Die Olsborg und ihr Umfeld: Enstehung, Entwicklung und Bedeutung einer slawenzeitlichen Region in Wagrien

Im Mittelpunkt der Arbeit steht die Insel Olsborg im Großen Plöner See, auf der sich vom 10. bis zum 12. Jahrhundert eine – vermutlich befestigte - slawische Siedlung befand. Nach der „Slawenchronik“ Helmolds von Bosau handelt es sich bei der Burg Plune um einen Ort von erheblicher Bedeutung für ein größeres Gebiet. In der Dissertation werden die Ausgrabungen (2004-2009) ausgewertet, wobei die Befunde, Funde sowie naturwissenschaftliche Untersuchungen einbezogen werden. Dadurch konnten Aussagen zu der Bebauung, der Phasengliederung der Siedlung, der genaueren Datierung sowie verschiedenen zentralörtlichen Funktionen erarbeitet werden. Insgesamt weist die Olsborg zahlreiche Merkmale eines zentralen Ortes auf. Ab etwa 975 bestand eine erhöhte Bedeutung, die in spätslawischer Zeit besonders groß war, was auch durch die Schriftquellen zum Castrum Plune belegt wird. Im zweiten Schritt wird das Siedlungsumfeld in der ehemaligen Terra Plune untersucht. Dazu werden alle bekannten slawischen Fundplätze im Gebiet um die Plöner Seen mit ihren Merkmalen erfasst. Dazu zählen insbesondere auch naturräumliche Charakteristika. Zudem wurde eine Netzwerkanalyse durchgeführt. Die Kartierung der Siedlungsfunde ergibt eine starke Clusterung der Fundstellen in unterschiedlich große Siedlungskammern. Sie zeigen einerseits eine innere Gliederung des Arbeitsgebiets und andererseits eine deutliche Abgrenzung nach außen. Durch die Analyse der Fundplatzmerkmale und des Netzwerkes konnten Aussagen zur Siedlungsdynamik, Siedlungskammern, zentralen Plätzen und ihrer Dynamik, Wegen und Kommunikationsnetzen getroffen werden. Die Olsborg nimmt dabei ab dem 11. Jh. eine bedeutende Position im Arbeitsgebiet ein.The Island “Olsborg” in the Great Plön Lake is the starting point and centre of the Thesis. From the 10th to the 12th century AD, a settlement – probably fortified – was situated on it. According to the “Chronicle of the Slavs” by Helmold of Bosau (12th ct.), the “castrum Plune” is a place of high importance for a larger region. The Dissertation analyzes the archaeological excavations on the island (2004-2009). Structures and finds as well as scientific analyses are considered. Results include building structures, settlement phases, more exact dating and several central functions. Altogether, the Olsborg holds several attributes of a central place. From ca. 975 A.D. onwards its importance was high, even growing in the Late Slavonic period. The high significance is emphasized by the written sources about the castrum Plune. In a second step, the surrounding settlement area are examined. All known Slavonic sites in the area around the Plön lakes are listed with their characteristics, especially concerning natural factors. Additionally, a network analysis was performed. Mapping of the settlement sites results in a strong clustering, forming several settlement areas of different size. On the one hand, they show an inner structure of the area of research, on the other hand the results demonstrate clearly the boundaries of the Late Slavonic terra Plune. By examining the site characteristics conclusion were drawn regarding settlement dynamics, settlement patterns, central places and their dynamics, roads and communication systems. From the 11th century, the Olsborg holds a dominant position in the area of research

Research Support Services for Modern Languages and Literatures: Columbia University Libraries Local Report

This study seeks to understand the research practices of scholars in the fields of literature in modern languages, culture (including folklore, performance studies, and literary history) and writing studies. In coordination with twelve other institutions of higher education and the Modern Language Association (which sponsored the project), Columbia University Libraries partnered with Ithaka S+R, a not-for-profit educational research and consulting organization, to conduct this research. As part of Ithaka S+R’s Research and Teaching Practices stream of work, we conducted an in-depth, qualitative study of Columbia tenured and tenure-track faculty to learn more about their research interests, methods and outputs, along with their processes of discovering and accessing sources. Our local data was shared with Ithaka S+R and will inform a capstone report synthesizing findings across all institutions participating in the overall study. This humanities-based research joins the series of other disciplinary-focused reports that Ithaka S+R has coordinated. We present our findings related to the following topics, in an order that tracks the life-cycle of research: scholars’ research focus and methodologies; sources and the search process; and research outputs. Throughout the report we refer to the roles of libraries and library staff in relation to these research practices. We hope Columbia’s local findings will contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the needs of language and literature scholars on a broad scale while surfacing important issues that can inform how we support our faculty locally. In addition, this study also raises issues that may warrant continued assessment and monitoring as we strive to align our expertise and resources with the needs and priorities of faculty

