University of Erfurt

Psychedelic drugs, particularly taking small amounts of psychedelics in a cyclical pattern over days (so-called microdosing), have garnered growing scientific and public interest, but representative data on different dosage levels is scarce. To better understand this trend, we surveyed a nationwide sample of 11,299 adults in Germany. The survey assessed lifetime and past six-month psychedelic use by dosage as well as socio-demographic variables (sex, age, education, employment status, household equivalence income, partner arrangements, and place of residence). Results show that 5.0% of respondents self-reported lifetime psychedelic use, while 0.7% reported past six-month use. Medium to high dosing was more prevalent than microdosing. Moreover, high probabilities of using multiple forms of psychedelics were uncovered. We also observed variation in use across socio-demographic groups. For example, psychedelics use was less likely in females than males, and older than younger respondents. Past six-month microdosing was less likely in rural areas, and past six-month medium to high dosing was less prevalent in individuals with higher income or who live with a partner. This study shows limited support for widespread use in Germany and highlights diverse usage patterns across socio-demographics. These findings can inform policies, especially considering the overlap in usage of various substances. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-025-03873-0.

With advances in neurotechnology and its use for medical treatment and beyond, it is important to understand the public’s awareness of such technologies and potential disparities in self-reported knowledge, because knowledge is known to influence the acceptance and use of new technologies. This study utilizes a large sample (N = 10,339) to depict the existence and extent of self-reported knowledge of these neurotechnologies and to examine knowledge disparities between respondents. Results show that most respondents self-reported at least some knowledge of ultrasound and electroencephalography (EEG), but limited knowledge of BCIs. Prior use, being a healthcare professional, and health literacy increased the odds of self-reporting some knowledge. Also gender and age disparities exist. These findings may help identify uninformed groups in society and enhance information campaigns. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-025-00460-1.

Journalists’ perceptions of public opinion influence their reporting. Yet, the factors driving these public opinion perceptions are not well understood. This study examines one such potential factor, namely the impact of journalists’ own policy opinions on their estimations of public opinion. Concretely, we identify which journalists are more susceptible to such so-called social projection . Moreover, we investigate which factors moderate the relationship between own opinion and perceived public opinion. Drawing on unique survey data from political journalists in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, we demonstrate that journalists’ own policy opinions are indeed correlated with their public opinion estimations. Moreover, we find that journalists whose political opinions tend to the right are more likely to perceive public opinion in line with their own opinion. Finally, our findings indicate that journalists project less when estimating public opinion on policies within their news beats, and they project less when they perceive public opinion on a policy issue as ambiguous. We discuss the implications of our findings for journalism as a profession.

Eye-tracking-while-reading data provide valuable insights across multiple disciplines, including psychology, linguistics, natural language processing, education, and human-computer interaction. Despite its potential, the availability of large, high-quality, multilingual datasets remains limited, hindering both foundational reading research and advancements in applications. The MultiplEYE project addresses this gap by establishing a large-scale, international eye-tracking data collection initiative. It aims to create a multilingual dataset of eye movements recorded during natural reading, balancing linguistic diversity, while ensuring methodological consistency for reliable cross-linguistic comparisons. The dataset spans numerous languages and follows strict procedural, documentation, and data pre-processing standards to enhance eye-tracking data transparency and reproducibility. A novel data-sharing framework, integrated with data quality reports, allows for selective data filtering based on research needs. Researchers and labs worldwide are invited to join the initiative. By establishing and promoting standardized practices and open data sharing, MultiplEYE facilitates interdisciplinary research and advances reading research and gaze-augmented applications.

Authoritarian attitudes across the political spectrum foster radical behaviors, which adversely affect the social fabric. Both left-wing (LWA) and right-wing (RWA) forms of authoritarianism have been described in relation to their psychological correlates, yet little is known about their neurobiological basis. In this study, we explored brain structural correlates (e.g., in cortical thickness (CT) and gray matter (GM) volume) of authoritarianism. For this purpose, we assessed authoritarian dispositions in a sample of 100 young adults and collected 3 T MR images. Images were computed using the CAT12 toolbox. Behaviorally, both the LWA and RWA were positively associated with negative urgency; the LWA also showed a robust positive association with trait anxiety. At the neural level, results showed a negative correlation (r = -0.48) between RWA and a GM volume cluster located in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC). In addition, we also observed a negative correlation (r = -0.41) between the LWA anti-hierarchical aggression subscale and a CT cluster located in the right anterior insula. Additionally, the resulting clusters converged with further left-wing and right-wing ideology scales related to LWA and RWA, thus providing a robustness check. These results are supported by previous studies showing the relevance of the dmPFC and the anterior insula on social cognition and empathy/inhibitory control, respectively.

