Demonstrationsbefragungen : Grenzen und Potenziale einer Forschungsmethode

Seit Anfang der 1990er Jahre gehören Befragungen von Demonstrierenden zum methodologischen Repertoire der sozialwissenschaftlichen Protest- und Bewegungsforschung. Sie erhalten ihren besonderen Charakter dadurch, dass sie Momentaufnahmen in einem aktuellen Konflikt sind. Die Aussagen der Befragten erlauben die analytische Verbindung von Einstellungen und soziodemografischem Profil der Beteiligten mit einer konkreten gesellschaftlichen Auseinandersetzung. Das ist ein großer Vorteil gegenüber der Nutzung repräsentativer Bevölkerungsbefragungen in der Protestforschung. In ihnen wird zwar erhoben, welche Formen der Partizipation die Befragten nutzen, aber der Kontext, in dem das geschieht, bleibt offen. Ob sich das Engagement gegen die Unterbringung von Asylsuchenden oder gegen europäische Austeritätspolitik richtet, macht aber für das Verständnis von Protest einen gravierenden Unterschied. Die Befragung ‚im Handgemenge‘ ist allerdings auch mit Ambivalenzen und Nachteilen verbunden, die zu Beginn des Jahres besonders deutlich sichtbar wurden, als gleich mehrere Teams die Dresdener Pegida-Demonstrationen unter die Lupe nahmen

Triethanolamine-promoted separation of calcium from recycled concrete fines during aqueous carbonation

The heterogeneous nature of recycled concrete fines (RCFs) complicates their reuse in new concrete mixtures. A possible solution to this challenge involves separating the calcium-rich cement from the quartz aggregates through aqueous carbonation (AC), forming CaCO3. AC typically requires large solvent volumes and multiple steps, hindering the industrial application of the process. To address these problems, a one-step AC procedure with low water-solid ratios and the addition of 0.2–1.0 wt% of triethanolamine (TEA) was tested to enhance calcium separation from RCFs as CaCO3. Pre- and post-carbonation analysis with XRF, Q-XRD, TGA, and sieving revealed that the addition of TEA resulted in an approximately twofold increase in calcium precipitation below 63 µm and increased the amount of sequestrated CO2 by 16–21 %. These findings showcase the feasibility of AC with low water-solid ratios and the addition of TEA as a means to separate calcium from RCF, aiding RCF reuse.</p

Collateralization of cerebellar output to functionally distinct brainstem areas. A retrograde, non-fluorescent tracing study in the rat

The organization of the cerebellum is characterized by a number of longitudinally organized connection patterns that consist of matching olivo-cortico-nuclear zones. These entities, referred to as modules, have been suggested to act as functional units. The various parts of the cerebellar nuclei (CN) constitute the output of these modules. We have studied to what extent divergent and convergent patterns in the output of the modules to four, functionally distinct brain areas can be recognized. Two retrograde tracers were injected in various combinations of the following nuclei: the red nucleus (RN), as a main premotor nucleus; the prerubral area, as a main supplier of afferents to the inferior olive (IO); the nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis (NRTP), as a main source of cerebellar mossy fibers; and the IO, as the source of climbing fibers. For all six potential combinations three cases were examined. All nine cases with combinations that involved the IO did not, or hardly, resulted in double labeled neurons. In contrast, all other combinations resulted in at least 10% and up to 67% of double labeled neurons in cerebellar nuclear areas where both tracers were found. These results show that the cerebellar nuclear neurons that terminate within the studied areas represent basically two intermingled populations of projection cells. One population corresponds to the small nucleo-olivary neurons whereas the other consists of medium- to large-sized neurons which are likely to distribute their axons to several other areas. Despite some consistent differences between the output patterns of individual modules we propose that modular cerebellar output to premotor areas such as the RN provides simultaneous feedback to both the mossy fiber and the climbing fiber system and acts in concert with a designated GABAergic nucleo-olivary circuit. These features seem to form a basic characteristic of cerebellar operation

