Refine
Has Fulltext
- no (1884) (remove)
Year of publication
- 2022 (1884) (remove)
Document Type
- Article (1464)
- Part of a Book (145)
- Doctoral Thesis (93)
- Monograph/Edited Volume (73)
- Review (46)
- Other (22)
- Conference Proceeding (14)
- Contribution to a Periodical (8)
- Working Paper (7)
- Journal/Publication series (3)
Keywords
- climate change (14)
- COVID-19 (11)
- machine learning (9)
- Germany (8)
- analysis (8)
- depression (8)
- permafrost (8)
- Tolkien (7)
- adolescents (7)
- diffusion (7)
Institute
- Institut für Physik und Astronomie (220)
- Institut für Biochemie und Biologie (207)
- Institut für Geowissenschaften (144)
- Extern (107)
- Bürgerliches Recht (102)
- Historisches Institut (98)
- Fachgruppe Politik- & Verwaltungswissenschaft (93)
- Öffentliches Recht (85)
- Institut für Chemie (83)
- Institut für Umweltwissenschaften und Geographie (72)
Die Besteuerung der öffentlichen Hand erfreut sich in Praxis und Wissenschaft derzeit stark steigender Aufmerksamkeit. Dafür gibt es eine Reihe von Gründen. Zum einen hat sich die organisatorische Struktur der Aufgabenerfüllung durch die öffentliche Hand in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten stark verändert. Privatisierung und Kooperation mit Privaten bzw. Outsourcing sind hier zentrale Stichworte. Diese neuen, teilweise hybriden Strukturen der Aufgabenerfüllungen ziehen steuerliche Folgefragen nach sich. So kann die früher häufig geäußerte Formel, dass der Staat von sich selbst keine Steuern erheben solle, heute so nicht mehr gelten. Vielmehr muss eine Besteuerung immer dann erfolgen, wenn die öffentliche Hand zu privaten Mitbewerbern in ein – wenn auch nur potentielles – Konkurrenzverhältnis tritt.
Zum anderen haben sich auch die rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen verändert. Durch die Rechtsprechung des Europäischen Gerichtshofs, etwa zur Umsatzsteuer, wurde beispielsweise der steuerliche Nexus auf Bereiche der öffentlichen Hand ausgeweitet, die früher nicht als steuerpflichtig galten. Umgekehrt hat der Gesetzgeber versucht, die ertragsteuerliche Lage von Dauerverlustbetrieben der öffentlichen Hand im KStG abschließend zu regeln. Es wird in der Wissenschaft bezweifelt, ob das gelungen ist. So könnten noch viele Beispiele ergänzt werden. Dieses Handbuch systematisiert die auftretenden Fragen wobei alle Lebens- und Wirtschaftsbereiche Berücksichtigung finden, die mit dem Staat und seinen Untergliederungen in unmittelbarem oder mittelbarem Zusammenhang stehen und für die Besteuerung relevant sind und somit ein umfassendes Kompendium der Besteuerung der öffentlichen Hand bietet.
Am 1.5.2014 ist das Gesetz zur Regelung der vertraulichen Geburt in Kraft getreten. Damit sollte eine rechtssichere Alternative zu Babyklappen oder anonymen Geburten geschaffen werden. Die Regelungen ermöglichen schwangeren Personen, die bei der Geburt ihre Identität geheim halten wollen, eine medizinisch begleitete Entbindung und sichern gleichzeitig das Recht des Kindes auf Kenntnis seiner Herkunft sowie dessen Unterbringung. Neben juristischen Fragestellungen überprüft die Autorin die Anwendung der Regelungen in der Praxis anhand eigener Umfragen bei Familiengerichten und Jugendämtern. Sie analysiert die Frage, ob sich die vertrauliche Geburt als rechtssicheres Verfahren gegenüber vollständig anonymen Kindesabgaben durchsetzen konnte.
Die Zeit um 1600 markiert eine Zäsur in der Ausbildung junger Adliger, da neben der etablierten humanistischen Ausbildung zunehmend moderne Fremdsprachen und die institutionalisierte Ausbildung standesspezifischer Inhalte wie Fechten, Tanzen und Reiten an Bedeutung gewannen. Im vorliegenden Band werden die Ausbildungsgänge der Söhne dreier südwestdeutscher Freiherren- und Grafenfamilien in der Zeit des Späthumanismus untersucht. Dabei werden standesspezifische Bildungsstrategien herausgearbeitet und familiäre sowie konfessionelle Unterschiede aufgezeigt. Die Familien der Reichsgrafen orientierten sich – soweit es ihr Budget zuließ – einerseits am Fürstenstand, andererseits waren sie bestrebt, eigene Akzente zu setzen, sei es aus standespolitischen Erwägungen oder, weil sie eigenen Traditionen verpflichtet waren. Die systematische Auswertung breiter Quellenbestände förderte dabei auch eine Fülle an Informationen zu weiteren Wissensgebieten wie etwa der Reise-, Medizin-, Musikgeschichte oder der Alltagskultur zutage.
Epigenetische Mechanismen spielen eine entscheidende Rolle bei der Pathogenese von Colitis ulcerosa (CU). Ihr Einfluss auf das beobachtete Ungleichgewicht zwischen pro- und anti-inflammatorischen Cytokinen ist hingegen weitgehend unerforscht. Einige der wichtigsten immunmodulatorischen Cytokine sind die Mitglieder der heterodimeren Interleukin- (IL-) 12-Familie, die durch das Kombinieren einer der drei α-Ketten (IL-12p35, IL-27p28, IL-23p19) mit den ß-Untereinheiten IL-12p40 oder EBI3 (Epstein-Barr Virus-induziertes Gen 3) charakterisiert sind. IL-35 (IL-12p35/EBI3) spielt eine bedeutende anti-inflammatorische Rolle bei verschiedenen Erkrankungen, wohingegen seine Level bei chronischen Entzündungen erniedrigt sind. Eine mögliche Ursache könnte eine transkriptionelle Stilllegung über epigenetische Modifikationen sein. Tatsächlich konnte durch die Stimulation mit dem DNA-Methyltransferase-Inhibitor (DNMTi) Decitabin (DAC; Dacogen®) eine Induktion von EBI3 in humanen Epithelzellen aus gesundem Colon (HCEC) erreicht werden, die als Modell für ein lokales Entzündungsgeschehen dienten. Diese Regulation über DNA-Methylierung konnte in weiteren humanen Zellen unterschiedlichen Ursprungs sowie durch Stimulation von HCEC-Zellen mit zwei weiteren DNMTi, dem Cytosin-Analogon Azacytidin (AZA; Vidaza®) und dem natürlich vorkommenden, epigenetisch wirksamen Polyphenol Epigallocatechingallat (EGCG), verifiziert werden. Die kombinierte Inkubation mit Tumor-Nekrose-Faktor α (TNFα) resultierte jeweils in einer über-additiven Induktion von EBI3.
Weiterführende Untersuchungen zeigten, dass TNFα trotz Beeinflussung der epigenetischen DNMT- und Ten-eleven Translocation- (TET-) Enzyme keinen Einfluss auf die globalen Methylierungs- oder Hydroxymethylierungslevel hatte, jedoch eine genspezifische DNA-Hypomethylierung im EBI3-Promotor induzierte. Durch Nutzung verschiedener Inhibitoren konnte darüber hinaus nachgewiesen werden, dass der beobachtete synergistische Effekt der gemeinsamen DAC und TNFα-Stimulation hauptsächlich über NFκB (Nuclear factor “kappa-light-chain-enhancer” of activated B-cells) vermittelt wird. Ein Teil verläuft dabei über p38 MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinases), während die JNK- (c-Jun N-terminale Kinasen-) und ERK- (extracellular-signal-regulated kinases) Signalwege keine Rolle spielen.
In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde zudem gezeigt, dass die DNA-Hypomethylierung während eines entzündlichen Zustandes auch in einer erhöhten EBI3-Proteinexpression resultiert. Die Höhe der immunologisch detektierten Banden wies auf eine Dimerbildung sowohl im Zelllysat als auch im Überstand hin. Humane Colonepithelzellen sind demnach in der Lage, Cytokine zu bilden und zu sezernieren, was die Bedeutung von Nicht-Immunzellen bei der lokalen Immunantwort unterstreicht. Mittels Genexpressionsanalysen wurden IL-12p35 und IL-23p19 als mögliche Bindungspartner identifiziert. Aufgrund kreuzreaktiver Antikörper ist ein direkter Nachweis der EBI3-Dimere derzeit nicht möglich. Die stattdessen genutzte Kombination verschiedener Methoden dient als geeigneter Ersatz für die problematischen Antikörper-basierten Analysen wie Immunpräzipitation oder ELISA. Durch molekularbiologische, immunologische und massenspektrometrische Methoden konnte IL-35 identifiziert werden, während IL-39 (IL-23p19/EBI3) nicht detektiert wurde. Dies ist in Einklang mit den Erkenntnissen mehrerer Forschungsgruppen, die eine Bildung des nativen humanen Dimers aus IL-23p19 und EBI3 bezweifeln. Des Weiteren wurde die biologische Aktivität des behandlungsinduzierten IL 35-Proteins durch einen Funktionsassay nachgewiesen.
Neben einer DNMTi-bedingten transkriptionellen Aktivierung konnte eine Regulation von EBI3 über Histonacetylierungen gezeigt werden. Der EBI3-induzierende Effekt des Histondeacetylasen-Inhibitors (HDACi) Trichostatin A (TSA) wurde durch SAHA (suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (Vorinostat; Zolinza®)) verifiziert. Ähnlich zu der Stimulation mit den hypomethylierenden Substanzen wurde ein synergistischer Effekt bei paralleler Inkubation mit TNFα beobachtet, der in einer gesteigerten Bildung des EBI3-Proteins resultierte.
Um die Befunde in einem komplexeren in vivo-Modell zu untersuchen, wurde eine chronische Colitis in Ebi3-defizienten Mäusen und dem dazugehörigen Wildtypstamm C57BL/6 durch zyklische Applikation von Natriumdextransulfat (Dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)) induziert. Der Vergleich klinischer Parameter wie Mortalitätsrate und Körper- sowie Milzgewicht wies bei Abwesenheit von Ebi3 signifikant stärkere colitische Symptome auf. Dies bestätigte die zentrale Rolle von Ebi3 in der Colitisentwicklung und deutete auf eine bevorzugte Bildung des anti-inflammatorisch wirkenden IL-35 statt des pro-inflammatorischen IL-39 in den Wildtyptieren hin. Durch zusätzliche therapeutische Behandlung der C57BL/6-Mäuse nach der DSS-Gabe konnte die in der Literatur beschriebene positive Wirkung von SAHA auf die Colitismanifestation bestätigt werden. Im Gegensatz dazu war der HDACi in den Ebi3-defizienten Tieren nicht in der Lage, die colitischen Parameter zu verbessern beziehungsweise verschlimmerte den Krankheitsphänotyp. Expressionsanalysen von Up- und Downstream-Target-Genen lieferten weitere Hinweise darauf, dass bei Anwesenheit von Ebi3 IL-35 statt IL-39 gebildet wird, was in Einklang mit den in vitro-Untersuchungen steht.
Die vorliegende Arbeit konnte durch den Vergleich der C57BL/6-Mäuse mit den Ebi3-defizienten Tieren neue Erkenntnisse über die Wirkungsweise von SAHA erbringen. Histonacetylierende Bedingungen verbessern colitische Symptome über einen Mechanismus, der die epigenetische Induktion von Ebi3 mit nachfolgender IL-35-Bildung involviert. Durch Kooperation der epigenetischen Mechanismen Hypomethylierung und Histonacetylierung wurde der stärkste Effekt auf die EBI3-Induktion bewirkt.
Insgesamt konnte in der vorliegenden Arbeit durch in vitro- und in vivo-Analysen die epigenetische und NFκB-vermittelte Induktion von EBI3 über DNA-Demethylierung und Histonacetylierung mit nachfolgender IL-35-Bildung und –Sezernierung nachgewiesen werden. Da IL-35 in der Lage ist, colitische Symptome zu mildern, stellt die epigenetische Reaktivierbarkeit von EBI3 durch DNMTi und HDACi eine vielversprechende Alternative für die derzeit genutzten, oft nicht oder nur kurzfristig wirksamen Therapien bei der Behandlung einer CU dar. Einer übermäßigen Immunantwort während schubweiser entzündlicher Phasen könnte entgegengewirkt und Komplikationen wie die Bildung Colitis-assoziierter Karzinome verhindert werden.
