Organic substances play an essential role for the formation of stable soil structures. In this context, their physico-chemical properties, interactions with mineral soil constituents and soil-water interactions are particu-larly important. However, the underlying mechanisms contributing to soil particle cementation by swollen or-ganic substances (hydrogels) remains unclear. Up to now, no mechanistic model is available which explains the mechanisms of interparticulate hydrogel swelling and its contribution to soil-water interactions and soil structur-al stability. This mainly results from the lack of appropriate testing methods to study hydrogel swelling in soil as well as from the difficulties of adapting available methods to the system soil/hydrogel. In this thesis, 1H proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometry was combined with various soil micro- and macrostructural stability testing methods in order to identify the contribution of hydrogel swelling-induced soil-water interactions to the structural stability of water-saturated and unsaturated soils. In the first part, the potentials and limitations of 1H NMR relaxometry to enlighten soil structural stabilization mechanism and vari-ous water populations were investigated. In the second part, 1H-NMR relaxometry was combined with rheologi-cal measurements of soil to assess the contribution of interparticulate hydrogel swelling and various polymer-clay interactions on soil-water interactions and soil structural stability in an isolated manner. Finally, the effects of various organic and mineral soil fractions on soil-water interactions and soil structural stability was assessed in more detail for a natural, agriculturally cultivated soil by soil density fractionation and on the basis of the experiences gained from the previous experiments. The increased experiment complexity in the course of this thesis enabled to link physico-chemical properties of interparticulate hydrogel structures with soil structural stability on various scales. The established mechanistic model explains the contribution of interparticulate hydrogels to the structural stability of water-saturated and unsaturated soils: While swollen clay particles reduce soil structural stability by acting as lubricant between soil particles, interparticulate hydrogel structures increase soil structural stability by forming a flexible polymeric network which interconnects mineral particles more effectively than soil pore- or capillary water. It was appar-ent that soil structural stability increases with increasing viscosity of the interparticluate hydrogel in dependence on incubation time, soil texture, soil solution composition and external factors in terms of moisture dynamics and agricultural management practices. The stabilizing effect of interparticulate hydrogel structures further in-crease in the presence of clay particles which is attributed to additional polymer-clay interactions and the incor-poration of clay particles into the three-dimensional interparticulate hydrogel network. Furthermore, the simul-taneous swelling of clay particles and hydrogel structures results in the competition for water and thus in a mu-tual restriction of their swelling in the interparticle space. Thus, polymer-clay interactions not only increase the viscosity of the interparticulate hydrogel and thus its ability to stabilize soil structures but further reduce the swelling of clay particles and consequently their negative effects on soil structural stability. The knowledge on these underlying mechanisms enhance the knowledge on the formation of stable soil structures and enable to take appropriate management practices in order to maintain a sustainable soil structure. The additionally out-lined limitations and challenges of the mechanistic model should provide information on areas with optimization and research potential, respectively.

