"Dressierte Bürger" und "deformierte Gesellschaft": Autonomisierung und Responsibilisierung in politischen Sachbüchern

"Spätestens seit der Einsetzung der Enquete-Kommission 'Zukunft des Bürgerschaftlichen Engagements' (2000-2002) durch den Deutschen Bundestag steht die Förderung von und die Forderung nach freiwilligen, unentgeltlichen und gemeinwohlorientierten Tätigkeiten der Bürger ganz oben auf der politischen Agenda - eine Entwicklung, die durch eine Vielzahl publizistischer Beiträge flankiert wird. Insbesondere das Genre des gegenwärtig 'boomenden deutschen Sittenbuchs' (FAZ) adressiert den Einzelnen als Individuum, aus dessen Freiheit unmittelbar Tugenden wie Solidarität und Verantwortung zu resultieren haben. Dass Freiheit als unhintergehbare Prämisse dieser Tugenden diskursiviert wird, hat unmittelbare Folgen für die Anforderungen an den Einzelnen: Es ermöglicht den Autoren die Beurteilung eines an diesen Tugenden orientierten Lebens als emanzipatorischem Akt. Sei es entgegen 'staatlicher Bevormundung' oder trotz mangelnden Vertrauens in die eigene Entscheidungsfähigkeit - durch eine aktive Suche nach Solidargemeinschaften und freiwillige Verantwortungsübernahme erweist sich der Einzelne als seiner Freiheit nicht nur bewusst, sondern auch fähig. 'Frei sein' scheint nur denkbar als 'frei handeln'. Indem solches Handeln mit den Tugenden von Verantwortung und Solidarität konnotiert wird, wird folgendes erreicht: Die Spezifizierung von freiheitlichem Handeln als solidarischem und verantwortungsvollem Handeln erlaubt, das Prinzip der Freiheit nicht nur in sozialverträgliche, sondern geradezu in gesellschaftstiftende Handlungsformen zu übersetzen. Der Zusammenhalt der Gesellschaft gerinnt so zur Resultante einer persönlichen Entscheidung der Bürger, tugendhaft zu handeln - eine Entscheidung, die sie freiwillig zu treffen haben, durch deren Ablehnung sie sich jedoch als unfrei erweisen zu scheinen. Mithilfe einer diskursanalytischen Untersuchung fokussiert der Beitrag aktuelle Veröffentlichungen, die dieses Paradox konstellieren und prozeduralisieren: Sie bewegen sich zwischen Sachbuch und Ratgeberliteratur und behaupten Tugendhaftigkeit als gleichermaßen natürliches und der Anleitung bedürftiges Selbstverhältnis." (Autorenreferat

Development of State-Level Mathematics Curriculum Documents: Report of a Survey

Includes bibliographical references.Recent federal initiatives, most notably the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, have exerted substantial influence on state and local decision-making. One element of the educational system that has been affected most directly and dramatically is curriculum articulation, particularly as it relates to holding school systems accountable for what students learn.This paper was supported by funds from the National Science Foundation (NSF)

Vaccinia virus replication is not affected by APOBEC3 family members

BACKGROUND: The APOBEC3G protein represents a novel innate defense mechanism against retroviral infection. It facilitates the deamination of the cytosine residues in the single stranded cDNA intermediate during early steps of retroviral infection. Most poxvirus genomes are relatively A/T-rich, which may indicate APOBEC3G-induced mutational pressure. In addition, poxviruses replicate exclusively in the cytoplasm where APOBEC3G is located. It was therefore tempting to analyze whether vaccinia virus replication is affected by APOBEC3G. RESULTS: The replication of vaccinia virus, a prototype poxvirus, was not, however, inhibited in APOBEC3G-expressing cells, nor did other members of the APOBEC3 family alter vaccinia virus replication. HIV counteracts APOBEC3G by inducing its degradation. However, Western blot analysis showed that the levels of APOBEC3G protein were not affected by vaccinia virus infection. CONCLUSION: The data indicate that APOBEC3G is not a restriction factor for vaccinia virus replication nor is vaccinia virus able to degrade APOBEC3G

Die subjektive Wahrnehmung als neuer Faktor für mehr Sicherheit im Strassenverkehr

In der vorliegenden Studie wurden die beiden Präventionsmassnahmen "Wissensvermittlung" und "Selbstreflexion" zu Alleinunfällen auf ihre sicherheitsbezogene Wirkung bei Zweiradfahrenden (Fahrrad, E-Bike und Motorrad) untersucht und evaluiert. Dabei zeigten die Interventionen gute Effekte zum Umgang mit Alleinunfällen und konnten den Teilnehmenden somit gut die Problematik, gewisse Handlungsalternativen und die negativen Folgen von Selbstunfällen nahelegen. Es hat sich jedoch auch gezeigt, dass die eigene Unfallgefährdung nach den Interventionen vermehrt unterschätzt wurde

Adaptation of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders for assessing depression in women during pregnancy and post-partum across countries and cultures

BackgroundTo date, no study has used standardised diagnostic assessment procedures to determine whether rates of perinatal depression vary across cultures.AimsTo adapt the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM–IV Disorders (SCID) for assessing depression and other non-psychotic psychiatric illness perinatally and to pilot the instrument in different centres and cultures.MethodAssessments using the adapted SCID and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale were conducted during the third trimester of pregnancy and at 6 months postpartum with 296 women from ten sites in eight countries. Point prevalence rates during pregnancy and the postnatal period and adjusted 6-month period prevalence rates were computed for caseness, depression and major depression.ResultsThe third trimester and 6-month point prevalence rates for perinatal depression were 6.9% and 8.0%, respectively. Postnatal 6-month period prevalence rates for perinatal depression ranged from 2.1% to 31.6% across centres and there were significant differences in these rates between centres.ConclusionsStudy findings suggest that the SCID was successfully adapted for this context. Further research on determinants of differences inprevalence of depression across cultures isneeded

