Humanities & Social Sciences

Die Grenzen Europas sind seit einigen Jahren gen Osten verschoben - Zeit für eine erste Bilanz des Alltags im »neuen Europa«. Wie wurde der homo sovieticus zum erfolgreichen Europäer? Was bedeuten heute Gleichheit und Differenz, Gemeinschaft und Individualität in den osteuropäischen Gesellschaften? Diese Studie untersucht die Logiken sozialer Differenzierung, die im Kontext der postsozialistischen Transformation und europäischen Integration auftreten. Konsumstrategien, Lebensstile und Körpertechniken werden als Ausdrucksformen veränderter Vorstellungen von Erfolg und gutem Leben analysiert. Es entsteht eine eindrucksvolle Ethnographie des neuen osteuropäischen Alltags.

Bedingt durch Flucht und Migration beginnen immer mehr Kinder und Jugendliche ihre Bildungskarriere nicht nur in Deutschland in einer neuen Sprache. Für sie ist der Schriftspracherwerb eine besondere Herausforderung und gleichzeitig ein bestimmender Faktor für den erfolgreichen Schulbesuch. Welche Herausforderungen ergeben sich für den Erwerb eines zweiten Schriftsystems? Was kennzeichnet den mehrsprachigen Schriftgebrauch in Kita und Grundschule? Wie kann eine ressourceninkludierende Didaktik und Methodik das mehrsprachige Schreiben- und Lesenlernen berücksichtigen? Der Sammelband behandelt diese Themen aus der Literalitätsforschung mit einem besonderen Fokus auf die Mehrsprachigkeit bei Kindern und Jugendlichen. Der Auftaktband zur Reihe "Mehrsprachigkeit in Bildungskontexten" ist Prof. Dr. Ulrich Mehlem gewidmet, einem Experten der vorschulischen Sprachförderung und Alphabetisierung von Kindern im Elementarbereich. Seine Forschung zur wissenschaftlichen Konzeption mehrsprachiger Ressourcen in der Mündlichkeit und Schriftlichkeit ist grundlegend und richtungsweisend.

Governance connotes the way an organization, an economy, or a social system co-ordinates and steers itself. Some insist that governing is strictly a top-down process guided by authority and coercion, while others emphasize that it emerges bottom-up through the workings of the free market. This book rejects these simplistic views in favour of a more distributed view of governance based on a mix of coercion, quid pro quo market exchange and reciprocity, on a division of labour among the private, public, and civic sectors, and on the co-evolution of these different integration mechanisms. This book is for both practitioners confronted with governance issues and for citizens trying to make sense of the world around them.

Chapter seven analyzes some of the most relevant future scenarios, regarding population, energy resources, public health, inequality, democracy on a national scale and forms of social power. On the population, evidences are advanced which cast doubt on the comforting idea that its trend will first become stationary and then decrease. On public health, the connotations of the Covid-19 pandemic are compared with those of the major ecological problems. On inequality, the emphasis is placed on that resulting from competition for the goods of status and power. On democracy, the tension between the national context, in which this political regime has expressed itself in our era, and global processes is discussed. Finally, the coexistence of various forms of social power and the ways in which they combine with each other is examined.

This volume assesses Non-Territorial Autonomy (NTA) in terms of its practical capacity to support the linguistic, cultural, and educational rights of national minority groups across Europe. The fact that 2023 marks the 25th anniversary of the coming into force of the Council of Europe Framework Convention on National Minorities (FCNM) and European Charter for Regional and Minority languages (ECRML) makes this book especially timely and relevant. Its numerous detailed empirical studies, one of which uses FCNM reporting as a benchmark, give a picture of the extent (or otherwise) to which international minority rights standards are actually being realized through various NTA arrangements. In keeping with the principles laid out in these foundational documents, the contributions to this volume acknowledge that when it comes to the effective delivery of linguistic, cultural and educational rights, NTA is best regarded not as an alternative but as a complement to territorially based arrangements. This is an open access book.

Participatory approaches and co-research are increasingly employed in the current moment for exploring barriers to equality. Co-research treats research participants as experts in their own lives and as equal research partners. Research conducted with this orientation is based on research problems drafted by the research participants themselves from their aspirations regarding the research process and an active partnership that considers the interests of all parties involved. Participatory methods are used in co-research, particularly for the purpose of deepening the contextualisation of research knowledge about structurally vulnerable or subordinated groups and to challenge the power positions associated with traditional research designs. In co-research, the role of the people involved in the research is more central than in more traditional research. One of the key principles of co-research is that co-investigators (a) can participate in various roles, (b) have the opportunity to participate in different phases of the research according to their own interests and resources, and (c) co-investigators' participation can take many forms, including differences in intensity. The idea is to provide more people with opportunities to contribute to the knowledge production about themselves and their communities from their respective perspectives and interests. Co-research is also seen as an opportunity to improve the relevance and usefulness of scientific knowledge. It aims to genuinely increase interaction and openness and extend science's societal responsibility. In this book, we approach co-research as a means to promote social justice, as an action with a societal impact contributor to social impact and as a means to promote the societal responsibility of science. We discuss and evaluate the ideals of the co-research process concerning the everyday challenges and practices in research. Above all, we offer the knowledge and experience generated by our own projects to support those planning or already implementing co-research projects.

