This lack of interest in the composition of intravenous fluids among the medical profession has for decades been causing substantial problems in fluid management resulting from clinicians’ failure to differentiate between the concepts of volume replacement and fluid replacement: “Fluid is poured into the interstitial space on clinical information gained from changes in the intravascular space, such as blood pressures, pulse rate, peripheral temperature, urine output, etc. The end point ... peripheral or pulmonary oedema” [Twigley 1985].

Das geringe Interesse an der Zusammensetzung von Infusionslösungen führt seit Jahrzehnten zu erheblichen Problemen bei der Flüssigkeitstherapie mit einem undifferenzierten Einsatz für den Volumen-Ersatz und die Flüssigkeitszufuhr: „Fluid is poured into the interstitial space on clinical information gaines from changes in the intravascular space, such as blood pressures, pulse rate, peripheral temperature, urine output, etc. The end point ... peripheral or pulmonary oedema”.

(In)Equity in education and educational systems is a topic of outstanding relevance. Factors, like, for example, students’ socio-economic status or migration background have been found to be strongly related to academic achievement in various studies and this is a constant finding in large-scale assessment studies – especially for Germany. Not least because of the topics’ timeless meaning the 5th Dortmund Symposium on Empirical Educational Research was focused on questions pertaining to (in)equity. Factors of influence and approaches to overcome (in)equity were discussed by an international and interdisciplinary expert panel, with contributions from Cyprus, Ireland, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Germany.