents a case that is unparalleled worldwide for regional differentiations of gender ideologies. The 40-year separation into one capitalist and one socialist state until 1990 is reflected in different wage-work policies toward women in the former GDR and FRG, which are mirrored by more conservative gender role attitudes in the western federal states and more liberal attitudes in the eastern federal states. Furthermore, this order is destabilized by an urban/rural differentiation that becomes apparent in an urbanized western part and a rural and sparsely populated eastern part. In international rural studies, such pastoral regions are coupled with a rural ideology of gender conservatism. The paper analyzes the present regional differentiation of gender ideologies in Germany with respect to this supposed intersection between socialist wage-work policies of including women in the labor force and conservative rural ideologies in the East and conservative male breadwinner policies and liberal urban ideologies in the West. The findings show, first, that the attitudinal dimension of gender ideologies is more moderate in the eastern federal states but that the behavioral dimension of work in the household is not. Second, for the urbanized western federal states, a rural ideology of gender conservatism is crucial, and it expresses itself in an imagined rurality. In the western federal states the self-description of the place of residence as rural has a significant effect on gender ideologies. Clearly, beyond the official categorization of the place of domicile as urban, suburban, or rural, only the imagining of rural living is able to predict conservative gender ideologies in the western part of Germany. Third, in terms of imagined rurality, the finding is interpreted as a structure of feeling that induces a transition of social experiences and attitudes from generation to generation and explains the still existing gap between the eastern and the western parts of Germany.

A Friendly Conquest: German Libraries after the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989

This paper provides an overview of the development of libraries in the geographical area of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) after it joined the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in 1990. It briefly describes the situation of libraries in the GDR and the major changes that accompanied the unification process. It also touches on a series of three nationwide studies on reading and library-user behavior, and on library legislation and major national-planning initiatives since 1989. For academic libraries, the unification process was mainly favorable, as a structured plan and continuous funding were introduced as part of higher education development. For public libraries, the process was less structured, severely reducing a previously very dense system within a very short time. Recent library statistics indicate, however, that the integration of the two library systems has benefited the remaining libraries and left no clearly visible difference between library systems in the eastern and western parts of Germany.

Host genetic heterozygosity and age are important determinants of porcine circovirus type 2 disease prevalence in European wild boar

Emerging and zoonotic diseases are important challenges for veterinary and public health. It is therefore a key issue to assess the relative importance of various factors for disease dynamics and to understand the mechanisms behind these factors and interactions. Here, we evaluate the influence of a number of demographic and genetic factors on porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) antibody prevalence in the European wild boar (Sus scrofa). We measured PCV2 blood serum antibody levels of 462 randomly sampled wild boars from a cross-border area in the Netherlands and western parts of Germany in a 3-year period. These samples were also genotyped using a randomly selected genome-wide 351 SNP assay. Generalized linear mixed model analysis shows that wild boar PCV2 antibody status is determined by age and genetic heterozygosity, with an idiosyncratic influence of the year of sampling. In contrast, sex, population membership and domestic hybrid status did not significantly affect PCV2 antibody status. The observed positive relationship between PCV2 antibody status and age is most likely caused by cumulative exposure and PCV2-typical intracellular hiding behaviour. The observed positive relationship between wild boar genetic heterozygosity and PCV2 antibody status could be attributed to disappearance of relatively inbred (low-heterozygosity) individuals. This finding suggests that PCV2 can act as a selective force in wild boar populations and that disease mortality can be mediated by host heterozygosity.

A Long‐Standing Demographic East–West Divide in Germany

AbstractOver the last 25 years, a large number of studies have looked at the demographic differences between the previously divided eastern and western parts of Germany. The two regions have converged with respect to mortality and overall fertility levels. But in terms of family formation behaviour, differences remain. Non‐marital births are the norm in eastern Germany, whereas they are still the exception in western Germany. Various explanations for these differences have been offered, with the most persuasive linking policy and socio‐economic conditions in eastern and western Germany after 1945 with the persistence of regional patterns. Here, we show that the non‐marital fertility divide pre‐dates the 1945 division of Germany. Indeed, already in the early 20th century, the areas of eastern Germany that made up the German Democratic Republic had, on average, roughly twice the non‐marital fertility levels of western Germany. In the first part of our paper, we document the history of this long‐standing pattern and provide a set of explanations for its emergence. In the second part, we apply multi‐level models to birth register data to explore whether East–West differences in non‐marital fertility would remain even under scenarios such as convergence in secularisation levels and economic conditions. The persistence of the past suggests that explanations for family formation differences between eastern and western Germany based solely on the most recent and current conditions are incomplete, and that convergence, if it occurs at all, will take longer than anticipated, perhaps lasting many decades or more. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Seroprevalence study in forestry workers of a non-endemic region in eastern Germany reveals infections by Tula and Dobrava–Belgrade hantaviruses

