The role of the need for affiliation and the behavioral manifestation of implicit motives in effective leadership: a dimensional approach

Steinmann B. The role of the need for affiliation and the behavioral manifestation of implicit motives in effective leadership: a dimensional approach. Bielefeld: Universität Bielefeld; 2017

Untersuchungen zu Auflauf und Etablierung von Iva xanthiifolia Nutt. unter veränderten Umweltbedingungen in Norddeutschland

Der Klimawandel und die damit verbundenen Umweltveränderungen können zu einer Verschiebung und einem Wandel der heimischen Unkrautflora führen. Unkräuter, die aktuell nur auf Ruderalstandorten oder in geringen Abundanzen vorkommen, erfahren durch klimabedingte Modifikationen die Gelegenheit zur Ausbreitung. Das Spitzkletten-Schlagkraut (Iva xanthiifolia), bis jetzt nur an zwei Standorten in Niedersachsen bekannt, wurde in der vorliegenden Arbeit als Modellunkraut gewählt. Anhand von Gewächshausversuchen über die Manipulation von Temperatur- und Feuchtebedingungen in vier unterschiedlichen Bodensubstraten, die repräsentativ für die Bodenklimaregionen in Norddeutschland stehen, wurde die fundamentale Nische dieser Art analysiert. Dabei wurden die Keimung, wie auch Pflanzenmerkmale in den ersten sechs Wachstumswochen untersucht. Sowohl in der Keimphase, wie auch bei der Biomasseentwicklung und in der Wurzelausbildung reagierte die Pflanze negativ auf eine Erhöhung der Temperatur um 4 °C. In der Keimphase führte ein geringeres Wasserangebot im lehm-, sand- und tonhaltigen Bodensubstrat zu einer Reduktion der Keimrate. Trockenheit hatte zugleich eine negative Auswirkung auf die Biomasseentwicklung im Lehmsubstrat, begünstigte aber die Wurzelausbildung im torf- und sandhaltigen Boden. Daraus schließen wir, dass Iva xanthiifolia unter veränderten klimatischen Faktoren in Norddeutschland vermutlich ungünstige Bedingungen für eine Etablierung vorfindet. Kommt es aus anthropogenen Gründen z.B. Saatgutverunreinigungen zu einem verstärkten Einbringen in das Agrarökosystem ist eine Ausbreitung in stark humosen Böden am wahrscheinlichsten. Stichwörter: Fundamentale Nische, Keimung, Klimawandel, Spitzkletten-SchlagkrautStudy on emergence and early establishment of Iva xanthiifolia Nutt. under changing climatic conditions in Northern GermanyClimatic change affects many above- and belowground ecosystems, and might lead to a shift in the native weed flora. Weeds, which are current only present on the ruderal site or in less abundances, could expand their ranges to through climatic modifications. Here, we investigate the effect of alteration of temprature and water content in four soil substrates (prestigious for soil-climate areas in Northern Germany) on the fundamental niche of Iva xanthiifolia. Iva xanthiifolia, also kown as marsh-elder, was recently observed at two locations in Lower Saxony. The fundamental niche of this species was determined by investigating the germination behavior and some meaningful plant traits in the establishment stage of the plant. A temperature increase of 4 °C had a negative effect on the germination rate, as well as on biomass accumulation and root elongation. During the germination phase, a negative influence on plants in loam, sand and clay under water reduction was given. However, less water also reduced the total biomass on loamy grown plants, but was benefical for root development in sandy and peaty habitats. Therefore, we conclude that under changing climatic conditions a possible establishment of Iva xanthiifolia in Northern Germany is hampered. Nethertheless, if due to anthropogenic reasons, e.g. import of contaminated seeds into the agroecosystem, an establishment in humus rich soils will be most likely. Keywords: Climate change, fundamental niche, germination, Iva xanthiifoli

FLOTAC for the diagnosis of Hymenolepis spp. infection: proof-of-concept and comparing diagnostic accuracy with other methods

Hymenolepis nana is the most common cestode parasitizing humans, yet it is under-diagnosed. We determined the optimal flotation solution (FS) for the diagnosis of this intestinal parasite with the FLOTAC method, and compared its diagnostic accuracy with an ether-concentration technique and the Kato-Katz method. Zinc sulphate (specific gravity 1.20) proved to be the best-performing FS. Using this FS, we detected 65 H. nana infections among 234 fixed fecal samples from Tajik and Sahrawi children (prevalence 27.8%). The ether-concentration technique detected 40 infections (prevalence 17.1%) in the same samples. Considering the combined results as a reference, the sensitivities of FLOTAC and ether-concentration were 95.6% and 58.8%, respectively. The Kato-Katz method resulted in a prevalence of only 8.7%. In terms of eggs per gram of stool, a significantly (P <0.05) higher value was obtained with the FLOTAC and Kato-Katz techniques compared to ether-concentration. In another study carried out in China, the FLOTAC method detected six Hymenolepis diminuta infections in 302 fecal samples, whereas five samples were found positive with the Kato-Katz technique. We conclude that FLOTAC is an accurate coprodiagnostic technique for H. nana and H. diminuta, two species which join a growing list of intestinal parasites that can be reliably diagnosed by this techniqu