The adoption of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) in 2000 marked the beginning of a new era of European water policy. However, more than a decade later, the majority of European rivers are still failing to meet one of the main objectives of the WFD: the good ecological status. Pesticides are a major stressor for stream ecosystems. This PhD thesis emphasises the need for WFD managers to consider all main agricultural pesticide sources and influencing landscape parameters when setting up River Basin Management Plans and Programmes of Measures. The findings and recommendations of this thesis can help to successfully tackle the risk of pesticide contamination to achieve the WFD objectives. A total of 663 sites that were situated in the German Federal States of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Hesse were studied (Chapter 3 and 4). In addition to an analysis of the macroinvertebrate data of the governmental WFD monitoring network, a detailed GIS analysis of the main agricultural pesticide sources (arable land and garden allotments as well as wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs)) and landscape elements (riparian buffer strips and forested upstream reaches) was conducted. Based on the results, a screening approach was developed that allows an initial rapid and cost-effective identification of those sites that are potentially affected by pesticide contamination. By using the trait-based bioindicator SPEARpesticides, the insecticidal long-term effects of the WWTP effluents on the structure of the macroinvertebrate community were identified up to at least 1.5 km downstream (in some cases even 3 km) of the WWTPs. The results of the German Saprobic Index revealed that the WWTPs can still be important sources of oxygen-depleting substances. Furthermore, the results indicate that forested upstream reaches and riparian buffer strips at least 5 m in width can be appropriate measures in mitigating the effects and exposure of pesticides. There are concerns that the future expansion of energy crop cultivation will lead to an increased pesticide contamination of ecosystems in agricultural landscapes. Therefore, the potential of energy crops for pesticide contamination was examined based on an analysis of the development of energy crop cultivation in Germany and a literature search on perennial energy crops (Chapter 5). The results indicate that the future large-scale expansion of energy crop cultivation will not necessarily cause an increase or decrease in the amounts of pesticides that are released into the environment. The potential effects will depend on the future design of the agricultural systems. Instead of creating energy monocultures, annual energy crops should be integrated into the existing food production systems. Financial incentives and further education are needed to encourage the use of sustainable crop rotations, innovative cropping systems and perennial energy crops, which may contribute to crop diversity and generate lower pesticide demands than do intensive farming systems.

Die vorliegende Doktorarbeit verfolgt das Ziel, die Bevölkerungsentwicklung im Westerwaldkreis im Zeitraum von 1974 bis 2008 auf Kreis-, Verbandsgemeinde- und Gemeindeebene detailliert zu untersuchen und im Rahmen eines Handlungskonzeptes für ausgewählte Gemeinden geeignete Maßnahmen zur konkreten Gestaltung des Demographischen Wandels aufzuzeigen. Dies geschieht zunächst anhand einer umfassenden Analyse der Bevölkerungsdaten. Dazu zählt eine Einteilung des Untersuchungszeitraums in spezielle Phasen der Bevölkerungsentwicklung, welche durch die jährlichen Veränderungsraten des Bevölkerungsstandes des Westerwaldkreises charakterisiert werden. Anschließend wird ausführlicher auf wichtige Kennzahlen der Bevölkerungsentwicklung aus den Bereichen der natürlichen Bevölkerungsbewegung, der Bevölkerungsstruktur und der Wanderungen eingegangen mit der Intention, einerseits detaillierte Ergebnisse hervorzubringen, die im Rahmen bisheriger Untersuchungen nicht vorliegen und andererseits Grundlagen für die Ursachenforschung zu schaffen, die der Analyse der Bevölkerungsdaten folgt. Für diese Ursachenforschung werden fünf Gemeinden exemplarisch ausgewählt, die eine besonders positive bzw. negative Bevölkerungsentwicklung im Untersuchungszeitraum aufweisen. Integrale Bestandteile dieser Ursachenforschung sind, neben einer ausführlichen Darstellung der Bevölkerungsentwicklung der Gemeinden, Experteninterviews und eigene humangeographische Beobachtungen. Des Weiteren wird speziell für die drei ausgewählten Gemeinden mit negativer Bevölkerungsentwicklung eine Online-Umfrage unter Jugendlichen durchgeführt, um weitere Ursachen herauszufinden und erste zentrale Ansatzpunkte für das abschließende Handlungskonzept zu finden. Dieses Konzept verfolgt primär die Intention, den Demographischen Wandel in den drei Gemeinden in der Art und Weise zukünftig zu gestalten, dass seine negativen Folgen vermieden bzw. zumindest abgemildert werden. Dazu ist es notwendig, auf die spezifischen Situationen vor Ort einzugehen und die praktische Umsetzbarkeit möglicher Handlungsempfehlungen zu berücksichtigen, damit das Konzept Eingang in die kommunalpolitische Planung findet und somit nicht nur einen Beitrag zur bevölkerungsgeographischen Forschung darstellt, sondern auch einen Nutzen für die kommunale Handlungspraxis stiftet.

