Political Depolarization in German Public Opinion, 1980–2010

Little is known about political polarization in German public opinion. This article offers an issue-based perspective and explores trends of opinion polarization in Germany. Public opinion polarization is conceptualized and measured as alignment of attitudes. Data from the German General Social Survey (1980 to 2010) comprise attitudes towards manifold issues, which are classified into several dimensions. This study estimates multilevel models that reveal general and issue- as well as dimension-specific levels and trends in attitude alignment for both the whole German population and sub-groups. It finds that public opinion polarization has decreased over the last three decades in Germany. In particular, highly educated and more politically interested people have become less polarized over time. However, polarization seems to have increased in attitudes regarding gender issues. These findings provide interesting contrasts to existing research on the American public.

Human Trafficking, Sex Tourism, and Child Exploitation on the Southern Border

Human trafficking and various other forms of child sexual exploitation on the United States-Mexico border are described from social science and law enforcement perspectives, including current laws and definitions, case examples, and descriptions of victims and traffickers. The Southern Border Initiative of the AMBER Alert Project is outlined as one effort to combat trafficking through collaboration between law enforcement agencies and programs in the United States and Mexico. Policy recommendations include increasing knowledge and collaboration between law enforcement, social service agencies, and judicial systems across the border region and between the United States and Mexico.

The Use of New Technology and Occupational Mobility: An Event History Analysis of the Swiss Labor Market

The investigation of the consequences of new technologies has a long standing tradition within economics. Particularly, labor economists are wondering how the introduction of new technologies, e.g. Personal Computers, have shaped labor markets. Former research has concentrated on the question of whether on-the-job use of PCs creates a wage bonus for employees. In this paper, we investigate whether the use of PCs increases employees’ probability of an upward shift in their employment status and whether it reduces the risk of involuntary labor market exits. We do so by applying event history analysis to the Swiss Labor Market Survey, a random sample of 3028 respondents, and by analyzing a Panel sub-sample of 650 respondents conducted recently in Switzerland. Our results show that on-the-job use of PCs was beneficial for employees in the past by increasing their probability of an upward shift by approximately 50%. The analysis also suggests that PC use reduces the risk and duration of unemployment. However, these latter results fail to reach statistical significance.

Dynamics of Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Local Use and Conservation of Native Trees and Shrubs in the Bolivian Andes

Native trees and shrubs are essential components of rural landscapes in the semi-arid inner-Andean valleys of Bolivia. They can be found as hedges and bushes in various agroecosystems such as terrace walls, slopes, field boundaries and fallow land. Their distribution and floristic composition are the result of dynamic spatial and temporal interactions between local farmers and the environment. Local uses of natural resources and biodiversity reflect the constantly evolving Andean culture, which can be generally characterised as an intertwining of the human, natural, and spiritual worlds. The aim of the present ethnobotanical study was to analyse the dynamics of traditional ecological knowledge, to ascertain local farmers’ perceptions and uses of native woody species in Andean communities and to associate the results with local conservation activities for the trees and shrubs concerned. Our case study was carried out within two communities of the Tunari National Park (Dept. Cochabamba) in Bolivia. For data collection, research methods from social science (semi-structured interviews, participative observation, participatory mapping) as well as vegetation surveys were combined. Local actors included women and men of all ages as well as families from different social categories and altitudinal levels of permanent residence. Our study indicates that, due to a multitude of socio-economic pressures (e.g. migration of young people) as well as changes in use of biodiversity (e.g. replacement of native by exotic introduced species), the traditional ecological knowledge base of native trees and shrubs and their respective uses has become diminished over time. In many cases it has led to a decline in people’s awareness of native species and as a consequence their practical, emotional and spiritual relationships with them have been lost. However, results also show that applied traditional ecological knowledge has led to local conservation strategies, which have succeeded in protecting those tree and shrub species which are most widely regarded for their multifunctional, constant and exclusive uses (e.g. Schinus molle, Prosopis laevigata, Baccharis dracunculifolia). The presentation will discuss the question if and how applied traditional ecological knowledge positively contributes to local initiatives of sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity in rural areas.

