31325 research outputs found
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Goal-directed behavior and hippocampal activity predict real-life impact of drinking intentions in alcohol use disorder
No full textA shift away from goal-directed, model-based behavior is commonly viewed to characterize alcohol use disorder (AUD). Previous research, however, has failed to demonstrate differences between individuals with and without AUD regarding goal-directed control, operationalized as model-based behavior. Instead, findings suggest associations between model-based behavior and alcohol consumption patterns, but mechanistic insights into the link between model-based behavioral and neural signatures and longitudinal, real-life control over alcohol intake remain elusive. Here, we investigated whether experimentally assessed model-based behavior can prospectively predict intentional reduction of alcohol consumption in daily life. Therefore, we related behavioral and neural markers of model-based behavior during a sequential decision-making task in 67 participants with AUD (20 women) to long-term smartphone-based ecological momentary assessments of daily alcohol intake and weekly alcohol consumption intentions over a period of up to one year. Model-based behavior and its neural signatures in bilateral hippocampus and ventral striatum moderated how well individuals succeeded in aligning their alcohol consumption with their drinking intentions during the following year. Specifically, AUD participants with higher model-based behavior and associated stronger hippocampal and weaker ventral striatal learning signals exhibited enhanced capacity to intentionally reduce their alcohol consumption in everyday life. These findings provide evidence for the ecological validity of computational concepts of goal-directed behavior and suggest specific treatment targets for individually tailored interventions to regain control over alcohol use.Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation)https://doi.org/10.13039/501100001659Peer Reviewe
Urban Hydrological Connectivity and Response Patterns Across Timescales: An Integrated Time‐Frequency Domain Analysis
No full textUnderstanding the interconnections between rainfall, groundwater and stream flow in urban and peri‐urban catchments, along with the factors affecting response times between causally related hydrological variables, is essential for predicting and managing future urban water resources. In this study, we applied autocorrelation, cross‐correlation and time‐frequency analyses over 20 years of daily hydrometeorological data to extract relevant indicators of hydrological connectivity in the Wuhle catchment, one of the main urban streams in Berlin, the capital of Germany. Despite the strong influence of urban storm drainage, our analysis showed a high degree of persistence of the groundwater signals, reflecting the important role of storage in regulating fluxes from the regional aquifer. For wet years, spectral analysis of the precipitation and discharge signals highlighted regions of high common power and coherence between precipitation and discharge at the seasonal scales (6–12 months). These were attenuated during periods of consecutive wet years when the influence of individual rainfall events was less dominant. For dry years, including through the persistent 2018–2020 west‐central European drought, the analysis revealed a high degree of statistically significant coherence between groundwater levels and discharge at scales of 1 year and longer. Phase angles were used to estimate response times between the signals. A virtually instant response between groundwater and streamflow throughout the analysed period confirmed the importance of groundwater in sustaining streamflow, and the severe consequences of multi‐year droughts that can deplete groundwater storage and, in extreme cases, lead to a cessation of stream flow. The study thus demonstrates the benefits of integrated time series analysis in understanding the important role of groundwater at time scales of ~3–6 years, green spaces and non‐urban areas in the integrated management of complex urbanised catchments, even when dominated by urban storm runoff from impervious areas at sub‐daily time scales.Berlin University Alliance 10.13039/501100021727Einstein Stiftung Berlin 10.13039/501100006188Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft 10.13039/501100001659Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung 10.13039/501100002347German Research Foundation 10.13039/501100001659Urban Water InterfacesPeer Reviewe
Multi-scale analysis reveals vegetation buffers human disturbance impacts on urban bird functional diversity