Research on multi-level implementation of EU legislation has almost exclusively focused on the national level, while little is known about the role of subnational authorities. Nevertheless, it is a prerequisite for the functioning of the European Union that all member states and their subnational authorities apply and enforce EU legislation in due time. I address this research gap and take a closer look at the legal transposition process in the German regional states. Using a novel data set comprising detailed information on about 700 subnational measures, I show that state-level variables, such as political preferences and ministerial resources, account for variation in the timing of legal transposition and repeatedly lead to subnational delay. To conclude, the paper addresses the role of subnational authorities in the EU multi-level system and points to their interest in shaping legal transposition in order to counterbalance their loss of competences to the national level.
In 2019 the Journal of Memory and Language instituted an open data and code policy; this policy requires that, as a rule, code and data be released at the latest upon publication. How effective is this policy? We compared 59 papers published before, and 59 papers published after, the policy took effect. After the policy was in place, the rate of data sharing increased by more than 50%. We further looked at whether papers published under the open data policy were reproducible, in the sense that the published results should be possible to regenerate given the data, and given the code, when code was provided. For 8 out of the 59 papers, data sets were inaccessible. The reproducibility rate ranged from 34% to 56%, depending on the reproducibility criteria. The strongest predictor of whether an attempt to reproduce would be successful is the presence of the analysis code: it increases the probability of reproducing reported results by almost 40%. We propose two simple steps that can increase the reproducibility of published papers: share the analysis code, and attempt to reproduce one's own analysis using only the shared materials.
Vienna's resilience
(2022)
This chapter provides a synthesis of the volume, bringing together the aspects that characterise each of the single policy domains analysed throughout and highlighting their synergic effects on the output. In particular, it addresses the dualisation tendencies between ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ in Vienna’s urban transformation in the changing dimensions of social stratification, on the one hand; and the mechanisms of institutional resilience, on the other hand. Despite the inclusive welfare system, emerging vulnerabilities currently pose new challenges for Vienna’s redistributive capacity in the key policy areas. Existing institutional arrangements and their regulatory capacities are a good starting point to answer the question: is Vienna still a just city?
Gattungswesen
(2022)
In which sense can human beings be conceived as social animals? To elucidate this question, the present paper (I) distinguishes the logical sociality of all living beings from the material sociality of social animals and the political sociality of self-conscious social animals. (II) The self-conscious political sociality that characterises the human genus-being requires a complex interplay of first and second person through which alone we can participate in our form of life and determine its content. (III) The human form of life thus constituted is characterised by a particularly open, and at the same time precarious, membership which involves specific forms of vulnerability and power. (IV) Against this background, forms of objective spirit are necessary which grant us a generalized recognition and relieve us from the contingency of each particular second-personal recognition, without abandoning the openness of the sociality of the human form of life. This double requirement has led to paradoxical institutions in modern society which strive to protect and ensure the sociality of the human form of life precisely by naturalising and individualising our access to it.
Background
Ankle sprain is the most common injury in basketball. Chronic ankle instability develops from an acute ankle sprain may cause negative effects on quality of life, ankle functionality or on increasing risk for recurrent ankle sprains and post-traumatic osteoarthritis. To facilitate a preventative strategy of chronic ankle instability (CAI) in the basketball population, gathering epidemiological data is essential. However, the epidemiological data of CAI in basketball is limited. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the prevalence of CAI in basketball athletes and to determine whether gender, competitive level, and basketball playing position influence this prevalence.
Methods
In a cross-sectional study, in total 391 Taiwanese basketball athletes from universities and sports clubs participated. Besides non-standardized questions about demographics and their history of ankle sprains, participants further filled out the standard Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool applied to determine the presence of ankle instability. Questionnaires from 255 collegiate and 133 semi-professional basketball athletes (male = 243, female = 145, 22.3 ± 3.8 years, 23.3 ± 2.2 kg/m2) were analyzed. Differences in prevalence between gender, competitive level and playing position were determined using the Chi-square test.
Results
In the surveyed cohort, 26% had unilateral CAI while 50% of them had bilateral CAI. Women had a higher prevalence than men in the whole surveyed cohort (X2(1) = 0.515, p = 0.003). This gender disparity also showed from sub-analyses, that the collegiate female athletes had a higher prevalence than collegiate men athletes (X2(1) = 0.203, p = 0.001). Prevalence showed no difference between competitive levels (p > 0.05) and among playing positions (p > 0.05).
Conclusions
CAI is highly prevalent in the basketball population. Gender affects the prevalence of CAI. Regardless of the competitive level and playing position the prevalence of CAI is similar. The characteristic of basketball contributes to the high prevalence. Prevention of CAI should be a focus in basketball. When applying the CAI prevention measures, gender should be taken into consideration.
Background
Benefit finding, defined as perceiving positive life changes resulting from adversity and negative life stressors, gains growing attention in the context of chronic illness. The study aimed at examining the psychometric properties of the Benefit Finding Scale for Children (BFSC) in a sample of German youth facing chronic conditions.
Methods
A sample of adolescents with various chronic conditions (N = 304; 12 – 21years) completed the 10-item BFSC along with measures of intra- and interpersonal resources, coping strategies, and health-related quality of life (hrQoL). The total sample was randomly divided into two subsamples for conducting exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA/CFA).
Results
EFA revealed that the BFSC scores had a one-dimensional factor structure. CFA verified the one-dimensional factor structure with an acceptable fit. The BFSC exhibited acceptable internal consistency (α = 0.87 – 0.88) and construct validity. In line with our hypotheses, benefit finding was positively correlated with optimism, self-esteem, self-efficacy, sense of coherence, and support seeking. There were no correlations with avoidance, wishful thinking, emotional reaction, and hrQoL. Sex differences in benefit finding were not consistent across subsamples. Benefit finding was also positively associated with age, disease severity, and social status.
Conclusions
The BFSC is a psychometrically sound instrument to assess benefit finding in adolescents with chronic illness and may facilitate further research on positive adaptation processes in adolescents, irrespective of their specific diagnosis.
The Role of the Precuneus in Human Spatial Updating in a Real Environment Setting—A cTBS Study
(2022)
As we move through an environment, we update positions of our body relative to other objects, even when some objects temporarily or permanently leave our field of view—this ability is termed egocentric spatial updating and plays an important role in everyday life. Still, our knowledge about its representation in the brain is still scarce, with previous studies using virtual movements in virtual environments or patients with brain lesions suggesting that the precuneus might play an important role. However, whether this assumption is also true when healthy humans move in real environments where full body-based cues are available in addition to the visual cues typically used in many VR studies is unclear. Therefore, in this study we investigated the role of the precuneus in egocentric spatial updating in a real environment setting in 20 healthy young participants who underwent two conditions in a cross-over design: (a) stimulation, achieved through applying continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) to inhibit the precuneus and (b) sham condition (activated coil turned upside down). In both conditions, participants had to walk back with blindfolded eyes to objects they had previously memorized while walking with open eyes. Simplified trials (without spatial updating) were used as control condition, to make sure the participants were not affected by factors such as walking blindfolded, vestibular or working memory deficits. A significant interaction was found, with participants performing better in the sham condition compared to real stimulation, showing smaller errors both in distance and angle. The results of our study reveal evidence of an important role of the precuneus in a real-environment egocentric spatial updating; studies on larger samples are necessary to confirm and further investigate this finding.
Social theory has long predicted that social mobility, in particular downward social mobility, is detrimental to the well-being of individuals. Dissociative and “falling from grace” theories suggest that mobility is stressful due to the weakening of social ties, feelings of alienation, and loss of status. In light of these theories, it is a puzzle that the majority of quantitative studies in this area have shown null results. Our approach to resolve the puzzle is two-fold. First, we argue for a broader conception of the mobility process than is often used and thus focus on intragenerational occupational class mobility rather than restricting ourselves to the more commonly studied intergenerational mobility. Second, we argue that self-reported measures may be biased by habituation (or “entrenched deprivation”). Using nurse-collected health and biomarker data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (2010–2012, N = 4,123), we derive a measure of allostatic load as an objective gauge of physiological “wear and tear” and compare patterns of mobility effects with self-reports of health using diagonal reference models. Our findings indicate a strong class gradient in both allostatic load and self-rated health, and that both first and current job matter for current well-being outcomes. However, in terms of the effects of mobility itself, we find that intragenerational social mobility is consequential for allostatic load, but not for self-rated health. Downward mobility is detrimental and upward mobility beneficial for well-being as assessed by allostatic load. Thus, these findings do not support the idea of generalized stress from dissociation, but they do support the “falling from grace” hypothesis of negative downward mobility effects. Our findings have a further implication, namely that the differences in mobility effects between the objective and subjective outcome infer the presence of entrenched deprivation. Null results in studies of self-rated outcomes may therefore be a methodological artifact, rather than an outright rejection of decades-old social theory.
We present the first systematic literature review on stress and burnout in K−12 teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on a systematic literature search, we identified 17 studies that included 9,874 K−12 teachers from around the world. These studies showed some indication that burnout did increase during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were, however, almost no differences in the levels of stress and burnout experienced by K−12 teachers compared to individuals employed in other occupational fields. School principals' leadership styles emerged as an organizational characteristic that is highly relevant for K−12 teachers' levels of stress and burnout. Individual teacher characteristics associated with burnout were K−12 teachers' personality, self-efficacy in online teaching, and perceived vulnerability to COVID-19. In order to reduce stress, there was an indication that stress-management training in combination with training in technology use for teaching may be superior to stress-management training alone. Future research needs to adopt more longitudinal designs and examine the interplay between individual and organizational characteristics in the development of teacher stress and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Sozialrechtshandbuch
(2022)
Legolas in Troy
(2022)
The Lord of the Rings movies were a cinematic phenomenon, extremely popular. They are not often considered as works of Classical Reception. These films’ influence on subsequent ancient world movies has been understudied, and undervalued. A common model of cinematic Greece and Rome in the twenty-first century looks solely back to Gladiator. Undoubtedly Gladiator, and its commercial success, is important to how ancient world movies developed; but focussing solely on Gladiator does not explain a move away from Roman history towards Greek mythology, culminating in a flurry of movies about Greek mythological heroes. Lord of the Rings is an overlooked factor. Already in Troy two LOTR stars are in key roles, and the battle scenes seek to imitate those of Jackson’s trilogy. 300 mythologizes far beyond Frank Miller’s graphic novel, adding several monsters; LOTR’s influence is at play here. LOTR’s influence was one factor in a complex process that saw ancient world movies change in the twentyfirst century. LOTR fed into an atmosphere that moved ancient world movies towards Greece, away from Rome, through promoting the appeal of a combination of epic and the fantastic.
G. B. Smith’s “Elzevir Cicero” and the Construction of Queer Immortality in Tolkien’s Mythopoeia
(2022)
Following the death of J. R. R. Tolkien in 1973, an obituary appeared in The Times quoting Tolkien as having said that his “love for the classics took ten years to recover from lectures on Cicero and Demosthenes.” This contentious relationship between Tolkien and the Greco-Roman past contrasts with the work of unabashedly classicizing poet Geoffrey Bache Smith, a school friend of Tolkien’s who was killed in the Great War. When Tolkien collected Smith’s poems for posthumous publication, this paper shows, Smith’s engagements with the ancient world became part of Tolkien’s own philosophy of immortality through literary composition. Within his 1931 poem “Mythopoeia,” and his 1939 speech “On Fairy-Stories,” Tolkien articulated a unified method of mythmaking by looking back to his lost friend’s understanding of mythology as a type of ancient story-craft that enabled poets to preserve the dead against the ravages of time. By tracing a triangular path through the relationships between Tolkien, Smith, and the classical past inhabited by figures like Cicero, this paper argues that Tolkien not only recovered a “love for the classics,” but used classical texts to “recover” his lost friend, granting Smith a queer, classical immortality in return.
The Throne of the King
(2022)
A conspicuous feature of Tolkien’s description of the city of Minas Tirith in The Return of The King is the depiction of two thrones in the Great Hall; one empty throne reserved for the king, and one seat for the steward of Gondor. This paper aims to ascertain the late antique and mediaeval sources of inspiration behind Tolkien’s creation of the throne room in Minas Tirith. As a starting point, we shall compare the setting of the two thrones in Minas Tirith with a motive in Christian iconography, the hetoimasia, and its architectural expression in the Chrysotriklinos, the throne room in the Byzantine Great Palace in Constantinople. Next, we shall show that Tolkien intentionally obscured his appropriation of the Byzantine throne room to create a multi-layered image of rulership, in accordance with his aesthetics of applicability and allegory. In conclusion, we shall formulate some remarks on the interpretation of the association between the Byzantine Chrysotriklinos and the Gondorian Great Hall. As a form of Tolkien’s literary process of sub-creation, the description of the throne room in Minas Tirith serves to emphasise the significance of The Return of the King as a retelling of Christ’s restoration of the fallen world, placing the work of Tolkien in the context of a strong personal Catholic piety.
