Despite low unemployment, large sections of German society remain at risk from poverty

In the early 2000s, the then SPD-Green government in Germany implemented a package of policies known as ‘Agenda 2010’, which aimed to reform the country’s welfare system and labour market. Stefan Selke writes on the impact of these reforms ten years later. He argues that while the unemployment rate in Germany is currently low by historical standards, the picture is not quite as positive as it appears, with substantial numbers of German citizens still at risk from poverty

The rise of foodbanks in Germany is increasing the commodification of poverty without addressing its structural causes

The past two decades have seen a massive rise in the number of foodbanks in Germany, often linked to the country’s welfare reforms. But what are the consequences of foodbanks, beyond simply helping those in need? Stefan Selke argues that the foodbank movement is in fact a backwards-looking policy that sees the solution to social problems in local neighbourhoods, and replaces structural attacks on the causes of poverty with the symbolic relief of its consequences

Adjusting Reality: The Contingency Dilemma in the Context of Popularised Practices of Digital Self-Tracking of Health Data

The practice of digital self-tracking of health data addresses inter-related contingencies on the micro and macro level: on the micro level, digital self-tracking can be perceived as facilitation of lifeworld contingencies and the expression of the way contingency is dealt with in (socially) exhausted societies. Together, these can be understood as a strategy of the "privatization of contingency." The attempt to reduce the individual’s contingency of action is accompanied by the increase of lifeworld contingency, resulting in a contingency dilemma in contemporary self-tracking which produces (new) dependencies and vulnerabilities with respect to the technology used. Through a multilevel analysis of digital self-tracking and an empirical study on vulnerable self-trackers, a number of those pathological effects of the contingency dilemma are examined using methods from pragmatism and theory of conventions, while highlighting a possible solution to this dilemma

Soziologie für die Öffentlichkeit

Der Beitrag nimmt die Initiative »DGS goes public« zum Anlass, das Verhältnis von Soziologie und Öffentlichkeit zu reflektieren. Unter Rückgriff auf jeweils durchaus widersprüchliche eigene Erfahrungen und die Konzeptionen einer Public Sociology plädieren die Autorin und der Autor übereinstimmend für mehr »Soziologie für die Öffentlichkeit«. Unterschiedliche Akzente und Präferenzen setzen sie dort, wo es um das wahrgenommene Desinteresse bzw. Interesse an Soziologie geht. Insgesamt wollen beide dazu beitragen, die Thematik im Fach systematisch und kontrovers zugleich zu diskutieren. The article takes the »DGS goes public« initiative as a prompt to consider the relationship of sociology and the general public. Drawing on their rather contradictory experiences and the concepts of a Public Sociology, the authors agree in arguing for more »Sociology for the General Public«. They put different emphasis concerning the perceived disinterest or interest in sociology. All in all, they both wish to contribute to a discussion, both systematic and controversial, of this topic in the subject of sociology

Independent effects of sham laparotomy and anesthesia on hepatic microRNA expression in rats

Background: Studies on liver regeneration following partial hepatectomy (PH) have identified several microRNAs (miRNAs) that show a regulated expression pattern. These studies involve major surgery to access the liver, which is known to have intrinsic effects on hepatic gene expression and may also affect miRNA screening results. We performed two-third PH or sham laparotomy (SL) in Wistar rats to investigate the effect of both procedures on miRNA expression in liver tissue and corresponding plasma samples by microarray and qRT-PCR analyses. As control groups, non-treated rats and rats undergoing anesthesia only were used. Results: We found that 49 out of 323 miRNAs (15%) were significantly deregulated after PH in liver tissue 12 to 48 hours postoperatively (>20% change), while 45 miRNAs (14%) were deregulated following SL. Out of these miRNAs, 10 miRNAs were similarly deregulated after PH and SL, while one miRNA showed opposite regulation. In plasma, miRNA upregulation was observed for miR-133a and miR-133b following PH and SL, whereas miR-100 and miR-466c were similarly downregulated following anesthesia and surgery. Conclusions: We show that miRNAs are indeed regulated by sham laparotomy and anesthesia in rats. These findings illustrate the critical need for finding appropriate control groups in experimental surgery