Ziel der Optimierung bestimmter molekulargenetischer Methoden war die Aufklärung möglicher Zusammenhänge zwischen landwirtschaftlichen Nutzungsformen und der Genetik von Microtus arvalis. Um mögliche Populationsunterschiede feststellen zu können wurden zwei unterschiedliche genetische Untersuchungsmethoden eingesetzt. die Fingerprints, die mit dem Multi-locus DNA Fingerprint gemacht werden besitzen einen sehr hohen Informationswert und sind individualspezifisch. Der Nachteil dieser Methode besteht darin, dass sie sehr aufwendig ist. Die RAPD-PCR hat den Vorteil, dass sie sehr schnell Bandemuster produziert, und leicht anwendbar ist. der Informationsgehalt des RAPD-PCR ist jedoch geringer. Da beide Methoden auf die Feldmaus noch nicht angewandt wurden, mussten sie so modifiziert werden, dass genetische Untersuchungen mit Microtus arvalis erst möglich wurden. Insgesamt wurden 161 Microtus arvalis aus Wahlen (Nordsaarland) und Herl (Regierungsbezirk trier) untersucht. Dabei stellte sich heraus, dass die Brachflächen in Wahlen (Zill1, Zill2 und Zill3), die zwischen ca. 20m und 200m voneinander entfernt liegen erwartungsgemäß eine zusammenhängende Population darstellen. Die Feldmäuse der Brachfläche am Hohberg (ca. 400m entfernt) die durch eine Straße, sowie Wald bzw. Feldgehölze von den Zill-Populationen getrennt sind können genetisch eindeutig abgegrenzt werden. Noch deutlicher sind die Populationsunterschiede von Wahlen zu Herl. Die Populationsunterschiede in Herl lassen sich weder durch die Distanz noch durch Isolationsbarrieren erklären. Alles deutet darauf hin, dass einzelne Bandenmuster mit den spezifischen Landbewirtschaftungsformen korrelieren.

Soziale Dienste sind Ausdruck einer wichtigen Form von Helfen innerhalb einer Gesellschaft. Die Entfaltungsmöglichkeit und der Entwicklungsgrad der sozialen Dienste sind nicht unabhängig von spezifischen räumlichen und zeitlichen Hintergründen, und sie werden auch von den gesamtgesellschaftlichen Bedingungen (z. B. politisch-rechtlichen, wirtschaftlichen, soziokulturellen Faktoren) beeinflusst. Um die Besonderheiten der sozialen Dienste innerhalb der taiwanesischen Gesellschaft zu verdeutlichen, sollen die oben erwähnten Hintergründe und Bedingungen analysiert und dargestellt werden. In Taiwan erfolgte die Entwicklung wohlfahrtsstaatlicher Institutionen und Programmen im Vergleich zu Westeuropa zeitlich schnellen. Dabei ist ein Zusammenhang zu sehen mit der gezielt vorangetriebenen wirtschaftlichen Modernisierung. Dies gilt auch für die Demokratisierungsbewegung, die gleichzeitig auf Druck von unten wie auf Initiative von oben ausging. Sozialpolitische Maßnahmen konnten nur dann Erfolg haben, wenn Systemvertrauen gewonnen werden konnte. Dies erwies sich in Taiwan als notwendig, weil in der taiwanesischen Gesellschaft traditionell nur eine Vertrauensbasis innerhalb überschaubarer Personenkreise bestand. In dieser Arbeit zeigte es sich, dass entgegen einer häufig geäußerten Behauptung von der Überlegenheit "asiatischer Werte" bestimmte kulturelle Muster (z. B. Drei-Generationen-Zusammenleben) angesichts eines rasanten sozialen Wandels anpassungshemmend wirken werden können. Es handelt sich im vorliegenden Fall um die innerfamiliäre Solidarität bei der Versorgung älterer Angehöriger. Wenn dieses Leitbild weiterhin Orientierung geben soll, müssen in der sich verändernden Gesellschaft unterstützende Maßnahmen entwickelt werden. Ohne entsprechende Innovationen auf diesem Gebiet und in verwandten Bereichen gerät der "Confucian welfare state" in Gefahr.

An indignation control training has been developed and tested for it's effectiveness. The training was based upon a cognitive model of emotions. One's own cognitions in emotional situations are often considered to be "assertorically" true. Therefore it was tested, whether the emotion could be controlled by means of reflecting about one's own assertoric judgements and considering alternative interpretations of the current situation. The cognitive training was compared in terms of effectiveness to a relaxation training. Participants were randomly distributed to the experimental conditions: cognitive training, relaxation training and control group. Six training sessions à 90 min. - one per week- were conducted. Pre- post and follow-up-test after 3 month were undertaken. As dependent variables the following measures were used: Participants reported a personal indignation encounter and indicated their reactions to imaginal situations. Additionally a real provocation was realised. The data analysis was based upon a group of 72 persons. The cognitive training proved to be more effective in reducing indignation compared to the control group. Especially for behavioural measures the cognitive training was also superior compared to the relaxation approach. Taken together for the cognitive training group indignation in the own situation as well as in imaginal situations was reduced. Also perspective taking could be improved as well as destructive reactions in imaginal situations were reduced. After the real provocation less physiological arousal was reported as well as less negative reactions observed. Almost all effects remained stable over the 3 month follow-up period. The results clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of the new method. This new approach is also relevant for psychological interventions: A more precise control of emotion is possible because the training is based upon the specific cognitive components of the emotion. As a consequence, clients on their own are able to question their interpretation of a situation based upon each single cognition.