Seneca the Younger, in his Letters, describes a sacred grove as a “thick grove of ancient trees which rise far above the usual height and block the view of the sky with their umbrella of intertwining branches” (Seneca the Younger, Letters 41.3). Fangorn Forest is clearly a sacred site as defined by Seneca, made even more sacred by the presence of the Ents. Thus, to violate it would be a terrible act of desecration, not unlike Lucan’s narrator’s shock at Caesar’s desecration of the sacred grove at Massilia (Lucan BC 3.447 – 8, quoted in the title of this paper). After exploring the relationship between Ents and sacred groves, the paper will compare the fate of Caesar to that of Saruman, who violated Fangorn Forest. Just as Augoustakis (2006) argues that the violation of the grove foreshadows Caesar’s death, so too Saruman’s death at the hands of Wormtongue becomes a fitting punishment for his violation of Fangorn.
This paper examines the intertext between Tolkien’s Ithilien episode in Two Towers and artistic presentations of plants in the art and literature of Augustan Rome. We argue that the evident ‘superbloom’ depicted in the ekphrasis of the flora of Ithilien recalls both Vergilian botanical adynata (especially in the Georgics) and Roman wall paintings of the Augustan period.
Roman Heroes at Helm’s Deep?
(2022)
This article analyzes Tolkien’s narrative of the Battle of Helm’s Deep as a retelling of the Horatius Cocles episode from Livy’s AUC, which contains descriptions of the defenses and the bridge, a rally encouraged by Horatius, his bold stand both with his companions and alone, and the honors paid to him after the battle. Tolkien’s Battle of Helm’s Deep contains the same elements split across two narratives: the defense of the causeway leading to the gates of the Deep by Aragorn, Éomer, and Gimli; and, after the fall of the Deeping wall, Aragorn’s defiant stand alone on the stairway leading to the inner doors of the Hornburg. Aragorn’s double action demonstrates a fulfillment of Livy’s exemplary arc. Tolkien’s knowledge of Macaulay’s “Horatius” provides a possible intermediary that accounts for various additions to the story. However, the larger structure of Tolkien’s narrative as well as the imagery that resonates throughout the text distinctly evoke the vivid descriptions of Livy. While both sets of heroes make brave stands against their enemies, Tolkien’s warriors represent a civilizing force in their efforts to build and restore their defenses while Livy’s Roman heroes destroy the bridge to save their state.
Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings employ traditional races from fairy tales: elves, men and dwarves. These peoples are differentiated principally by their dominant desires, but also by their speech, diet, and realms. I argue that these three races are significantly inspired by the three aspects that characterize the Republic’s tripartite soul—logistikon, thumoeides, and epithumetikon—along with their respective principal desires: desire for truth, greatness, and material goods. For Tolkien, therefore, these races have a corporate or political psychology that explains who they are as peoples in the history of Middle-earth. I offer a comprehensive view of the major races, connecting the dwarves with the appetitive artisans of the Republic, humans with the honour- and glory-seeking auxiliaries, and elves with the ruling guardians. This treatment explains the artisanal dwarves, as well as the battle-loving men (and women) of Rohan and Gondor, and the nostalgic, ‘anamnetic’ condition of exile that distinguishes the elves. Indeed, the condition of elves in many descriptions recalls a Platonic philosopher returned to the Cave, as well as the Neo-Platonic sagacity pictured in the biographies of Plotinus and Proclus.
"Orfeo out of Care"
(2022)
The paper focuses on an example of multiple-step reception: the contribution of the classical story of Orpheus and Eurydice and the mediaeval lay Sir Orfeo to Tolkien’s work.
In the first part, I compare the lay with Virgilian and Ovidian versions of Orpheus’ myth. This comparison shows the anonymous author’s deep knowledge of the ancient texts and complex way of rewriting them through stealing and hybridization.
The lay was highly esteemed by Tolkien, who translated it and took inspiration from it while describing the Elven kingdom in The Hobbit and building the storyline of Beren and Lúthien in The Silmarillion. Through this key tale, Orpheus/Orfeo’s romance has a deep influence also on Aragorn and Arwen’s story in The Lord of the Rings. The most important element that Tolkien takes from the Sir Orfeo figuration of the ancient story is undoubtedly the insertion of political theme: the link established between the recovery of the main character’s beloved and the return to royal responsability.
The second part of the paper is, thus, dedicated to the reception of Sir Orfeo and the classical myth in Tolkien. It shows how in his work the different steps of the tradition of Orpheus’ story are co-present, creating an inextricable substrate of inspiration that nourishes his imagination.
The paper investigates Tolkien’s narratives of decline through the lens of their classical ancestry. Narratives of decline are widespread in ancient culture, in both philosophical and literary discourses. They normally posit a gradual degradation (moral and ontological) from an idealized Golden Age, which went hand-in-hand with increasing detachment of gods from mortal affairs. Narratives of decline are also at the core of Tolkien’s mythology, constituting yet another underresearched aspect of classical influence on Tolkien. Such Classical narratives reverberate e.g. in Tolkien’s division of Arda’s history into ages, from an idealized First Age filled with Joy and Light to a Third Age, described as “Twilight Age (…) the first of the broken and changed world” (Letters 131). More generally, these narratives are related to Tolkien’s notorious perception of history as a “long defeat” (Letters 195) and to that “heart-racking sense of the vanished past” which pervades Tolkien’s works – the emotion which, in his words, moved him “supremely” and which he found “small difficulty in evoking” (Letters 91). The paper analyses the reception of narratives of decline in Tolkien’s legendarium, pointing out similarities but also contrasts and differences, with the aim to discuss some key patterns of (classical) reception in Tolkien’s theory and practice (‘renewal’, ‘accommodation’, ‘focalization’).
Vergil was a fundamental source of inspiration for Tolkien, not only when writing the Lord of the Rings, but also at the beginning of his “world-building”. The Fall of Gondolin, written in 1916, was modeled upon the Aeneid, whose second book shares many similarities with the description of Gondolin’s last day. For instance, the attack that seals the fate of the city takes place during a feast in both works, whereas both protagonists (Aeneas and Tuor) leave wives and sons to fight the enemy and witness deaths of their kings (Priam/Turgon). Other analogies include the topos of the fall of the tallest tower of the city as well as the scenes of Creusa/Idril clasping the knees of her husband and begging him not to go back to the battle. Tolkien chose the Aeneid as his main model because, in his opinion, the Aeneid and The Fall of Gondolin evoked the air of antiquity and melancholy. Vergil’s nostalgia for a “lost world” conveyed in the Aeneid greatly resembles the nostalgia pervading both Tolkien’s writing and life.
The following introduction sketches the status questionis of the research on the influence of Greco-Roman antiquity on the works of Tolkien and provides details about the volume’s theoretical impetus and its broad themes. The editors discuss Tolkien’s complicated and indirect relationship with classical models, underscoring certain emergent themes in volume’s contributions, such as decline, multifocal reception and relationship with nature.
The Arabidopsis knockout mutant lacking both the cytosolic disproportionating enzyme 2 (DPE2) and the plastidial phosphorylase (PHS1) had a dwarf-growth phenotype, a reduced and uneven distribution of starch within the plant rosettes, and a lower starch granule number per chloroplast under standard growth conditions. In contrast, a triple mutant impaired in starch degradation by its additional lack of the glucan, water dikinase (GWD) showed improved plant growth, a starch-excess phenotype, and a homogeneous starch distribution. Furthermore, the number of starch granules per chloroplast was increased and was similar to the wild type. We concluded that ongoing starch degradation is mainly responsible for the observed phenotype of dpe2/phs1. Next, we generated two further triple mutants lacking either the phosphoglucan, water dikinase (PWD), or the disproportionating enzyme 1 (DPE1) in the background of the double mutant. Analysis of the starch metabolism revealed that even minor ongoing starch degradation observed in dpe2/phs1/pwd maintained the double mutant phenotype. In contrast, an additional blockage in the glucose pathway of starch breakdown, as in dpe2/phs1/ dpe1, resulted in a nearly starch-free phenotype and massive chloroplast degradation. The characterized mutants were discussed in the context of starch granule formation.
Malagasy shrew tenrecs (Microgale) have increasingly been used to study speciation genetics over the last years. A previous study recently uncovered gene flow between the Shrew-toothed shrew tenrec (M. soricoides) and sympatric southern population of the Pale shrew tenrec (M. fotsifotsy). This gene flow has been suggested to be accompanied by complete mitochondrial replacement in M. fotsifotsy. To explore the temporal framework of this replacement, we assembled mitogenomes from publicly available sequencing data of ultra-conserved elements. We were able to assemble complete and partial mitogenomes for 19 specimens from five species of shrew tenrecs, which represents a multifold increase in mitogenomic resources available for all tenrecs. Phylogenetic inferences and sequence simulations support the close relationship between the mitochondrial lineages of M. soricoides and the southern population of M. fotsifotsy. Based on the nuclear divergence of northern and southern populations of M. fotsifotsy and the mitochondrial divergence between the latter and M. soricoides, there was a mean time window for replacement of similar to 350,000 years. This timeframe implies that the effective size of the ancestral M. fotsifotsy southern population was less 70,000.
About two decades ago it was discovered that systems of nonlocally coupled oscillators can exhibit unusual symmetry-breaking patterns composed of coherent and incoherent regions. Since then such patterns, called chimera states, have been the subject of intensive study but mostly in the stationary case when the coarse-grained system dynamics remains unchanged over time. Nonstationary coherence-incoherence patterns, in particular periodically breathing chimera states, were also reported, however not investigated systematically because of their complexity. In this paper we suggest a semi-analytic solution to the above problem providing a mathematical framework for the analysis of breathing chimera states in a ring of nonlocally coupled phase oscillators. Our approach relies on the consideration of an integro-differential equation describing the long-term coarse-grained dynamics of the oscillator system. For this equation we specify a class of solutions relevant to breathing chimera states. We derive a self-consistency equation for these solutions and carry out their stability analysis. We show that our approach correctly predicts macroscopic features of breathing chimera states. Moreover, we point out its potential application to other models which can be studied using the Ott-Antonsen reduction technique.
Flexible all-perovskite tandem photovoltaics open up new opportunities for application compared to rigid devices, yet their performance lags behind. Now, researchers show that molecule-bridged interfaces mitigate charge recombination and crack formation, improving the efficiency and mechanical reliability of flexible devices.
Postcolonial surveillance
(2022)
Postcolonial Surveillance investigates the long history of the European border regime, focusing on the colonial forerunners of today’s border technologies. The book takes a longue durée perspective to uncover how Europe’s colonial history continues to shape the high-tech political present and has morphed into EU border migration policies, border security, and surveillance apparatuses. It exposes the racial hierarchies and power relations that form these systems and highlights key moments when the past and present interact and collide, such as in panoptic surveillance, biopolitical registers, biometric sorting, and deterrent media infrastructure. The technological genealogies assembled in this book reveal the unacknowledged histories that had to be rejected for the seemingly clean, unbiased, and neutral technologies to emerge as such.
Previous research demonstrated a close bidirectional relationship between spatial attention and the manual motor system. However, it is unclear whether an explicit hand movement is necessary for this relationship to appear. A novel method with high temporal resolution–bimanual grip force registration–sheds light on this issue. Participants held two grip force sensors while being presented with lateralized stimuli (exogenous attentional shifts, Experiment 1), left- or right-pointing central arrows (endogenous attentional shifts, Experiment 2), or the words "left" or "right" (endogenous attentional shifts, Experiment 3). There was an early interaction between the presentation side or arrow direction and grip force: lateralized objects and central arrows led to a larger increase of the ipsilateral force and a smaller increase of the contralateral force. Surprisingly, words led to the opposite pattern: larger force increase in the contralateral hand and smaller force increase in the ipsilateral hand. The effect was stronger and appeared earlier for lateralized objects (60 ms after stimulus presentation) than for arrows (100 ms) or words (250 ms). Thus, processing visuospatial information automatically activates the manual motor system, but the timing and direction of this effect vary depending on the type of stimulus.
Aims: High intensity interval training (HIIT) improves mitochondrial characteristics. This study compared the impact of two workload-matched high intensity interval training (HIIT) protocols with different work:recovery ratios on regulatory factors related to mitochondrial biogenesis in the soleus muscle of diabetic rats.
Materials and methods: Twenty-four Wistar rats were randomly divided into four equal-sized groups: non-diabetic control, diabetic control (DC), diabetic with long recovery exercise [4–5 × 2-min running at 80%–90% of the maximum speed reached with 2-min of recovery at 40% of the maximum speed reached (DHIIT1:1)], and diabetic with short recovery exercise (5–6 × 2-min running at 80%–90% of the maximum speed reached with 1-min of recovery at 30% of the maximum speed reached [DHIIT2:1]). Both HIIT protocols were completed five times/week for 4 weeks while maintaining equal running distances in each session.