Engaging in Prosocial Behaviour for an Inclusive Society offers an essential exploration of how educational institutions can foster inclusivity, prosocial behavior, and community engagement. In today’s world, marked by global diversity, social fragmentation, and complex environmental challenges, the need for transformative approaches in education has never been greater. This book brings together a collection of innovative research and insights that delve into trauma-informed teaching, culturally responsive pedagogy, diversity training, and sustainability education, highlighting the vital role of education in shaping equitable and compassionate societies. Designed for educators, researchers, and policymakers, the book provides practical frameworks for developing inclusive learning environments that promote empathy, equity, and active citizenship. Readers will gain a deeper understanding of how trauma-aware practices, transformative learning, and community-based engagement can help address systemic inequalities and promote social justice. Through a blend of theoretical perspectives and real-world applications, Engaging in Prosocial Behaviour for an Inclusive Society emphasizes the importance of cultivating inner capacities such as self-awareness, mindfulness, and intercultural understanding, which are critical for building connections across diverse groups. By focusing on both individual development and institutional transformation, this book empowers educators and students alike to take meaningful action in creating a more inclusive and sustainable future. It offers actionable strategies to support prosocial behavior and community engagement within higher education, aiming to prepare the next generation of leaders to engage positively with their communities and the world. Whether you are an educator, administrator, or researcher, this book provides invaluable insights and tools to shape transformative educational practices that lead to lasting social impact.

Die vorliegende Arbeit analysiert die Anreizwirkungen des Umlage- und des Kapitaldeckungsverfahrens auf Ersparnisbildung, Arbeitsangebot und intergenerative Transfers in einem mikroökonomisch fundierten, disaggregierten Generationenmodell unter besonderer Berücksichtigung dynamischer Übergangsaspekte. Dabei zeigt sich, daß die aus der partiellen Ablösung des umlagefinanzierten Sozialversicherungssystems resultierende Stärkung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Kapitalbildung und die Erhöhung des gesamtwirtschaftlichen Arbeitsangebotes einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Lösung der zu erwartenden, demo-graphisch bedingten Verteilungskonflikte leisten könnten. Zu fordern wäre jedoch ein rasches und gezieltes wirtschafts- und sozialpolitisches Handeln.

This open access book seeks to create a forum for discussing key questions regarding theories on teaching: Which theories of teaching do we have? What are their attributes? What do they contain? How are they generated? How context-sensitive and content-specific do they need to be? Is it possible or even desirable to develop a comprehensive theory of teaching? The book identifies areas of convergence and divergence among the answers to these questions by prominent international scholars in research on teaching. Initiating exchanges among the authors, it then evaluates whether consensus can be reached on the areas of divergence. The book concludes by discussing lessons learned from this endeavor and outlines steps that need to be taken for advancing future work on theorizing teaching. As such, the book is aimed at readers interested in an overview of the theorizing of teaching and key open questions that, if addressed, help to move the field forward.

This volume explores word-order phenomena across a phylogenetically diverse sample of languages covering a region loosely referred to as the Western Asian Transition Zone, approximately corresponding to western Iran, northern Iraq, eastern Turkey and the Caucasus. The sample includes representatives from four branches of Indo-European (Iranian, Hellenic, Armenian, Indo-Aryan) as well as Turkic, Semitic, Kartvelian, Northwest Caucasian and Northeast Caucasian. Methodologically, we apply a corpus-based approach to word-order, building on two purpose-built and fully accessible data-bases of spoken language corpora, WOWA (Word Order in Western Asia), and HamBam (Hamedan-Bamberg Corpus of Contemporary Spoken Persian). The majority of the languages are historically OV, yet exhibit high rates of post-verbal elements, and these constitute the primary focus of the volume. One of the major findings is the importance of semantic role in determining pre- versus post-verbal placement of clausal constituents: We identify a consistent bias towards post-verbal placement of spatial Goals, which is amplified by increasing areal proximity to the VO languages of the southwestern periphery of the region (Semitic). In the languages in and adjacent to the Caucasus, on the other hand, we find stronger effects of information structure in triggering post-verbal position. Along with contributions on individual languages and varieties, the volume includes an overview chapter outlining the theoretical background and the data sources, summary chapters on sub-regions, as well as contributions from an experimental and psycholinguistic perspective.

