Environmental exposures during susceptible early-life developmental periods can have the ability to model and shape individuals immunological responses in adulthood. This has been partly demonstrated in animal models, highlighting the long-term consequences of early-life exposure to bacterial infection in adulthood but the mechanisms driving and maintaining the immune early life programming are not yet fully understood. In this thesis, we investigated the epigenetic mechanisms, mainly DNA methylation, controlling the establishment/maintenance of early-life programming by bacterial and viral exposure in mice. Initially, it was important to carefully consider the sequencing method which would deliver a genome-wide DNA methylation profile of high quality to be able to identify LPS-programming specific methylation signature. For this purpose, we investigated the cutting pattern of restriction enzymes used for reduced representation CpG sequencing in order to control the number of dynamically regulated CpG sites interrogated. CpGs in CGI and shelf/shore could be enriched by the enzymes MspI, HhaI and BstUI, particularly in gene bodies for all genomic regions, promoters (TSS1500, TSS200), intra- (1st exon, gene body, 3’UTR, 5’UTR) and inter-genic regions. The enzyme HpyCH4IV mainly enriched CpG elements in the open sea for all genomic elements. This study allowed us to make an informed decision about the enzymes best fitted to identify DNA methylation patterns associated with LPS and H1N1-programming. To understand the mechanisms controlling the establishment/maintenance of early-life programming in mice, we characterised LPS-programmed lymphocytes in vivo and in vitro. A single exposure to LPS at post-natal day 14 elicited stable, sex specific, long-term hypo responsiveness of both the in-vivo and ex-vivo immune response to a homotypic LPS re-exposure in adulthood. In addition, both the HPA and HPG axes were concurrently programmed with blunted corticosterone after an acute stress and reduced circulating testosterone levels. Genome wide DNA methylation analysis identified a similar number of hyper- and hypo-methylated loci in LPS-programmed mice, spread across the genome specifically in intragenic regions. The programming associated phenotype was trans-generationally inherited in an oscillatory manner to the two subsequent generations. This suggests compensation efforts from the offspring phenotype to match and best adapt to their living environment. Several sperm miRNAs were found differentially expressed in LPS-programmed males, suggesting a probable route for the transmission of programming to next generations. Next, we adopted a similar approach to investigate the consequences of neonatal exposure to influenza virus. Viral respiratory tract infections are highly prevalent during early-life and have a long-lasting, profound, impact on both neurodevelopment and the subsequent risk for developing allergy and asthma. Little is known about the long-term effects on the innate immune system. BALB/c mice exposed to Influenza A (H1N1, A/Puerto Rico/8/1934) at PND14 had increased serum IL-6, MIP-β and RANTES (p<0.05) when re-exposed to H1N1 in adulthood, confirming long-term immune programing. Similar effects were observed after re-stimulating H1N1 programed mice with polyI:C and homotypic polyI:C programming and re-stimulation, suggesting preferential programming of the innate immune system. Reduced-representation epigenome sequencing identified a network of methylation changes common to both early life polyI:C and H1N1 programming, leaving a mechanistic ‘trace’ that remained visible throughout life. Taken together our data suggest that neonatal exposure to infections induces an early activation of the innate immune system which coincides with cellular developmental peaks, hence epigenetically and transcriptionally programming cellular functions until adulthood. Early-life infection with either LPS or H1N1 was shown to lead to profound DNA methylation and transcriptional re-programming of immune cells. The pathway and network analysis of differentially methylated genes revealed that the immune system was at the centre of a number of transcriptionally modified clusters, in accordance with the diverse consequences of early-life LPS programming on the immune, neurological and hormonal systems.

Cet article présente une méthode qui permet aux enseignant(e)s de se faire une idée de l’expérience que les élèves ont des médias numériques et de leur maîtrise du numérique. Elle demande peu de préparation et n’exige pas de connaissances préalables de la part des enseignant(e)s. Cet exercice permet de détendre l’atmosphère en classe et de déterminer dans quelle mesure les élèves réfléchissent déjà à l’usage qu’ils/elles font des médias numériques.

Combiner l’apprentissage mobile, régional et extrascolaire avec les avantages du recours aux médias numériques : la plateforme Actionbound permet de créer des parcours d’apprentissage numérique par les apprenant(e)s, pour les apprenant(e)s.

Les outils numériques offrent un large éventail de possibilités pour favoriser la participation démocratique dans les écoles et la société, pour participer aux processus d’élaboration des politiques et pour organiser le travail des comités scolaires, les processus de développement et les projets. Afin de permettre aux élèves d’employer les outils de façon efficace, leur utilisation à l’école et dans l’enseignement doit être testée et faire l’objet d’une réflexion.