Sexual Risk Behaviour among HIV-Positive Individuals in Clinical Care in Urban KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Objectives: To assess the prevalence and predictors of unprotected sex among HIV+ individuals in clinical care in urban KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Design: Cross-sectional survey of 152 HIV+ individuals attending a hospital-based HIV-clinic. Methods: Structured interviews were conducted by bilingual interviewers. Sexual risk behaviour in the preceding 3 months was assessed via event counts. Results: In one of the first studies of its kind in South Africa we found that nearly half of the sample reported vaginal or anal sex during the preceding 3 months, and 30% of these patients reported unprotected vaginal or anal sex. Among sexually active patients, a total of 171 unprotected sex events were reported, 40% of which were with partners perceived to be HIV negative or HIV-status unknown. Nine such partners were potentially exposed to HIV. Alcohol use during sex, being forced to have sex, sex with a perceived HIV+ partner, and sex with a casual partner predicted more unprotected sex, whereas HIV-status disclosure was related to less unprotected sex. Conclusions: HIV+ individuals in clinical care in South Africa may engage in unprotected sex that place others at risk of HIV infection and themselves at risk for infection with STIs. With a national ARV rollout currently underway in South Africa, increasing numbers of HIV+ individuals are entering care. This affords a crucial opportunity to link HIV prevention with HIV care, an approach that aims to reduce transmission risk behaviour among HIV+ individuals and is consistent with international agencies’ current prevention priorities

State Immigrant Rights Highlights 2021: Advancing Community Health and Well-Being

This report highlights the immigrant inclusive laws enacted in 2021, as well as some pending bills and campaigns. During this time, states adopted policies improving access to health care, higher education, and professional licenses for immigrants; protecting the rights of workers and tenants; investing in access to counsel; strengthening driver and consumer privacy; and limiting local entanglement in federal immigration enforcement efforts.As Congress considers options for providing a pathway to permanent status or temporary relief to millions of immigrants in the U.S., states and localities have taken significant action to improve the lives of their community members, regardless of their immigration status. In response to effective local organizing, almost half the states adopted immigrant-inclusive laws and policies in 2021

A cross-ecosystem comparison of temporal variability in recruitment of functionally analogous fish stocks

As part of the international MENU collaboration, variability in temporal patterns of recruitment and spawning stock were compared among functionally analogous species from four marine ecosystems including the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank, the Norwegian/Barents Seas, the eastern Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. Variability was characterized by calculating coefficients of variation for each time series and by representing the time series as anomalies. Patterns of synchrony and asynchrony in recruitment and spawning stock indices were examined among and between ecosystems and related to observed patterns in biophysical properties (e.g. local trophodynamics, local hydrography and large scale climate indices) using a wide range of time series analyses, autocorrelation corrections, autoregressive processes, and multivariate cross-correlation analyses. Of all the commonalities, the relatively similar cross-ecosystem and within-species magnitude of variation was most notable. Of all the differences, the timing of high or low recruitment years across both species and ecosystems was most notable. However, many of the peaks in these indices of recruitment were synchronous across ecosystems for functionally analogous species. Yet the relationships (or lack thereof) between recruitment anomalies and key biophysical properties demonstrated that no one factor consistently caused large recruitment events. Our observations also suggested that there was no routine and common set of factors that influences recruitment; often multiple factors were of similar relative prominence. This work demonstrates that commonalities and synchronies in recruitment fluctuations can be found across geographically very distant ecosystems, but biophysical causes of the fluctuations are difficult to partition. Keywords: Ecosystem, recruitment, trophodynamics, variation

A comparison of community and trophic structure in five marine ecosystems based on energy budgets and system metrics