Results: Gene and protein expressions of PGC-1α, p53, and citrate synthase of the muscles increased significantly following DHIIT1:1 and DHIIT2:1 compared to DC (p ˂ 0.05). Most parameters, except for PGC-1α protein (p = 0.597), were significantly higher in DHIIT2:1 than in DHIIT1:1 (p ˂ 0.05). Both DHIIT groups showed significant increases in maximum speed with larger increases in DHIIT2:1 compared with DHIIT1:1.
Conclusion: Our findings indicate that both HIIT protocols can potently up-regulate gene and protein expression of PGC-1α, p53, and CS. However, DHIIT2:1 has superior effects compared with DHIIT1:1 in improving mitochondrial adaptive responses in diabetic rats.
Physical fatigue (PF) negatively affects postural control, resulting in impaired balance performance in young and older adults. Similar effects on postural control can be observed for mental fatigue (MF) mainly in older adults. Controversial results exist for young adults. There is a void in the literature on the effects of fatigue on balance and cortical activity. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the acute effects of PF and MF on postural sway and cortical activity. Fifteen healthy young adults aged 28 ± 3 years participated in this study. MF and PF protocols comprising of an all-out repeated sit-to-stand task and a computer-based attention network test, respectively, were applied in random order. Pre and post fatigue, cortical activity and postural sway (i.e., center of pressure displacements [CoPd], velocity [CoPv], and CoP variability [CV CoPd, CV CoPv]) were tested during a challenging bipedal balance board task. Absolute spectral power was calculated for theta (4–7.5 Hz), alpha-2 (10.5–12.5 Hz), beta-1 (13–18 Hz), and beta-2 (18.5–25 Hz) in frontal, central, and parietal regions of interest (ROI) and baseline-normalized. Inference statistics revealed a significant time-by-fatigue interaction for CoPd (p = 0.009, d = 0.39, Δ 9.2%) and CoPv (p = 0.009, d = 0.36, Δ 9.2%), and a significant main effect of time for CoP variability (CV CoPd: p = 0.001, d = 0.84; CV CoPv: p = 0.05, d = 0.62). Post hoc analyses showed a significant increase in CoPd (p = 0.002, d = 1.03) and CoPv (p = 0.003, d = 1.03) following PF but not MF. For cortical activity, a significant time-by-fatigue interaction was found for relative alpha-2 power in parietal (p < 0.001, d = 0.06) areas. Post hoc tests indicated larger alpha-2 power increases after PF (p < 0.001, d = 1.69, Δ 3.9%) compared to MF (p = 0.001, d = 1.03, Δ 2.5%). In addition, changes in parietal alpha-2 power and measures of postural sway did not correlate significantly, irrespective of the applied fatigue protocol. No significant changes were found for the other frequency bands, irrespective of the fatigue protocol and ROI under investigation. Thus, the applied PF protocol resulted in increased postural sway (CoPd and CoPv) and CoP variability accompanied by enhanced alpha-2 power in the parietal ROI while MF led to increased CoP variability and alpha-2 power in our sample of young adults. Potential underlying cortical mechanisms responsible for the greater increase in parietal alpha-2 power after PF were discussed but could not be clearly identified as cause. Therefore, further future research is needed to decipher alternative interpretations.
Präexistente Musik im Film
(2022)
Vom Weltuntergang mit Richard Wagners "Tristan und Isolde" über die Gesangsperformance einer zum Tode verurteilten Björk am Galgen bis hin zu Johann Sebastian Bachs Orgelmusik als Erklärungsmodell für Hypersexualität: So seltsam das Kino des Lars von Trier erscheinen mag, so vielfältige Möglichkeiten bietet es, über ein Musikphänomen nachzudenken, das einen Großteil der heutigen Kunst- und Unterhaltungswelt prägt.
In Lars von Triers Filmen erklingt hauptsächlich Musik, die es bereits vor den Filmen gab. Einerseits besitzt solche präexistente Musik ein ausgeprägtes Eigenleben, andererseits entsteht aus der filmischen Aneignung etwas Neues. Am Beispiel eines der einflussreichsten Regisseure der Gegenwart untersucht Pascal Rudolph, wie Filmschaffende Musik adaptieren und wie dadurch Bedeutungen und Wirkungen entstehen. Erstmals bietet das Buch auf Grundlage von unveröffentlichtem Produktionsmaterial und Insider-Interviews detaillierte Einblicke in die Arbeit bei Lars von Triers Filmprojekten im Besonderen, aber auch in die Arbeitsprozesse der filmmusikalischen Gestaltung im Allgemeinen. Der musikalischen Vielfalt in den Filmen wird die Studie durch ihren multiperspektivischen und transdisziplinären Ansatz gerecht. Die zehn Kapitel beleuchten das Zusammenwirken von Musik und Film auf diese Weise aus verschiedenen Blickwinkeln.
The prevalence of obesity in the pediatric population has become a major public health issue. Indeed, the dramatic increase of this epidemic causes multiple and harmful consequences, Physical activity, particularly physical exercise, remains to be the cornerstone of interventions against childhood obesity. Given the conflicting findings with reference to the relevant literature addressing the effects of exercise on adiposity and physical fitness outcomes in obese children and adolescents, the effect of duration-matched concurrent training (CT) [50% resistance (RT) and 50% high-intensity-interval-training (HIIT)] on body composition and physical fitness in obese youth remains to be elucidated. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of 9-weeks of CT compared to RT or HIIT alone, on body composition and selected physical fitness components in healthy sedentary obese youth. Out of 73 participants, only 37; [14 males and 23 females; age 13.4 ± 0.9 years; body-mass-index (BMI): 31.2 ± 4.8 kg·m-2] were eligible and randomized into three groups: HIIT (n = 12): 3-4 sets×12 runs at 80–110% peak velocity, with 10-s passive recovery between bouts; RT (n = 12): 6 exercises; 3–4 sets × 10 repetition maximum (RM) and CT (n = 13): 50% serial completion of RT and HIIT. CT promoted significant greater gains compared to HIIT and RT on body composition (p < 0.01, d = large), 6-min-walking test distance (6 MWT-distance) and on 6 MWT-VO2max (p < 0.03, d = large). In addition, CT showed substantially greater improvements than HIIT in the medicine ball throw test (20.2 vs. 13.6%, p < 0.04, d = large). On the other hand, RT exhibited significantly greater gains in relative hand grip strength (p < 0.03, d = large) and CMJ (p < 0.01, d = large) than HIIT and CT. CT promoted greater benefits for fat, body mass loss and cardiorespiratory fitness than HIIT or RT modalities. This study provides important information for practitioners and therapists on the application of effective exercise regimes with obese youth to induce significant and beneficial body composition changes. The applied CT program and the respective programming parameters in terms of exercise intensity and volume can be used by practitioners as an effective exercise treatment to fight the pandemic overweight and obesity in youth.
Identifying urban pluvial flood-prone areas is necessary but the application of two-dimensional hydrodynamic models is limited to small areas. Data-driven models have been showing their ability to map flood susceptibility but their application in urban pluvial flooding is still rare. A flood inventory (4333 flooded locations) and 11 factors which potentially indicate an increased hazard for pluvial flooding were used to implement convolutional neural network (CNN), artificial neural network (ANN), random forest (RF) and support vector machine (SVM) to: (1) Map flood susceptibility in Berlin at 30, 10, 5, and 2 m spatial resolutions. (2) Evaluate the trained models' transferability in space. (3) Estimate the most useful factors for flood susceptibility mapping. The models' performance was validated using the Kappa, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). The results indicated that all models perform very well (minimum AUC = 0.87 for the testing dataset). The RF models outperformed all other models at all spatial resolutions and the RF model at 2 m spatial resolution was superior for the present flood inventory and predictor variables. The majority of the models had a moderate performance for predictions outside the training area based on Kappa evaluation (minimum AUC = 0.8). Aspect and altitude were the most influencing factors on the image-based and point-based models respectively. Data-driven models can be a reliable tool for urban pluvial flood susceptibility mapping wherever a reliable flood inventory is available.
Neuroleadership
(2022)
Wie können notwendige Systemwechsel „gemanaged“ werden, wenn die etablierten Führungsansätze an heutigen Entwicklungen vorbeigehen? Das Buch beschäftigt sich mit dem Ansatz des Neuroleadership, der einen Beitrag leisten kann, Führungskonzepte weiterzuentwickeln.
Dieser neue Ansatz erweitert die bisherigen Konzepte durch die Verknüpfung von Neurosciences, Leadershiptheorie und Systemtheorie. Leadership wird dabei vor allem als beratende und unterstützende Funktion gesehen, für die Kompetenzen im hybriden systemischen Neurocoaching benötigt werden. Ein spezieller Fokus liegt auf den Einflüssen durch Digitalisierung, Intuitive, Künstliche und Web-Intelligenz.
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of scientific endeavors. The goal of this systematic review is to evaluate the quality of the research on physical activity (PA) behavior change and its potential to contribute to policy-making processes in the early days of COVID-19 related restrictions.
Methods: We conducted a systematic review of methodological quality of current research according to PRISMA guidelines using Pubmed and Web of Science, of articles on PA behavior change that were published within 365 days after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Items from the JBI checklist and the AXIS tool were used for additional risk of bias assessment. Evidence mapping is used for better visualization of the main results. Conclusions about the significance of published articles are based on hypotheses on PA behavior change in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Results: Among the 1,903 identified articles, there were 36% opinion pieces, 53% empirical studies, and 9% reviews. Of the 332 studies included in the systematic review, 213 used self-report measures to recollect prepandemic behavior in often small convenience samples. Most focused changes in PA volume, whereas changes in PA types were rarely measured. The majority had methodological reporting flaws. Few had very large samples with objective measures using repeated measure design (pre and during the pandemic). In addition to the expected decline in PA duration, these studies show that many of those who were active prepandemic, continued to be active during the pandemic.
Conclusions: Research responded quickly at the onset of the pandemic. However, most of the studies lacked robust methodology, and PA behavior change data lacked the accuracy needed to guide policy makers. To improve the field, we propose the implementation of longitudinal cohort studies by larger organizations such as WHO to ease access to data on PA behavior, and suggest those institutions set clear standards for this research. Researchers need to ensure a better fit between the measurement method and the construct being measured, and use both objective and subjective measures where appropriate to complement each other and provide a comprehensive picture of PA behavior.
The purpose of this study was to examine the test-retest reliability, and convergent and discriminative validity of a new taekwondo-specific change-of-direction (COD) speed test with striking techniques (TST) in elite taekwondo athletes. Twenty (10 males and 10 females) elite (athletes who compete at national level) and top-elite (athletes who compete at national and international level) taekwondo athletes with an average training background of 8.9 ± 1.3 years of systematic taekwondo training participated in this study. During the two-week test-retest period, various generic performance tests measuring COD speed, balance, speed, and jump performance were carried out during the first week and as a retest during the second week. Three TST trials were conducted with each athlete and the best trial was used for further analyses. The relevant performance measure derived from the TST was the time with striking penalty (TST-TSP). TST-TSP performances amounted to 10.57 ± 1.08 s for males and 11.74 ± 1.34 s for females. The reliability analysis of the TST performance was conducted after logarithmic transformation, in order to address the problem of heteroscedasticity. In both groups, the TST demonstrated a high relative test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients and 90% compatibility limits were 0.80 and 0.47 to 0.93, respectively). For absolute reliability, the TST’s typical error of measurement (TEM), 90% compatibility limits, and magnitudes were 4.6%, 3.4 to 7.7, for males, and 5.4%, 3.9 to 9.0, for females. The homogeneous sample of taekwondo athletes meant that the TST’s TEM exceeded the usual smallest important change (SIC) with 0.2 effect size in the two groups. The new test showed mostly very large correlations with linear sprint speed (r = 0.71 to 0.85) and dynamic balance (r = −0.71 and −0.74), large correlations with COD speed (r = 0.57 to 0.60) and vertical jump performance (r = −0.50 to −0.65), and moderate correlations with horizontal jump performance (r = −0.34 to −0.45) and static balance (r = −0.39 to −0.44). Top-elite athletes showed better TST performances than elite counterparts. Receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated that the TST effectively discriminated between top-elite and elite taekwondo athletes. In conclusion, the TST is a valid, and sensitive test to evaluate the COD speed with taekwondo specific skills, and reliable when considering ICC and TEM. Although the usefulness of the TST is questioned to detect small performance changes in the present population, the TST can detect moderate changes in taekwondo-specific COD speed.
