The Presence of the Past: Culture, Opinion and Identity in Germany

Also CSST Working Paper #125.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/51316/1/552.pd

FDP Members Study

Political attitude of FDP members and judgement on the situation of the party. Topics: Reasons for the decision to join the party or not yet having completed the intent to leave the party; membership in clubs and organizations as well as functions taken on; political knowledge and personal political activity; political sources of information; discrimination experienced as party member; personal intent to join another party; judgement on election campaigns; political socialization experienced; profile of the party and its proximity to other parties; perceived influence of various associations and organizations on policies; social integration; personal opinion leadership; attitude to the emergency laws, the SPD/FDP coalition and the reduction of military service time; social surroundings and colleagues; work satisfaction; behavior at the polls in the Federal Parliament elections 1949 to 1965; assumed political attitude of family members, relatives, acquaintances, friends and colleagues; self-assessment of social class; religiousness. Various political indices: e.g. political activity; nationalism. Demography: age; sex; marital status; religious denomination; school education; occupation; social origins; refugee status; present and past offices held; military service. Interviewer rating: social class and willingness of respondent to cooperate; number of contact attempts; type of building and condition of residence.Politische Einstellung von FDP-Mitgliedern und Beurteilung der Situation der Partei. Themen: Entscheidungsgründe für Parteieintritt bzw. nichtvollzogene Austrittsabsicht; Mitgliedschaft in Vereinen und Organisationen sowie übernommene Funktionen; politisches Wissen und eigene politische Aktivität; politische Informationsquellen; erfahrene Diskriminierung als Parteimitglied; eigene Absicht, einer anderen Partei beizutreten; Beurteilung von Wahlkämpfen; erfahrene politische Sozialisation; Profil der Partei und ihre Nähe zu anderen Parteien; perzipierter Einfluß verschiedener Verbände und Organisationen auf die Politik; soziale Integration; eigene Meinungsführerschaft; Einstellung zu Notstandsgesetzen, zur SPD-FDP-Koalition und zur Verkürzung der Wehrdienstzeit; soziales Umfeld und Kollegenschaft; Arbeitszufriedenheit; Wahlverhalten bei den Bundestagswahlen 1949 bis 1965; vermutete politische Einstellung der Familienangehörigen, Verwandten, Bekannten, Freunde und Arbeitskollegen; Selbsteinschätzung der Schichtzugehörigkeit; Religiosität. Verschiedene politische Indizes: z. B. politische Aktivität; Nationalismus. Demographie: Alter; Geschlecht; Familienstand; Konfession; Schulbildung; Beruf; soziale Herkunft; Flüchtlingsstatus; innegehabte und innehabende Ämter; Militärdienst. Interviewerrating: Schichtzugehörigkeit und Kooperationsbereitschaft des Befragten; Anzahl der Kontaktversuche; Art des Hauses und Zustand der Wohnung

Flock flying improves pigeons’ homing: GPS-track analysis of individual flyers versus small groups

The effects of aggregation in navigating animals have generated growing interest in field and theoretical studies. The few studies on the effects of group flying on the performance of homing pigeons (Columba livia) have led to controversial conclusions, chiefly because of the lack of appropriate technology to follow pigeons during their entire homeward flight. Therefore, we used GPS data-loggers in six highly pre-trained pigeons from a familiar release site first by releasing them six times individually, then six times as a group from the same site, and finally, again six times individually. Flight data showed that the homing performance of the birds flying as a flock was significantly better than that of the birds released individually. When flying in a flock, pigeons showed no resting episodes, shorter homing times, higher speed, and almost no circling around the start zone in comparison to individual flights. Moreover, flock-flying pigeons took a nearly direct, “beeline” route to the loft, whereas individually flying birds preferred to follow roads and other longitudinal landmarks leading towards the loft, even when it caused a detour. Our results show that group cohesion facilitates a shift towards more efficient homing strategies: individuals prefer navigating by familiar landmarks, while flocks show a compass orientation

The Civic Culture and Unified Germany: An Overview

In this article we attempt to examine what has happened to the Civic Culture paradigm in the past 50 years with particular focus on Germany. We first discuss the impact of the research and its core findings for the Federal Republic. Second, we focus on the issue of 'inner unity'. Third, we present data on the development of unified Germany's political culture since the 1990 unification. We examine the influence over time of the major explanatory variables that have been central to post-unification culture research: socialisation or the effect of the socialist past, the contrasting economic experiences of both regions during the early decades of their democratic existence and the role of identity politics in shaping each region's view of each other. Finally, this article contends that in spite of the cultural differences there is a consensus on the institutions, processes and values of political democracy in the unified Republic

The Shrinking Elephants: The 2009 Election and the Changing Party System

While the 2009 election resulted in a familiar governing coalition, the dealignment of the party systems continued. Support for the once-major parties dropped to historic lows as did turnout. This article delves into the factors underlying this dealignment process. In addition to familiar demandside variables—social structure, values, and interests—particular attention is given to the supply side of the dealignment equation: the role of the parties, their leaders, strategies, and policies. The consequences of these changes for the future of the party and political system are then discussed in a comparative context. </jats:p