This article not only considers conversions to Lutheranism from the convert’s perspective, but understands conversion as a process involving multiple actors with a range of motivations. This perspective moves the conversation away from the converts’ own narratives and instead concentrates on Lutheran theologians, urban dignitaries and Protestant princes, who participated in the conversions in various ways. It asks how these actors benefitted from supporting the converts and argues that they actively promoted conversion to Lutheranism. Conversion became a key feature of the Lutheran self-perception and theologians and princes celebrated and promoted them in Germany and beyond. Contrary to previous scholarship, this article shows that Lutherans actively advocated conversions and the converts played a crucial role in the construction of a Lutheran identity.

Script geometry, as a new kind of discrete geometry and calculus, has been introduced by Frank Sommen and his co-authors in recent years. The key idea of the script geometry is to generalise the classical simplicial topology to more general meshes than only simplicial complexes. This generalisation opens new possibilities to develop discrete function theories on a flexible geometrical foundation. Therefore, in this paper, we develop first ideas of using Frank Sommen’s script geometry as a foundation of the finite element exterior calculus in the Clifford setting. Moreover, we also present a categorical perspective on scripts, providing a deeper understanding of connections between the script geometry and the classical simplicial topology.

Anticipating futures can inform today’s decisions. However, existing scenario approaches need systemic methods to diversify the established storylines and to incorporate surprises. We propose a ‘wild logic’ scenario method, which is informed by participatory work and combines logic from exploratory scenarios with assumptions on governance modes. We apply the proposed method to a case of reindeer herding in Finland, building on Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) storylines and three assumptions on hierarchical, collaborative and affirmative governance. Our main result is an SSP – governance assumption matrix consisting of 10 storylines with divergent implications on land use and social equity for reindeer herders. Our approach was able to produce novel aspects that expand on existing scenario work in the Arctic, especially by addressing affirmative governance. The method is also applicable beyond the Arctic contexts, and can be combined with other than SSP exploratory scenarios, and with other than governance-related assumptions.

Where are the women in foreign policy? Scholars have increasingly asked this question to uncover how the exclusion of women is embedded in foreign policy institutions, practices, and outcomes worldwide, and how this has changed over time (Aggestam & Towns, 2018; Cassidy, 2017; McCarthy, 2014). There is, however, one curious exception to this ‘gender turn’ (Aggestam & Towns, 2019): Germany. Only one edited collection, published in 2000 and since out of print, offers some insights into women in German foreign policy (Scheidemann & Müller, 2000). As a result, our understanding of the gendered structures that have shaped the German foreign policy apparatus over time remains limited. To address this, this chapter offers a ‘history of firsts’: Drawing on (auto)biographies, official documentation, experiential data, and archival resources, it traces how the first women entered and navigated the German foreign service as typists, employees, and diplomats in the twentieth century. This glimpse into women’s experiences, trajectories, and perspectives not only helps to illuminate how gendered boundaries changed over time but also offers some insight into their agency. As such, it responds to calls for a new research agenda for German diplomacy (Färber, 2022) and provides much-needed historical context for how gender shapes German foreign policy today.

As society advances technologically, ensuring these strides align with common ethical standards and morally acceptable behavior is essential to ensure a sustainable and ethical future. Hence, besides conquering the technical challenges that separate the present from the future, the builders and makers at the technical frontier must constantly solve and accommodate human problems on a moral and ethical level. To aid in this, much like in professional fields like Medicine and Law, the use of codes of ethics has been applied to Information Technology (IT) related fields to help guide the decisions of these professionals in the ethical sense. However, the efficiency of this code of ethics (CoE) approach, in the empirical sense, is a matter up for investigation with little documented exploration. Building upon past works, this study seeks to assess the influence of codes of ethics on the decision-making process of IT students and professionals when confronted with ethical dilemmas and moral self-assessment questions. For this, we conducted a randomized controlled trial on 225 IT students and professionals, using a multi-media implementation of the 2018 Association for Computing Machinery Code of Ethics as our intervention in our experimental group. In the end, our search for a statistically significant result in terms of differences in the distribution of answers from our control and experimental group showed no signs that these originated from different distributions, i.e., our passive CoE intervention did not promote any measurable behavior change in the answering of our survey. We conclude this study by critically assessing our results while prescribing recommendations for future research, like determining if more active forms of exposure to Codes of Ethics and the like can promote the influence our intervention has failed to produce.