Between Conservation and Development: Concretizing the First World Natural Heritage Site in the Alps Through Participatory Processes

This article presents an empirical interdisciplinary study of an extensive participatory process that was carried out in 2004 in the recently established World Natural Heritage Site “Jungfrau–Aletsch– Bietschhorn” in the Swiss Alps. The study used qualitative and quantitative empirical methods of social science to address the question of success factors in establishing and concretizing a World Heritage Site. Current international scientific and policy debates agree that the most important success factors in defining pathways for nature conservation and protection are: linking development and conservation, involving multiple stakeholders, and applying participatory approaches. The results of the study indicate that linking development and conservation implies the need to extend the reach of negotiations beyond the area of conservation, and to develop both a regional perspective and a focus on sustainable regional development. In the process, regional and local stakeholders are less concerned with defining sustainability goals than elaborating strategies of sustainability, in particular defining the respective roles of the core sectors of society and economy. However, the study results also show that conflicting visions and perceptions of nature and landscape are important underlying currents in such negotiations. They differ significantly between various stakeholder categories and are an important cause of conflicts occurring at various stages of the participatory process.

Estimating Intra-Party Preferences: Comparing Speeches to Votes

Well-established methods exist for measuring party positions, but reliable means for estimating intra-party preferences remain underdeveloped. While most efforts focus on estimating the ideal points of individual legislators based on inductive scaling of roll call votes, this data suffers from two problems: selection bias due to unrecorded votes and strong party discipline, which tends to make voting a strategic rather than a sincere indication of preferences. By contrast, legislative speeches are relatively unconstrained, as party leaders are less likely to punish MPs for speaking freely as long as they vote with the party line. Yet, the differences between roll call estimations and text scalings remain essentially unexplored, despite the growing application of statistical analysis of textual data to measure policy preferences. Our paper addresses this lacuna by exploiting a rich feature of the Swiss legislature: on most bills, legislators both vote and speak many times. Using this data, we compare text-based scaling of ideal points to vote-based scaling from a crucial piece of energy legislation. Our findings confirm that text scalings reveal larger intra-party differences than roll calls. Using regression models, we further explain the differences between roll call and text scalings by attributing differences to constituency-level preferences for energy policy.

Na 1 Nachlass Max Horkheimer, 635 - "The Social Function of Philosophy" (p. IX 11)

"The Social Function of Philosophy" (GS 4, S. 332-351), veröffentlicht in: Studies in Philosophy and Social Science VIII, 1939, S.322-337, a) englischer Vortragstext, Typoskript 16 Blatt, b) dass., Typoskript, 28 Blatt, c) dass., Typoskript mit handschriftlichen Korrekturen, 42 Blatt, d) deutsche Fassung des Vortragstextes, Typoskript mit eigenhändigen Korrekturen, 26 Blatt, e) dass., Typoskript mit handschriftlichen Korrekturen, 26 Blatt, f) deutsche Übersetzung von Kurt Jürgen Huch und Alfred Schmidt des in der Zeitschrift für Sozialforschung veröffentlichten Textes mit dem Titel: "Die gesellschaftliche Funktion der Philosophie", veröffentlicht in Max Horkheimer, "Kritische Theorie", Bd. II, 1968, S. 292-312, Typoskript mit handschriftlichen Korrekturen, 33 Blatt;

Na 1 Nachlass Max Horkheimer, 658 - Berichte über die Arbeit des Instituts für Sozialforschung u.a. (p. IX 59.3-IX 63)