Wastewater treatment is of great financial concern in many states of Germany. In the rural areas of the Saarland (German state at the border to Luxembourg and France) investments for wastewater treatments in the next years will mount up to 400 mio. €. Nevertheless, decision makers are still left with the question, if these investments result in an effective and sustainable water treatment. To answer this question, the ministry of environment, related authorities and the University of the Saarland (Geographical Institute) started a Project to investigate seven small headwater catchments with predominantly Triassic series of Muschelkalk. Aims of this study were the following: (i) the description of the spatial variability of water chemistry upstream and downstream of small villages (in these villages only mechanically treated waste water is discharged into the brooks), (ii) calculation of nutrient loads of differently managed catchments (predominantly woodland, meadows or fields) and (iii) the relative importance of non-point pollution sources to point pollution sources. Results indicated that spatial variability of nitrate concentration during base-flow conditions was quite similar in intensively used agricultural areas. Nitrogen fluxes were predominantly controlled hydrologically. The nitrogen load (kg N per ha) from non-point pollution sources amounts from 32.5 to 43 kg N / ha * a in intensively used agricultural areas. This load, forecast to one square-km, is equal to the N-load of 800 " 1000 population equivalents. Thus, non-point pollution sources are a major part of the overall nitrogen pollution in the rural areas. The results are important criterias for the sewage disposal plan of the Saarland (disposal plans are obligate according to German water law) and can serve as a first part of a river basin management according to the European Water Framework Directive. To lower non-point N-pollution changes in agricultural management practices are necessary.

This dissertation develops a rationale of how to use fossil data in solving biogeographical and ecological problems. It is argued that large amounts of fossil data of high quality can be used to document the evolutionary processes (the origin, development, formation and dynamics) of Arealsystems, which can be divided into six stages in North America: the Refugium Stage (before 15,000 years ago: > 15 ka), the Dispersal Stage (from 8,000 to 15,000 years ago: 8.0 - 15 ka), the Developing Stage (from 3,000 to 8,000 years ago: 3.0 - 8.0 ka), the Transitional Stage (from 1,000 to 3,000 years ago: 1 - 3 ka), the Primitive Stage (from 5,00 to 1,000 years ago: 0.5 - 1 ka) and the Human Disturbing Stage (during the last 500 years: < 0.5 ka). The division into these six stages is based on geostatistical analysis of the FAUNMAP database that contains 43,851 fossil records collected from 1860 to 1994 in North America. Fossil data are one of the best materials to test the glacial refugia theory. Glacial refugia represent areas where flora and fauna were preserved during the glacial period, characterized by richness in species and endemic species at present. This means that these (endemic) species should have distributed purely or primarily in these areas during the glacial period. The refugia can therefore be identified by fossil records of that period. If it is not the case, the richness in (endemic) species may not be the result of the glacial refugia. By exploring where mammals lived during the Refugium Stage (> 15 ka), seven refugia in North America can be identified: the California Refugium, the Mexico Refugium, the Florida Refugium, the Appalachia Refugium, the Great Basin Refugium, the Rocky Mountain Refugium and the Great Lake Refugium. The first five refugia coincide well with De Lattin- dispersal centers recognized by biogeographical methods using data on modern distributions. The individuals of a species are not evenly distributed over its Arealsystem. Brown- Hot Spots Model shows that in most cases there is an enormous variation in abundance within an areal of a species: In a census, zero or only a very few individuals occur at most sample locations, but tens or hundreds are found at a few sample sites. Locations where only a few individuals can be sampled in a survey are called "cool spots", and sites where tens or hundreds of individuals can be observed in a survey are called "hot spots". Many areas within the areal are uninhabited, which are called "holes". This model has direct implications for analyzing fossil data: Hot spots have a much higher local population density than cool spots. The chances to discover fossil individuals of a species are much higher in sediments located in a "hot spot" area than in a "cool spot" area. Therefore much higher MNIs (Minimum Number of Individuals) of the species should be found in fossil localities located in the hot spot than in the cool spot area. There are only a few hot spots but many cool spots within an areal of a single hypothetical species, consequently only a few fossil sites can provide with much high MNIs, whereas most other sites can only provide with very low MNIs. This prediction has been proved to be true by analysis of 70 species in FAUMAP containing over 100 fossil records. The temporal and spatial variation in abundance can be reconstructed from the temporospatial distribution of the MNIs of a species over its Arealsystem. Areas with no fossil records from the last thousands of years may be holes, and sites with much higher MNIs may be hot spots, while locations with low MNIs may be cool spots. Although the hot spots of many species can remain unchanged in an area over thousands of years, our study shows that a large shift of hot spots occurred mainly around 1,500-1,000 years ago. There are three directions of movement: from the west side to the east side of the Rockies, from the East of the USA to the east side of the Rockies and from the west side of the Rockies to the Southwest of the USA. The first two directions of shift are called Lewis and Clark- pattern, which can be verified with the observations mad by Lewis and Clark during their expedition in 1805-1806. The historical process of this pattern may well explain the 200-year-old puzzle why big game then abundant on the east side were rare on the west side of the Rocky Mountains noted by modern ecologists and biogeographers. The third direction of shift is called Bayham- pattern. This pattern can be tested by the model of Late Holocene resource intensification first described by Frank E. Bayham. The historical process creating the Bayham pattern will challenge the classic explanation of the Late Holocene resource intensification. An environmental change model has been proposed to account for the shift of hot spots. Implications of glacial refugia and hot spots areas for wildlife management and effective conservation are discussed. Suggestions for paleontologists and zooarchaeologists regarding how to provide more valuable information in their future excavation and research for other disciplines are given.