Social capital, local actor networks and differential economic performance in rural areas - evidence from case studies in Germany

The changing economic and social conditions of rural areas in Europe are characterised by variety of different development processes. An EU-funded international research project which has been conducted in collaboration with Scottish, Swedish, German and Greek research institutes focussed on the dynamics of rural areas (DORA). The research approach aimed to examine the quantitative and qualitative factors explaining the differences of economic performance (DEP) in selected rural regions of the four member states involved. Important variables of the investigation are the infrastructure equipment, the regional economic structure, the employment conditions and other socio-economic data as well as qualitative variables such as social capital in combination with local actor networks and institutional collaboration at the regional level. In this paper the role of social capital will be determined in quantitative and qualitative terms and in relation to other "soft" factors of rural development. The approach is characterised by a number of pair-wise comparisons of differing rural areas in terms of economic performance and based on exemplary results from the European Union research project DORA. After explaining the case study approach and clarifying the definition of social capital an operational conception of indicators for measuring of social capital will be presented with regard to regional-economic analysis. Statistical methods of locational conditions and differences of the socio-economic context are considered. Furthermore, expert interviews with regional actors as well as findings derived from postal business surveys serve as information bases for the analysis. The impact of social capital on regional institutions, politics processes and the differences of the economic dynamics is considered in each pair of case studies of the two examined regions in West and East Germany. From the comparison of the two regions the conclusion is derived that the regional differences regarding the amount and quality of social capital can contribute considerably to the explanation of differing development paths under similar context conditions and that the role of social capital could be more strongly taken into account with regard to impact assessment of regional policy.

Social capital, regional governance and economic performance of rural areas - concept and empirical evidence from case studies in East and West Germany

During the last two decades the economic and social conditions of rural areas in Europe have become more and more varying in accordance with different development processes. In addition to ?traditional? location factors such as infrastructure, conditions of labour markets and accessibility, so-called ?soft? location factors like social capital, regional governance and the role of local actor networks have increasingly been taken into consideration in recent studies to explain observable differences in economic performance of the regions. The paper is mainly focussed on the relationships between social capital and governance at the regional level from a theoretical and empirical point of view. Complementary to the well-known concept of social capital the term ?regional governance? is used in the sense of weakly institutionalised and network-oriented modes of co-operation between regional actors to achieve common goals. The properties of the concept will be discussed in relation to other "soft" location factors of rural economic development. The approach is developed on the basis of empirical findings drawn from a number of pair-wise comparisons of differing rural areas in terms of economic performance. The results of the case study analysis are referring to selected rural areas in the eastern and western parts of Germany. The data are derived from business surveys and computerised network analysis, which have been elaborated as the German part of an EU-funded research project regarding dynamics of rural areas (DORA). After explaining the case study approach and clarifying the definition and theoretical properties of ?regional governance? an operational conception of indicators for characterising the term in relation to social capital embodied by formal (professional-related) and informal (private-related) types of local actor networks will be presented with regard to regional-economic analysis. Differing location conditions and socio-economic contexts are taken into account. Furthermore, expert interviews with local/regional actors as well as findings derived from postal business surveys serve as information bases for the investigation. From the comparison of the two regions and their path-depending contextual properties the following conclusion can be derived: existing regional differences regarding the quality of regional governance in combination with the accumulated stock of social capital can contribute considerably to the explanation of differing development paths under similar context conditions. Therefore, the structural elements of governance at the regional and local levels of decision making should be more strongly taken into account for impact assessment of rural development policy.

Social capital, regional governance and economic performance of rural areas - concept and empirical evidence from case studies in East and West Germany