Background and Aims Wearable inertial sensors may offer additional kinematic parameters of the shoulder compared to traditional instruments such as goniometers when elaborate and time-consuming data processing procedures are undertaken. However, in clinical practice simple-real time motion analysis is required to improve clinical reasoning. Therefore, the aim was to assess the criterion validity between a portable "off-the-shelf" sensor-software system (IMU) and optical motion (Mocap) for measuring kinematic parameters during active shoulder movements. Methods 24 healthy participants (9 female, 15 male, age 29 +/- 4 years, height 177 +/- 11 cm, weight 73 +/- 14 kg) were included. Range of motion (ROM), total range of motion (TROM), peak and mean angular velocity of both systems were assessed during simple (abduction/adduction, horizontal flexion/horizontal extension, vertical flexion/extension, and external/internal rotation) and complex shoulder movements. Criterion validity was determined using intraclass-correlation coefficients (ICC), root mean square error (RMSE) and Bland and Altmann analysis (bias; upper and lower limits of agreement). Results ROM and TROM analysis revealed inconsistent validity during simple (ICC: 0.040-0.733, RMSE: 9.7 degrees-20.3 degrees, bias: 1.2 degrees-50.7 degrees) and insufficient agreement during complex shoulder movements (ICC: 0.104-0.453, RMSE: 10.1 degrees-23.3 degrees, bias: 1.0 degrees-55.9 degrees). Peak angular velocity (ICC: 0.202-0.865, RMSE: 14.6 degrees/s-26.7 degrees/s, bias: 10.2 degrees/s-29.9 degrees/s) and mean angular velocity (ICC: 0.019-0.786, RMSE:6.1 degrees/s-34.2 degrees/s, bias: 1.6 degrees/s-27.8 degrees/s) were inconsistent. Conclusions The "off-the-shelf" sensor-software system showed overall insufficient agreement with the gold standard. Further development of commercial IMU-software-solutions may increase measurement accuracy and permit their integration into everyday clinical practice.
Conspiracy theories are currently all the rage in philosophy and broader intellectual culture. One of the most common background assumptions in the discourse on conspiracy theories is that conspiracy theorists exhibit certain epistemic vices in the sense of cognitive misconduct. This epistemic vice is mostly seen as a form of irrationality; the corresponding "remedy", as suggested by some commentators, is a return to the ideals of the Enlightenment. This article argues that this idea is wrongheaded. Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that conspiracy theorists are actually motivated by the rational Enlightenment ideal of self-thinking in the first place. In contrast to the standard discourse, the article posits that conspiracism is based on a certain form of social scepticism, according to which conspiracy theorists radically mistrust a certain form of expert testimony, namely "official" statements. This form of social scepticism in turn facilitates a naive appropriation of the Enlightenment ideal of self-thinking. The article closes by drawing connections to the ethical and epistemological debate on trust and offers the pessimistic assessment that there are no easy solutions based on individual epistemic virtues.
This dataset comprises tree inventories and damage assessments performed in Namibia's semi-arid Zambezi Region. Data were sampled in savannas and savanna woodlands along steep gradients of elephant population densities to capture the effects of those (and other) disturbances on individual-level and stand-level aboveground woody biomass (AGB). The dataset contains raw data on dendrometric measures and processed data on specific wood density (SWD), woody aboveground biomass, and biomass losses through disturbance impacts. Allometric proxies (height, canopy diameters, and in adult trees also stem circumferences) were recorded for n = 6,179 tree and shrub individuals. Wood samples were taken for each encountered species to measure specific wood density.
These measurements have been used to estimate woody aboveground biomass via established allometric models, advanced through our improved methodologies and workflows that accounted for tree and shrub architecture shaped by disturbance impacts. To this end, we performed a detailed damage assessment on each woody individual in the field. In addition to estimations of standing biomass, our new method also delivered data on biomass losses to different disturbance agents (elephants, fire, and others) on the level of plant individuals and stands.
The data presented here have been used within a study published with Ecological Indicators (Kindermann et al., 2022) to evaluate the benefits of our improved methodology in comparison to a standard reference method of aboveground biomass estimations. Additionally, it has been employed in a study on carbon storage and sequestration in vegetation and soils (Sandhage-Hofmann et al., 2021).
The raw data of dendrometric measurements can be subjected to other available allometric models for biomass estimation. The processed data can be used to analyze disturbance impacts on woody aboveground biomass, or for regional carbon storage estimates. The data on species-specific wood density can be used for application to other dendrometric datasets to (re-) estimate biomass through allometric models requiring wood density. It can further be used for plant functional trait analyses.
Objective: To examine the effect of plyometric jump training on skeletal muscle hypertrophy in healthy individuals.
Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in the databases PubMed, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library up to September 2021.
Results: Fifteen studies met the inclusion criteria. The main overall finding (44 effect sizes across 15 clusters median = 2, range = 1–15 effects per cluster) indicated that plyometric jump training had small to moderate effects [standardised mean difference (SMD) = 0.47 (95% CIs = 0.23–0.71); p < 0.001] on skeletal muscle hypertrophy. Subgroup analyses for training experience revealed trivial to large effects in non-athletes [SMD = 0.55 (95% CIs = 0.18–0.93); p = 0.007] and trivial to moderate effects in athletes [SMD = 0.33 (95% CIs = 0.16–0.51); p = 0.001]. Regarding muscle groups, results showed moderate effects for the knee extensors [SMD = 0.72 (95% CIs = 0.66–0.78), p < 0.001] and equivocal effects for the plantar flexors [SMD = 0.65 (95% CIs = −0.25–1.55); p = 0.143]. As to the assessment methods of skeletal muscle hypertrophy, findings indicated trivial to small effects for prediction equations [SMD = 0.29 (95% CIs = 0.16–0.42); p < 0.001] and moderate-to-large effects for ultrasound imaging [SMD = 0.74 (95% CIs = 0.59–0.89); p < 0.001]. Meta-regression analysis indicated that the weekly session frequency moderates the effect of plyometric jump training on skeletal muscle hypertrophy, with a higher weekly session frequency inducing larger hypertrophic gains [β = 0.3233 (95% CIs = 0.2041–0.4425); p < 0.001]. We found no clear evidence that age, sex, total training period, single session duration, or the number of jumps per week moderate the effect of plyometric jump training on skeletal muscle hypertrophy [β = −0.0133 to 0.0433 (95% CIs = −0.0387 to 0.1215); p = 0.101–0.751].
Conclusion: Plyometric jump training can induce skeletal muscle hypertrophy, regardless of age and sex. There is evidence for relatively larger effects in non-athletes compared with athletes. Further, the weekly session frequency seems to moderate the effect of plyometric jump training on skeletal muscle hypertrophy, whereby more frequent weekly plyometric jump training sessions elicit larger hypertrophic adaptations.
Public Significance Statement This study demonstrates that simulated patients (SPs) can authentically portray a depressive case. The results provide preliminary evidence of psychometrically sound properties of the rating scale that contributes to distinguishing between authentic and unauthentic SPs and may thus foster SPs' dissemination into evidence-based training. <br /> For training purposes, simulated patients (SPs), that is, healthy people portraying a disorder, are disseminating more into clinical psychology and psychotherapy. In the current study, we developed an observer-based rating instrument for the evaluation of SP authenticity-namely, it not being possible to distinguish them from real patients-so as to foster their use in evidence-based training. We applied a multistep inductive approach to develop the Authenticity of Patient Demonstrations (APD) scale. Ninety-seven independent psychotherapy trainees, 77.32% female, mean age of 31.49 (SD = 5.17) years, evaluated the authenticity of 2 independent SPs, each of whom portrayed a depressive patient. The APD demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .83) and a strong correlation (r = .82) with an established tool for assessing SP performance in medical contexts. The APD scale distinguished significantly between an authentic and unauthentic SP (d = 2.35). Preliminary evidence for the psychometric properties of the APD indicates that the APD could be a viable tool for recruiting, training, and evaluating the authenticity of SPs. Strengths, limitations, and future directions are also discussed in detail.
Pronouns can sometimes covary with a non c-commanding quantifier phrase (QP). To obtain such 'telescoping' readings, a semantic representation must be computed in which the QP's semantic scope extends beyond its surface scope. Non-native speakers have been claimed to have more difficulty than native speakers deriving such non-isomorphic syntax-semantics mappings, but evidence from processing studies is scarce. We report the results from an eye-movement monitoring experiment and an offline questionnaire investigating whether native and non-native speakers of German can link personal pronouns to non c-commanding QPs inside relative clauses. Our results show that both participant groups were able to obtain telescoping readings offline, but only the native speakers showed evidence of forming telescoping dependencies during incremental parsing. During processing the non-native speakers focused on a discourse-prominent, non-quantified alternative antecedent instead. The observed group differences indicate that non-native comprehenders have more difficulty than native comprehenders computing scope-shifted representations in real time.
International organizations (IOs) try to incorporate policy-specific best practices and country-specific knowledge to increase well-informed decision-making. However, the relative contribution of the two kinds of knowledge to organizational performance is insufficiently understood. The article addresses this gap by focusing on the role of staff in World Bank performance. It posits that country-specific knowledge, sectoral knowledge, and their combination positively contribute to World Bank projects. The argument is tested drawing on a novel database on the tenure, nationality, and educational background of World Bank Task Team Leaders. Three findings stand out. First, country-specific knowledge seems to matter on average, while sectoral knowledge does not. Second, there is some evidence that staff that combine both kinds of knowledge are empowered to make more positive contributions to performance. Third, the diversity and relevance of experience, not length of tenure, are associated with more success. The findings contribute to discussions on international bureaucracies by highlighting how differences between the knowledge of individual staff shape their decision-making and performance. IOs could better tap into the existing resources in their bureaucracies to enhance their performance by rotating staff less frequently between duty stations.
Continuous verification of network security compliance is an accepted need. Especially, the analysis of stateful packet filters plays a central role for network security in practice. But the few existing tools which support the analysis of stateful packet filters are based on general applicable formal methods like Satifiability Modulo Theories (SMT) or theorem prover and show runtimes in the order of minutes to hours making them unsuitable for continuous compliance verification. In this work, we address these challenges and present the concept of state shell interweaving to transform a stateful firewall rule set into a stateless rule set. This allows us to reuse any fast domain specific engine from the field of data plane verification tools leveraging smart, very fast, and domain specialized data structures and algorithms including Header Space Analysis (HSA). First, we introduce the formal language FPL that enables a high-level human-understandable specification of the desired state of network security. Second, we demonstrate the instantiation of a compliance process using a verification framework that analyzes the configuration of complex networks and devices - including stateful firewalls - for compliance with FPL policies. Our evaluation results show the scalability of the presented approach for the well known Internet2 and Stanford benchmarks as well as for large firewall rule sets where it outscales state-of-the-art tools by a factor of over 41.
We study theoretically the quantum dynamics and spectroscopy of rovibrational polaritons formed in a model system composed of a single rovibrating diatomic molecule, which interacts with two degenerate, orthogonally polarized modes of an optical Fabry-Perot cavity. We employ an effective rovibrational Pauli-Fierz Hamiltonian in length gauge representation and identify three-state vibro-polaritonic conical intersections (VPCIs) between singly excited vibro-polaritonic states in a two-dimensional angular coordinate branching space. The lower and upper vibrational polaritons are of mixed light-matter hybrid character, whereas the intermediate state is purely photonic in nature. The VPCIs provide effective population transfer channels between singly excited vibrational polaritons, which manifest in rich interference patterns in rotational densities. Spectroscopically, three bright singly excited states are identified when an external infrared laser field couples to both a molecular and a cavity mode. The non-trivial VPCI topology manifests as pronounced multi-peak progression in the spectral region of the upper vibrational polariton, which is traced back to the emergence of rovibro-polaritonic light-matter hybrid states. Experimentally, ubiquitous spontaneous emission from cavity modes induces a dissipative reduction of intensity and peak broadening, which mainly influences the purely photonic intermediate state peak as well as the rovibro-polaritonic progression. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.
Bottom, top, or in between
(2022)
Attractive label-free plasmonic optical fiber sensors can be developed by cleverly choosing the arrangement of plasmonic nanostructures and other building blocks. Here, the final response depends very much on the alignment and position (stacking) of the individual elements. In this work, three different types of fiber optic sensing geometries fabricated by simple layer-by-layer stacking are presented, consisting of stimulus-sensitive poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (polyNIPAM) microgel arrays and plasmonic nanohole arrays (NHAs), namely NHA/polyNIPAM, polyNIPAM/NHA, polyNIPAM/NHA/polyNIPAM. Their optical response to a representative stimulus, namely temperature, is investigated. NHA/polyNIPAM monitors the volume phase transition of polyNIPAM microgels through changes in the spectral position and the amplitude of the reflection minimum of plasmonic NHA. In contrast, polyNIPAM/NHA shows a more complex response to the swelling and collapse of polyNIPAM microgels in their reflectance spectra. The most pronounced changes in optical response are observed by monitoring the amplitude of the reflectance minimum of this sensor during heating/cooling cycles. Finally, the triple stack of polyNIPAM/NHA/polyNIPAM at the end of a optical fiber tip combines the advantages of the NHA/polyNIPAM, polyNIPAM/NHA double stacks for optical sensing. The unique layer-by-layer stacking of microgel and nanostructure is customizable and can be easily adopted for other applications.
