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This paper analyses the normalization of everyday sharing practices in two exemplary German neighbourhoods, which both provide numerous opportunities for sharing spaces, stuff, food and mobility carriers, but differ regarding their "philosophy". The first case belongs to the increasingly popular "collaborative housing" model, the second one is a developer-driven, service-based project. Inspired by core ideas from Social Practice Theory, the guiding questions of this research are then 1) to which extent have sharing practices become a normal part of residents' lives in these neighbourhoods and 2) what may explain observed differences? Evidence shows that residents in the collaborative housing case share more frequently, more regularly and over longer timespans than their counterparts in the developer-driven neighbourhood. I argue that this is due to a higher share of fitting practice configurations and a better integration of sharing practices into tenants' typical patterns of everyday life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the prevalence and age-specific changes of coresidence patterns, by means of a classification of 12 coresidence types, for the age range from 16 to 30 in the United States (US), Germany (GE), Taiwan (TW), and mainland China (CN). Panel data were used in separate nested logistic regression models to estimate transitions in coresidence for individuals in each society in the transition to adulthood. On the first level, decisions to move from different types of family-of-origin-households were modeled, depending on intergenerational solidarity and parental resources. On the second level, target household types were modeled, depending on others' trajectory events and their interaction with gender. The analysis used the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY97) from the United States, the German Family Panel (pairfam), the Taiwanese Youth Project (TYP), and the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS). Age-specific coresidence patterns were pooled and transitions probabilities were estimated for a two-year period. The systematic comparative approach makes it possible to correct misinterpretations based on analyses from single societies. Our results demonstrated that differences in coresidence patterns within the patrilineal, collectivistic societies (CN and TW), and within the bilineal, individualistic societies (US and GE) were as important as the differences between these two groups of societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Solar Decathlon is a competition for universities from all over the world which focuses on designing, building and operating experimental, solar-powered houses. Participating in the project offers universities a unique and interdisciplinary platform for teaching, learning and research which combines practical experience with research. In 2022, the European edition was held in Germany for the first time. The event took place with a new urban profile to increase both the relevance of the competition and the learning experience. Its main topic was the further development of the European city, and specifically focused on the existing stock of residential apartment buildings. A total of 18 teams from 11 countries with over 500 students took part, with 16 teams ultimately building their houses on a shared solar campus. Demonstrating a balanced or a positive energy balance in practice was one of the essential goals of the competition. This was achieved by 13 of 15 projects in the energy contest. The prerequisites for this were a high level of energy efficiency and the consistent use of solar energy. Both strategies were embedded in convincing architectural concepts. These ranged from the minimised visibility of standard systems on rooftops, through to custom-built systems with full architectural integration in façades. Hybrid solar systems also became a focus, with the goal of making optimum use of the surfaces on the building envelope. This paper focuses on the energy engineering and technical and architectural integration of the solar systems. It also includes the results achieved in the competition linked to the learning experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a correspondence test to identify the determinants and extent of ethnic discrimination in the market for shared housing in Germany. We establish a link between information about an applicant's personality and her performance in the housing market. About 2,000 fictitious applications with randomly assigned German-, or Turkish-sounding, female or male names, with or without additional personality information were sent to vacant room ads. While the callback rate for German-sounding names is 52 percent, it drops to 37 percent for Turkish-sounding names. Female applicants receive significantly more callbacks than their male counterparts. Additional personality information is particularly beneficial to the group with the highest callback rate (German females) and the group with the lowest callback rate (Turkish males). Thus, personality information reduce the ethnic gap between Turkish and German males, whereas the gap among females increases. A simple theoretical model shows that the strong effect of information on German females can be explained by aggregation over rooms that differ in market tightness. Moreover, advertisers who only accept applications of one particular gender discriminate significantly more against Turkish applicants. • In the market for shared housing, minority and male applicants receive less callbacks. • Information matters: More personality information rises callback rates. • Personality information is especially beneficial for majority females and minority males. • Personality information reduces the racial gap for males, while it increases for females. • Theory shows effect on females is driven by aggregation over varying market tightness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Quality of life is a multi-dimensional concept, which is considered a major outcome parameter in dementia care and it is recommended as a way to evaluate the quality of care. Because of a missing gold standard, the assessment of quality of life is not clarified yet. Because of this, various assessments were developed. For the new German setting of shared-housing arrangements, experiences in quality of life assessments are not available. This means, it is unknown which instrument provides valid data. Objectives: The core aim of this project is to identify an appropriate scale to evaluate dementia-specific quality of life of residents in sharedhousing arrangements. Method: First of all, a systematic literature research will be conducted to provide available dementia-specific quality of life instruments. Based on the review, instruments will be selected, regarding the main topic of shared-housing arrangements. In the empirical part, various self- and proxy ratings will be applied. Expected results: It is expected to identify an appropriate scale to measure dementia-specific quality of life. The results allow studies in the future, to apply an instrument, which provides valid data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]