Suchergebnisse

Dieses Buch zeigt deutlich: Für eine gelungene Digitalisierung in der öffentlichen Verwaltung (E-Government, Smart City, Verwaltung 4.0) ist nur ein ganzheitlicher Ansatz erfolgversprechend. Die Verwaltung als Ausführungsorgan des Staates muss auf die massiven gesellschaftlichen Veränderungen Antworten finden. Die Digitalisierung ist dabei Chance und Herausforderung zugleich, sie muss aber viel weitgehender gedacht werden als einfach nur bestehende Prozesse ins Internet zu verlagern. Matthias Meyer stellt zunächst die wesentlichen Herausforderungen für unsere Gesellschaft vor, für die die Politik und die öffentliche Verwaltung Lösungen erarbeiten muss. Danach erläutert er anhand der technologischen Entwicklungen die Chancen und Risiken für die Digitalisierung der Verwaltung. Zum Abschluss der ersten Buchhälfte stellt er den ganzheitlichen Ansatz des Zuger Modells des Smart Government vor. Nach diesem konzeptionellen Rahmen geht es um die praktische Umsetzung: Wie kann der eigene Stand der Digitalisierungsreife ermittelt werden? Wie können Veränderungsprozesse solide aufgebaut und erfolgreich umgesetzt werden? Welche Erfahrungswerte helfen in den Veränderungsprozessen? Welche besonderen Herausforderungen im Rahmen von Smart Government müssen von den handelnden Personen bewältigt werden? Acht unterschiedliche Best-Practice-Beispiele für die erfolgreiche Umsetzung digitaler Lösungen schließen das Buch ab.

In 2016, the only undergraduate program in health promotion and prevention (HP) in Switzerland to date was launched at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences. HP in Switzerland is well institutionalized and anchored in health politics, but the profession of HP practitioners is not well established yet. The conceptualization of HP as outlined in the Ottawa Charta makes it quite complex to teach and learn HP within an undergraduate program. The program (180 ECTS) is offered as a full-time (3 years) and part-time (5 years) program to a maximum of 66 students. The outlined learning outcomes are based on the CompHP to ensure international transferability of HP competencies. The focus is on a threefold methodological approach, consisting of (1) practical training, (2) skills training (research, project management, and communication), and (3) interprofessional training. Experiences with 5 years of program implementation have revealed challenges, e.g., adapting the form of study to the current trend of flexible education to enable more self-directed learning opportunities and promoting better employability of the graduates. By providing a supportive learning environment for HP, the program contributes to publicity and quality assurance in practice and policy of HP in Switzerland and internationally.

This paper identifies possible pitfalls of simulation modeling and suggests ways to prevent them. First, we specify five typical pitfalls that are associated with the process of applying simulation models and characterize the "logic of failure" (Dörner 1996) behind the pitfalls. Then, we illustrate important aspects of these pitfalls using examples from applying simulation modeling to military and managerial decision making and present possible solutions to them. Finally, we discuss how our suggestions for avoiding them relate to current methodological discussions found in the social simulation community.

Virtually all current major social and environmental challenges such as financial crises, migration, the erosion of democratic institutions, and the loss of biodiversity involve complex systems comprising decision-making, interacting, adaptive agents. To understand how such agent-based complex systems function and respond to change and disturbances, agent-based modeling (ABM) is increasingly recognized as the main way forward. Many motivating examples of agent-based models exist that are realistic enough to successfully support the management of complex systems, but these solutions are case-specific and contribute few general insights into the functioning of systems. General theory, though, is highly needed because we cannot model each system and question. Still, across disciplines, a critical mass of expertise has accumulated that could transform ABM into a more coherent and efficient approach to discover the functioning of complex social-economic-ecological systems. To this end, we need a cross-disciplinary discussion among researchers and a goal-oriented synthesis to identify the general principles and theories essential to improve our understanding and management of complex systems.