No full textFunctional traits determine how urban bird communities respond to the novel environmental conditions in cities. While human disturbance generally has a negative impact on functional diversity, the potential of vegetation structures in buffering these effects, and the spatial scale at which these processed occur, remain poorly understood. In this study, we aim to analyse both the spatial scale of effect and the indirect effects of vegetation on functional diversity of urban birds. We estimated functional diversity —richness, evenness, and divergence— within a community of 95 breeding bird species, and examined how these metrics are influenced by human disturbance at three spatial scales: the monitoring grid, the centroids of bird territories, and the precise point locations of the birds. Our findings reveal that while human disturbance remains the primary driver of changes in bird functional diversity, the strength and nature of the effects are scale specific. Specifically, human population density exhibits a stronger negative impact at larger spatial scales, leading to a decrease in functional diversity, while higher noise levels are positively associated with functional diversity, particularly at finer spatial scales. The positive effect of noise at fine scales is probably driven by the unique conditions in urban environments, where noisy areas often coincide with lower human presence, creating opportunities for certain bird species when associated to complex vegetation structures. These findings underscore the need to consider multiple spatial scales to comprehensively understand the drivers of functional diversity in urban bird communities, and highlight the importance of vegetation structure in buffering disturbance effects.Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.Leibniz-Institut für Zoo- und Wildtierforschung (IZW) im Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. (3491)Peer Reviewe
Metaphysical debates in 14th century Oxford
No full textDiese Dissertation untersucht das Verhältnis zwischen der Seele und ihren Vermögen in den Schriften dreier Oxforder Philosophen des 14. Jahrhunderts: Walter Chatton (ca. 1290–1343), Adam Wodeham (ca. 1295–1358) und William Crathorn (ca. 1285–1347). Behandelt wird die Frage, wie vitale Operationen (operationes) – etwa Empfinden, Denken und Wollen – hervorgebracht werden und welchen ontologischen Status die für sie verantwortlichen Prinzipien haben. Mittelalterliche Philosophen erklärten solche Tätigkeiten durch Vermögen (potentiae), wobei sie annahmen, dass der Mensch kraft der seiner Seele eigenen Vermögen handelt. Während die Debatten des 13. Jahrhunderts über die Vermögen der Seele eingehend untersucht sind, bleiben die Oxforder Diskussionen des 14. Jahrhunderts weitgehend unerforscht. Parisische Denker wie Buridan haben große Aufmerksamkeit erfahren, und Ockham wurde häufig als einziger Oxforder Vertreter und als terminus ad quem behandelt. Doch die Philosophie in Oxford endete nicht mit Ockham. Diese Arbeit bietet die erste systematische Untersuchung der Oxforder Debatten über die Vermögen der Seele jenseits Ockhams, mit Schwerpunkt auf den 1320er–1330er Jahren und dem Kreis um Chatton, Wodeham und Crathorn. Die These lautet, dass Ockham nicht als terminus ad quem, sondern als terminus a quo zu sehen ist. Im Zentrum standen zwei Modelle: die Unterscheidungstheorie, nach der Seele und Vermögen verschiedene Entitäten sind, und die Identitätstheorie, die die Seele selbst als Quelle der Operationen versteht. Ockham vertrat eine Variante der Identitätstheorie, wobei er weiterhin rationale und sensitive Seele unterschied. Darauf aufbauend entwickelten Chatton, Wodeham und Crathorn radikalere Fassungen dieser Theorie, stets mit dem Ziel größerer Einfachheit. Dies markiert eine „Radikalisierung der Identitätstheorie“: ein Prozess, in dem Oxforder Denker die Seele als einheitliches und zunehmend sparsames Prinzip vitaler Tätigkeit neu konzipierten.This dissertation examines the relationship between the soul and its powers in the works of three fourteenth-century Oxford philosophers: Walter Chatton (c. 1290–1343), Adam Wodeham (c. 1295–1358), and William Crathorn (c. 1285–1347). These debates revolved around the question of how vital operations (operationes) – such as sensing, thinking, and willing – are produced, and what ontological status should be ascribed to the principles responsible for them. Medieval philosophers typically accounted for such activities in terms of powers (potentiae), holding that human beings act by virtue of powers belonging to their souls. While thirteenth-century debates on the soul’s powers have been extensively studied, fourteenth-century Oxford debates remain underexplored. Parisian philosophers such as Buridan have received considerable attention, and Ockham has often been treated as the sole Oxford figure and a terminus ad quem, but the wider Oxonian debates of the 1320s–1330s are still largely neglected. Yet Oxford philosophy did not end with Ockham. The present thesis fills this gap by providing the first systematic study of Oxonian debates on the powers of the soul beyond Ockham, with special attention to the 1320s–1330s and the circle of Chatton, Wodeham, and Crathorn. The central claim is that Ockham should be regarded not as a terminus ad quem but as a terminus a quo. Two main models were in play: the distinction theory, which holds that the soul and its powers are distinct items, and the identity theory, which sees the soul itself as the source of vital operations. Ockham supported a version of the identity theory, though his account still posited two distinct principles, the rational and the sensory soul. Building on this ground, Chatton, Wodeham, and Crathorn developed progressively more radical forms of the identity theory, each striving for greater simplicity. Their successive accounts mark what I describe as the “radicalization of the identity theory,” a process through which Oxford thinkers reconceived the soul as a unified and increasingly parsimonious principle of vital activity
Are social participation and other inclusive educational goals better achieved at different types of all-day schools than at half-day schools?
