Die Dissertation kartografiert Politikverständnisse innerhalb westlicher queer_feministischer Theorien entlang von fünf Aspekten

This dissertation is dedicated to a new concept for capturing renunciation-oriented attitudes and beliefs — sufficiency orientation. Sufficiency originates in the interdisciplinary sustain-ability debate. In contrast to efficiency and consistency, sufficiency considers human behaviour as the cause of socio-ecological crises and strives for a reduction in consumption respecting the planetary boundaries. The present work places sufficiency in a psychological research context and explores it qualitatively and quantitatively. On the basis of five manuscripts, the overarching question pursued is to what extent sufficiency orientation contributes to socio-ecological transformation. Based on one qualitative study and five further quantitative studies, sufficiency orientation is investigated in different behavioural contexts that are of particular importance with regard to CO2 emissions. In addition, sufficiency orientation is linked to a wider range of psychologically relevant theories that help gain an overview of correlates and possible causes for the development of a sufficiency orientation. Manuscript 1 uses expert interviews (N = 21) to develop a heuristic framework on a transformation towards societal sufficiency orientation including barriers and enablers, as well as ambiguities on such a change. The derived elements are interpreted in the light of the leverage points approach. This framework can serve as a heuristic for future research and to develop measures concerning sufficiency orientation. As part of an online study (N = 648), Manuscript 2 examines the extent to which sufficiency orientation can be embedded in classic models for explaining pro-environmental intentions and behaviour (Theory of Planned Behaviour, Norm Activation Model), and showed a significant contribution to the explanation of intentions and behaviour in the field of plastic consumption. Manuscript 3 reports two framing experiments (Study 1, N = 123, Study 2, N = 330) to investigate how pro-social justice sensitivity contributes to making sufficiency orientation more salient and promoting it. While sufficiency orientation and pro-social facets of justice sensitivity were positively related to each other, there was no effect of the framing intervention in the hypothesised direction. The results indicate that justice-related information at least in the presented manner is more likely to generate reactance. Manuscript 4 presents an online study (N = 317) and targets the importance of sufficiency orientation for predicting actual greenhouse gas emissions in relation to flight behav-iour and policy support for the decarbonisation of mobility. In addition, the connection between sufficiency orientation and global identity is examined. It turns out that sufficiency orientation is superior to global identity in predicting actual emissions and decarbonisation policies. Contrary to expectations, sufficiency orientation and the form of global identity operationalised in the presented study shows a positive correlation and are compatible. Manuscript 5 reports a reflective diary intervention (N = 252) that should lead to a short- and long-term increase in sufficiency orientation by satisfying basic psychological needs through induced self-reflection. For both groups with or without the intervention, sufficiency orientation increased slightly but significantly. Although no specific effect of the manipulation was found, basic psychological need satisfaction turns out to be the largest predictor for sufficiency orientation. Subjective well-being is positively associated with sufficiency orientation, while time affluence shows no clear associations in the study. Overall, the results highlight the relevance of sufficiency orientation in relation to socio-ecological transformation and actual behavioural change. Sufficiency orientation is related to low-emission behaviour and support for political measures to decarbonize infrastructures. These results contribute to the discussion on the intention-behaviour gap in regard to impact-relevant behaviour, i.e. behaviour producing high emissions. The present findings suggest, that sufficiency orientation could be related to a strong intention-behavioural consistency. However, further research is needed to validate these results and improve the measurement of sufficiency orientation. Furthermore, the studies provided insights on correlates of sufficiency orientation: justice sensitivity, global identity, subjective well-being and left-wing liberal political ideologies are all found to be positively related to sufficiency orien-tation. Moreover, basic psychological need satisfaction was identified as a potential mechanism that can support the emergence of sufficiency orientation, however, causality remains unclear. From these findings, the work derives practical implications how to possibly strengthen sufficiency orientation on the micro, meso and macro levels of society. Taken together, the dissertation provides important insights into a new and still developing concept, and shows its connectivity to psychological theories. However, future research is required in order to grasp more precisely the complexity of sufficiency orientation and to understand origins and predictors of sufficiency orientation. This work contributes to the interdisciplinary debate on socio-ecological transformation and points out that sufficiency orientation can serve to a future worth living as being related to reduced consumption.