During the last two decades the economic and social conditions of rural areas in Europe have become more and more varying in accordance with different development processes. In addition to ?traditional? location factors such as infrastructure, conditions of labour markets and accessibility, so-called 'soft? location factors like social capital, regional governance and the role of local actor networks have increasingly been taken into consideration in recent studies to explain observable differences in economic performance of the regions. The paper is mainly focussed on the relationships between social capital and governance at the regional level from a theoretical and empirical point of view. Complementary to the well-known concept of social capital the term ?regional governance? is used in the sense of weakly institutionalised and network-oriented modes of co-operation between regional actors to achieve common goals. The properties of the concept will be discussed in relation to other "soft" location factors of rural economic development. The approach is developed on the basis of empirical findings drawn from a number of pair-wise comparisons of differing rural areas in terms of economic performance. The results of the case study analysis are referring to selected rural areas in the eastern and western parts of Germany. The data are derived from business surveys and computerised network analysis, which have been elaborated as the German part of an EU-funded research project regarding dynamics of rural areas (DORA). After explaining the case study approach and clarifying the definition and theoretical properties of ?regional governance? an operational conception of indicators for characterising the term in relation to social capital embodied by formal (professional-related) and informal (private-related) types of local actor networks will be presented with regard to regional-economic analysis. Differing location conditions and socio-economic contexts are taken into account. Furthermore, expert interviews with local/regional actors as well as findings derived from postal business surveys serve as information bases for the investigation. From the comparison of the two regions and their path-depending contextual properties the following conclusion can be derived: existing regional differences regarding the quality of regional governance in combination with the accumulated stock of social capital can contribute considerably to the explanation of differing development paths under similar context conditions. Therefore, the structural elements of governance at the regional and local levels of decision making should be more strongly taken into account for impact assessment of rural development policy

Social capital, local actor networks and differential economic performance in rural areas - evidence from case studies in Germany

The changing economic and social conditions of rural areas in Europe are characterised by variety of different development processes. An EU-funded international research project which has been conducted in collaboration with Scottish, Swedish, German and Greek research institutes focussed on the dynamics of rural areas (DORA). The research approach aimed to examine the quantitative and qualitative factors explaining the differences of economic performance (DEP) in selected rural regions of the four member states involved. Important variables of the investigation are the infrastructure equipment, the regional economic structure, the employment conditions and other socio-economic data as well as qualitative variables such as social capital in combination with local actor networks and institutional collaboration at the regional level. In this paper the role of social capital will be determined in quantitative and qualitative terms and in relation to other "soft" factors of rural development. The approach is characterised by a number of pair-wise comparisons of differing rural areas in terms of economic performance and based on exemplary results from the European Union research project DORA. After explaining the case study approach and clarifying the definition of social capital an operational conception of indicators for measuring of social capital will be presented with regard to regional-economic analysis. Statistical methods of locational conditions and differences of the socio-economic context are considered. Furthermore, expert interviews with regional actors as well as findings derived from postal business surveys serve as information bases for the analysis. The impact of social capital on regional institutions, politics processes and the differences of the economic dynamics is considered in each pair of case studies of the two examined regions in West and East Germany. From the comparison of the two regions the conclusion is derived that the regional differences regarding the amount and quality of social capital can contribute considerably to the explanation of differing development paths under similar context conditions and that the role of social capital could be more strongly taken into account with regard to impact assessment of regional policy

Dynamics of rural areas (DORA): National report - Germany

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Retention force measurement of telescopic crowns

This study deals with the determination of the retentive force between primary and secondary telescopic crowns under clinical conditions. Forty-three combined fixed-removable prostheses with a total of 140 double crowns were used for retention force measurement of the telescopic crowns prior to cementation. The crowns had a preparation of 1-2°. A specifically designed measuring device was used. The retentive forces were measured with and without lubrication by a saliva substitute. The measured values were analyzed according to the type of tooth (incisors, canines, premolars, and molars). Additionally, a comparison between lubricated and unlubricated telescopic crowns was done. As maximum retention force value 29.98N was recorded with a telescopic crown on a molar, while the minimum of 0.08N was found with a specimen on a canine. The median value of retention force of all telescopic crowns reached 1.93N with an interquartile distance of 4.35N. No statistically significant difference between lubricated and unlubricated specimens was found. The results indicate that retention force values of telescopic crowns, measured in clinical practice, are often much lower than those cited in the literature. The measurements also show a wide range. Whether this proves to be a problem for the patient's quality of life or not can however only be established by a comparison of the presented results with a follow-up study involving measurement of intraoral retention and determination by e.g. oral health impact profil

Verordnungsentwurf der EU-Kommission zur künftigen Förderung der Entwicklung des ländlichen Raums: Vergleich zur derzeitigen Ausgestaltung der Förderpolitik und Kommentierung der Änderungen

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Tickborne Encephalitis in Naturally Exposed Monkey (Macaca sylvanus)

We describe tickborne encephalitis (TBE) in a monkey (Macaca sylvanus) after natural exposure in an area at risk for TBE. TBE virus was present in the brain and could be identified as closely related to the European subtype, strain Neudoerfl