Grossmann, Henrik: "The Nature of Economic Crisis". Typoskript, 4 Blatt; Über die Tätigkeiten des Institutes für Sozialforschung. Verschiedene Berichte. 1940- 1941; "Report to the Trustees of the Kurt Gerlach Memorial Foundation". 25.01.1940, Typoskript, 5 Blatt; "Manuskript under preparation". Januar 1940, handschriftliche Liste, 1 Blatt; Horkheimer, Max: "Über die allgemeine Lage des Instituts". Bericht für das Advisory Bord (New York members) Meeting, 22.04.1940; sowie ein Protokoll des Treffens, Typoskript, 5 Blatt; "Annual Report on the Activities of the Société International de Recherces Sociales, Presented to the Eight General Meeting in New York City on April 27, 1940"; sowie "Report on the Activities of the International Institute of Social Research for the Year 1939". Typoskript, 13 Blatt; "Report to the Trustees of the Kurt Gerlach Memorial Foundation". 23.02.1941, Typoskript mit eigenhändigen Ergänzungen von Max Horkheimer und handschriftlichen Ergänzungen und Korrekturen von Leo Löwenthal, 7 Blatt; Liste der Veröffentlichungen und der Forschungsgebiete des Instituts für Sozialforschung; "Content of Periodicals. List of Articles and Selected Major Book Reviews Arranged According to Contibutors. List of Articles and Selected Major Book Reviews Arranged According Topics. 1934-1941". a) Typoskript, 14 Blatt; b) Typoskript , 15 Blatt; "Literatur über features". 03.02.1941, Veröffentlichungsliste, 1 Blatt; Veröffentlichungsliste zu den Gebieten Nationalsozialismus, Massenkultur, Sozialgeschichte des späteren Mittelalters; 19.12.1941, Typoskript, 1 Blatt; Ankündigung und Übersicht über die ersten Nummern der "Studies in Philosophy and Social Science". 1941; Typoskripte und Drucksachen, 3 Blatt; "Supplementary Memorandum on the Activities of the Institute from 1939 to 1941. (supplemented to December, 1942)". 1942, als Typoskript vervielfältigt, 5 Blatt; Über Organisation und Mitarbeiter des Institutes für Sozialforschung. 1943; a) Typoskript, 6 Blatt; b) Typoskript, 7 Blatt; c) Teilstück, Typoskript mit handschriftlichen Korrekturen, 2 Blatt; d) Teilstück, Typoskript, 3 Blatt; e) Entwurf, Typoskript mit handschriftlichen Korrekturen, 8 Blatt; "Annual Report on the Activities of the Social Studies Association, Inc.". 15.05.1943, Typoskript, 6 Blatt; "Statement of Prof. Dr. Max Horkheimer, Director of the Institut of Social Research on June 9, 1943. Reponse: Certain Charges made against the Institut of Social Research (Columbia University)". 1943; a) Typoskript, 6 Blatt; b) Typoskript mit handschriftlichen Randbemerkungen, 6 Blatt; c) deutsche Rückübersetzung, 1969, Typoskript mit handschriftlichen Korrekturen, 4 Blatt;

Na 1 Nachlass Max Horkheimer, 688 - "Fortune Polls on Antisemitism" (p. IX 153.1-18)

"Fortune Polls on Antisemitism" (1947) (veröffentlicht unter dem Titel "Fortune Survey Analyzed by AJC Consultant to Appraise Results", in: News Letter, American Jewish Committee, Dezember 1947, S. 4):; 1. Max Horkheimer: Über Fortune Polls, a) Typoskript, 3 Blatt, b) Typoskript, 3 Blatt, c) Typoskript mit eigenhändigen Korrekturen, 3 Blatt, d) Typoskript, 3 Blatt; 2. Max Horkheimer: Über Fortune Polls und die Gefahren eines neuen Antisemitismus (Vortragsskript?), Typoskript und Manuskript, 4 Blatt; 3. Theodor W. Adorno (?): "Some Results of Adult Project". Typoskript mit eigenhändigen Korrekturen, 2 Blatt; 4. "Education Counteracts Prejudice" Auszug aus "Antisemitism among American Labor". Typoskript, 1 Blatt; 5. "Discord versus Harmony", Excerpt from: The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, March 1946, Typoskript, 1 Blatt; 6. Theodor W. Adorno: "Memorandum, Subject: Poll Controversy", 24.4.1948; 7. Leo Löwenthal: "Memorandum on Fortune Poll" und "Supplementary Memorandum on Fortune Poll", 8.10.1947. Typoskripte mit eigenhändigen Ergänzungen, 4 Blatt; 8. "Massing's Comment" (8.10.1947). Typoskript, 2 Blatt; 9. "Excerpts from Fortune Magazine 'The Fortune Survey': Racial and Religious Intolerance". Typoskript, 3 Blatt, a) "Summary of 'Fortune Survey' on Antisemitism in U.S. (Fortune, April, 1939)", Typoskript, 2 Blatt; 10. Leo Löwenthal: 1 Brief mit Unterschrift an Max Horkheimer, New York, 4.10.1947, 1 Blatt; 11. Exzerpt der Umfrage-Materialien der Opinion Research Corporation, Typoskripte, 61 Blatt; 12. Zahlenmaterial zu den Umfragen, 16 Blatt; Office of War Information, Bureau of Intelligence: Berichte über Antisemitismus: 13. "Attitudes toward Jews in the United States", 27.10.1942, a) als Typoskript vervielfältigt, 22 Blatt, b) Typoskript, 35 Blatt; 14. "Political Anti-Semitism: A Study of Indoctrination" (27.10.1942), a) als Typoskript vervielfältigt, 18 Blatt, b) Typoskript, 26 Blatt; 15. "Anti-Semitism - a Symptom of Disaffection" (8.10.1942), a) als Typoskript vervielfältigt, 8 Blatt, b) Typoskript, 12 Blatt; 16. Samuel H. Flowerman und Marie Jahoda: "Polls on Anti-Semitism. How much do they tell us?", Sonderdruck, 4 Blatt; 17. Fragebogen, Drucksachen, 4 Blatt; 18. Zeitungausschnitte aus: The Fortune Survey, 9 Blatt;