Formen des Zugangs in der Jugendhilfe – zur Gestaltung von Zugängen zum System der Hilfen zur Erziehung Kindern, Jugendlichen und Erwachsenen in unterschiedlichen familiären Beziehungen und Lebenslagen stehen in Deutschland bei Bedarf und auf Wunsch öffentliche Hilfeleistungen rund um das Thema Erziehung zur Verfügung. Repräsentiert wird dieses Angebot als Rechtsanspruch öffentlicher Hilfe in der Regel durch die örtlichen Jugendämter. In Folge der Einführung des Sozialgesetzbuches VIII (Kinder- und Jugendhilfegesetz, jetzt: Kinder- und Jugendstärkungsgesetzt/KJSG) befassten sich wiederholt wissenschaftliche Erhebungen mit dem Nutzen und den Wirkungen der in den Hilfen zur Erziehung vorhandenen Angebote aus Sicht der Adressatinnen und Adressaten, also den Kindern, Jugendlichen und Eltern. Dem Rechtsanspruch mit dem Angebot auf die Hilfen zur Erziehung auf der einen Seite, stehen die Adressatinnen und Adressaten dieser Hilfen auf der anderen zunächst gegenüber. Im Fokus der damit einhergehenden Adressaten- und Adressatinnenforschung steht die Frage, wie Adressatinnen und Adressaten den Zugang zu diesen Hilfen in ihrem Alltagsleben erhalten und ggf. integrieren. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es daher zu untersuchen, wie sich aus Sicht von Eltern mit Jugendhilfeerfahrung dieser Zugang gestaltet, wie sie ihre diesbezüglichen Erfahrungen einordnen und bewerten. Um sich die Lebenswelten und Sinnhorizonte der Eltern zu erschließen, erfolgte die Datenerhebung durch transkribierte narrative Interviews. Diese wurden mittels qualitativ inhaltsanalytischer Verfahren strukturiert und sequenziert untersucht, um relevante Kodes, Konzepte und Kategorien aus den Erzählungen herauszuarbeiten. Dabei stellte sich heraus, dass es den einen Zugang nicht gibt, im Weiteren auch kein einfaches Setting zwischen Angebot und Nachfrage vorliegt. Vielmehr zeigen sich unterschiedliche Zugangsformen und individuelle Faktoren, die einen Zugang begünstigen oder behindern können. Zentral sind hier vor allem die Wirkung Anderer in der Biografie der Eltern, gleich ob aus Familie oder auf Seiten der Fachkräfte sowie deren Haltungen und das Vorhandensein von Ressourcen wie z.B. Wissen. Für die Praxis der Sozialen Arbeit bedeutet dies, sich den zunächst fremden Lebenswelten der Adressatinnen und Adressaten verstehend zu nähern und nicht außer Acht zu lassen, dass diese ihnen mit ihren Bildern, Ideen, Wünschen und Lebenserfahrungen gegenüber treten, welche wahrgenommen und verstanden werden wollen. Ralf Schauf

The decline of biodiversity can be observed worldwide and its consequences are alarming. It is therefore crucial that nature must be protected and, where possible, restored. A wide variety of different project options are possible. Yet in the context of limited availability of resources, the selection of the most efficient measures is increasingly important. For this purpose, there is still a lack of information. This pertains, as outlined in the next paragraph, in particular, to information at different scales of projects. Firstly, there is a lack of information on the concrete added value of biodiversity protection projects. Secondly, there is a lack of information on the actual impacts of such projects and on the costs and benefits associated with a project. Finally, there is a lack of information on the links between the design of a project, the associated framework conditions and the perception of specific impacts. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by providing more information on the three scales by means of three empirical studies on three different biodiversity protection projects in order to help optimize future projects. The first study “Assessing the trade-offs in more nature-friendly mosquito control in the Upper Rhine region” examines the added value of a more nature-friendly mosquito control in the Upper Rhine Valley of Germany using a contingent valuation method. Recent studies show that the widely used biocide Bti, which is used as the main mosquito control agent in many parts of the world, has more negative effects on nature than previously expected. However, it is not yet clear whether the population supports a more nature-friendly mosquito control, as such an adaptation could potentially lead to higher nuisance. This study attempts to answer this question by assessing the willingness to pay for an adapted mosquito control strategy that reduces the use of Bti, while maintaining nuisance protection within settlements. The results show that the majority of the surveyed population attaches a high value to a more nature-friendly mosquito control and is willing to accept a higher nuisance outside of the villages. The second study “Inner city river restoration projects: the role of project components for acceptance” examines the acceptance of a river restoration project in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Despite much effort, many rivers worldwide are still in poor condition. Therefore, a rapid implementation of river restoration projects is of great importance. In this