Validation of a German version of the Ethical Leadership at Work questionnaire (ELW) by Kalshoven et al. (2011)

Steinmann B, Nübold A, Maier GW. Validation of a German version of the Ethical Leadership at Work questionnaire (ELW) by Kalshoven et al. (2011). Frontiers in Psychology. 2016;7: 446.The present study evaluates the psychometric properties of a German version of the Ethical Leadership at Work questionnaire (ELW-D), and further embeds the construct of ethical leadership within its nomological network. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) based on the total sample of N = 363 employees support the assumed seven-factor structure of the German translation. Within a sub-sample of N = 133, the ELW-D shows positive correlations with related leadership behaviors (transformational leadership, contingent reward, and servant leadership), and negative correlations with destructive ones (passive leadership, autocratic leadership, and abusive supervision), approving convergent validity of the scale. Comparisons of correlated correlation coefficients reveal restrictions of its discriminant validity. In support of the criterion-related validity (N = 100), the ELW-D relates to work-related attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction, satisfaction with the leader, trust in the leader) and follower behaviors (e.g., extra effort, organizational citizenship behavior) in the way expected. Besides, ELW-D-dimensions show incremental validity over and above the Ethical Leadership Scale, emphasizing the added value of this questionnaire

The path is the goal: How transformational leaders enhance followers’ job attitudes and proactive behavior

Steinmann B, Klug HJ, Maier GW. The path is the goal: How transformational leaders enhance followers’ job attitudes and proactive behavior. Frontiers in Psychology. 2018;9: 2338.While leading through goals is usually associated with a task-oriented leadership style, the present work links goal setting to transformational leadership. A longitudinal field study was conducted to investigate the influence of transformational leadership on followers’ job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and proactive behavior via goal attributes. Findings indicate that transformational leaders influence the extent to which followers evaluate organizational goals as important and perceive them as attainable. Multiple mediation analysis revealed that these goal attributes transmit the effect of transformational leadership on followers’ job attitudes and proactive behavior. However, goal importance and goal attainability seem to be of differential importance for the different outcomes

Need for affiliation as a motivational add-on for leadership behaviors and managerial success

Steinmann B, Ötting SK, Maier GW. Need for affiliation as a motivational add-on for leadership behaviors and managerial success. Frontiers in Psychology. 2016;7: 1972.In a sample of 70 leader-follower dyads, this study examines the separate and interactive effects of the leaders’ implicit needs for power, achievement, and affiliation on leadership behaviors and outcomes. Results show that whereas the need for achievement was marginally associated with follower-rated passive leadership, the need for affiliation was significantly related to ratings of the leaders’ concern for the needs of their followers. Analyzing motive combinations in terms of interactive effects and accounting for the growing evidence on the value of affiliative concerns in leadership, we assumed the need for affiliation would channel the interplay among the needs for power and achievement in such a way that the leaders would become more effective in leading others. As expected, based on high need for achievement, the followers were more satisfied with their jobs and with their leaders and perceived more transformational leadership behavior if power-motivated leaders equally had a high need for affiliation. Moreover, the leaders indicated higher career success when this was the case. However, in indicators of followers’ performance, the three-way interaction among the needs for power, achievement, and affiliation did not account for additional variance

The Path Is the Goal: How Transformational Leaders Enhance Followers’ Job Attitudes and Proactive Behavior

While leading through goals is usually associated with a task-oriented leadership style, the present work links goal setting to transformational leadership. An online survey with two time points was conducted with employees to investigate the influence of transformational leadership on followers’ job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and proactive behavior via goal attributes. Findings indicate that transformational leaders influence the extent to which followers evaluate organizational goals as important and perceive them as attainable. Multiple mediation analysis revealed that these goal attributes transmit the effect of transformational leadership on followers’ job attitudes and proactive behavior. However, goal importance and goal attainability seem to be of differential importance for the different outcomes

Prognose künftiger Problemunkräuter im Maisanbau durch Artverbreitungsmodellierung