Geopolitisches Wunschdenken
(2022)
Am nuklearen Abgrund
(2022)
The knowledge of transformation pathways and transformation products of veterinary drugs is important for health, food and environmental matters. Residues, consisting of original veterinary drug and transformation products, are found in food products of animal origin as well as the environment (e.g., soil or surface water). Several transformation processes can alter the original veterinary drug, ranging from biotransformation in living organism to environmental degradation processes like photolysis, hydrolysis, or microbial processes. In this thesis, four veterinary drugs were investigated, three ionophore antibiotics Monensin, Salinomycin and Lasalocid and the macrocyclic lactone Moxidectin. Ionophore antibiotics are mainly used to cure and prevent coccidiosis in poultry especially prophylactic in broiler farming. Moxidectin is an antiparasitic drug that is used for the treatment of internal and external parasites in food-producing and companion animals. The main objective of this work is to employ different laboratory approaches to generate and identify transformation products. The identification was conducted using high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). A major focus was placed on the application of electrochemistry for simulation of transformation processes. The electrochemical reactor – equipped with a three-electrode flow-through cell – enabled the oxidation or reduction by applying a potential. The transformation products derived were analyzed by online coupling of the electrochemical reactor and a HRMS and offline by liquid chromatography (LC) combined with HRMS. The main modification reaction of the identified transformation products differed for each investigated veterinary drug. Monensin showed decarboxylation and demethylation as the main modification reactions, for Salinomycin mostly decarbonylation occurred and for Lasalocid methylation was prevalent. For Moxidectin, I observed an oxidation (hydroxylation) reaction and adduct formation with solvent. In general, for Salinomycin and Lasalocid, more transient transformation products (online measurement) than stable transformation products (offline measurements) were detected. By contrast, the number of transformation products using online and offline measurements were identical for Monensin and Moxidectin. As a complementary approach, metabolism tests with rat or human liver microsomes were conducted for the ionophore antibiotics. Monensin was investigated by using rat liver microsomes and the transformation products identified were based on decarboxylation and demethylation. Salinomycin and Lasalocid were converted by human and rat liver microsomes. For both substances, more transformation products were found by using human liver microsomes. The transformation products of the rat liver microsome conversion were redundant, and the transformation products were also found at the human liver microsome assay. Oxidation (hydroxylation) was found to be the main modification reaction for both. In addition, a frequent ion exchange between sodium and potassium was identified. The final two experiments were performed for one substance each, whereby the hydrolysis of Monensin and the photolysis of Moxidectin was investigated. The transformation products of the pH-dependent hydrolysis were based on ring-opening and dehydration. Moxidectin formed several transformation products by irradiation with UV-C light and the main modification reactions were isomeric changes, (de-)hydration and changes of the methoxime moiety. In summary, transformation products of the four investigated veterinary drugs were generated by the different laboratory approaches. Most of the transformation products were identified for the first time. The resulting findings provide an improved understanding of clarifying the transformation behavior.
COVID-19 has demonstrated the importance of data for scientific policy advice. Mechanisms by which data is generated, shared, and ultimately lead to policy responses are crucial for enhancing transparency and legitimacy of decisions. At the same time, the volume, complexity and volatility of data are growing. Against this background, mechanisms, actors, and problems of data-driven scientific policy advice are analysed. The study reveals role conflicts, ambiguities, and tensions in the interaction between scientific advisors and policy-makers. The assumption of a technocratic model, promoted by well-established structures and functioning processes of data-driven government, cannot be confirmed. Reality largely corresponds to the pragmatic model, in parts also the decisionist model, albeit with dysfunctional characteristics.
Despite the positive effects of including patients' preferences into therapy on psychotherapy outcomes, there are still few thoroughly validated assessment tools at hand. We translated the 18-item Cooper-Norcross Inventory of Preferences (C-NIP) into German and aimed at replicating its factor structure. Further, we investigated the reliability of the questionnaire and its convergence with trait measures. A heterogeneous sample of N = 969 participants took part in our online survey. Performing ESEM models, we found acceptable model fit for a four-factor structure similar to the original factor structure. Furthermore, we propose an alternative model following the adjustment of single items. The German C-NIP showed acceptable to good reliability, as well as small correlations with Big-Five personality traits, trait and attachment anxiety, locus of control, and temporal focus. However, we recommend further replication of the factor structure and further validation of the C-NIP.
This study aims to compare online vs. offline flirting and dating behavior using the example of the location-based real-time dating (LBRTD) app Tinder, a popular dating platform. We focus on persons' self-descriptions like self-esteem, social desirability, state social anxiety, and adjustment behavior on Tinder and the perceived data privacy of the app. Data was gathered using a survey approach with Tinder users reporting their behavior in offline and online settings. The comparison between offline and online behavior was made using Response Surface Analysis. The results suggest that the different conditions of the natural and digital worlds do not influence the individual's behavior and emotional perception. The results are analyzed and discuss gender, age, motivation to use the app, and the user's relationship status.
Das Promotionsvorhaben verfolgt das Ziel, die Zuverlässigkeit der Datenspeicherung und die Speicherdichte von neu entwickelten Speichern (Emerging Memories) mit Multi-Level-Speicherzellen zu verbessern bzw. zu erhöhen. Hierfür werden Codes zur Erkennung von unidirektionalen Fehlern analysiert, modifiziert und neu entwickelt, um sie innerhalb der neuen Speicher anwenden zu können. Der Fokus liegt dabei auf sog. Berger-Codes und m-aus-n-Codes. Da Multi-Level-Speicherzellen nicht mehr binär, sondern mit mehreren Leveln arbeiten, können bisher verwendete Codes nicht mehr verwendet werden, bzw. müssen entsprechend angepasst werden. Auf Basis der Berger-Codes und m-aus-n-Codes werden in dieser Arbeit neue Codes abgeleitet, welche in der Lage sind, Daten auch in mehrwertigen Systemen zu schützen.
Structure and spatial magnetic properties, through-space NMR shieldings (TSNMRSs), of all ten cycl[2.2.2]azine to cycl[4.4.4]azine, hetero-analogues and the corresponding hydrocarbons have been calculated at the B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) theory level using the GIAO perturbation method and employing the nucleus independent chemical shift (NICS) concept. The TSNMRS values (actually, the ring current effect as measurable in H-1 NMR spectroscopy) are visualized as iso-chemical-shielding surfaces (ICSS) of various size and direction, and employed to readily qualify and quantify the degree of (anti)aromaticity. Results are confirmed by NMR [delta(H-1)/ppm, delta(N-15)/ppm] and geometry (planar, twisted, bow-shaped) data. The cyclazines N[2.2.2](-) up to N[2.4.4](-) are planar or at most slightly bowl-shaped and, due to coherent peripheral ring currents (except in N[2.3.3](-), N[2.3.4], N[3.3.4](+) and N[2.4.4](+)), develop aromaticity or anti-aromaticity of the whole molecules dependent on the number of peripheral conjugated pi electrons. The cyclazines N[2.3.3](-), N[2.3.4], N[3.3.4](+) and N[2.4.4](+) develop two ring currents of different direction within the same molecule, in which the dominating ring current proves to be paratropic (in N[3.3.4](+) diatropic) including the nodal N p(z) lone pair into the conjugation. The residual cyclazines N[3.4.4], N[4.4.4](-) and N[4.4.4](+) are heavily twisted and, therefore, are not developing peripheral or diverse ring currents. The TSNMRS information about cyclazines and the parent tricyclic annulene analogues is congruent subject to structure and number of peripheral or internal conjugated pi electrons, the corresponding (anti)aromaticity is in unequivocal accordance with Huckel's rule.
There is a close conceptual relation between the notions of religious disenchantment and scientific naturalism. One way of resisting philosophical and cultural implications of the scientific image and the subsequent process of disenchantment can be found in attempts at sketching a reenchanted worldview. The main issue of accounts of reenchantment can be a rejection of scientific results in a way that flies in the face of good reason. Opposed to such reenchantment is scientific naturalism which implies an entirely disenchanted worldview. However, one of the main problems of scientific naturalism are placement problems. A reenchanted worldview does have the conceptual resources to avoid placement problems, yet seems to throw out the baby (a reasonable appeal to science as an authority) with the bathwater (placement problems). A dilemma results: the Scylla of an undesirable scientific naturalism and the Charybdis of a rampant, seemingly prescientific reenchanted worldview. In this article I argue that there is a safe middle passage between these two options, i.e. the recently proposed liberal naturalism which allows for a moderate normative reenchantment. Liberal naturalism lets us have it both ways: avoiding the placement problems while retaining a necessary and reasonable adherence to science, thereby avoiding both an all-too restrictive scientific naturalism.
The picture-word interference paradigm (participants name target pictures while ignoring distractor words) is often used to model the planning processes involved in word production. The participants' naming times are delayed in the presence of a distractor (general interference). The size of this effect depends on the relationship between the target and distractor words. Distractors of the same semantic category create more interference (semantic interference), and distractors overlapping in phonology create less interference (phonological facilitation). The present study examined the relationships between these experimental effects, processing times, and attention in order to better understand the cognitive processes underlying participants' behavior in this paradigm. Participants named pictures with a superimposed line of Xs, semantically related distractors, phonologically related distractors, or unrelated distractors. General interference, semantic interference, and phonological facilitation effects were replicated. Distributional analyses revealed that general and semantic interference effects increase with naming times, while phonological facilitation decreases. The phonological facilitation and semantic interference effects were found to depend on the synchronicity in processing times between the planning of the picture's name and the processing of the distractor word. Finally, electroencephalographic power in the alpha band before stimulus onset varied with the position of the trial in the experiment and with repetition but did not predict the size of interference/facilitation effects. Taken together, these results suggest that experimental effects in the picture-word interference paradigm depend on processing times to both the target word and distractor word and that distributional patterns could partly reflect this dependency.
Government as a Platform?
(2022)
Digital platforms, by their design, allow the coordination of multiple entities to achieve a common goal. In the public sector, different understandings of the platform concept prevail. To guide the development and further re-search a coherent understanding is required. To address this gap, we identify the constitutive elements of platforms in the public sector. Moreover, their potential to coordinate partially autonomous entities as typical for federal organized states is highlighted. This study contributes through a uniform understanding of public service platforms by providing a framework with constitutive elements, that may guide future analysis. Apart from chance regarding coordination, platforms are well suited to support contextual eGovernment targets. Among them is service personalization. Highly individualized service offerings support targets such as No Stop government. To this end, the paper extends the framework for service personalization in the public sector and exemplifies related aspects using a reference case.
Despite digital learning disrupting traditional learning concepts and activities in higher education, for the successful integration of digital learning, the use and acceptance of the students are essential. This acceptance depends in turn on students’ characteristics and dispositions, among other factors. In our study, we investigated the influence of digital competences, self-organization, and independent learning abilities on students’ acceptance of digital learning and the influence of their acceptance on the resistance to the change from face-to-face to digital learning. To do so, we surveyed 350 students and analyzed the impact of the different dispositions using ordinary least squares regression analysis. We could confirm a significant positive influence of all the tested dispositions on the acceptance of digital learning. With the results, we can contribute to further investigating the underlying factors that can lead to more positive student perceptions of digital learning and build a foundation for future strategies of implementing digital learning into higher education successfully.
Intelligence, as well as working memory and attention, affect the acquisition of mathematical competencies. This paper aimed to examine the influence of working memory and attention when taking different mathematical skills into account as a function of children’s intellectual ability. Overall, intelligence, working memory, attention and numerical skills were assessed twice in 1868 German pre-school children (t1, t2) and again at 2nd grade (t3). We defined three intellectual ability groups based on the results of intellectual assessment at t1 and t2. Group comparisons revealed significant differences between the three intellectual ability groups. Over time, children with low intellectual ability showed the lowest achievement in domain-general and numerical and mathematical skills compared to children of average intellectual ability. The highest achievement on the aforementioned variables was found for children of high intellectual ability. Additionally, path modelling revealed that, depending on the intellectual ability, different models of varying complexity could be generated. These models differed with regard to the relevance of the predictors (t2) and the future mathematical skills (t3). Causes and conclusions of these findings are discussed.