Sprouts Growing Healthy Habits: Curriculum Development and Pilot Study

High rates of childhood obesity and the impact this has on children's health make it important to establish a healthy lifestyle during the early school years. This pilot study explored the impact of a newly developed healthy habits curriculum. The Sprouts: Growing Healthy Habits curriculum presents topics such as energy balance, healthy sleep habits, and food groups through short activities and interactive book-reading. A nonrandomized controlled experimental study design was used to assess impact. Fifty-seven children between 5 and 6 years of age participated from two elementary schools (36 from the intervention school, 21 from the control school). Knowledge was assessed pre- and post-intervention in five content areas (farm to table, bedtime routines, portion size, energy expenditure, sugar content of beverages) using card sorting, ranking, and sequence activities. Within- and between-school comparisons were conducted using differences between groups and mixed modeling approaches. Within the intervention school, significant increases in knowledge were observed for farm to table, sugar content of beverages, and bedtime routines. For the control school, there was a significant increase in knowledge of portion sizes. Considering between-schools, only change in knowledge of bedtime routines remained significant, with greater increases in the intervention school. Results seem promising given the short dosage of curriculum. Increases in knowledge of healthy habits in early childhood may help in promoting healthy behaviors and combatting the effects of obesity

Intended Mathematics Curriculum as Represented in State-Level Curriculum Standards: Consensus or Confusion?

Full Report published by: Information Age Publishers. http://www.infoagepub.comThis report represents the first detailed analysis of the grade placement of particular learning goals across all state-level curriculum documents published and current as of May 2005. The report documents the current situation regarding grade-level mathematics curriculum specification in the U.S. and highlights a general lack of consensus across states. As states continue to work to improve learning opportunities for all students, we hope this report will serve as a useful summary to inform future curriculum decisions.This report is based on the work of the Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum, supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ESI-0333879. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation

BRIP1 (BACH1) variants and familial breast cancer risk: a case-control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Inactivating and truncating mutations of the nuclear BRCA1-interacting protein 1 (BRIP1) have been shown to be the major cause of Fanconi anaemia and, due to subsequent alterations of BRCA1 function, predispose to breast cancer (BC).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We investigated the effect of BRIP1 -64G>A and Pro919Ser on familial BC risk by means of TaqMan allelic discrimination, analysing <it>BRCA1/BRCA2 </it>mutation-negative index patients of 571 German BC families and 712 control individuals.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>No significant differences in genotype frequencies between BC cases and controls for BRIP1 -64G>A and Pro919Ser were observed.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We found no effect of the putatively functional BRIP1 variants -64G>A and Pro919Ser on the risk of familial BC.</p

Nuclear receptor coregulator SNP discovery and impact on breast cancer risk

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Coregulator proteins are "master regulators", directing transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation of many target genes, and are critical in many normal physiological processes, but also in hormone driven diseases, such as breast cancer. Little is known on how genetic changes in these genes impact disease development and progression. Thus, we set out to identify novel single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within SRC-1 (NCoA1), SRC-3 (NCoA3, AIB1), NCoR (NCoR1), and SMRT (NCoR2), and test the most promising SNPs for associations with breast cancer risk.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The identification of novel SNPs was accomplished by sequencing the coding regions of these genes in 96 apparently normal individuals (48 Caucasian Americans, 48 African Americans). To assess their association with breast cancer risk, five SNPs were genotyped in 1218 familial BRCA1/2-mutation negative breast cancer cases and 1509 controls (rs1804645, rs6094752, rs2230782, rs2076546, rs2229840).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Through our resequencing effort, we identified 74 novel SNPs (30 in NCoR, 32 in SMRT, 10 in SRC-3, and 2 in SRC-1). Of these, 8 were found with minor allele frequency (MAF) >5% illustrating the large amount of genetic diversity yet to be discovered. The previously shown protective effect of rs2230782 in SRC-3 was strengthened (OR = 0.45 [0.21-0.98], p = 0.04). No significant associations were found with the other SNPs genotyped.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This data illustrates the importance of coregulators, especially SRC-3, in breast cancer development and suggests that more focused studies, including functional analyses, should be conducted.</p

Les compétences des sages-femmes selon la loi

Deutsch: Seit Anfang Jahr ist das Gesundheitsberufegesetz in Kraft und definiert die Kom­petenzen von Hebammen und sechs weiteren Berufsgruppen. Ein Gesetz regelt nicht nur Pflichten, es beinhaltet auch Rechte und bietet Schutz. Entstanden ist es in mehrjähriger, intensiver Zusammenarbeit von Behörden und Vertreterinnen aus der Berufskonferenz sowie unter Einbezug von Hebammen aus verschiedenen Bereichen der Praxis und der Lehre. Sie haben mit grosser Umsicht und Sorgfalt die grund­legenden Formulierungen erarbeitet und in den Vernehmlassungen verteidigt Français: La loi sur les professions de la santé est en vigueur depuis le début de l’année et définit les compétences des sages-femmes et de six autres professions. Une telle loi règle non seulement les devoirs mais aussi les droits et offre une protection. Elle a été créée après plusieurs années de coopération intensive entre les autorités et les représentants de la Conférence professionnelle ainsi qu'avec la participation de sages-femmes de divers domaines de la pratique et de l'enseignement. Celles-ci ont élaboré les formulations de base avec grand soin et diligence et les ont défendues lors des consultations