No full textGanztagsschulen haben aufgrund des erweiterten Zeitrahmens vielfältigere Möglichkeiten inklusive Bildungsziele im schulischen Alltag zu fördern als Halbtagsschulen. Bisher gibt es jedoch kaum empirische Erkenntnisse dazu, ob es verschiedenen Formen von Ganztagsschulen besser als Halbtagsschulen gelingt, inklusive Bildungsziele zu erreichen. Vor diesem Hintergrund untersucht der Beitrag, ob sich Schüler:innen an Halbtagsschulen und offenen, sowie teil- und vollgebundenen Ganztagsschulen in der Selbsteinschätzung ihrer sozialen Teilhabe, der Demokratiebildung, der Unterstützung ihrer Persönlichkeitsentfaltung und ihres Empowerments unterscheiden. Die Analysen auf Basis der INSIDE-Studie mit N = 1097 Schüler:innen der siebten Jahrgangsstufe an inklusiv arbeitenden allgemeinen Schulen zeigen, dass mit dem Besuch einer Ganztagsschule kein genereller Vorteil für das Erreichen inklusiver Bildungsziele einhergeht und sich die Wahrnehmungen zwischen den schulischen Organisationsformen kaum unterscheiden. Lediglich die Persönlichkeitsentfaltung wird an teilgebundenen Ganztagsschulen höher eingeschätzt als an Halbtagsschulen. Die Ergebnisse können in die generelle Debatte um die Wirksamkeit des schulischen Ganztags eingeordnet werden.Due to the extended time frame, all-day schools have more opportunities to promote inclusive educational goals in everyday school life than half-day schools. However, there is little empirical evidence on whether different types of all-day schools are better at achieving inclusive educational goals than half-day schools. The article examines whether pupils at half-day schools and open, partially and fully bound all-day schools differ in their self-assessment of their social participation, democratic education, support for their personality development and their empowerment. The analyses based on the INSIDE-study with N = 1097 seventh-graders at inclusive schools show that attending an all-day school does not provide a general advantage for achieving inclusive educational goals and that perceptions hardly differ between the organizational forms of school. Only personality development is rated slightly higher at partially bound all-day schools than at half-day schools. The results can be integrated in the general debate about the effectiveness of all-day schools.Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschunghttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100002347Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (1034)Peer Reviewe
Atlakviða as an Exploration of Social Tensions
No full textThis contribution analyses how an Old Norse poem such as Atlakviða can be read as a »construction site« within which various social tensions are explored. It argues that the poem is intensely concerned with behavioural norms, kinship ties, and the role of women in a feud culture, concerns which would have spoken to the 13th-century audience of the text as it survives in the Codex Regius, and which eventually come to a head in the character of Guðrún. The contribution posits that each of these concerns is a source of irresolvable tension that reaches breaking point during Guðrún’s revenge, where the careful choice of words, specifically afkár(r) and níð , signals a collapse of society.Dieser Beitrag demonstriert, dass altnordische Gedichte wie die Atlakviða als »Baustelle«, auf der verschiedene soziale Spannungen erkundet werden, betrachtet werden kann. Es wird argumentiert, dass sich das Gedicht intensiv mit Verhaltensnormen, verwandtschaftlichen Verbindungen und der Rolle der Frau in einer Fehdekultur befasst – Anliegen, die das Publikum des Textes im 13. Jahrhundert, wie er im Codex Regius überliefert ist, angesprochen hätten, und die sich schließlich in der Figur der Guðrún zuspitzen. Der Beitrag geht davon aus, dass jedes dieser Anliegen eine Quelle unlösbarer Spannungen ist, die während Guðrúns Rache eine Bruchstelle erreichen, an dem die sorgfältige Wortwahl, insbesondere afkár(r) und níð , einen Zusammenbruch der Gesellschaft signalisiert
Smallholders, Capital, and Circular Agriculture—The Case of Combined Pomelo and Pig Farming in Southwest China
No full textThe article processing charge was funded by the Open Access Publication Fund of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.Smallholder farming has in China been viewed as a practice needing transformation. Its relationship with rural development and economic growth has been frequently analyzed in China. Government‐led initiatives promoting the integration of smallholder operations with industrialized agriculture have resulted in collaboration models between smallholders and large‐scale agribusiness. Circular agriculture understood as an agricultural practice that enhances economic and ecological sustainability represents one of the mechanisms through which such collaboration can take place. While this collaboration provides smallholders with opportunities for increased productivity and income, it also carries the