In this paper we examine the effect of uncertainty on readers’ predictions about meaning. In particular, we were interested in how uncertainty might influence the likelihood of committing to a specific sentence meaning. We conducted two event-related potential (ERP) experiments using particle verbs such as turn down and manipulated uncertainty by constraining the context such that readers could be either highly certain about the identity of a distant verb particle, such as turn the bed […] down, or less certain due to competing particles, such as turn the music […] up/down. The study was conducted in German, where verb particles appear clause-finally and may be separated from the verb by a large amount of material. We hypothesised that this separation would encourage readers to predict the particle, and that high certainty would make prediction of a specific particle more likely than lower certainty. If a specific particle was predicted, this would reflect a strong commitment to sentence meaning that should incur a higher processing cost if the prediction is wrong. If a specific particle was less likely to be predicted, commitment should be weaker and the processing cost of a wrong prediction lower. If true, this could suggest that uncertainty discourages predictions via an unacceptable cost-benefit ratio. However, given the clear predictions made by the literature, it was surprisingly unclear whether the uncertainty manipulation affected the two ERP components studied, the N400 and the PNP. Bayes factor analyses showed that evidence for our a priori hypothesised effect sizes was inconclusive, although there was decisive evidence against a priori hypothesised effect sizes larger than 1μV for the N400 and larger than 3μV for the PNP. We attribute the inconclusive finding to the properties of verb-particle dependencies that differ from the verb-noun dependencies in which the N400 and PNP are often studied.
Die Arbeit untersucht bewaffnete Konfliktszenarien, in denen an multinationalen Militäroperationen beteiligte Staaten während einer Gewahrsamsoperation gegnerische Kräfte oder andere Personen in Gewahrsam nehmen und diese dann an die Kräfte eines anderen Staates, oftmals der Hostnation mit zweifelhafter Menschenrechtsreputation, überstellen. Gewahrsamspersonen laufen dann Gefahr, Opfer erheblicher Rechtsverletzungen zu werden
Injuries in professional soccer are a significant concern for teams, and they are caused amongst others by high training load. This cohort study describes the relationship between workload parameters and the occurrence of non-contact injuries, during weeks with high and low workload in professional soccer players throughout the season. Twenty-one professional soccer players aged 28.3 ± 3.9 yrs. who competed in the Iranian Persian Gulf Pro League participated in this 48-week study. The external load was monitored using global positioning system (GPS, GPSPORTS Systems Pty Ltd) and the type of injury was documented daily by the team's medical staff. Odds ratio (OR) and relative risk (RR) were calculated for non-contact injuries for high- and low-load weeks according to acute (AW), chronic (CW), acute to chronic workload ratio (ACWR), and AW variation (Δ-Acute) values. By using Poisson distribution, the interval between previous and new injuries were estimated. Overall, 12 non-contact injuries occurred during high load and 9 during low load weeks. Based on the variables ACWR and Δ-AW, there was a significantly increased risk of sustaining non-contact injuries (p < 0.05) during high-load weeks for ACWR (OR: 4.67), and Δ-AW (OR: 4.07). Finally, the expected time between injuries was significantly shorter in high load weeks for ACWR [1.25 vs. 3.33, rate ratio time (RRT)] and Δ-AW (1.33 vs. 3.45, RRT) respectively, compared to low load weeks. The risk of sustaining injuries was significantly larger during high workload weeks for ACWR, and Δ-AW compared with low workload weeks. The observed high OR in high load weeks indicate that there is a significant relationship between workload and occurrence of non-contact injuries. The predicted time to new injuries is shorter in high load weeks compared to low load weeks. Therefore, the frequency of injuries is higher during high load weeks for ACWR and Δ-AW. ACWR and Δ-AW appear to be good indicators for estimating the injury risk, and the time interval between injuries.
Peripersonal space is the space surrounding our body, where multisensory integration of stimuli and action execution take place. The size of peripersonal space is flexible and subject to change by various personal and situational factors. The dynamic representation of our peripersonal space modulates our spatial behaviors towards other individuals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this spatial behavior was modified by two further factors: social distancing and wearing a face mask. Evidence from offline and online studies on the impact of a face mask on pro-social behavior is mixed. In an attempt to clarify the role of face masks as pro-social or anti-social signals, 235 observers participated in the present online study. They watched pictures of two models standing at three different distances from each other (50, 90 and 150 cm), who were either wearing a face mask or not and were either interacting by initiating a hand shake or just standing still. The observers’ task was to classify the model by gender. Our results show that observers react fastest, and therefore show least avoidance, for the shortest distances (50 and 90 cm) but only when models wear a face mask and do not interact. Thus, our results document both pro- and anti-social consequences of face masks as a result of the complex interplay between social distancing and interactive behavior. Practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Perceived predation risk varies in space and time creating a landscape of fear. This key feature of an animal's environment is classically studied as a species-specific property. However, individuals differ in how they solve the tradeoff between safety and reward and may, hence, differ consistently and predictively in perceived predation risk across landscapes. To test this hypothesis, we quantified among-individual differences in boldness and activity and exposed behaviourally phenotyped male bank voles Myodes glareolus individually to two different experimental landscapes of risks in large outdoor enclosures and provided resources as discrete food patches. We manipulated perceived predation risk via vegetation height between 2 and > 30 cm and quantified patch use indirectly via RFID-logging and giving-up densities. We statistically disentangled among-individual differences in microhabitat use from spatially varying perceived risk, i.e. landscape of fear. We found that individuals varied in mean vegetation height of their foraging microhabitats and that this microhabitat selection matched the intrinsic individual differences in perceived risk. As predicted by the patch use model, all individual's perceived higher risks when foraging in lower vegetation. However, individuals differed in their reaction norm slopes of perceived risk to vegetation height, and these differences in slopes were consistent across two different landscapes of risks and resources. We interpret these results as evidence for individual landscapes of fear, which could be predicted by among-individual differences in activity and boldness. Since perceived predation risk affects when and where to forage, among-individual differences in fear responses could act as a mode of intraspecific niche complementarity (i.e. individual niche specialization), help explain behavioural type by environment correlations, and will likely have cascading indirect effects on lower trophic levels.
Post aus Felsenburg
(2022)
2019 jährte sich das Erscheinen von Defoes Robinson Crusoe zum 300. Mal. Zu diesem Anlass fand am Zentrum für Buchwissenschaft der LMU München eine Tagung statt, bei der buchhandelsgeschichtliche Kontexte des Romans dargelegt, neue Interpretationen diskutiert sowie die Rezeption des Robinson Crusoe untersucht wurden.
In der Einleitung des Sammelbandes legt Christine Haug dar, unter welchen presse- und buchgeschichtlichen Voraussetzungen sich Daniel Defoe im frühkapitalistischen London als Bestsellerautor und politischer Journalist etablieren konnte. Die folgenden Beiträge behandeln motivgeschichtliche, ökonomische, kultur- und rechtsgeschichtliche Aspekte des Robinson Crusoe (Oliver Bach, Anne Enderwitz, Hania Siebenpfeiffer, Daniel Syrovy), befassen sich mit der Gattung der Robinsonade ( Iwan Michelangelo d'Aprile, Norbert Bachleitner, Wolfram Malte Fues, Wynfrid Kriegleder), mit jugendliterarischen Bearbeitungen des Stoffes (Andrew O`Malley, Peter Pohl, Hans-Heino Ewers) und mit der Robinson-Rezeption in der Lyrik und im Roman des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts (Bill Bell, Daniela Jancsó).
Der vorliegende Sammelband gehört zu den wenigen neuen Neuerscheinungen, die zum Robinson-Jahr veröffentlicht wurden. Erstmals wird darin im deutschsprachigen Raum die aktuelle internationale Forschung zu Defoe ausführlich dargestellt und mit einer innovativen Sicht auf den in Entstehung begriffenen globalen Buchmarkt verbunden.
This article argues that non-ideal theory is distinctive in its use of a certain methodology which is prior to specific topics (such as injustice, oppression, etc.), grounded in the idea of socially situ-ated knowledge, and able to address ideological situatedness. Drawing on standpoint epistemology, we show that one’s social position within given power structures has implications for knowledge acquisition and that being in a vulnerable or marginalised position can be advantageous to knowledge acquisition. Following ideology critique, we argue that both marginalised and powerful social positions are embedded within a given ideology. As ideology is more than a mere set of attitudes or beliefs that social agents endorse or resist, situated agents and theo-rists cannot develop normative criteria that are not themselves situated. Hence, non-ideal theory has to be equipped with methods that are likely to make this situatedness visible. We close by presenting some diverse methods that already do so.
This paper aims to contribute to exploring the design possibilities of robots for use in human-robot interaction. In an experiment, we investigate the influence of the human's personality and the robot's design, especially its humanization, on its acceptance. We use the Almere model, the Big 5 personality traits, and the anthropomorphic gestalt variants to build the foundation for our investigation. The assumption that an anthropomorphized robot variant would, in principle, be preferred to the standard variant when a natural choice is enforced could not be evidenced in our experiment. This allows for the interpretation that anthropomorphism does not necessarily lead to intentional perception and, consequently, does not guarantee that it can automatically generate acceptance.
Inter-brain synchronization is primarily investigated during social interactions but had not been examined during coupled muscle action between two persons until now. It was previously shown that mechanical muscle oscillations can develop coherent behavior between two isometrically interacting persons. This case study investigated if inter-brain synchronization appears thereby, and if differences of inter- and intrapersonal muscle and brain coherence exist regarding two different types of isometric muscle action. Electroencephalography (EEG) and mechanomyography/mechanotendography (MMG/MTG) of right elbow extensors were recorded during six fatiguing trials of two coupled isometrically interacting participants (70% MVIC). One partner performed holding and one pushing isometric muscle action (HIMA/PIMA; tasks changed). The wavelet coherence of all signals (EEG, MMG/MTG, force, ACC) were analyzed intra- and interpersonally. The five longest coherence patches in 8–15 Hz and their weighted frequency were compared between real vs. random pairs and between HIMA vs. PIMA. Real vs. random pairs showed significantly higher coherence for intra-muscle, intra-brain, and inter-muscle-brain activity (p < 0.001 to 0.019). Inter-brain coherence was significantly higher for real vs. random pairs for EEG of right and central areas and for sub-regions of EEG left (p = 0.002 to 0.025). Interpersonal muscle-brain synchronization was significantly higher than intrapersonal one, whereby it was significantly higher for HIMA vs. PIMA. These preliminary findings indicate that inter-brain synchronization can arise during muscular interaction. It is hypothesized both partners merge into one oscillating neuromuscular system. The results reinforce the hypothesis that HIMA is characterized by more complex control strategies than PIMA. The pilot study suggests investigating the topic further to verify these results on a larger sample size. Findings could contribute to the basic understanding of motor control and is relevant for functional diagnostics such as the manual muscle test which is applied in several disciplines, e.g., neurology, physiotherapy.
Cyberhate represents a risk to adolescents’ development and peaceful coexistence in democratic societies. Yet, not much is known about the relationship between adolescents’ ability to cope with cyberhate and their cyberhate involvement. To fill current gaps in the literature and inform the development of media education programs, the present study investigated various coping strategies in a hypothetical cyberhate scenario as correlates for being cyberhate victims, perpetrators, and both victim–perpetrators. The sample consisted of 6829 adolescents aged 12–18 years old (Mage = 14.93, SD = 1.64; girls: 50.4%, boys: 48.9%, and 0.7% did not indicate their gender) from Asia, Europe, and North America. Results showed that adolescents who endorsed distal advice or endorsed technical coping showed a lower likelihood to be victims, perpetrators, or victim–perpetrators. In contrast, if adolescents felt helpless or endorsed retaliation to cope with cyberhate, they showed higher odds of being involved in cyberhate as victims, perpetrators, or victim–perpetrators. Finally, adolescents who endorsed close support as a coping strategy showed a lower likelihood to be victim–perpetrators, and adolescents who endorsed assertive coping showed higher odds of being victims. In conclusion, the results confirm the importance of addressing adolescents’ ability to deal with cyberhate to develop more tailored prevention approaches. More specifically, such initiatives should focus on adolescents who feel helpless or feel inclined to retaliate. In addition, adolescents should be educated to practice distal advice and technical coping when experiencing cyberhate. Implications for the design and instruction of evidence-based cyberhate prevention (e.g., online educational games, virtual learning environments) will be discussed.