Die starke Zunahme des Maisanbaus in den letzten Jahren und Veränderungen in der Anbautechnik haben die Selektion typischer Maisunkräuter gefördert, die auch in besonderem Maße von den Folgen des Klimawandels profitieren könnten. Für die Pflanzenproduktion ist es von hohem Interesse, zukünftige Probleme mit Unkräutern abzuschätzen. Im Projekt KLIFF wurden darum neben experimentellen Arbeiten auch Artverbreitungsmodellierungen für das Gebiet von Niedersachsen durchgeführt. Für die vorliegende Studie wurden für neun Unkrautarten, die in verschiedenen Ländern Europas große Bedeutung im Maisanbau haben und weitverbreitet auftreten, die ökologische Nische und die Schadensnische ermittelt. Die ökologische Nische beschreibt die Umweltbedingungen, die günstig für das dauerhafte Vorkommen einer Art sind, die „Schadensnische“ jene Umweltbedingungen, unter denen eine Art darüber hinaus Schaden in landwirtschaftlichen Kulturen hervorruft. Dazu wurden Vorkommensdaten aus verschiedenen Vegetationsdatenbanken mit hochaufgelösten Klima-, Boden- und Landnutzungsdaten kombiniert. Durch die Projektion der Modelle auf simulierte Klimawerte für die Zeit 2070 - 2100 wurden Effekte des Klimawandels abgeschätzt.Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass in Niedersachsen bereits heute fast flächendeckend günstige Bedingungen für typische Maisunkräuter herrschen, aber nur einzelne Arten weitverbreitet hohe Bedeutung im Maisanbau besitzen (Echinochloa crus-galli, Chenopodium album, Polygonum convolvulus). Die Ergebnisse decken sich sehr gut mit Daten eines früheren Maisunkraut-Monitorings. Die Reaktion auf die veränderten Klimabedingungen zum Ende dieses Jahrhunderts ist artspezifisch sehr unterschiedlich. Einige Arten reagieren im potentiellen Vorkommen neutral (E. crus-galli), andere mit großflächigen Zugewinnen (Polygonum persicaria) oder Verlusten (Viola arvensis) geeigneter Habitate. Alle Arten, die heute bereits hohes Schadpotential aufweisen, behalten dieses; weitere Arten gewinnen regional Schadenspotential (Calystegia sepium, Setara viridis).Stichwörter: Klimawandel, MaxEnt, Niedersachsen, potentielle Verbreitung, ökologische Nische, Schadensnische, Echinochloa crus-galli, Chenopodium albumPredicting weed problems in maize cropping by species distribution modellingAbstractIncreasing maize cultivation and changed cropping practices promote the selection of typical maize weeds that may also profit strongly from climate change. Predicting potential weed problems is of high interest for plant production. Within the project KLIFF, experiments were combined with species distribution modelling for this task in the region of Lower Saxony, Germany. For our study, we modelled ecological and damage niches of nine weed species that are significant and wide spread in maize cropping in a number of European countries. Species distribution models describe the ecological niche of a species, these are the environmental conditions under which a species can maintain a vital population. It is also possible to estimate a damage niche, i.e. the conditions under which a species causes damage in agricultural crops. For this, we combined occurrence data of European national data bases with high resolution climate, soil and land use data. Models were also projected to simulated climate conditions for the time horizon 2070 - 2100 in order to estimate climate change effects.Modelling results indicate favourable conditions for typical maize weed occurrence virtually all over the study region, but only a few species are important in maize cropping. This is in good accordance with the findings of an earlier maize weed monitoring. Reaction to changing climate conditions is species-specific, for some species neutral (E. crus-galli), other species may gain (Polygonum persicaria) or loose (Viola arvensis) large areas of suitable habitats. All species with damage potential under present conditions will remain important in maize cropping, some more species will gain regional importance (Calystegia sepium, Setara viridis).Keywords: Chenopodium album, climate change, damage niche, Echinochloa crus-galli, ecological niche, Lower Saxony, MaxEnt, potential distributio

Neonatal Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome After Mother-to-Child Transmission of a Low-Pathogenic stx2b Harboring Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli

This case describes evidence for a Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O146:H28 infection leading to hemolytic uremic syndrome in a neonate. STEC O146:H28 was linked hitherto with asymptomatic carriage in humans. Based on strain characteristics and genotyping data, the mother is a healthy carrier who transmitted the STEC during delivery. STEC strains belonging to the low-pathogenic STEC group must also be considered in the workup of neonatal hemolytic uremic syndrom

Klimafolgenforschung zu Ackerunkräutern – Daten, Methoden und Anwendungen auf verschiedenen Skalen