risk of marginalization. This study examines the collaboration between agricultural capital and smallholders in southwest China focusing on an integrated pomelo planting and a pig breeding project. The varying interests and risks faced by smallholders, government agencies, agricultural cooperatives, private enterprises, and financial institutions are explored. Findings suggest that local governments play a key role in facilitating the introduction of capital and affording the initial costs of organizing smallholders, while agricultural cooperatives decoupling smallholders from capital are central to the operation of large‐scale production models. However, findings also show that local government involvement is often politically motivated, that smallholders' autonomy and voice in decision‐making are limited, and that a risk of exploiting their interests under the guise of institutional innovation remains. The viability of these collaboration models lies thus rather in its ability to attract new producers and create jobs particularly for returning migrants or local smallholders. The findings could offer a potential pathway for addressing the agricultural transformation challenges facing China.Plain Language Summary: Smallholders have long been the backbone of agriculture in China; the central government advocates encouraging smallholders to cooperate with large‐scale agribusinesses to achieve agricultural modernization and improve the productivity and sustainability of smallholders. Circular agriculture is a promising approach in these cooperative models, focusing on reducing waste, recycling by‐products, and achieving economic and environmental benefits. This study observed how smallholders and agribusinesses cooperate in southwest China, focusing on the model of combining pomelo planting with pig farming. The findings highlight the important role of local governments in building platforms with the core function of agricultural cooperatives in managing business. However, the research also shows that government involvement is often politically motivated and smallholders may lose autonomy and fair representation in the decision‐making process. This study provides an in‐depth exploration of how circular agriculture can address the challenges of China's agricultural transformation and create a more inclusive and sustainable future for smallholders.China Scholarship CouncilOpen Access Publication Fund of Humboldt‐Universität zu BerlinPeer Reviewe
The bright and dark side of avoidance crafting: How work design matters
No full textTo address the growing challenges in today's workplace, employees may use avoidance crafting to reduce high job demands or avoid situations low in job resources. However, previous research links avoidance crafting positively—rather than negatively—to exhaustion, potentially due to an overemphasis on avoidance behavioural demands crafting, neglecting avoidance cognitive forms and their focus on job demands and resources. This study refers to the hierarchical job crafting conceptualization, distinguishing between behavioural and cognitive changes in job demands and resources, to investigate the links between avoidance crafting dimensions and exhaustion at both between and within‐person levels. We also explore the moderating effects of general job autonomy and time pressure. Daily diary data (Nbetween = 78, Nwithin = 377) revealed that avoidance cognitive demands crafting was negatively associated with exhaustion at both levels, highlighting that altering perceptions of job demands is more effective than targeting low job resources. Moreover, work design matters: at the day level, avoidance cognitive demands crafting was particularly effective in reducing exhaustion when employees generally faced low job autonomy and high time pressure. These findings emphasize the importance of differentiating avoidance crafting dimensions and suggest that avoidance cognitive demands crafting seems particularly useful in demanding work environments.Peer Reviewe
Eine organisationssoziologische Untersuchung zu den Motiven von Change Prozessen in wissenschaftlichen Bibliotheken
No full textDiese Veröffentlichung geht zurück auf eine Masterarbeit im weiterbildenden Masterstudiengang im Fernstudium Bibliotheks- und Informationswissenschaft (Library and Information Science, M. A. (LIS)) an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin aus dem Jahr 2025.Diese Masterarbeit untersucht die Ursachen für die Initiierung von Strategieprozessen in wissenschaftlichen Bibliotheken im deutschsprachigen Raum. Anhand von Experteninterviews an drei Universitätsbibliotheken wird analysiert, welche Faktoren zur Einleitung organisationaler Transformationen führten. Die theoretische Grundlage bildet die Systemtheorie nach Niklas Luhmann sowie das Konzept organisationaler Transformation nach Levy und Merry. Die empirische Untersuchung zeigt, dass Strategieprozesse weniger von objektiven externen Zwängen getrieben werden, als vielmehr