NOVOMIR: De Novo Prediction of MicroRNA-Coding Regions in a Single Plant-Genome

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are small regulatory, noncoding RNA molecules that are transcribed as primary miRNAs (pri-miRNA) from eukaryotic genomes. At least in plants, their regulatory activity is mediated through base-pairing with protein-coding messenger RNAs (mRNA) followed by mRNA degradation or translation repression. We describe NOVOMIR, a program for the identification of miRNA genes in plant genomes. It uses a series of filter steps and a statistical model to discriminate a pre-miRNA from other RNAs and does rely neither on prior knowledge of a miRNA target nor on comparative genomics. The sensitivity and specificity of NOVOMIR for detection of premiRNAs from Arabidopsis thaliana is ~0.83 and ~0.99, respectively. Plant pre-miRNAs are more heterogeneous with respect to size and structure than animal pre-miRNAs. Despite these difficulties, NOVOMIR is well suited to perform searches for pre-miRNAs on a genomic scale. NOVOMIR is written in Perl and relies on two additional, free programs for prediction of RNA secondary structure (RNALFOLD, RNASHAPES)

Unterschiede in der Berichterstattung zu #NoG20

Der Beitrag vergleicht die mediale Berichterstattung zu den G20-Protesten in Hamburg und zeigt so journalistische Spielräume jenseits einseitiger Gewaltfokussierungen auf. Der Vergleich von sieben Tageszeitungen in Bezug auf den Umfang und Fokus der Berichterstattung, die Auswahl von Sprecher*innen, die Bewertungen und die Auseinandersetzung mit den Protestmotiven verdeutlicht eine Entgegensetzung von vergleichsweise protestaffinen Zeitungen des liberalen Spektrums und dem Protest deutlich negativ gegenüberstehenden Zeitungen des konservativen Spektrums

Development of student knowledge in competence-based pre-vocational education

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the development of student knowledge in pre-vocational secondary education schools which differ in the manner and extent to which they have implemented characteristics of competence-based education. The implementation of these characteristics was examined using a teacher questionnaire and the development of knowledge was investigated using concept mapping. The results showed that students developed slightly more knowledge in learning situations with fewer characteristics of competence-based education. The organisational characteristics of the learning situations were further found to be distinctive for the development of knowledge

Taking to the Streets in Germany – Disenchanted and Confident Critics in Mass Demonstrations

This paper analyses the socio-demographic attributes and political attitudes of protesters in Germany. In doing so, the paper studies participation at demonstrations, one of the key forms of non-electoral political participation in Germany and a central political arena in which to negotiate political and cultural conflicts. Methodologically, we draw on original data from nine protest surveys collected between 2003 and 2020. The demonstrations under scrutiny address a wide variety of issues such as peace, climate change, global justice, immigration, international trade and social policy. Analysing protesters’ profiles, we focus on differences both within and across demonstrations. We show that demonstrators’ socio-demographic and attitudinal characteristics diverge considerably across the surveyed demonstrations. In particular, we identify two clusters of demonstrations, differing most prominently regarding participants’ political trust, satisfaction with democracy, and perceptions of self-efficacy – the ‘disenchanted critics’ and the ‘confident critics’. Based on a regression analysis across all nine demonstrations, we further show that the distinction of these two demonstration clusters is not the result of the presence or absence of certain groups of demonstrators

Wie ein Fisch im Wasser der Zeichenwelt: Spaßguerilla seit den 1960er Jahren

"Subversive Formen des Protestes haben seit der Studentenbewegung einen festen Platz im Aktionsrepertoire sozialer Bewegungen. Das Konzept der Spaßguerilla, dass in der Kommune I entwickelt und umgesetzt wurde, war der Versuch, Protest neu zu erfinden und seine Grenzen zu überschreiten. Eine in der Form angelegte Macht- und Repräsentationskritik, Verfremdung und die Anstiftung zur Selbsttätigkeit sind die Wesentlichen Elemente subversiven Protestes. Der Aufsatz versucht, die Entstehung und Entwicklung dieser Protestgattung nachzuzeichnen, ihre Formen zu systematisieren und die dahinter stehenden Überlegungen zusammenzufassen." (Autorenreferat)"Since the student movement, subversive forms of protest have become integral part of social movements repertoire of action. The fun guerrilla program, developed and realized in the commune no. I, was an experiment of re-inventing protest and of overstepping its limits. The criticism of power and representation, implemented in its specific own form, the strategy of alienation, and the instigation of self-powered authority are main elements of subversive protest. The paper aims at a tracing of emergence and development of this type of protest, at a systematization of its forms, and at a summary of the considerations at the bottom of it." (author's abstract