This open access book provides insight on how the tactical urbanism has the capacity to influence change in mobility practices such as cycling. COVID-19 crisis prompted the public authorities to rethink the use of public space in order to develop means of transport that are both efficient and adapted to the health context and their effects on cycling practices in Europe, North, and South America. Its contributors collectively reveal and evidence through policies analysis, mapping, and innovative qualitative analysis bridging video and interviews, how those new infrastructures and policies can be a trigger for change in a context of mobility transition. This book provides an important element on the way local authorities can act in a quicker and more agile way. While some decisions are specific to the context of the beginning of the pandemic, the analysis offers lessons on the way to implement the transition toward a low-carbon mobility, on the importance of processes based on trials and errors, on the political stakes of reallocating road space.

Despite the fact that nanotechnology has been present for a few decades, there is a big gap between how nanotechnology is perceived and what nanotechnology can truly offer in all sectors of water. The question to be answered is 'what more can we expect from nanotechnology' in the water field? The rational nano-design starts with well-defined problem definitions, necessitates interdisciplinary approaches, involves 'think-outside-the-box', and represents the future growth point of environmental nanotechnology. However, it is still largely new to the educated public and even scientists and engineers in water fields. Therefore, it is the purpose of this book to promote the concept of rational nano-design and to demonstrate its creativity, innovation, and excitement. This book presents a series of carefully selected rationally designed nano- materials/devices/surfaces, which represent drastically different, ground-breaking, and eye-opening approaches to conventional problems to embody the concept of nano-design and to illustrate its remarkable potential to change the face of the research in water industry in the future. Each of the book contributors is world-renowned expert in the burgeoning field of rational nano-design for applications. Rational Design of Next-generation Nanomaterials and Nanodevices for Water Applications is intended for undergraduates, graduates, scientists and professionals in the fields of environmental science, material science, chemistry, and chemistry engineering. It provides coherent and good material for teaching, research, and professional reference.

This volume explores how everyday texts in Renaissance Italy engaged with music, sound, and hearing. Of the 358 known editions printed in 1501, only a few contained formal music notation or specialist theory. Yet a surprising wealth of musical knowledge emerges from religious texts, classical commentaries, lifestyle guides, poetry, and more. These sources—rarely penned by professional musicians—reflect the broader cultural presence of music in early 16th-century life, touching on themes like music’s moral influence, its role in education, and its scientific understanding. Drawing from an ambitious cross-disciplinary survey, this groundbreaking study repositions everyday references to music as vital to understanding Renaissance musical culture. It challenges scholars to look beyond elite and theoretical traditions, and instead engage with the rich, often-overlooked world of non-specialist musical discourse. Set against the backdrop of 1501—a landmark year when Ottaviano Petrucci revolutionized music printing—this book offers a compelling snapshot of how music was understood and discussed by ordinary readers in Renaissance Italy. By sounding out these diverse voices, the project reimagines the contours of music history and opens new avenues for musicological inquiry.

This open access book offers a multidisciplinary and comprehensive perspective regarding the immediate and long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on coworking spaces in the European Region. The current pandemic has imposed several effects on work and spaces for work. Some are immediate effects and will last for a short time (such as the closing down of the space), some will last longer (namely, the reorganisation of the space to meet the physical distancing), and some will stay for a long time (remote working and hybrid working). Although the literature on coworking spaces and the effects of the pandemic is growing fast, empirical studies are yet limited. Within this context, this book seeks a twofold aim: (i) to contribute to the fast-growing literature on coworking space and their effects at different scales; (ii) to present a multidisciplinary perspective about the effects of the yet-lasting Corona-pandemic effects on the patterns of remote working and consequently on coworking spaces, as the most diffused form of new working spaces.

On 18 October 2018, during the 95th Dies Natalis, Jeroen Brouwers received an honorary doctorate from the Radboud University. This honorary doctorate was awarded to him because of his significance to Dutch literature. This edition includes the laudatio by the honorary promotor Jos Joosten, the acceptance speech by Jeroen Brouwers and a curriculum vitae by Brouwers' biographer Johan Vandenbroucke. Honorary promoter Jos Joosten described Jeroen Brouwers in 2018 as ""a prominent and highly acclaimed writer with a career spanning more than half a century. He has addressed important societal issues in his novels, such as the processing of the Second World War in the Dutch East Indies in 'Bezonken Rood' (1981) and the abuse in the Catholic Church in 'Het Hout' (2014). But he is also a great essayist, employing a method that lies between scholarly analysis and literary imagination, and a polemicist. He serves as an example for many writers: he lives for and through literature. As a critic, he also writes extensively about Flemish literature, which is also a particular focus of Nijmegen's Dutch studies. And whether he's engaging in polemics or erecting a statue for a writer: stylistically, it's always virtuoso.""