Hochschulen verstehen sich selbst als weltoffen, vielfältig und fortschrittsorientiert. Doch wie verteidigen sie die Freiheit von Wissenschaft und Bildung vor autokratischen Eingriffen? Christoph Hake...

Starting in 1970, this article studies how Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was built. It follows the station’s operational history until 1982. During that year, reactor block one suffered a torn reactor channel, four years prior to the well-known catastrophe of 1986. It uncovers the genesis of these accidents by analyzing everyday history at the construction site. Construction relied on long established tools and processes, tried out at large-scale and mostly non-nuclear development areas. Masons, carpenters, and welders dealt with planned quotas and deadlines, material and personnel shortages, as well as a lack of quality management. The tools they used to build this nuclear giant were rather a shock of the old (Edgerton) than futuristic.It uncovers circumstances, non-alignments, and decisions that amounted to a working environment characterized by a technocratic culture. This culture overemphasized the fulfillment of plans and quotas to the detriment of safety as should have been warranted by the nature of a nuclear reactor as specified in plans and regulations. By following the plant’s construction in its everyday struggles, this article shows characteristics of the working culture that evolved on-site and led to the accident of 1982. This innovative approach aids understanding of why and how the catastrophe of 1986 came about—beyond the two standard reasons established in the literature, namely a faulty reactor design and mistakes made by the operators.

Among the difficulties of talking about denunciation is that there are so many words for it, along with sharply opposed...

Dokumentationszentrum NS-Zwangsarbeit

Günther Thallinger, a board member at Allianz, one of the world's biggest insurers, says the climate crisis could make adaptation economically unviable.

Stipendien & Preise der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften

Summer in New York City is hot, as daily temperatures average around 80°F and heatwaves bake the city. This collection explores how New Yorkers have historicall

Die Vegetalisierung von Paris durch Bürgermeisterin Anne Hidalgo vermag die Temperaturen deutlich zu senken, wie sich vor allem während der sommerlichen Hitze zeigt