The People of "Linden Tree Street" and the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP)

Lately I have been receiving numerous requests for contributions to commemorative publications, farewell speeches, and anniversary lectures. I cannot respond to all of these requests, especially since not all of them are as inspiring as the one today: the 25th (in words: the twenty-fifth!) wave of the SOEP! This is indeed an anniversary that should be duly celebrated and honored. The German soap opera "Lindenstrasse" (Linden Tree Street) that was first aired in December 1985 is almost as old as the SOEP. Who could have foreseen in 1984 that there would be so many waves of the SOEP and so many episodes of "Lindenstrasse" following that first one? In the following, I will address four different aspects. First, I will describe some of my impressions while participating in the establishment of the SOEP and its first waves. Second, I will draw attention to the SOEP's role in current public debates (such as the one on migration issues). Third, I will describe my experiences as a SOEP user, and finally, I will elaborate on the great significance of the SOEP for the integration of the social sciences and their empirical methodologies.

Rationalität und Bindung : das Modell der Frame-Selektion und die Erklärung des normativen Handelns

For the Rational-Choice Theory, the explanation of an unconditional commitment to moral and other imperatives has always been a great challenge. Two solutions for this problem have been proposed, which are rooted in the more economically or sociologically inspired social sciences. The first is that effects of an unconditional normative commitment can be included into Rational-Choice Theory when the traditional set of the actors goals is extended by "moral" motives. The second solution is the notion that unconditional behavioral imperatives are the results of an automatic activation of behavioral programs and thus from a mechanism completely different from instrumental rationality. These two different judgement and decision processes correspond with those described and experimentally analyzed in dual-process theories in social psychology. These are the use of activated mental models based on the actors' learning histories and the formation of future-oriented behavioral intentions. Here, the unfruitful opposition between economists and sociologists is resolved in favor of a third, theoretically integrative approach. This is to use a more general theory to explain which of both modes of judgement and decision making has to be expected. In this perspective, neither the homo oeconomicus nor the homo sociologicus is regarded as a generally valid idea of man, but the underlying theories have special conditions where they apply. The Frame-Selection Model which is presented in this paper is nothing more than a formal representation of this up to now only verbally presented ideas. In this paper, we will discuss and reconstruct on the background of this theory three examples of effects of unconditional imperatives, which can hardly be explained in the framework of Rational-Choice Theory. The aim is to demonstrate that the Frame-Selection Model can be fruitfully applied in order to explain these phenomena

Rationalität und Bindung. Das Modell der Frame-Selektion und die Erklärung des normativen Handelns

For the Rational-Choice Theory, the explanation of an unconditional commitment to moral and other imperatives has always been a great challenge. Two solutions for this problem have been proposed, which are rooted in the more economically or sociologically inspired social sciences. The first is that effects of an unconditional normative commitment can be included into Rational-Choice Theory when the traditional set of the actors` goals is extended by "moral" motives. The second solution is the notion that unconditional behavioral imperatives are the results of an automatic activation of behavioral programs and thus from a mechanism completely different from instrumental rationality. These two different judgement and decision processes correspond with those described and experimentally analyzed in dual-process theories in social psychology. These are the use of activated mental models based on the actors' learning histories and the formation of future-oriented behavioral intentions. Here, the unfruitful opposition between economists and sociologists is resolved in favor of a third, theoretically integrative approach. This is to use a more general theory to explain which of both modes of judgement and decision making has to be expected. In this perspective, neither the homo oeconomicus nor the homo sociologicus is regarded as a generally valid idea of man, but the underlying theories have special conditions where they apply. The Frame-Selection Model which is presented in this paper is nothing more than a formal representation of this up to now only verbally presented ideas. In this paper, we will discuss and reconstruct on the background of this theory three examples of effects of unconditional imperatives, which can hardly be explained in the framework of Rational-Choice Theory. The aim is to demonstrate that the Frame-Selection Model can be fruitfully applied in order to explain these phenomena.

Affektuelles Handeln: Emotionen und das Modell der Frame-Selektion

According to Max Weber, affectual action is one of four types of behavior. This type of action differs from instrumentally rational behavior in a way that the actors do not deliberately choose means with respect to certain ends, but are driven by their emotions prevalent in the situation. The emotional type of behavior has some "irrational" deviations from instrumental rationality in common with the traditional and value-rational types of behavior. As in the case of a value-rational orientation, the sense of behavior is not rooted in positively evaluated consequences, but in the particular behavior itself. The difference however is that emotional behavior does not imply a conscious elaboration of and a systematic orientation towards the most basic principles of behavior. With the traditional type of behavior it has in common the complete absence of any deliberation. Yet, emotional behavior does not simply imply a stimulus-driven execution of learned attitudes, but a vigorous and abrupt accomplishment of subjective preferences and a reaction to certain deviations from the usual course of events in everyday life. The problem with this typology of behavior is that it is not sufficient to label them, but it is necessary to predict under which conditions each has to be expected and how actors change from one to another. The aim of this paper is to show how this can be achieved with the Frame-Selection Model.

