scholarly journals Persuasive communication on the Facebook account of the “Alternative für Deutschland” Saxony

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-137
Author(s):  
Nadine Rentel
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
Persuasive Communication ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Rural Districts ◽  
Federal States ◽  
Multimodal Analysis ◽  
Alternative Für Deutschland ◽  
Persuasive Discourse ◽  
German Federal States ◽  
Social Media Platforms

Recent surveys and political research have shown that the acceptance of the political programmes of populist parties, such as the “Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)”, is relatively high amongst the population of the three eastern German federal states, especially in Saxony, where the AfD won nine of the 13 rural districts during the local elections in May 2019. Thus, it seems relevant to take a closer look at the persuasive discourse of a so-called populist party. In its public discourse, the AfD responds to the fears and concerns of those people who tend to use social media platforms to gain information when making political decisions. The aim of the article is to show which verbal and visual resources characterize the persuasive discourse of the AFD Saxony on their Facebook account. For this purpose, we propose a qualitative, multimodal analysis of selected entries which the party uploaded on its Facebook account between November 2018 and March 2019.

The Apocalyptic Hijab: Emirati Mediations of Pious Fashion and Conflict Talk

Hawwa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-27
Author(s):  
Ahmed Yaqoub AlMaazmi
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Multimodal Analysis ◽  
Gendered Identities ◽  
Conflict Talk ◽  
Verbal Attack ◽  
Cultural Expressions ◽  
Sociocultural Values

Abstract This article examines Emirati public discourse on, and imagination of, gendered pious fashion and conflict talk as animated in the sitcom Shaabiat Al-Cartoon (SAC) and other connected cultural expressions. Through a multimodal analysis, it contributes to discussions of the politics of piety by analyzing the strategic illustration of the UAE’s female fashion sense and use of the linguistic features that move verbal dueling to verbal attack. In this prefabricated orality, the article outlines linguistic forms in mediating gendered conflict talk and animating pious fashion. The paper further argues that a multimodal social semiotic performance that is based on language and apparel can produce powerful effects on the co-production of gendered identities. Additionally, it demonstrates through this analysis how the producers of an episode of SAC, through the use of semiotic cues, attempt to reflect and shape Emirati sociocultural values and idioms on pious gendered clothing and perceptions of religiosity and modernity.

scholarly journals Kleinstaaterei im Dienstrecht der deutschen Bundesländer

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolai Dose ◽  
Felix Wolfes ◽  
Carolin Burmester
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Civil Service ◽  
Civil Servants ◽  
Human Resource Managers ◽  
Federal States ◽  
Resource Managers ◽  
German Federal States

With the federalism reform of 2006, the German federal states gained legislative power over their civil servants. This did not only lead to a substantial difference in pay levels but also to fragmented civil service regulations with different degrees of attractiveness. Requests to move to another state have created various problems in the different areas of the civil service. They are partly caused by the fragmented regulations and partly by an informal agreement between the states. By making use of an online survey among human resource managers in the different areas of public administration and 32 case studies of civil servants who either aspire to move to or have moved to another state, this book systematically identifies and analyses civil servants’ motivations for and hindrances to doing so. In this way, it reveals both obstructive and conducive factors which explain mobility. Moreover, the authors put forward some reform proposals.

scholarly journals Regional differences in reasons for consultation and general practitioners’ spectrum of services in Northern Germany – Results of a cross-sectional observational study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingmar Schäfer ◽  
Heike Hansen ◽  
Thomas Ruppel ◽  
Dagmar Lühmann ◽  
Hans-Otto Wagner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Observational Study ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Medical Training ◽  
Practice Trial ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Federal States ◽  
German Federal States ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Individual Consultation

Abstract Background Among other factors, the patients’ consultation reasons and GPs’ spectrum of services determine the process and outcome of the medical treatment. So far, however, there has been little information on differences in reasons for consultation and GPs’ services between urban and rural areas. Our study’s goal was thus to investigate these factors in relation to the regional location of GPs’ practices. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional observational study based on standardised GP interviews in a quota sampling design. All counties and independent cities within a radius of 120 km around Hamburg were divided into three regional categories (urban area, environs, rural area) and stratified proportionally to the population size. Differences in the number of reasons for consultation and services were analysed by multivariate linear regressions in mixed models adjusted for random effects on the levels of the German federal states and administrative districts. Differences in individual consultation reasons and services were identified by logistic regression via stepwise forward and backward selection. Results Primary care practices in 34 of the 37 selected administrative districts (91.9%) were represented in the dataset. In total, 211 GPs were personally interviewed. On average, GPs saw 344 patients per month with a slightly higher number of patients in rural areas. They reported 59.1 ± 15.4 different reasons for consultation and 30.3 + 3.9 different services. There was no statistically significant regional variation in the number of different consultation reasons, but there was a broader service spectrum by rural GPs (ß=-1.42; 95% confidence interval -2.75/-0.08; p=0.038) which was statistically explained by a higher level of medical training. Additionally, there were differences in the frequency of individual consultation reasons and services between rural and urban areas. Conclusion GPs in rural areas performed more frequently services usually provided by medical specialists in urban areas. This might be caused by a low availability of specialists in rural areas. The association between medical training and service spectrum might imply that GPs compensate the specific needs of their patients by completing advanced medical training before or after setting up a medical practice. Trial registration The study was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02558322).