context, acceptance by society plays a fundamental role, however, the factors determining such acceptance are still poorly understood. In particular, the complex interplay between the acceptance or rejection of specific project components and the acceptance of the overall project require further exploration. This study addresses this knowledge gap by assessing the acceptance of the project, its various ecological and social components, and the perception of real and fictitious costs as well as the benefits of the components. Our findings demonstrate that while acceptance of the overall project is generally rather high, many respondents reject one or more of the project's components. Complementary social project components, like a playground, find less support than purely ecological components. Overall, our research shows that complementary components may increase or decrease acceptance of the overall project. We, furthermore, found that differences in the acceptance of the individual components depend on individual concerns, such as perceived flood risk, construction costs, expected noise and littering as well as the quality of communication, attachment to the site, and the age of the respondents. The third study “What determines preferences for semi-natural habitats in agrarian landscapes? A choice-modelling approach across two countries using attributes characterizing vegetation” investigates people's aesthetic preferences for semi-natural habitats in agricultural landscapes. The EU-Common Agricultural Policy promotes the introduction of woody and grassy semi-natural habitats (SNH) in agricultural landscapes. While the benefits of these structures in terms of regulating ecosystem services are already well understood, the effects of SNH on visual landscape quality is still not clear. This study investigates the factors determining people’s visual preferences in the context of grassy and woody SNH elements in Swiss and Hungarian landscapes using picture-based choice experiments. The results suggest that respondents’ choices strongly depend on specific vegetation characteristics that appear and disappear over the year. In particular, flowers as a source of colours and green vegetation as well as ordered structure and the proportion of uncovered soil in the picture play an important role regarding respondents’ aesthetic perceptions of the pictures. The three empirical studies can help to make future projects in the study areas of biodiversity protection more efficient. While this thesis highlights the importance of exploring biodiversity protection projects at different scales, further analyses of the different scales of biodiversity protection projects are needed to provide a sound basis to develop guidance on identifying the most efficient biodiversity protection projects.

Social networks are ubiquitous structures that we generate and enrich every-day while connecting with people through social media platforms, emails, and any other type of interaction. While these structures are intangible to us, they carry important information. For instance, the political leaning of our friends can be a proxy to identify our own political preferences. Similarly, the credit score of our friends can be decisive in the approval or rejection of our own loans. This explanatory power is being leveraged in public policy, business decision-making and scientific research because it helps machine learning techniques to make accurate predictions. However, these generalizations often benefit the majority of people who shape the general structure of the network, and put in disadvantage under-represented groups by limiting their resources and opportunities. Therefore it is crucial to first understand how social networks form to then verify to what extent their mechanisms of edge formation contribute to reinforce social inequalities in machine learning algorithms. To this end, in the first part of this thesis, I propose HopRank and Janus two methods to characterize the mechanisms of edge formation in real-world undirected social networks. HopRank is a model of information foraging on networks. Its key component is a biased random walker based on transition probabilities between k-hop neighborhoods. Janus is a Bayesian framework that allows to identify and rank plausible hypotheses of edge formation in cases where nodes possess additional information. In the second part of this thesis, I investigate the implications of these mechanisms - that explain edge formation in social networks - on machine learning. Specifically, I study the influence of homophily, preferential attachment, edge density, fraction of inorities, and the directionality of links on both performance and bias of collective classification, and on the visibility of minorities in top-k ranks. My findings demonstrate a strong correlation between network structure and machine learning outcomes. This suggests that systematic discrimination against certain people can be: (i) anticipated by the type of network, and (ii) mitigated by connecting strategically in the network.