We investigate the recent history and stock identity of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in Kotzebue Sound in the Chukchi Sea, a region long frequented by large numbers of belugas in summer until their near disappearance in the 1980s. Wide variation in numbers since then suggests a complex recent history that hinders recovery efforts. Analysis of teeth sampled during the historical (pre-decline) era using ancient DNA (aDNA) methods found that the original Kotzebue Sound whales were differentiated for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from other summering concentrations across the Pacific Arctic revealing a demographically distinct subpopulation where long-established migratory culture likely facilitated population divergence. Analysis of microsatellite (nDNA) and mtDNA markers in belugas from the contemporary (post-decline) era revealed that whales from other stocks likely visited Kotzebue Sound, including during two low ice years when relatively large numbers of whales were present. Some mtDNA lineages were found only in Kotzebue Sound, with one recorded in both the historical and contemporary eras. Exclusion tests found a number of whales in Kotzebue Sound during the contemporary era that had nDNA genotypes unlikely to arise in other contemporary stocks in the Pacific Arctic. Our findings indicate that the Kotzebue Sound belugas comprised a unique stock of which a few remnants likely still co-occur with belugas from other larger stocks. We recommend that the US government work through the co-management process to greatly reduce or eliminate the taking of belugas, especially adult females, likely to belong to the Kotzebue Sound stock, until they recover.

The integration of massively parallel sequencing (MPS) technology into forensic casework has been of particular benefit to the identification of unknown military service members. However, highly degraded or chemically treated skeletal remains often fail to provide usable DNA profiles, even with sensitive mitochondrial (mt) DNA capture and MPS methods. In parallel, the ancient DNA field has developed workflows specifically for degraded DNA, resulting in the successful recovery of nuclear DNA and mtDNA from skeletal remains as well as sediment over 100,000 years old. In this study we use a set of disinterred skeletal remains from the Korean War and World War II to test if ancient DNA extraction and library preparation methods improve forensic DNA profiling. We identified an ancient DNA extraction protocol that resulted in the recovery of significantly more human mtDNA fragments than protocols previously used in casework. In addition, utilizing single-stranded rather than double-stranded library preparation resulted in increased attainment of reportable mtDNA profiles. This study emphasizes that the combination of ancient DNA extraction and library preparation methods evaluated here increases the success rate of DNA profiling, and likelihood of identifying historical remains.

The integration of massively parallel sequencing (MPS) technology into forensic casework has been of particular benefit to the identification of unknown military service members. However, highly degraded or chemically treated skeletal remains often fail to provide usable DNA profiles, even with sensitive mitochondrial (mt) DNA capture and MPS methods. In parallel, the ancient DNA field has developed workflows specifically for degraded DNA, resulting in the successful recovery of nuclear DNA and mtDNA from skeletal remains as well as sediment over 100,000 years old. In this study we use a set of disinterred skeletal remains from the Korean War and World War II to test if ancient DNA extraction and library preparation methods improve forensic DNA profiling. We identified an ancient DNA extraction protocol that resulted in the recovery of significantly more human mtDNA fragments than protocols previously used in casework. In addition, utilizing single-stranded rather than double-stranded library preparation resulted in increased attainment of reportable mtDNA profiles. This study emphasizes that the combination of ancient DNA extraction and library preparation methods evaluated here increases the success rate of DNA profiling, and likelihood of identifying historical remains.

Ancient DNA has allowed the study of various aspects of human history in unprecedented detail. However, because the majority of archaic human specimens preserved well enough for genome sequencing have been female, comprehensive studies of Y chromosomes of Denisovans and Neandertals have not yet been possible. Here we present sequences of the first Denisovan Y chromosomes (Denisova 4 and Denisova 8), as well as the Y chromosomes of three late Neandertals (Spy 94a, Mezmaiskaya 2 and El Sidrón 1253). We find that the Denisovan Y chromosomes split around 700 thousand years ago (kya) from a lineage shared by Neandertal and modern human Y chromosomes, which diverged from each other around 370 kya. The phylogenetic relationships of archaic and modern human Y chromosomes therefore differ from population relationships inferred from their autosomal genomes, and mirror the relationships observed on the level of mitochondrial DNA. This provides strong evidence that gene flow from an early lineage related to modern humans resulted in the replacement of both the mitochondrial and Y chromosomal gene pools in late Neandertals. Although unlikely under neutrality, we show that this replacement is plausible if the low effective population size of Neandertals resulted in an increased genetic load in their Y chromosomes and mitochondrial DNA relative to modern humans. ; Q.F. was supported by funding from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB26000000), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (91731303, 41925009,41630102). A.R. was funded by Spanish government (MICINN/FEDER), grant number CGL2016-75109-P. The reassessment of the Spy collection by H.R., I.C. and P.S. was supported by the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO 2004-2007, MO/36/0112). M.S., M.K. and A.D. were supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR 17-29-04206). This study was funded by the Max Planck Society and the European Research Council (grant agreement number 694707). ; No