Politics in the Federal Republic of Germany (1980)

Political attitudes as well as judgement on parties and politicians in the Federal Republic. Topics: most important problems of the Federal Republic; judgement on one´s own and the general economic situation; issue relevance; issue-ability of the parties; attitude to selected political topics such as e.g. nuclear energy, the death penalty for terrorists, directing the economy, abortion and restriction of civil rights; postmaterialism index; knowledge about the time of the next Federal Parliament election; importance of result of Federal Parliament election for oneself; party preference (ballot procedure); preference for federal chancellor; not desired federal chancellor; behavior at the polls with other candidates for chancellor than Schmidt and Strauss; trust in the leadership role of the USA; fear of war (scale); preferred chancellor given a hypothetical international crisis situation; attitude to founding of the Greens; attitude to voting for the Greens in a Federal Parliament election; assumed taking seats in Parliament by the Greens as well as a tax party; self-classification on a left-right continuum; sympathy scale for the political parties and leading politicians in the Federal Republic; judgement on social-liberal coalition and opposition in Bonn; party inclination; party identification; satisfaction with democracy in the Federal Republic; attitude to a grand coalition; self-assessment of social class; trust in the action of the Federal Government; Federal Government in the service of the public interest or special interest groups; the right to political opposition and personal understanding of democracy (scale); judgement on the relationship between taxpayer and tax office; judgement on tax equity and honesty in paying taxes; trust in the the judiciary; assumed equality of all citizens before the law; personal court experiences and judgement on the court decision; association with policemen and prestige of the police; attitude to authorities and conduct in contact with authorities (scale); judgement on the possibilities of political participation; complexity of political events; assessment of the relation between voter and politician or the parties; personal political interest and activities; importance of participation in politics; attitude to selected protest measures and judgement on the effectiveness of such measures; personal participation and intent to participate in protest measures; assumed winner of the next Federal Parliament election; frequency of conversations about politics and the Federal Parliament election. Demography: ZUMA standard demography: age; sex; marital status; religious denomination; frequency of church attendance; school education; vocational training; occupational position; employment; area of business of company; company size; household income; sources of income; composition of household; residential status; interest in politics; behavior at the polls in the last Federal Parliament election; regional origins; memberships. Interviewer rating: type of city; degree of urbanization; presence of others during the interview; interventions by other persons in the interview; willingness to cooperate and reliability of respondent; time of interview. Also encoded was: availablilty of respondent on various weekdays; interviewer identity; length of interview; day of interview

Non-surgical periodontal therapy with adjunctive topical doxycycline : A double-blind randomized controlled multicenter study. (I). Study design and clinical results.

Aim: Evaluation of the clinical effect of topical application of doxycycline adjunctive to non-surgical periodontal therapy.Methods: A total of 111 patients suffering from untreated or recurrent moderate to severe periodontitis at 3 different centers (Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Nijmegen) were treated in this double-blind split-mouth study. In each patient, 3 different treatment modalities were assigned randomly to 3 test teeth: scaling and root planing alone (SRP), SRP with subgingival vehicle control (VEH), and SRP with subgingival application of a newly developed biodegradable 15% doxycycline gel (DOXI). At baseline, clinical parameters were measured at all single rooted teeth using a reference splint: PlI, PPD, relative attachment level (RAL-V), GI. 3 strata were generated according to baseline PPD: (i) 5-6 mm, (ii) 7-8 mm, (iii) greater than or equal to9 mm. Not more than 50% active smokers were allowed to each stratum. 3 and 6 months after therapy re-examination was performed by examiners blinded to baseline data and test sites. The statistical comparison of RAL-V gain and PPD reduction between the treatments was based on a repeated measures ANOVA with correction according to Huynh & Feldt. The comparison of SRP versus DOXI was considered as the main study question.Results: 110 patients finished the 3 months and 108 the 6 months examination. The study did not show adverse effects of VEH or DOXI except for one singular inflammation that occurred 2 months after application of the doxycycline gel. DOXI provided statistically significantly more favorable PPD reduction (SRP: -2.4+/-1.4 mm, VEH: -2.7+/-1.6 mm, DOXI: -3.1+/-1.2 mm; SRP versus DOXI VEH versus DOXI p=0.0066) and RAL-V gain (SRP: 1.6+/-1.9 mm, VEH: 1.6+/-2.2 mm, DOXI: 2.0+/-1.7 mm; SRP versus DOXI p=0.027, VEH versus DOXI p=0.038) than SRP and VEH after 6 months.Conclusions: Adjunctive topical subgingival application of a biodegradable 15% doxycycline gel was safe and provided more favorable RAL-V gain and PPD reduction than SRP alone and VEH. Thus, by use of topical doxycycline the threshold for surgical periodontal therapy might be moved toward deeper pockets

The perennial success of the German Greens

The German Greens achieved a record result in the federal elections of 2009. The paper explores a range of factors that might explain the success of the party. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, it is argued that the excellent electoral result of 2009 was not an isolated phenomenon but is in line with a long-term growth of green electoral support which has a strong generational basis. A ‘feminization’ and ‘greying’ of green voters can be diagnosed. Despite the party’s effort to emphasize a range of economic and social issues in its campaigning, the chief factors explaining green voting remain environmental concern and opposition to nuclear energy