Cape Blanc (NW-Africa) & Chile (30 °S)

Coccolithophores, a major group of the nanophytoplankton, belong to the class Prymnesiophyceae.The cells of coccolithophores are typically surrounded by layer(s) of calcium carbonate plates, the coccoliths. Certain coccolithophores can be assigned to particular water masses or to photic zone characteristics and, therefore, single species as well as whole assemblages can be used as oceanographical indicators for the present and the past. Due to their ocean wide distribution, their large contribution to the fine grained carbonate ooze of the deep sea, their ability to photosynthesize and to calcificate they play an important role in the global carbon cycle...thesi

Queen Mothers: Women in Leadership in Sub-Saharan Africa

In some precolonial regimes in sub-Saharan Africa, queen mothers ruled alongside kings. Yet, women were dislodged from leadership positions over time. Today, many countries are discussing how to boost the number of women in politics and business. Some sub-Saharan African countries are already among the top 25 in terms of proportion of women in parliament, and boast above-average percentages of women on corporate boards. How did women become leaders in these sectors? Men usually dominate in leadership positions; however, some countries have achieved impressive numbers of women in political and economic leadership by introducing affirmative policies in favour of fast-tracking women's participation. Although there are still miles to go before gender parity is finally achieved, certain countries in sub-Saharan Africa show that changing the rules of the game by implementing a mixture of affirmative policies increases the number of women in leadership positions. Women's movements are behind the big jumps in female representation that countries in sub-Saharan Africa have made. Especially in post-war societies, women's movements have used the opportunity to push for more women in leadership. For example, the Women's National Coalition in South Africa lobbied for a gender advisory body to the Constitutional Assembly, which contributed to the Constitution now including a strong equality clause. Even though we have witnessed many women being sent back to private spaces after wars, the immediate post-war context can drastically change the social standing of women for the better. Alongside structural factors that increase women's participation in leadership, there are also individual factors that certain women bring to the table. Wealthy and educated women often climb up the career ladder. Additionally, women who benefit from training for management and mentoring are empowered to participate in politics and business. While it is easy to look at the global gender equity gap and shrug it off as a problem too big to solve, certain countries in sub-Saharan Africa show that rapid changes are possible when a mixture of affirmative policies is implemented, when women's movements are supported, and when women have access to education and money. International donors should promote feminist policies to increase the number of women in power

Religious activity, risk-taking preferences and financial behaviour: Empirical evidence from German survey data

Individual preferences with respect to risk taking play an important role in financial economic behaviour and, hence, in financial markets. Using German microdata, we argue that individual religiosity is a determinant of household willingness to take risks, since it shapes relevant individual values and norms. Controlling for overall level of general risk assessment, firstly, we find that different religious affiliations are associated with distinct financial risk-taking attitudes. Adherents to the two main Christian religions in Germany (Protestants and Catholics) are less risk-tolerant in general, but not in financial concerns. The same holds for Muslims. Further, religious involvement is associated with higher risk aversion. Secondly, we examine the extent to which religion-induced heterogeneity in risk-taking preferences actually influences investment decisions of individuals in Germany. We provide evidence suggesting that religious beliefs and religious involvement influence individual portfolio decisions

Peaceful or Contentious? How to Promote Interreligious Peace in Africa

Religion continues to play an important role in shaping cultures all over the world. In some societies religious diversity and coexistence are celebrated, while others grapple with (violent) religious extremism. What determines whether interreligious relations are peaceful or contentious? What can we learn from positive examples, and what role does religious extremism play in interreligious peace? Sub-Saharan Africa offers useful cases from which we can learn. Levels of interreligious peace have been declining worldwide since 1990. Yet, this varies greatly across countries. Sub-Saharan Africa stands out as a region characterised by both very high and very low levels of interreligious peace from country to country. Tolerant religious ideas, weak religious identification, favourable institutions governing religion, and a conducive socio-economic environment work in favour of interreligious peace. In Sierra Leone and Togo, high levels of interreligious peace are maintained through cultures of peace engrained in close social bonds and lived religious tolerance. Challenges to interreligious peace are countered through peace advocacy efforts and supported by institutions designed to peacefully resolve conflicts and guarantee individuals’ freedom of religion or belief. Violent religious extremism carries the risk of negatively affecting interreligious relations, as its divisiveness engenders the escalation of conflict, and it can lead to stigmatisation of members of certain religious or ethnic groups by association, the politicisation of religion, and forced displacement

Oferta y potencial de desarrollo de atributos de valor de productos cárnicos bovinos en el mercado minorista chileno

A pesar de la fuerte competencia y los importantes cambios que se han producido en el mercado de las carnes en las últimas décadas, las características de la oferta de carne bovina no han presentado grandes cambios. Este estudio analizó la oferta del sector minorista para describir el desarrollo cualitativo de los productos, identificando atributos diferenciadores presentes en supermercados, carnicerías y distribuidores en línea de carne bovina chilenos, así como la oferta de carne bovina de calidad en Estados Unidos, Reino Unido, Francia y España mediante una revisión en línea. Luego se entrevistó a actores del sector minorista de carne, para conocer su opinión acerca del desarrollo de productos diferenciados en el mercado nacional y sus limitaciones. Los resultados mostraron que el desarrollo de este mercado es todavía escaso. Nuevas presentaciones para un mismo corte, un sistema nacional de graduación de la carne, carne magra y platos preparados son algunas oportunidades a corto plazo que podrían ser atractivas para la totalidad de la cadena de la carne. Sin embargo, para que estos productos sean exitosos es fundamental desarrollar marcas, educar e informar a los consumidores y articular la cadena de la carne bovina nacionaltécnicas de evaluación y mejora del bienestar, entre otras que promuevan la reintroducción de individuos rehabilitados