Highly endemic and outbreak regions for human hantavirus infections are located in the southern, southeastern, and western parts of Germany. The dominant hantavirus is the bank vole transmitted Puumala virus (PUUV). In the eastern part of Germany, previous investigations revealed Tula virus (TULV) and Dobrava-Belgrade virus (DOBV) infections in the respective rodent reservoirs. Here, we describe a seroprevalence study in forestry workers from Brandenburg, eastern Germany, using IgG ELISA and immunoblot tests based on recombinant TULV, DOBV, and PUUV antigens. Out of the 563 sera tested, 499 from male and 64 from female workers, we found 41 out of the 499 (8.2%) sera from men (mean age 47 years) and 10 out of 64 (15.6%) from the women (mean age 48 years) anti-hantavirus-positive. The majority of the 51 seropositive samples reacted exclusively in the TULV (n=22) and DOBV tests (n=17). Focus reduction neutralization assay investigations on selected sera confirmed the presence of TULV- and DOBV-specific antibodies in the forestry workers. These investigations demonstrated a potential health threat for forestry workers and also the average population in non-endemic geographical regions where TULV and DOBV are circulating in the corresponding reservoir hosts. The infections in this region might be frequently overlooked due to their unspecific and mild symptoms.

Between education and care? Critical reflections on early childhood policies in Germany

This article identifies the responsibilities for early childhood care and education (ECCE) in the German child and youth welfare system and shows the expansion of children's services. The official German statistics demonstrate that almost every child from the age of three to school age attends ‘Kindergarten’. Current policies and measures are therefore mainly focused on extending provision for the under‐threes. There are still enormous differences in the number of places available for children under three years of age between the eastern and western parts of Germany. Due to the increased significance of early education and the educational curricula drafted in all 16 Länder over the past few years, the qualifications required of professional pedagogues today have changed considerably. There is a broad consensus in Germany that it is necessary to redefine the course content and structure and put them on a theoretical basis. The article pinpoints the problems of children with special needs, and especially of those whose family language is not German. Despite some positive developments in German ECCE little progress has been made with regard to effectively implementing the conceptual unity of education, care and upbringing.

Imagining a Homeland: Constructing Heimat in the German East, 1871–1914

Germany has a long history of political fragmentation, with regional (Heimat) identities playing a critical role in the formation of the national consciousness. The process of rallying local identities to the nation is being examined in the western parts of Germany, but the east remains largely unexplored. Addressing this issue is important because studies of the Heimat movement have challenged received notions about the character of nationalism in imperial Germany. This article illustrates the special challenges Heimat activists—especially Hugo Conwentz—faced in fashioning a regional identity in the German east, and compares their efforts to those in the west.

Searching for the Origins of civic community in Central Europe: Evidence from Eastern and Western Germany

Although many scholars stress the importance of a civic political culture for a functioning democracy, there is little consensus about where such a culture originates. The ‘bottom-up’ approach argues that the civic culture has centuries-old, enduring roots that in turn shape political and economic institutions. The ‘top-down’ approach implies that political culture itself can be shaped by political institutions. Both schools of thought, however, stress the interrelatedness of civic behaviours; voluntary group membership, newspaper readership and voting are all expected to be high in civic cultures and low elsewhere. In contrast, this article argues that these three components of ‘civicness’ are differently influenced by contemporary political institutions and are therefore less interrelated than previous scholars have hypothesized. Germany and other German-speaking areas of Central Europe provide excellent cases for investigating these conflicting hypotheses about the origin of the civic community. If the ‘bottom-up’ approach were correct, there would be no differences in the level of civic community between the eastern and western parts of Germany and Central Europe because they were separated by the Iron Curtain for only four decades. If the ‘top-down’ approach were correct, 40 years of communist rule would have indeed reduced the level of civic community in eastern Germany and eastern Central Europe. Instead, the article finds marked differences in voluntary group membership across the former Iron Curtain, but much less divergence in terms of newspaper readership and voter turnout.

