Projects

23 January 2023

Environmental quality is not the same for everyone

Whether someone lives next to greenery or an industrial smokestack is not simply a matter of chance, but neither does it depend merely on income. Having investigated the factors contributing to “environmental inequality” in the EU, a research project is now pointing out the “co-benefits” of climate protection. Continue reading

Projects

16 January 2023

The curse of comparison

Comparing ourselves with others makes us … unhappy. That is especially true, if we set the bar too high. Economist Jaroslava Hlouskova has derived formulas that can give a better picture of how this behavior influences decisions about consumption and investment. Her research is in the field of prospect theory that sees households as being […] Continue reading

Projects

9 January 2023

Where Cold War warriors talked to one another

The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) was a dialogue and negotiating forum during the Cold War. An international research project with Austrian involvement is now investigating the details of this process and what its significance came to be in the second half of the 1980s. Continue reading

Projects

2 January 2023

Hip-Hop yes, McDonalds no

This year hip-hop turns 50. A publication zeroes in on the Austrian offshoots of this global culture, from Falco to Money Boy, Yasmo and beyond. “Hip-Hop in Austria” traces the history and musical development of an amazingly diverse and successful scene. Continue reading

Portrait

16 December 2022

The power of stories untold

By Margit Schwarz-Stiglbauer

The historian Barbara Stelzl-Marx has been studying the repercussions of the Second World War for decades. Unresolved traumas from the war still play out across generations to this day. The war in Ukraine has now imbued what is otherwise a historical perspective with great topicality. Once again, we see a generation of children of war […] Continue reading

Projects

12 December 2022

Gender differences in health and care

It has long been known that,statistically speaking, women live longer than men, but in poorer health and may be in a worse position than men when it comes to accessing care. There is less information about whether the gender gap changes with generations. This issue has now become the focus of a research project. Continue reading

Projects

5 December 2022

The pitfalls of “vulnerability”

Hearing the term “vulnerable group” quickly evokes a mental image. Political scientist Monika Mayrhofer explores who is meant by “vulnerable” in the context of human rights and the climate crisis, and shows what risks this attribution entails. Continue reading

Projects

14 November 2022

The postmodern family: not perfect, but beautiful?

More and more heterosexual people are doing their family planning online. Their focus is on having a child with a co-parenting partner on an equal footing, entirely without love and sex. As yet, there is little well-founded knowledge about co-parenting. But a recent survey among couples reveals a promising alternative model. Continue reading

Interview & Opinion

14 November 2022

Will we make the energy transition happen?

Opinion: Michael Ornetzeder

Austria intends to become climate neutral by 2040. The scale of transformation is momentous and requires multi-layered and complex changes, involving not only new technologies and infrastructures, but also changing mindsets, social practices and new forms of economic activity. Coping with such change necessitates a broad discussion, which has been lacking so far, and attendant […] Continue reading

Projects

7 November 2022

The nobility as an economic force in the Habsburg Empire

Pomp and pageantry: when we think of the nobility in the Habsburg Monarchy, we usually think of them as spending lavishly. But where did the money for all the pomp and splendour actually come from? The historian Veronika Hyden-Hanscho is investigating the sources of income and the entrepreneurial activities of the nobility from the 17th […] Continue reading