Suchergebnisse

Die historische Demographie hat es sich zur Aufgabe gemacht, die generativen Strukturen einer Gesellschaft und ihre Veränderungen aufzudecken. Gerade in der Gesellschaft der Frühen Neuzeit mit ihren knappen Ressourcen war die Bevölkerungsentwicklung ein entscheidender Parameter, dessen Kenntnisnahme für den Historiker unabdingbar ist. Anhand der Schlüsselbegriffe Heiratsmuster, Illegitimität, Fruchtbarkeit, Sterblichkeit und Wanderungsgeschehen umreißt Christian Pfister die Trends der Bevölkerungsentwicklung auf überregionaler Ebene und stellt sie am Beispiel regionaler und ökotypischer Fallstudien (Stadt, Gebirgsraum, Küstenraum, protoindustrielle Gebiete) in Beziehung zu lokalen Lebenswelten (Konfession, Arbeitsrhythmus, soziale Beziehungen, Normen).

Die Annahme, dass die medizinische Behandlungsqualität in Spitälern mit hohen Fallzahlen besser ist als in solchen mit tiefen Fallzahlen, ist weit verbreitet und belegt. Der Zusammenhang von Fallzahlen und Behandlungsqualität hat Auswirkungen auf die Gesundheitspolitik. Viele Länder unternehmen Anstrengungen um höhere Fallzahlen pro Spital zu erreichen. Auch in der Schweiz werden zunehmend Mindestfallzahlen gefordert und bestehende Vorgaben verschärft. Inwieweit in Schweizer Spitälern die Behandlungsqualität bei hohen Fallzahlen besser ist und ob dabei Unterschiede zwischen verschiedenen Krankheitsbildern bestehen, untersucht diese Arbeit.

Historical Climatology draws from climatology and (environmental) history. lt aims at reconstructing climate and natural disasters for the period preceding the creation of meteorological networks. Moreover it investigates the impact of climate extremes on societies and it points out to past debates on social representations of climate. Up to 1989 no coherent methodology was available. Since then cooperation emerged in the framework of EU research projects. As a result common approaches and standards were developed. The article discusses the evidence and explains how long time series of monthly and seasonal temperature and precipitation indices were obtained from the data. Validation has revealed that such series are good substitutes for instrumental measurements. Recently climatologists have included this data into statistical models to construct charts of monthly surface pressure, temperature and precipitation in Europe back to 1659. Less efforts were made to investigate the effects of climatic variations and extremes on societies. lt is still not known how past societies perceived climatic extremes and natural disasters and how they adapted to them. Undoubtedly climate affected the use and availability of energy resources (food, fodder, fire-wood) and the outbreak of climate sensitive epidemics. Which climatic constellations mattered, needs to be assessed within the specific context. In any case the vulnerability of the society needs to be taken into account. The mental, legal and political setting affected the search for scapegoats in periods of crises. lt is demonstrated that extended witch-hunts took place in the late sixteenth century because a part of society held the witches directly responsible for the high frequency of climatic anomalies during this period. ; Historical Climatology draws from climatology and (environmental) history. lt aims at reconstructing climate and natural disasters for the period preceding the creation of meteorological networks. Moreover it investigates the impact of climate extremes on societies and it points out to past debates on social representations of climate. Up to 1989 no coherent methodology was available. Since then cooperation emerged in the framework of EU research projects. As a result common approaches and standards were developed. The article discusses the evidence and explains how long time series of monthly and seasonal temperature and precipitation indices were obtained from the data. Validation has revealed that such series are good substitutes for instrumental measurements. Recently climatologists have included this data into statistical models to construct charts of monthly surface pressure, temperature and precipitation in Europe back to 1659. Less efforts were made to investigate the effects of climatic variations and extremes on societies. lt is still not known how past societies perceived climatic extremes and natural disasters and how they adapted to them. Undoubtedly climate affected the use and availability of energy resources (food, fodder, fire-wood) and the outbreak of climate sensitive epidemics. Which climatic constellations mattered, needs to be assessed within the specific context. In any case the vulnerability of the society needs to be taken into account. The mental, legal and political setting affected the search for scapegoats in periods of crises. lt is demonstrated that extended witch-hunts took place in the late sixteenth century because a part of society held the witches directly responsible for the high frequency of climatic anomalies during this period.

Les économistes et les géographes, de Thomas W. Tooke à W. Stanley Jevons, Eduard Brückner, Ellsworth Huntington, Lord Beveridge et Eli Heckscher, des historiens tels que Jean Georgelin ou Michel Morineau, estiment que les cycles climatiques jouent un rôle important dans la vie économique par leurs répercussions sur les récoltes et leurs influences sur le niveau des prix. La théorie de Labrousse sur la conjoncture préindustrielle considère la récolte (et donc les problèmes climatiques sous-jacents à la production céréalière) comme l'élément déterminant par l'influence qu'elle exerce sur les prix des céréales et le niveau d'emploi rural, ces deux éléments fixant à leur tour les revenus urbains. Ainsi que l'a écrit Fernand Braudel : « rythme, qualité et insuffisance des récoltes régissent la vie matérielle ».