Is Ability Tracking (Really) Responsible for Educational Inequalities in Achievement? A Comparison between the Country States Bavaria and Hesse in Germany

It is still taken for granted that (early) ability tracking increases the impact of social origin on achievement in (lower) secondary education, but without gains in the overall level. This contribution addresses the question of whether this common conviction is really correct. The various deviations and inconsistencies obtained from analyses that use other approaches and data bases form the starting point. On the basis of a general theoretical model, the Model of Ability Tracking, we specify the preconditions for identifying the effects of ability tracking. These include considering the school level as well as cognitive abilities prior to ability tracking at the end of elementary school. Both conditions aren't included in common analyses using PISA data. As a consequence, effects of social origin have been systematically overestimated and those of cognitive abilities haven't been detected in the respective studies at all. Because PISA data are lacking information on cognitive abilities in the institutional sorting at the end of primary school and no other appropriate data set to compare educational systems is available, these assumptions will be tested with another data base: the BIKS-study. This study allows using the different levels of strictness of the institutional rules concerning ability tracking in the two country states Bavaria and Hesse in Germany. The results support the presumptions of the Model of Ability Tracking: If school effects on the one hand and cognitive abilities on the other hand were taken into account, all effects of a reinforcement of social origin disappear and increases in school effects of abilities on achievement are observed in Bavaria, the country state with an especially strict rule for ability tracking. Applying the misspecifications of the other approaches to these data, one again obtains their misleading findings, and they disappear by approaching the analyses to the specifications of the Model of Ability Tracking

Können Befragte lügen? Zum Konzept des "wahren Wertes" im Rahmen der handlungstheoretischen Erklärung von Situationseinflüssen bei der Befragung

In interaktionistischer Kritik am normativen Paradigma in der Umfrageforschung wird ein theoretisches Modell entwickelt, 'das situationsspezifische Reaktionen bei der Befragung erklären und in diesem Rahmen die Bedeutung des Konzeptes des 'wahren Wertes' präzisieren soll'. Dieses Modell beruht auf der Theorie des sozialen Handelns, nach der das Antwortverhalten Resultat einer 'Bewertung von in einr Situation wahrgenommenen Handlungsalternativen in Hinsicht auf Konsequenzen der Handlung' ist. Dazu wurde ein 'Überblick über die wichtigsten Ergebnisse zu systematischen 'Fehlern' bei der Datenerhebung' gegeben, entsprechende theoretische Erklärungsansätze der Methodenforschung skizziert und hinsichtlich ihrer Gemeinsamkeiten untersucht. 'Das Ergebnis führt zur Formulierung ... einer allgemeinen Erklärung des Befragtenverhaltens, das dann zur Deutung einiger Regelmäßigkeiten und Analyse einiger bekannter und einiger kontra-intuitiver Effekte verwandt wird.' Die Untersuchung des Befragtenverhaltens ergab, daß es Situationen und Bedingungen gibt, unter denen sich Befragte im Alltag und in der Befragtensituation an einer stabilen personalen Identität und an einem stabilen lebensweltlichen Milieu orientieren. Ebenso gibt es andere Bedingungen, unter denen Identitäten und Milieus differenzierter sind, so daß hier vom 'wahren Wert' im Antwortverhalten kaum zu sprechen ist. (AG

Migration, Sprache und Integration

Important issues for the local authorities are what to do with the sludge produced insewagetreatment plants. The tax for landfill leads to higher costs with 250 SEK/ton. On the 31December 2004 it will be forbidden to landfill sludge. In Sweden the yearly production of sludge is 240 000 tons, counted as DS. The phosphorouscontent is 3 % in sludge. The total yearly production of sludge gives 6000 tons of phosphorous. (Andersson et al, 1999). During the last years about one third of this phosphorous has been used as fertilisers at fields and one third as fertilisers on outer areas, the rest to landfill. Värmdö is producing 2700 tons sludge from sewage treatment plant countedas DS. (Lidbjörk, 1999). During the autumn in 1999 there has been a large number of alarming reports saying that the sludge in addition to heavy metals, toxic organic compounds, also contains brominatedcontaining flame retardants and dangerous infectious matter from hospital waste water. The alarming reports made the LRF in October 1999 to ban all spreading of sludge as fertilisers.Today it is not clear when and if this ban will be removed. In this Master of Science it is shown that landfilling of sludge leads to serious environmental effects, for example global warming, eutrofication and acidification. This indicates that landfill of sludge is not good in an environmental perspective. In this study in Värmdö sludge treatment has been studied with the simulation tool ORWARE(ORganic WAste REsearch). ORWARE is a system analysis model for waste planing with tools for lifecycle and substance flow analyses. The model is used for calculating emissionsand energy consumption for a waste system. It is thought as a tool for simulating different treatment methods for liquid and solid waste in a given area. The alternatives to landfill that have been studied in this thesis is incineration, composting with sewage treatment sludge and garbage from household in an reactor compost, as well as composting of sewage treatment sludge and biowaste in string compost. The study indicates that if it is possible to guarantee low concentrations of toxic substances in the sludge, the best alternative is to spread the sludge on fields. The uncertainty of the containing components in the sludge makes the incineration alternative a good alternative to guarantee destroy possible toxic components and bacteria that can exist in the sludge. The problem with incineration is that essential components like phosphor are destroyed and cannot be utilised. There are same methods today were you could utilise the phosphorous in incineration. These methods are very expensive and energy demanding and is therefore notused that much. With the discussion today about sustainable development incineration wherephosphorous is not utilised is only acceptable in the short term until the problems about the toxic components in the sludge have been solved.www.ima.kth.s