Na 1 Nachlass Max Horkheimer, 695 - "The Collapse of German Democracy and the Expansion of National Socialism", "Cultural Aspects of National Socialism" u.a. (p. IX 169.1a - IX 170.1-4)

"The Collapse of German Democracy and the Expansion of National Socialism" (1940):; 1. Darstellung des Forschungsprojekts (15.9.1940), b. Typoskript mit handschriftlichen Korrekturen, 78 Blatt; 2. "Research work on recent trends in the history of ideas (parts of the Research project on the Collapse of German Democracy would be included)". Als Memorandum zur Eröffnung zur Eröffnung einer Zweigstelle des Instituts in Los Angeles (12.12.1940): a) Typoskript, 2 Blatt, b) Teilstück, Typoskript mit handschriftlichen Korrekturen, 1 Blatt, c) Teilstück, Typoskript mit handschriftlichen Korrekturen, 1 Blatt, d) Teilstück, Typoskript, 1 Blatt, e) Teilstück, Typoskript, 1 Blatt, f) Entwurf, Typoskript mit handschriftlichen Korrekturen und Manuskript, 3 Blatt; 3. University of California, Los Angeles: 2 Briefe (Abschrift) von Max Horkheimer, o.O., 1940, 2 Briefe (Abschrift) an Max Horkheimer, 1940, 2 Blatt; A.R.L. Gurland: "Survey of Structural Changes in the German Economy, 1933 to 1939. Technological Bases and Organizational Forms of the National Socialist Economic System". Typoskript mit handschriftlichen Korrekturen unter anderem von Theodor W. Adorno, 48 Blatt (formal nicht identisch mit "Technological Trends and Economic Structure under National Socialism", Studies in Philosophy and Social Science, Bd. IX, 1941, S. 226ff.); "Cultural Aspects of National Socialism. A Research Project" (1941):; 1. Institute of Social Research: Mitteilung über das Forschungsprojekt und das 'Supplementary Statement', Typoskript, englisch, 4 Blatt; 2. Supplementary Statement to the Research Project, a) Typoskript, 14.4.1941, 63 Blatt, b) Typoskript, 12.4.1941, mit handschriftlichen Korrekturen, 35 Blatt; 3. "Cultural Aspects of National Socialism. A Research Project" (24.2.1941), a) als Typoskript vervielfältigt, 54 Blatt, b) Typoskript mit handschriftlichen Korrekturen, 34 Blatt, c) Fassung Januar 1941, Typoskript mit handschriftlichen Korrekturen, 40 Blatt; 4. Inhaltsverzeichnisse, mit handschriftlichen Korrekturen, 3 Blatt;

Family Structure and Obesity Among U.S. Children

Child obesity in the U.S. is a significant public health issue, particularly among children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Thus, the roles of parents’ human and financial capital and racial and ethnic background have become important topics of social science and public health research on child obesity. Less often discussed, however, is the role of family structure, which is an important predictor of child well-being and indicator of family socioeconomic status. The goal of this study, therefore, is to investigate how preschool aged children’s risk of obesity varies across a diverse set of family structures and whether these differences in obesity are moderated by family poverty status and the mothers’ education. Using a large nationally representative sample of children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Birth Cohort, we find that preschoolers raised by two biological cohabiting parents or a relative caregiver (generally the grandparent) have greater odds of being obese than children raised by married biological parents. Also, poor children in married biological parent households and non-poor children in married step parent households have greater obesity risks, while poor children in father only, unmarried step, and married step parent families actually have lower odds of obesity than children in non-poor intact households. The implications of these findings for policy and future research linking family structure to children’s weight status are discussed.