scholarly journals A Pilot Study on the Impact of Facebook on Perceptions of Police Force

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-11
Author(s):  
Wayne W. L. Chan ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Police Force ◽  
Online Social Networking ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Perceptions Of Police ◽  
The Impact

The legal authorities, particularly the police force, have been increasingly facing challenges given the popularity of social media [1, 2]. However, we know very little about how public perceptions of the police are being shaped by social media. In this context, this study attempted to investigate the impact of social media on young people’s perceptions of the police in Hong Kong. The focus of this study was placed on Facebook since it was one of the most popular social media platforms in the city. Facebook was not only conceptualized as a communication medium but also a social networking arena. In this connection, qualitative individual interviews were conducted to explore the online social networking on Facebook and its relation to the perceptions of police force. It was found that the Facebook users who were more likely to stay closely connected with other users with similar views would tend to form the politicized perception of police force. On the other hand, the Facebook users who were to be networked with some other users or real persons with dissimilar views would hold more neutral perceptions of the police. This study was the first of its kind to investigate the role of online social networking in the perceptions of the police, thus filling an important gap in our knowledge of the increasing impact of social media. Therefore, the results of current study were expected to contribute to society by avoiding the disproportionate public discourse about law and order. Keywords: Social Media, Online Social Networking, Public Perception, Police Force.

Report of the D-A-CH geoid and height unification project and prospects for the extension to the European Alps and beyond

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joachim Schwabe ◽  
Christian Ullrich ◽  
Urs Marti ◽  
Gunter Liebsch ◽  
Andreas Hellerschmied ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Specific Area ◽  
European Alps ◽  
Reference Surface ◽  
Federal States ◽  
Height Determination ◽  
Virtual Meeting ◽  
German Federal States ◽  
Gravity Field Modeling ◽  
Cooperation Partners ◽  
Regional Authorities

<p>The D-A-CH geoid project was initiated in 2017 between the national mapping agencies of Germany (BKG), Austria (BEV) and Switzerland (swisstopo), as well as the regional authorities of the German federal states of Bavaria (LDBV) and Baden-Württemberg (LGL), with the motivation to better harmonize the basis for height determination.</p><p>In these countries, the official national height reference systems that are still in use apply different definitions of the height and the zero levels refer to different tide gauges and epochs. Additionally, the treatment of the permanent tide is not fully consistent. This causes differences at the decimeter scale which also vary along the national borders. At the same time, Austria and Switzerland do compute and store also EVRS-compatible geopotential numbers that are valuable for height system unification.</p><p>The ambitions of the initiative therefore mirror the situation as described above ‒ to foster and to intensify the cooperation between the partners regarding regional gravity field modeling and to provide better information about the transformations between the national height systems.</p><p>It was agreed that the cooperation should first focus on a case study area around Lake Constance, with envisaged extension to the complete territories of the “D-A-CH countries” and/or, ideally, to the most of the European Alps. The following achievements have been reached for the focus area:</p><p>In view of these developments, and taking into account that these challenges are not unique for this specific area, it is planned to extend this initiative to the computation of the entire European Alps (and surrounding lowland areas) and rename the project to “European Alps Geoid (EAlpG)”.</p><p>We believe that this project can contribute to a better understanding of height differences across borders. Such height differences are for instance of great interest for ground water level investigations or flood protection. Other crucial applications for cross-border height unification are engineering projects such as tunnels, bridges, supply lines, etc.</p><p>What is more, these activities shall be embedded in a pan-European geoid initiative within EUREF. Contributing to the upcoming EUREF Working Group “European Height Reference Surface”, the European Alps Geoid will be one of many cornerstones to build an official EVRS height reference surface.</p><p>Potential cooperation partners have been contacted. Nevertheless, the initiative shall be open to interested parties. A virtual meeting is planned to be held shortly after the vEGU2021.</p>

scholarly journals “These Women are Making a Statement Against Rape and yet the only Thing Y'All can Focus on is ‘Eww They're Naked’”: Exploring Rape Culture on Facebook in South Africa

