Topics Range from European Socialization Processes to the Optimisation of Hearing Aids  

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) has approved the establishment of seven new Research Units. This follows a decision by the Joint Committee of Germany's central research funding organisation at its December meeting in Bonn. The purpose of the research consortia is to offer researchers the opportunity to devote their time to topical questions in their disciplines and to establish innovative research directions. As with all DFG Research Units, the new units will work across disciplines and sites.

The thematic spectrum of the institutions covers a broad range. For example, one of the new Research Units is aiming to devise new therapies for alcohol dependency, while one of the engineering sciences groups is developing innovative strategies for individualised audiology. The two groups from the humanities and social sciences on the other hand are working on the relevance of hypothetical statements for scientific discovery processes, and European socialization processes.

Over the next three years the seven new Research Units will receive approximately 14.2 million euros; the DFG now funds a total of 199 Research Units.

The new Units in detail (alphabetically by host university):

Alcohol-related disorders are typically characterised by dysfunctional behaviour: The sufferers are dominated by their addiction despite the negative consequences and experience other stimuli as providing little reward. In Research Unit 1617 “Learning and Habitization as Predictors of the Development and Maintenance of Alcoholism”, the aim therefore is to investigate what role reward-related learning mechanisms play in the development and maintenance of alcoholism. To answer this question, representative risk groups and alcohol-addicted patients will be examined in a comprehensive study. In pilot experiments, the researchers are trying to find out which learning mechanisms may contribute to the prevention and treatment of alcohol addiction. (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Andreas Heinz, Charité Berlin)

The Research Unit 1509 “Functional Materials at Multi Scales Continuum Modelling and Experimental Characterisation“ has set itself the goal of obtaining new levels of quality in the simulation of the different field parameters in materials with magnetic and electrical properties. Examples of tasks the researchers plan to undertake are: modelling the evolution of microstructures at various scales and investigating the magnetic-electromechanical behaviour of materials. The results offer a comprehensive foundation for the simulation-based design of new materials and high-tech components with multifunctional properties. These aims are to be achieved by bringing together expertise from the fields of thermodynamics, computational mechanics and materials science. (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Schröder, University of Duisburg-Essen)

What is the effect of climate change on landscapes used for agriculture? This question is the focus of the new Research Unit 1695 “Agricultural Landscapes under Global Climate Change – Processes and Feedbacks on a Regional Scale“. The aim of the researchers is to be better able to evaluate the development of agricultural landscapes under the effects of climatic change. This is to be done in two sample regions in southwestern Germany, Kraichgau and the Swabian Alps. A land-system model will be developed for the project, which integrates different models from atmospheric research, plant cultivation and economics from the company level to the regional level. (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Thilo Streck, University of Hohenheim)

“Heme and Heme Degradation Products: Alternative Functions and Signalling Mechanisms” is the subject of the new Research Unit 1738. Heme is a well-characterised catalytic component of numerous proteins and is particularly known as an iron-rich colorant in the red blood corpuscles. Heme degradation products, such as bilirubin and carbon monoxide, have previously been viewed primarily as waste products and toxins which the body has to eliminate. However, recent studies show that heme and heme degradation products also function as cellular signalling molecules which affect a wide range of body functions. It is these alternative functions and signalling mechanisms which the researchers want to investigate, in a highly interdisciplinary team drawn from the fields of neurology, intensive-care medicine, molecular physiology, biophysics, biochemistry, biophotonics and synthetic and analytical chemistry. (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Stefan H. Heinemann, University of Jena)

“What if? On the Meaning, Epistemology and Scientific Relevance of Counterfactual Claims and Thought Experiments” is the title of new Research Unit 1614. Its goal is to find ways of resolving the dilemma between the necessity for claims about counterfactual situations, that is, those which contradict the truth, and their questionable nature. The central question in this project will ask how useful thinking and talking about hypothetical scenarios are for processes of scientific discovery. In order to answer this question, basic investigations into logical aspects of counterfactual conditionals and into the method of thought experiments are some of the tasks that will be required. By integrating different research debates which have hitherto been conducted separately, the interdisciplinary research methodology of the project is intended to contribute to the search for new perspectives on the subject of counterfactuality. (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Spohn, University of Constance)

The opening of social spaces that have up to now been largely regulated and limited by nation states is the focus of Research Unit 1539 “European Socialization Processes. Horizontal Europeanisation between Nation-State and Global Society Formation”. Since the 1990s in particular, European integration has brought about a fundamental transformation of social relations and the situation in which human beings are living. This Research Unit plans to advance theoretical sociological research on the topic of Europe by developing a concept of area-specific, conflict-driven “horizontal“ Europeanisation processes which will be refined empirically using selected examples. Taking academic, bureaucratic and identity-related areas as their example, the aim is to develop a better understanding of selected Europeanisation processes, the conflicts associated with them, their prerequisites in terms of social structures and their effects on the patterns of social inequality. (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Martin Heidenreich, University of Oldenburg)

How can the correct perception of an acoustic signal by an individual person in an acoustically difficult situation be guaranteed? This is the central problem addressed by Research Unit 1732 “Individualised Audiology“. Communication is the cornerstone of our culture. However, disruptive everyday noise in particular is increasingly affecting the transmission of acoustic information, and not only for the older section of society or the 18 percent of the population with hearing impairments. Up to now, the technical solutions available for individual support to improve hearing perception have remained severely limited in terms of their target group and functionality. The techniques are neither optimally adapted to the users nor to the particular surroundings. From an acoustic point of view, this can be attributed to previously unsolved problems relating to sources of interference and adaptation. The goal of the Research Unit, therefore, is to research new hearing models and algorithms, up to and including prototype development and evaluation of individualised hearing aid systems. These should improve, or at least enable, acoustic perception for as many different users as possible in as many situations as possible. (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Birger Kollmeier, University of Oldenburg)

Further Information

Media contact:
DFG Press and Public Relations Office,
Tel. +49 228 885-2443,
presse@dfg.de

Additional information on DFG Research Units, Clinical Research Units and DFG Humanities Centres for Advances Studies can be found at:

http://www.dfg.de/en/research_funding/programmes/
coordinated_programmes/index.html

• DFG to Establish Seven New Research Units