As part of the international MENU collaboration, energy budget models for five marine ecosystems were compared to identify differences and similarities in trophic and community characteristics across ecosystems. We examined the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, the combined Norwegian/Barents Seas in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean, and the eastern Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. Comparable energy budgets were constructed for each ecosystem by aggregating information for similar species groups into consistent functional groups across all five ecosystems. Several ecosystem metrics (including functional group production, consumption, and biomass ratios, ABC curves, cumulative biomass, food web macrodescriptors, and network metrics) were examined across the ecosystems. The comparative approach clearly identified data gaps for each ecosystem, an important outcome of this work. Commonalities across the ecosystems included overall high primary production and energy flow at low trophic levels, high production and consumption by carnivorous zooplankton, and similar proportions of apex predator to lower trophic level biomass. Major differences included distinct biomass ratios of pelagic to demersal fish, ranging from highest in the Norwegian/Barents ecosystem to lowest in the Alaskan systems, and notable gradients in primary production per unit area, highest in the Alaskan and Georges Bank/Gulf of Maine ecosystems, and lowest in the Norwegian ecosystems. While comparing a disparate group of organisms across a wide range of marine ecosystems is challenging, this work demonstrates that standardized metrics both elucidate properties common to marine ecosystems and identify key distinctions for fishery management

Effects of Ascent to High Altitude on Human Antimycobacterial Immunity

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Acceptability of Carraguard, a candidate microbicide and methyl cellulose placebo vaginal gels among HIV-positive women and men in Durban, South Africa

Background and Methods: When on the market, microbicides are likely to be used by individuals who do not know their HIV status. Hence, assessment of safety and acceptability among HIV positive men and women is important. Acceptability of Carraguard, the Population Council's lead microbicide candidate was assessed in a Phase I safety study among healthy HIV-positive sexually abstinent women and men, and sexually active women (20 per group), in Durban, South Africa. Participants were randomized to use Carraguard gel, placebo gel, or no product. All women in the gel arms applied 4 ml gel vaginally every evening for 14 intermenstrual days (women in the sexually active group inserted gel within 1 hour prior to sex on days when sex occurred), and sexually abstinent men applied gel directly to the penis every evening for 7 days. Acceptability was assessed by face-to-face structured questionnaires and semi-structured in-depth interviews with all participants. Gel use questions were applicable to participants in the gel arms only (13 sexually abstinent women, 14 sexually active women, and 13 abstinent men). Results: Overall, 93% of the women liked the study gel (Carraguard or placebo) very much, 4% disliked it somewhat, and 4% were neutral. 15% of men and women disliked the gel's color, smell, or packaging. Most women and men reported never experiencing pain or irritation during or after gel application. Although over two thirds of the women preferred some lubrication during sex, some of the women felt that the gel was frequently too wet. Twenty-one percent of women and 42% of men said they felt covert use of a microbicide would be acceptable. Over 60% of women and men would prefer to use a microbicide alone instead of using it with a condom. Conclusion: Acceptability of Carraguard among HIV-positive women and men in Durban was good. The wetness experienced by the women may be attributed to the delivery of gel volume. The applicator was designed to deliver 4 mls whereas in fact between 4 ml to 5 mls were actually dispensed. Condom migration in the event of a partially effective product is of concern

A systematic review of the impact of stroke on social support and social networks: associated factors and patterns of change

Objective: Identify what factors are associated with functional social support and social network post stroke; explore stroke survivors’ perspectives on what changes occur and how they are perceived. Data sources: The following electronic databases were systematically searched up to May 2015: Academic Search Complete; CINAHL Plus; E-journals; Health Policy Reference Centre; MEDLINE; PsycARTICLES; PsycINFO; and SocINDEX. Review methods: PRISMA guidelines were followed in the conduct and reporting of this review. All included studies were critically appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program tools. Meta-ethnographic techniques were used to integrate findings from the qualitative studies. Given the heterogeneous nature of the quantitative studies, data synthesis was narrative. Results: 70 research reports met the eligibility criteria: 22 qualitative and 48 quantitative reporting on 4,816 stroke survivors. The qualitative studies described a contraction of the social network, with non-kin contact being vulnerable. Although family were more robust network members, significant strain was observed within the family unit. In the quantitative studies, poor functional social support was associated with depression (13/14 studies), reduced quality of life (6/6 studies) and worse physical recovery (2/2 studies). Reduced social network was associated with depression (7/8 studies), severity of disability (2/2 studies) and aphasia (2/2 studies). Although most indicators of social network reduced post stroke (for example, contact with friends, 5/5 studies), the perception of feeling supported remained relatively stable (4/4 studies). Conclusion: Following a stroke non-kin contact is vulnerable, strain is observed within the family unit, and poor social support is associated with depressive symptoms