Gender Issues ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaida Orth ◽  
Michelle Andipatin ◽  
Brian van Wyk
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Victim Blaming ◽  
Rape Culture ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Aggressive Male ◽  
Public Reaction

Abstract Sexual assault on campuses has been identified as a pervasive public health problem. In April 2016, students across South African universities launched the #Endrapeculture campaign to express their frustration against university policies which served to perpetuate a rape culture. The use of hashtag activism during the protest served to spark online public debates and mobilize support for the protests. This article describes the public reactions to the South African #Endrapeculture protests on the Facebook social media platform. Data was collected through natural observations of comment threads on news articles and public posts on the student protests, and subjected to content analysis. The findings suggest that the #nakedprotest was successful in initiating public conversations concerning the issue of rape culture. However, the reactions towards the #nakedprotest were divided with some perpetuating a mainstream public discourse which perpetuates rape culture, and others (re)presenting a counter-public that challenged current dominant views about rape culture. Two related main themes emerged: Victim-blaming and Trivialising Rape Culture. Victim-blaming narratives emerged from the commenters and suggested that the protesters were increasing their chances of being sexually assaulted by marching topless. This discourse seems to perpetuate the notion of the aggressive male sexual desire and places the onus on women to protect themselves. Other commenters criticised the #nakedprotest method through demeaning comments which served to derail the conversation and trivialise the message behind the protest. The public reaction to the #nakedprotest demonstrated that rape culture is pervasive in society and continues to be re(produced) through discourse on social media platforms. However, social media also offers individuals the opportunity to draw from and participate in multiple counter-publics which challenge these mainstream rape culture discourses.

scholarly journals IWRM through WFD Implementation? Drivers for Integration in Polycentric Water Governance Systems

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1063 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Jenny Shirin Schröder
Keyword(s):  
Power Relations ◽  
Integrated Management ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Integrated Water Resources Management ◽  
Detailed Knowledge ◽  
Local Policy ◽  
Federal States ◽  
Governance Systems ◽  
German Federal States ◽  
Planning Processes

This paper uses an empirical approach to explore what motivates the adoption of integrated water resources management (IWRM). The study compares cases of local implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) from five German federal states representing various types of local policy addressees. Data were collected using policy analysis methods, including participatory observation and interviews with planners who had implemented WFD measures and conducted integration attempts of various types throughout the planning processes. The planning narratives on integration were analysed iteratively and its characteristics, drivers, and hampering factors were identified. It was found that policy addressees attempt integration due to the incentives for reaching their goals rather than according to their paradigms. Depending on the power relations, incentives result in the integration of different actors during different planning phases. The findings suggest that in order to strategically induce integration, it would be necessary to enhance the incentives based on a detailed knowledge of power relations. The WFD as a general regulatory framework was found not to be a driver for local integration, but the WFD did induce increased integrated management through setting goals.

scholarly journals Seroprevalences of Newly Discovered Porcine Pestiviruses in German Pig Farms

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelitsch ◽  
Dalmann ◽  
Wernike ◽  
Reimann ◽  
Beer
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
State Level ◽  
Test System ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Federal States ◽  
Diarrhea Virus ◽  
German Federal States ◽  
Pig Farms ◽  
Chimeric Construct

Several novel porcine pestiviruses that are linked to disease outbreaks in commercial pig farms were discovered during recent years. Bungowannah pestivirus (BuPV; new species Pestivirus F) causes sudden death in young pigs, but has only ever been isolated in the Australian region Bungowannah. Atypical porcine pestivirus (APPV; new species Pestivirus K) on the other hand has been found in multiple countries worldwide and is potentially linked to congenital tremor, a disease that causes considerable production problems in pig farms. To assess the seroprevalences of both viruses in German commercial farms during the years 2009/10 and 2018, two approaches were selected. Antibodies against Pestivirus F were detected by a traditional in-house indirect immunofluorescence test against the culture-grown virus isolate, while for the detection of Pestivirus K-specific antibodies, a newly developed test system utilizing a chimeric construct of bovine viral diarrhea virus 1 (BVDV1; species Pestivirus A) containing the E1 and E2 encoding sequences of APPV was established. A total of 1115 samples originating from 122 farms located in seven German federal states were investigated. Antibodies against Bungowannah virus could not be detected, confirming the absence of this virus in other regions than the initially affected Australian pig farm complex. In contrast, antibodies against APPV were highly prevalent throughout Germany at both investigated time points. The seroprevalence at the state level fluctuated to some degree, but the overall percentage remained stable, as is to be expected for an endemic pestivirus lacking any form of control measures.

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