La numérisation a des répercussions non négligeables sur tous les aspects de la vie. La mise en réseau technique et la conversion de données analogiques en données numériques sont à l’origine d’énormes quantités de données. Il est possible d’identifier des régularités dans leur mise en rapport et leur traitement, et de générer des applications dont les conséquences sociales, éthiques, politiques, juridiques, professionnelles et économiques sont encore difficiles à évaluer.

With two-thirds to three-quarters of all companies, family firms are the most common firm type worldwide and employ around 60 percent of all employees, making them of considerable importance for almost all economies. Despite this high practical relevance, academic research took notice of family firms as intriguing research subjects comparatively late. However, the field of family business research has grown eminently over the past two decades and has established itself as a mature research field with a broad thematic scope. In addition to questions relating to corporate governance, family firm succession and the consideration of entrepreneurial families themselves, researchers mainly focused on the impact of family involvement in firms on their financial performance and firm strategy. This dissertation examines the financial performance and capital structure of family firms in various meta-analytical studies. Meta-analysis is a suitable method for summarizing existing empirical findings of a research field as well as identifying relevant moderators of a relationship of interest. First, the dissertation examines the question whether family firms show better financial performance than non-family firms. A replication and extension of the study by O’Boyle et al. (2012) based on 1,095 primary studies reveals a slightly better performance of family firms compared to non-family firms. Investigating the moderating impact of methodological choices in primary studies, the results show that outperformance holds mainly for large and publicly listed firms and with regard to accounting-based performance measures. Concerning country culture, family firms show better performance in individualistic countries and countries with a low power distance. Furthermore, this dissertation investigates the sensitivity of family firm performance with regard to business cycle fluctuations. Family firms show a pro-cyclical performance pattern, i.e. their relative financial performance compared to non-family firms is better in economically good times. This effect is particularly pronounced in Anglo-American countries and emerging markets. In the next step, a meta-analytic structural equation model (MASEM) is used to examine the market valuation of public family firms. In this model, profitability and firm strategic choices are used as mediators. On the one hand, family firm status itself does not have an impact on firms‘ market value. On the other hand, this study finds a positive indirect effect via higher profitability levels and a negative indirect effect via lower R&D intensity. A split consideration of family ownership and management shows that these two effects are mainly driven by family ownership, while family management results in less diversification and internationalization. Finally, the dissertation examines the capital structure of public family firms. Univariate meta-analyses indicate on average lower leverage ratios in family firms compared to non-family firms. However, there is significant heterogeneity in mean effect sizes across the 45 countries included in the study. The results of a meta-regression reveal that family firms use leverage strategically to secure their controlling position in the firm. While strong creditor protection leads to lower leverage ratios in family firms, strong shareholder protection has the opposite effect.

In current times, the coronavirus is spreading and taking its toll all over the world. Inspite of having developed into a global pandemic, COVID-19 is oftentimes met with local national(ist) reactions. Many states pursue iso-lationist politics by closing and enforcing borders and by focusing entirely on their own functioning in this mo-ment of crisis. This nationalist/nationally-oriented rebordering politics goes hand in hand with what might be termed ‘linguistic rebordering,’ i.e. the attempts of constructing the disease as something foreign-grown and by apportioning the blame to ‘the other.’ This paper aims at laying bare the interconnectedness of these geopoliti-cal and linguistic/discursive rebordering politics. It questions their efficacy and makes a plea for cross-border solidarity.

Durch das Zusammenspiel von Big Data und künstlicher Intelligenz eröffnen sich ganz neue Möglichkeiten, auch im Bereich der öffentlichen Sicherheit. Immer mehr Städte weltweit machen davon Gebrauch und setzen auf Kameras mit computergesteuerter Gesichtserkennung. Nicht jeder ist damit einverstanden. Wie kann man die aktuelle gesellschaftliche Debatte um öffentliche Sicherheit und Privatsphäre mit Jugendlichen besprechen?

Digitale Medien können dabei helfen, Unterrichtsinhalte auf motivierende und anschauliche Weise zu thematisieren und demokratische Handlungskompetenzen von Schüler*innen zu trainieren. Die App „KonterBUNT. Einschreiten für Demokratie“ unterstützt Jugendliche bei der Auseinandersetzung mit menschenverachtenden Parolen.

Jugendliche zu unterstützen, sich auszudrücken, ist ein wichtiger Bereich der Demokratiebildung. Eine der Möglichkeiten dafür ist es, sie die Medien gestalten zu lassen, die sie am besten kennen. Der vorliegende Artikel beschäftigt sich vor allem mit der Frage, wie man kreative und themenbezogene Projektarbeit mit digitalen Medien – genauer: dem Smartphone – verbinden kann.