durch innerorganisatorische Prozesse angestoßen werden. Als zentrale Erkenntnis kristallisiert sich heraus, dass in allen untersuchten Fällen ein Direktionswechsel als auslösendes Ereignis (‚Trigger Event‘) fungierte. Während externe Faktoren wie Digitalisierung, Budgetrestriktionen oder veränderte Nutzeranforderungen als auslösende Bedingungen (‚Precipitating Conditions‘) den Transformationsdruck erhöhen können, erweist sich der Führungswechsel als entscheidender Katalysator für die Einleitung von Strategieentwicklungen. Die Studie unterscheidet zwischen verschiedenen Typen des Direktionswechsels und deren Auswirkungen: Führungskräfte, die von außen in die Organisation kamen, initiierten tendenziell umfassendere und schnellere Transformationen, während interne Nachfolger eher partizipative und kontinuierliche Entwicklungsprozesse einleiteten. Die Arbeit leistet einen Beitrag zur organisationssoziologischen Forschung in der Bibliothekswissenschaft und zeigt auf, dass Change-Prozesse in wissenschaftlichen Bibliotheken primär als Führungsaufgabe zu verstehen sind, die durch spezifische organisationsinterne Konstellationen ermöglicht oder behindert werden
Essays on Accounting
No full textDiese Dissertation untersucht die Offenlegung von Rechnungslegungsdaten durch Unternehmen und besteht aus drei eigenständigen Beiträgen. Der erste Beitrag liefert globale Evidenz zur Verfügbarkeit von Jahresabschlüssen privater Unternehmen. Auf Basis von Daten aus Moodys Orbis-Datenbank identifizieren wir 242.939.807 private Unternehmen in 174 Ländern, von denen 8,41% für das Geschäftsjahr 2021 einen Jahresabschluss offenlegen. Die Offenlegungsquoten variieren stark nach Rechtskreis und reichen von 4,24% in Common-Law-Ländern bis zu 19,36% in Ländern mit sozialistischer Rechtstradition. Der zweite Beitrag untersucht, wie private Kapitalgesellschaften auf Offenlegungspflichten reagieren. Frühere Studien deuten darauf hin, dass diese Unternehmen Offenlegung häufig als belastend empfinden und versuchen, sie zu vermeiden. Dieser Beitrag geht der Frage nach, ob Schwellenwerte für reduzierte Offenlegungspflichten Unternehmen dazu anreizen, sich in mehrere kleinere Einheiten umzustrukturieren, die jeweils unterhalb des relevanten Schwellenwerts bleiben. Evidenz aus Orbis, ergänzt durch Interviews mit Steuerberatern, bestätigt, dass solche strategischen Umstrukturierungen tatsächlich eine häufige Reaktion darstellen. Der dritte Beitrag befasst sich mit der Frage, wie die Folgen von Offenlegungsregulierungen in der Forschung wirksamer untersucht werden können. Wir zeigen, dass der tatsächliche Einfluss solcher Regulierungen auf das Offenlegungsverhalten stark variiert und dass die Berücksichtigung dieser Variation entscheidend für kausale Schlussfolgerungen ist. Wir demonstrieren, dass die Einbeziehung der Offenlegungsintensität als erste Stufe in einem instrumentierten Difference-in-Differences-Design die Teststärke erhöht, Verzerrungen durch heterogene Umsetzung reduziert und die Trennung von direkten und indirekten Offenlegungseffekten ermöglicht.This dissertation examines the disclosure of accounting data by firms and consists of three self-contained papers. The first paper provides global evidence on the availability of private firm financial statements. Using data from Moody’s Orbis database, we identify 242,939,807 private firms across 174 countries, of which 8.41% disclose a financial statement for financial year 2021. Disclosure rates vary across legal traditions, ranging from 4.24% in common law countries to 19.36% in socialist law countries. Cross-sectional regressions show that these differences become more pronounced when controlling for other country characteristics such as the rule of law index and the gross domestic product per capita. The second paper examines how private limited liability entities respond when faced with disclosure regulations. Prior studies indicate that these firms often perceive disclosure as burdensome and may seek to avoid it. This paper explores whether thresholds for lighter disclosure requirements incentivize firms to restructure into multiple smaller entities, each remaining below the relevant threshold. Evidence from Orbis, supplemented by interviews with tax consultants, confirms that such strategic restructurings are indeed a frequent response. The third paper addresses how researchers can more effectively assess the consequences of disclosure regulation. We show that the actual impact of such regulation on disclosure behavior varies widely, and that accounting for this variation is critical for causal inference. In a simulation study, we demonstrate that incorporating disclosure intensity as a first-stage in an instrumented difference-in-differences design substantially increases statistical power, mitigates bias from heterogeneous treatment uptake, and enables the separation of direct and indirect disclosure effects. We illustrate this approach in three case studies of European disclosure regulations