Eine große Anzahl an Einzeluntersuchungen hat sich in den vergangenen Jahren mit unterschiedlichen Aspekten der Folgen des Klimawandels für Biologie und Schadpotential von Ackerunkräutern befasst. Allerdings finden sich wenige Beispiele, die für einen definierten geographischen Raum und für einzelne Unkrautarten oder Anbausysteme ein umfassendes Bild liefern. Im Rahmen des Projektverbunds zur Klimafolgenforschung in Niedersachsen (KLIFF) wurde ein Forschungsansatz erprobt, der mehrere Skalenebenen übergreift und unterschiedliche Methoden verbindet. Dieser Ansatz sollte eine Möglichkeit liefern, die Folgen veränderter Klimabedingungen für Verbreitung und Leistungsfähigkeit einzelner Unkrautarten umfassend und mit möglichst hoher Vorhersagegenauigkeit abzuschätzen. Die Arten Abutilon theophrasti, Amaranthus retroflexus, Echinochloa crus-galli, Datura stramonium, Iva xanthiifolia und Setaria viridis wurden anhand eines solchen Vorgehens untersucht. Hierzu wurde eine korrelative Artverbreitungsmodellierung (regionale Skalenebene) mit kontrollierten Gefäßversuchen zu vegetativer und generativer Leistungsfähigkeit der Arten unter den für das Ende des Jahrhunderts für Niedersachsen erwarteten Klimabedingungen (lokale Skalenebene) verbunden. Bei der Zusammenführung der Daten zeigte sich, dass die Ergebnisse von der Modellierung und den empirischen Experimenten im Wesentlichen gut übereinstimmen. Für A. retroflexus, D. stramonium, E. crus-galli und S. viridis wiesen die Ergebnisse beider Untersuchungsmethoden auf eine neutrale bis positive Wirkung zukünftiger Klimabedingungen hin, für I. xanthiifolia hingegen auf eine negative Wirkung. Lediglich für A. theophrasti ließen sich die Ergebnisse von der Artverbreitungsmodellierung und den Gefäßversuchen nicht vollständig zur Deckung bringen. Insgesamt lassen unsere Ergebnisse die Einschätzung zu, dass der Ansatz, die Folgen von Klimawandel auf Ackerunkräuter mit einer mehrere Methoden und Skalenebenen verbindenden Herangehensweise zu untersuchen, zahlreiche Stärken aufweist. Diese Vorgehensweise erlaubt es, für eine definierte Untersuchungsregion unterschiedliche Datensätze zu einem detaillierten Gesamtergebnis aneinanderzupassen, und kann aus diesem Grunde, ggf. um weitere Aspekte erweitert, für die Untersuchung regionaler Klimawandelfolgen für Ackerunkräuter empfohlen werden.Stichwörter: Bioklimatische Nische, Habitateignung, korrelative Artverbreitungsmodellierung, regionales Klimamodell, tatsächliche VerbreitungClimate change impact research on arable weeds – data, methods and applications at various scale levelsAbstractIn the past years, a large number of studies have examined various aspects of possible consequences of climate change for the biology and damage potential of arable weeds. However, there are merely a few examples that have comprehensively investigated individual weed species or arable crop systems within a clearly delimited geographical area. In the frame of the research co-operation KLIFF (Climate change impact and adaptation research for Lower Saxony), we tested an approach that combines a number of methods to span several scale levels and types of environmental factors, which was intended to provide as accurate as possible an estimate of the potential distribution and performance of individual arable weed species under the predicted future climate conditions. This approach was put to practice for the species Abutilon theophrasti, Amaranthus retroflexus, Echinochloa crus-galli, Datura stramonium, Iva xanthiifolia and Setaria viridis. We combined projections of the potential future distribution of the individual weed species based on a correlative distribution modelling approach (regional scale level) with pot experiments (local scale level) on the vegetative and generative performance of these species under climatic conditions predicted for the end of the current century for Lower Saxony. A synopsis revealed that the results obtained from the different approaches corresponded to a large extent. For A. retroflexus, D. stramonium, E. crus-galli, and S. viridis, both approaches indicated a neutral or positive effect of the predicted future climate on their potential distribution and performance, whereas the opposite was found for I. xanthiifolia. Merely for A. theophrasti, results of the two methods did not fully concur. Altogether, our results highlight that investigating climate change impact on weeds by combining several methods to span several scale levels allows fitting various data sets to a comprehensive picture for a delimited region. It has a number of strengths which may be augmented by the inclusion of further aspects. Therefore, this approach can be recommended for research of the regional impacts of climate change on arable weeds.Keywords: Bioclimatic niche, correlative distribution modelling, habitat suitability, regional climate model, realized distributio