This work is mainly concerned with multiple goals as indicators of stable as well as situation-specific motivation. During school lessons, pupils strive for competence-oriented goals as well as goals which target psychological well-being. The goal to enlarge one- competence and to acquire deeper knowledge (mastery goal), to attain normative competence (performance approach goal) as well as the goal to avoid the demonstration of lack ofrncompetence (performance avoidance goal) belong to the category of academic goals. The category of well-being goals includes the goal to avoid hard work (work avoidance goal) as well as the aim to interact socially with relevant peers (affiliation goal). It is still unclear, however, if goals are best defined as fluctuating state or stable trait variables. Here, both aspects of goals are conceptualized differentially and their connection is explored in two studies based on a longitudinal design. Another question that is raised here is concerned with the explanation of state-goal-genesis. Different motivational theories serve as the basis for the development of a new framework model, which explores the genesis of state goal-components due to trait goal-components, situational appraisals and their interaction. In the literature, three effect models between appraisals and trait goals regarding the state goals are identified: a) appraisals and trait goals might predict state goals additively (additive effect), b) trait goals might influence the state goals mediated by the appraisals (reactive effect), or c) the trait goals may have differential effects on the state goals for low or high values of the appraisals (interaction effect). Moreover, assumptions on proximal consequences of state-goals are made within the framework model. Study 1 comprised of two samples (N = 197 and N = 297). Both multiple goal factors as well as their state- and trait-components were validated empirically in a longitudinal design. State goal measures proved to be sensitive to situational influences and to be differentially valid compared to trait goal measures. Study 2 primarily dealt with the explanationrnof the genesis of state goals in actual learning situations. The basic assumptions of the framework model as well as the three effect models were explored systematically in a longitudinal design (N = 542). As expected, competence oriented goals correlated with adaptive indicators of learning processes (e.g., flow), while the well-being goals did not. The additive effect hypothesis was confirmed while the reactive effect hypothesis was rejected. With the help of latent moderator models, some interaction effects were identified which showed that trait goals were differentially predictive for state goals depending on the level of situational appraisals.

Virtual worlds have been investigated by several academic disciplines for several years, e.g. sociology, psychology, law and education. Since the developers of virtual worlds have implemented aspects like scarcity and needs, even economic research has become interested in these virtual environments. Exploring virtual economies mainly deals with the research of trade regarding the virtual goods used to supply the emerged needs. On the one hand, economics analyzes the meaning of virtual trade according to the overall interpretation of the economical characteristics of virtual worlds. As some virtual worlds allow the change of virtual world money with real money and vice versa, virtual goods are traded by the users for real money, researchers on the other hand, study the impact of the interdependencies between virtual economies and the real world. The presented thesis mainly focuses on the trade within virtual worlds in the context of virtual consumption and the observation of consumer prices. Therefore, the four virtual worlds World of Warcraft, RuneScape, Entropia Universe and Second Life have been selected. There are several components required to calculate consumer price indices. First, a market basket, which contains the relevant consumed goods existing in virtual worlds, must be developed. Second, a weighting scheme has to be established, which shows the dispersion of consumer tendencies. Third, prices of relevant consumer goods have to be taken. Following real world methods, it is the challenge to apply those methods within virtual worlds. Therefore, this dissertation contains three corresponding investigation parts. Within a first analysis, it will be evaluated, in how far virtual worlds can be explored to identify consumable goods. As a next step, the consumption expenditures of the avatars will be examined based on an online survey. At last, prices of consumable goods will be recorded. Finally, it will be possible to calculate consumer price indices. While investigating those components, the thesis focuses not only on the general findings themselves, but also on methodological issues arising, like limited access to relevant data, missing legal legitimation or security concerns of the users. Beside these aspects, the used methods also allow the examination of several other economic aspects like the consumption habits of the avatars. At the end of the thesis, it will be considered to what extent virtual world economic characteristics can be compared with the real world. Aspects like the important role of weapons or the different usage of food show significant differences to the real world, caused by the business models of virtual worlds.