On the relevance of psychological motives, values, and norms for socially responsible investments: An econometric analysis

Based on unique data from a representative computer-based survey among financial decision makers in Germany, this paper empirically examines the determinants of socially responsible investments (SRI). Our econometric analysis implies that the perceived financial performance of SRI matters for the shares of investments in SRI among all investments. However, our main result is that psychological motives, values, and norms like warm glow motives and expectations of the social environment are even more relevant and thus have strong significant effects on SRI. This suggests that SRI investors gain strong non-financial utility from sustainable investments. While the membership in Christian churches and the strength of Christian religiosity also seem to be positively correlated with SRI, these correlations become insignificant if other psychological motives, values, and norms are included in the econometric analysis. Furthermore, a left-wing political orientation rather has significant negative effects on SRI. An explanation for this surprising result is the general aversion of a left-wing identification to the participation in stock markets, which is dominant in SRI

A volume-averaged nodal projection method for the Reissner-Mindlin plate model

We introduce a novel meshfree Galerkin method for the solution of Reissner-Mindlin plate problems that is written in terms of the primitive variables only (i.e., rotations and transverse displacement) and is devoid of shear-locking. The proposed approach uses linear maximum-entropy approximations and is built variationally on a two-field potential energy functional wherein the shear strain, written in terms of the primitive variables, is computed via a volume-averaged nodal projection operator that is constructed from the Kirchhoff constraint of the three-field mixed weak form. The stability of the method is rendered by adding bubble-like enrichment to the rotation degrees of freedom. Some benchmark problems are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and performance of the proposed method for a wide range of plate thicknesses

Interreligious contact and attitudes in Togo and Sierra Leone: The role of ingroup norms and individual preferences

Rising religious violence makes it imperative to develop strategies to foster and preserve interreligious peace. We examine the role of descriptive and injunctive pro-mixing ingroup norms in explaining interreligious contact and, indirectly, more favorable interreligious attitudes. Ingroup norms have been argued to affect intergroup contact independently of individual preferences through mechanisms of social control, and indirectly via internalization of the norms in one's own preferences. However, the relation between ingroup norms and individual preferences is rarely investigated, and it is unknown whether these two mechanisms matter differently for positive and negative contact. We conducted two studies (N1 = 678, N2 = 1,831) in Togo and Sierra Leone to determine whether ingroup norms predict positive and negative interreligious contact directly, indirectly via individual preferences, or via both mechanisms, and how this then translates to intergroup attitudes. We also explored whether the processes were comparable between countries and for religious majority and minority members. We found that descriptive and injunctive norms both mattered for interreligious contact. While for descriptive pro-mixing norms direct mechanisms of social control were more pronounced, injunctive norms were related to interreligious contact and attitudes via preferences for similar others through internalization processes. Data were collected as part of the project 'Religion for Peace: Identifying Conditions and Mechanisms of Interfaith Peace' conducted at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies funded by the German Research Foundation - Datenfile Version 1.0.0, https://doi.org/10.7802/260

Religion and economic outcomes: Household savings behavior in the USA

Assuming that certain religious beliefs, as a proxy for one's cultural background, may inhibit wealth accumulation, individual savings behavior in the USA with its vital religious market is examined. Using data from the US Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), I found notable differences in saving rates and in the amount saved between religious and non-religious individuals as well as across religious groups. However, neither the fixed-effects approach nor the instrumental variables estimation, where the religious composition of the region of ancestry origin is used as an instrument for individual religious belief, support the findings from cross-sectional analysis. The longitudinal analysis yields no effect of religious belief on savings choices. Frequent religious church attendance, however, positively affects savings decisions. Further, based on the exogenous variation in religious composition of ancestry region, the instrumental variables approach shows that religious affiliation determines the binary savings decision negatively. However, the instrument is not valid for the continuous savings decision

What do we know about religion and interreligious peace? A review of the quantitative literature

Interreligious relations remain an important dimension of human coexistence and we currently observe an increase in religiously motivated violence and discrimination. Hence, we need to better understand determinants of interreligious peace. Building on a new concept of interreligious peace which includes but exceeds the absence of interreligious physical violence, we provide a systematic review of 83 quantitative empirical studies examining religious determinants of interreligious physical violence, hostile attitudes, threat perceptions, trust, and cooperation. We find that religious ideas foster or hinder interreligious peace depending on their content. Religious identities have negative effects but must be considered in context. Evidence regarding the role of religious practice is mixed and the role of religious actors and institutions remains understudied. Our results show the need for (1) more conceptual clarity, (2) replications in different contexts, (3) research on dimensions of religion beyond identities, and (4) a better integration of different strands of literature