La vaisselle de bronze dite “copte” dans les royaumes romano-germaniques d’Occident. État de la question

Bronze moulded vases (particularly basins, jugs and paterae) were discovered in rich VIIth century burrials, in Italy as well as in south-western Germany, along the Rhine and in the South West of England. On typological and stylistic criteria, those vases were most generally assigned to coptic Egypt and their geographic distribution has been interpreted as evidence for a major commercial route. Recent studies, however, challenged this interpretation, albeit still commonly admitted nowadays. First, there are no relevant parallels for that kind of vessels in Egypt. Second, metallographic analyses clearly showed that those bronze vases showed a high percentage of lead but a low one of zinc, contrary to authentified coptic bronzes. Even if we cannot exclude an east-mediterranean origin, though parallels are equally rare in the Byzantine world and Egypt, we should better surmise a production from Byzantine Italy. Several finds recently made in southern France as well as in the bed of rivers Saône and Seine testify that this vessel (which is not to be found among the materials of VIIth century burials due to the evolution of funerary customs in Merovingian Gaul) may have been equally transported from the Mediterranean to England via the valleys of Rhône, Saône and Seine. To end with, we question the interpretation of the distibution map of this luxury vessel which, even if actually related to usual trading routes connecting Italy with England via Gaul or the western parts of Germany, may well not reflect proper exchanges of economic nature, but rather a limited circulation of prestige objects particularly sought-after by the élite.

Disturbed eating behaviour among high school and university students

To develop suitable preventive programs for eating disorders, it is important to examine the prevalence and severity of disturbed eating behaviour in the corresponding risk population as well as to investigate the conditions that might explain their origin and further progression. Based upon this background 736 female and male high school and university students from Eastern and Western parts of Germany were examined. Height and weight were measured objectively. In accordance with the study of Buddeberg-Fischer three groups were defined depending on the total score in the Eating Attitudes Test. 28.5 % of the women and 12.6 % of the men revealed impaired eating behaviour with female high school students being specifically affected (35.3 %). With an increasing impairment, women more often used methods to regulate their weight like diets, restrained eating, or drugs. Participants with disordered eating behaviour were also more likely to show higher scores on the subscales of the Eating Disorders Inventory and a distorted body perception. The feeling of being overweight showed a correlation with the severity of the disturbed eating. With increasing eating problems the correspondence between the real existing BMI and the subjective estimation of the weight decreased significantly. The results of this study clearly demonstrate the high prevalence of disturbed eating behaviour and concerns about weight among female adolescents and young adults. Female high school students should be a special target group for the application of preventive programs. The reported use of drugs in order to lose weight should be discussed more explicitly.

The Transformation of the Media System of the Former German Democratic Republic after the Reunification and its Effects on the Political Content of Newspapers

Whereas the structure of the broadcasting system in the newly formed eastern states very much resembles the structure in the western states, the local and regional print media markets in the newly formed German states today still resemble the situation in the German Democratic Republic in that the dominating newspapers are the ones that already dominated before 1989. These papers were taken over by West German publishers in 1989. But the great majority of journalists working in the newly formed states today had already been working as journalists there before the Wall came down. However, a content analysis including 10 papers from the newly formed states and 10 from the West German states reveals only minor differences between papers from the eastern and the western parts of Germany. Journalists in the newly formed states were a bit more careful about voicing their opinions. Only the number of some political main actors and their evaluations differed to any great extent between eastern and western papers.

Possible Contamination of Surface Waters with Giardia spp. through Muskrats

Muskrats were examined for Giardia infections. Collected faecal samples were processed by means of sucrose density gradient centrifugation, using a 1 M sucrose solution. Identification of cysts was done by phase contrast microscopy, by the immunofluorescence test, or by both methods. From July 1994 to September 1995, a total of 234 muskrats from two different geographical areas in western parts of Germany were examined for the presence of Giardia cysts. 176 animals (75.2%) were found to be Giardia-positive. This study corroborates the assumption that animals such as muskrats living close to surface water bodies could contaminate water bodies with parasites such as Giardia.