Background The reasons for low influenza and pneumococcal vaccine acceptance in the elderly population are largely unknown – despite the great need of vaccines in this risk group. While many studies examine the relationship between factors influencing vaccination, such as sociodemographic characteristics and influenza and pneumococcal vaccination intentions and behavior, psychological factors, such as vaccine-specific attitudes, are underutilized in research on vaccination behaviors and intervention strategies. This article assesses the psychological antecedents of influenza and pneumococcal vaccination in the elderly and assesses the predictive power of psychological vs. sociodemographic and other factors surrounding vaccination, on vaccination behavior. Methods A cross-sectional telephone survey, representative of age, gender and rural/urban residence, was conducted with N = 701 German participants > 60 years of age, during the influenza season of 2016–17. Multiple logistic regressions were conducted to identify the relevant determinants of vaccination behavior. Results Results show unique patterns in the psychological antecedents: while confidence, the belief in the effectiveness of vaccination and calculation, the need for information, complacency, the lack of risk perception and constraints, and perceived practical barriers to vaccination predicted influenza vaccination behavior, only complacency predicted pneumococcal vaccination behavior. The amount of explained variance in influenza vaccination behavior nearly doubles when psychological antecedents of vaccination are taken into account, beyond other factors surrounding vaccination. However, the effect was smaller for pneumococcal vaccination behavior. The results are compared to a subnational sample. Conclusions Understanding the psychological drivers of vaccination can help to plan interventions effectively. Trial registration Deutsches Register Klinische Studien (German Clinical Trials Register) DRKS00012653. Registered 24.11.2017. Retrospectively registered.

Zusammenfassung Die Antibiotikakrise steigert das Interesse an Bakteriophagen und damit in Zusammenhang stehenden Therapieansätzen. Eine Translation der Phagentherapie in die klinische Anwendung steht vor verschiedenen ethischen Herausforderungen. Diese betreffen u. a. die informierte Einwilligung des Patienten auf Grundlage einer Patientenaufklärung sowie offene Fragen eines ethisch abgesicherten Studiendesigns. Zudem ergeben sich in Hinsicht auf die Zugangsgerechtigkeit aus der aktuellen Situation der Phagentherapie in Deutschland weitere ethische Probleme. Dieser Übersichtsbeitrag reflektiert die 3 genannten Aspekte der Phagentherapie. Im Ergebnis zeigt sich, dass Phagentherapie keine Anforderungen an die Patientenaufklärung stellt, die nicht durch Anpassungen der Aufklärung gelöst werden könnten. Fragen an ein angepasstes Studiendesign ergeben sich vor dem Hintergrund des Placebodilemmas, möglicher Resistenzen gegen Antibiotika sowie der erwartbar geringen Zahl an Studienteilnehmern. Es kann versucht werden, mit angepassten Studiendesigns auf diese Herausforderungen zu reagieren. Dadurch weichen die Studien vom Goldstandard, den randomisierten, kontrollierten und doppelt verblindeten Studien, ab. Hier muss eine Abwägung zwischen Evidenzanspruch und Schutz der Studienteilnehmer vorgenommen werden. Aus ethischer Sicht ist der Schutz der Teilnehmer stärker zu gewichten. Die aktuelle Situation der Phagentherapie in Deutschland stellt ein ethisches Problem dar, denn sowohl der individuelle Heilversuch als auch ein zu beobachtender Medizintourismus stehen dem Anspruch auf Zugangs- und Verteilungsgerechtigkeit im Weg. Um diesen Status zu überwinden, stellt die Magistralrezeptur einen möglichen Zwischenschritt dar, bis Klarheit über ein angemessenes Studiendesign gewonnen wurde.

Zusammenfassung Von 2021 bis 2023 hat die Forschungsbibliothek Gotha – gefördert vom Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (https://www.bmbf.de/DE/Home/home_node.html) – in der Förderlinie e-Heritage 35.000 Afrika- und Asienkarten der Sammlung Perthes erschlossen und digitalisiert. Damit ist ca. ein Fünftel der 185.000 Blätter umfassenden Kartensammlung Perthes weltweit zugänglich. Der Erfahrungsbericht beschreibt mit Blick auf die spezifische Überlieferungssituation der Sammlung die Vorgeschichte, Herausforderungen, Lösungen, Realisierung und Ergebnisse des Vorhabens für einen von der Wissenschaft zunehmend intensiver nachgefragten, kulturhistorisch bedeutenden Kartenbestand des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts.

The Chinese party-state, its position in the country’s economy, and the defining characteristics of its politico-economic model, are key subjects of interdisciplinary debate. Our contribution here is the construction of a novel dataset on China’s Top-500 enterprises (SinoTop500), which allows us to conduct an empirically grounded analysis of party-state permeation of China’s economy. We examine two key mechanisms of party-state permeation in corporate governance: state ownership and party institutionalization. Drawing on theoretical concepts from comparative political economy, and employing tools of descriptive statistics and cluster analysis, our inquiry yields the following results: we first identify a dual ownership structure characterized by a nearly equal representation of state-owned and private enterprises. This structure has a high degree of party institutionalization that transcends ownership boundaries. Second, we observe considerable inter-sectoral variation in the extent to which companies are subject to state ownership and party institutionalization, giving rise to a three-layered economic structure.

The 2019 crisis in Bolivia, which led to the resignation of popular left-wing president Evo Morales under paradoxical circumstances and marked the abrupt end of more than a decade of bold social transformation, provides an opportunity to explore key conceptual challenges undertheorized in international studies. The events reveal a political constellation that could be described as a stalled transition, a condition largely overlooked in comparative studies. This is unique in that the democratic regime, broken by Evo Morales years before his resignation, was not fully replaced before his exit. This particular situation explains, among other things, why there could not have been a coup d’état when Evo Morales resigned, if one assumes that a coup d’état must break an existing order, which, as will be shown, was still in the process of being established. Furthermore, the nature of the authoritarian regime that Evo Morales installed during his presidency will be examined. To this end, the distinction between “downstream” and “upstream” rules of democracy is introduced. It is argued that Evo Morales’s anti-democratic acts primarily concerned the upstream domain and thus produced a sui generis authoritarian regime that cannot be convincingly described by the seemingly more appropriate concept of competitive authoritarianism.

This article explores several key moments in which one of the most significant colonial institutions of the twentieth century – the International Colonial Institute (ICI) – faked its demise, pretending to end its involvement in colonial governance and its role in producing colonial knowledge, a practice it had maintained since its establishment in 1893. I argue that the ICI faked the elimination of its coloniality by embracing and appropriating the concepts of decolonisation and decoloniality from 1949 onward. Subsequently, its predominantly white members co-opted and manipulated other ostensibly decolonial ideas, such as the notion of ‘differing civilisations’, anti-racism and indigenism, while perpetuating colonial structures of racism, exploitation and global inequality. Proceeding chronologically, I first examine the ICI's alleged self-decolonisation in 1949, when it rebranded itself as the International Institute of Differing Civilisations (INCIDI) and began accepting members from former colonies. I then analyse how it survived the independence era of the 1960s and, finally, I scrutinise its last gasp before dissolving in 1983. While this process of white members pretending to unlearn their coloniality was highly ambiguous, I argue that representatives from the Global South who witnessed the INCIDI's ‘faked’ endings of coloniality grew increasingly sceptical of white appropriations of decolonial language and subsequently refined their own understandings of decolonisation and decoloniality. To conclude, I show how, after its dissolution, the INCIDI's (de-)colonial discourse took on a life of its own. It lived on in the journal Civilisations , which became a platform for global dialogue between Eurocentric and pluriversal epistemologies, introducing decolonial approaches from African, Caribbean and Latin American contexts to European Marxist and anti-racist theory.