Die vorliegende Untersuchung zum internationalen Kryptowerterecht schafft einen umfassenden Überblick für die Praxis, indem eine systematische Analyse der Sachverhalte unter Berücksichtigung der technischen Besonderheiten, insbesondere der Blockchain, erfolgt. Kern der Arbeit stellen die vier untersuchten Sachverhalte dar, angefangen beim Mining, der Ausgabe neuer Kryptowerte im Rahmen eines ICO, Transaktionen auf dem Sekundärmarkt und der Prospekthaftung bei ICOs. Aus rechtlicher Sicht wird vor allem die Frage der internationalen Zuständigkeit nach der Brüssel Ia-VO und des anwendbaren Rechts nach der Rom I und II-VO behandelt. Zusätzlich werden Aspekte des Kapitalmarkt-IPR erörtert.
Theme Park Imitations
(2022)
Theme parks frequently draw not only on historical themes, from antiquity to the roaring twenties, but also on their own history – that is, the history of the medium of the theme park itself. This article uses the example of the Happy World ride at Happy Valley Beijing (China) to discuss theme park imitations, that is, the fact that theme parks frequently borrow individual elements (themes, technologies, visuals, layouts, names) and/or entire units (rides, restaurants, themed areas) from each other. Opened in 2014 in the Greek-themed Aegean Harbour section of Happy Valley Beijing, Happy World may upon first sight look like an almost exact copy of Disney’s ‘it’s a small world’ (opened at Disneyland in California in 1966) but turns out to be, upon closer examination, a complex refunctionalization of central elements of ‘it’s a small world’ that establishes meaningful connections between (ancient) Greece and the city of Beijing via the theme of the Olympic Games: drawing on the origins of ‘it’s a small world’ in the 1964–5 New York World’s Fair and the latter’s motto of ‘Peace through Understanding’, Happy World takes visitors on a journey from the ancient Olympiad to contemporary Beijing (the site of the 2008 Summer and the 2022 Winter Olympic Games) to offer a theme park rendition of the 2008 Olympic torch relay as an homage to ‘the spirit [of peace, respect, and friendship] in the people’s [sic] of the world’.
Bimillenari
(2022)
The Arctic is greatly affected by climate change. Increasing air temperatures drive permafrost thaw and an increase in coastal erosion and river discharge. This results in a greater input of sediment and organic matter into nearshore waters, impacting ecosystems by reducing light transmission through the water column and altering biogeochemistry. This potentially results in impacts on the subsistence economy of local people as well as the climate due to the transformation of suspended organic matter into greenhouse gases. Even though the impacts of increased suspended sediment concentrations and turbidity in the Arctic nearshore zone are well-studied, the mechanisms underpinning this increase are largely unknown. Wave energy and tides drive the level of turbidity in the temperate and tropical parts of the world, and this is generally assumed to also be the case in the Arctic. However, the tidal range is considerably lower in the Arctic, and processes related to the occurrence of permafrost have the potential to greatly contribute to nearshore turbidity. In this study, we use high-resolution satellite imagery alongside in situ and ERA5 reanalysis data of ocean and climate variables in order to identify the drivers of nearshore turbidity, along with its seasonality in the nearshore waters of Herschel Island Qikiqtaruk, in the western Canadian Arctic. Nearshore turbidity correlates well to wind direction, wind speed, significant wave height, and wave period. Nearshore turbidity is superiorly correlated to wind speed at the Beaufort Shelf compared to in situ measurements at Herschel Island Qikiqtaruk, showing that nearshore turbidity, albeit being of limited spatial extent, is influenced by large-scale weather and ocean phenomenons. We show that, in contrast to the temperate and tropical ocean, freshly eroded material is the predominant driver of nearshore turbidity in the Arctic, rather than resuspension, which is caused by the vulnerability of permafrost coasts to thermo-erosion.
In order to improve a recently established cell-based assay to assess the potency of botulinum neurotoxin, neuroblastoma-derived SiMa cells and induced pluripotent stem-cells (iPSC) were modified to incorporate the coding sequence of a reporter luciferase into a genetic safe harbor utilizing CRISPR/Cas9. A novel method, the double-control quantitative copy number PCR (dc-qcnPCR), was developed to detect off-target integrations of donor DNA. The donor DNA insertion success rate and targeted insertion success rate were analyzed in clones of each cell type. The dc-qcnPCR reliably quantified the copy number in both cell lines. The probability of incorrect donor DNA integration was significantly increased in SiMa cells in comparison to the iPSCs. This can possibly be explained by the lower bundled relative gene expression of a number of double-strand repair genes (BRCA1, DNA2, EXO1, MCPH1, MRE11, and RAD51) in SiMa clones than in iPSC clones. The dc-qcnPCR offers an efficient and cost-effective method to detect off-target CRISPR/Cas9-induced donor DNA integrations.
The role of the GMP nucleotides of the bis-molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide (bis-MGD) cofactor of the DMSO reductase family has long been a subject of discussion. The recent characterization of the bis-molybdopterin (bis-Mo-MPT) cofactor present in the E. coli YdhV protein, which differs from bis-MGD solely by the absence of the nucleotides, now enables studying the role of the nucleotides of bis-MGD and bis-MPT cofactors in Moco insertion and the activity of molybdoenzymes in direct comparison. Using the well-known E. coli TMAO reductase TorA as a model enzyme for cofactor insertion, we were able to show that the GMP nucleotides of bis-MGD are crucial for the insertion of the bis-MGD cofactor into apo-TorA.
The intake of high-fat diets (HFDs) containing large amounts of saturated long-chain fatty acids leads to obesity, oxidative stress, inflammation, and insulin resistance. The trace element selenium, as a crucial part of antioxidative selenoproteins, can protect against the development of diet-induced insulin resistance in white adipose tissue (WAT) by increasing glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPx3) and insulin receptor (IR) expression. Whether selenite (Se) can attenuate insulin resistance in established lipotoxic and obese conditions is unclear. We confirm that GPX3 mRNA expression in adipose tissue correlates with BMI in humans. Cultivating 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes in palmitate-containing medium followed by Se treatment attenuates insulin resistance with enhanced GPx3 and IR expression and adipocyte differentiation. However, feeding obese mice a selenium-enriched high-fat diet (SRHFD) only resulted in a modest increase in overall selenoprotein gene expression in WAT in mice with unaltered body weight development, glucose tolerance, and insulin resistance. While Se supplementation improved adipocyte morphology, it did not alter WAT insulin sensitivity. However, mice fed a SRHFD exhibited increased insulin content in the pancreas. Overall, while selenite protects against palmitate-induced insulin resistance in vitro, obesity impedes the effect of selenite on insulin action and adipose tissue metabolism in vivo.
Dynamiken des Erinnerns
(2022)
The prevalence of depression and anxiety is increased in obese patients compared to healthy humans, which is partially due to a shared pathogenesis, including insulin resistance and inflammation. These factors are also linked to intestinal dysbiosis. Additionally, the chronic consumption of diets rich in saturated fats results in body weight gain, hormonal resistances and unfavorable changes in the microbiome composition. The intake of Lactobacilli has already been shown to improve dysbiosis along with metabolism and mood. Yet, the beneficial role and the underlying mechanism of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) to improve emotional behavior in established diet-induced obese conditions are, so far, unknown. To characterize the role of LGG in diet-induced obesity, female and male C57BL/6N mice were fed a semi-synthetic low-fat diet (LFD, 10 % kcal from fat) or a conventional high-fat diet (HFD, 45 % kcal from fat) for initial 6 weeks, which was followed by daily oral gavage of vehicle or 1x10^8 CFU of LGG until the end of the experiment. Mice were subjected to basic metabolic and extensive behavioral phenotyping, with a focus on emotional behavior. Moreover, composition of cecal gut microbiome, metabolomic profile in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid was investigated and followed by molecular analyses. Both HFD-feeding and LGG application resulted in sex-specific differences. While LGG prevented the increase of plasma insulin, adrenal gland weight and hyperactivity in diet-induced obese female mice, there was no regulation of anxiodepressive-like behavior. In contrast, metabolism of male mice did not benefit from LGG application, but strikingly, LGG decreased specifically depressive-like behavior in the Mousetail Suspension Test which was confirmed by the Splash Test characterizing motivation for ’self-care’. The microbiome analysis in male mice revealed that HFD-feeding, but not LGG application, altered cecal microbiome composition, indicating a direct effect of LGG on behavioral regulation. However, in female mice, both HFD-feeding and LGG application resulted in changes of microbiome composition, which presumably affected metabolism. Moreover, as diet-induced obese female mice unexpectedly did not exhibit anxiodepressive-like behavior, follow-up analyses were conducted in male mice. Here, HFD-feeding significantly altered abundance of plasma lipids whereas LGG decreased branched chain amino acids which associated with improved emotional behavior. In nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and VTA/SN, which belong to the dopaminergic system, LGG restored HFD-induced decrease of tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme in dopamine synthesis, on gene expression level. Lastly, transcriptome analysis in the NAcc identified gene expression of cholecystokinin as a potential mediator of the effect of LGG on HFD-induced emotional alterations. In summary, this thesis revealed the beneficial effects of LGG application on emotional alterations in established diet-induced obesity. Furthermore, both HFD-feeding and LGG treatment exhibited sex-specific effects, resulting in metabolic improvements in female mice while LGG application mitigated depressive-like behavior in obese male mice along with a molecular signature of restored dopamine synthesis and neuropeptide signaling.
Large quantities of the antibiotic florfenicol are used in animal farming and aquaculture, contaminating the ecosystem with antibiotic residues and promoting antimicrobial resistance, ultimately leading to untreatable multidrug-resistant pathogens. Florfenicol-resistant bacteria often activate export mechanisms that result in resistance to various structurally unrelated antibiotics. We devised novel strategies for the enzymatic inactivation of florfenicol in different media, such as saltwater or milk. Using a combinatorial approach and selection, we optimized a hydrolase (EstDL136) for florfenicol cleavage. Reaction kinetics were followed by time-resolved NMR spectroscopy. Importantly, the hydrolase remained active in different media, such as saltwater or cow milk. Various environmentally-friendly application strategies for florfenicol inactivation were developed using the optimized hydrolase. As a potential filter device for cost-effective treatment of waste milk or aquacultural wastewater, the hydrolase was immobilized on Ni-NTA agarose or silica as carrier materials. In two further application examples, the hydrolase was used as cell extract or encapsulated with a semi-permeable membrane. This facilitated, for example, florfenicol inactivation in whole milk, which can help to treat waste milk from medicated cows, to be fed to calves without the risk of inducing antibiotic resistance. Enzymatic inactivation of antibiotics, in general, enables therapeutic intervention without promoting antibiotic resistance.
Doing good by doing bad
(2022)
This study investigates how tone at the top, implemented by top management, and tone at the bottom, in an employee’s immediate work environment, determine noncompliance. We focus on the disallowed actions of employees that improve their own and, in turn, the company’s performance, referred to as performance-improving noncompliant behavior (PINC behavior). We conduct a survey of German sales employees to investigate specifically how, on the one hand, (1) corporate rules and (2) performance pressure, both implemented by top management, and, on the other hand, (3) others’ PINC expectations and (4) others’ PINC behavior, both arising from the employee’s immediate work environment, influence PINC behavior. When considered in isolation, we find that corporate rules, as top management’s main instrument to guide employee behavior, decrease employee PINC behavior. However, this effect is negatively influenced by the employees’ immediate work environment when employees are expected to engage in PINC or when others engage in PINC. In contrast, even though top management places great performance pressure on employees, that by itself does not increase PINC behavior. Overall, our study informs practitioners and researchers about whether and how the four determinants increase or decrease employees’ PINC behavior, which is important to comprehend triggers and to counteract such misconduct.
The Covid-19 pandemic imposed new constraints on empirical research and forced researchers to transfer from traditional laboratory research to the online environment. This study tested the validity of a web-based episodic memory paradigm by comparing participants’ memory performance for trustworthy and untrustworthy facial stimuli in a supervised laboratory setting and an unsupervised web setting. Consistent with previous results, we observed enhanced episodic memory for untrustworthy compared to trustworthy faces. Most importantly, this memory bias was comparable in the online and the laboratory experiment, suggesting that web-based procedures are a promising tool for memory research.
Cognitive resources contribute to balance control. There is evidence that mental fatigue reduces cognitive resources and impairs balance performance, particularly in older adults and when balance tasks are complex, for example when trying to walk or stand while concurrently performing a secondary cognitive task.
We conducted a systematic literature search in PubMed (MEDLINE), Web of Science and Google Scholar to identify eligible studies and performed a random effects meta-analysis to quantify the effects of experimentally induced mental fatigue on balance performance in healthy adults. Subgroup analyses were computed for age (healthy young vs. healthy older adults) and balance task complexity (balance tasks with high complexity vs. balance tasks with low complexity) to examine the moderating effects of these factors on fatigue-mediated balance performance.
We identified 7 eligible studies with 9 study groups and 206 participants. Analysis revealed that performing a prolonged cognitive task had a small but significant effect (SMDwm = −0.38) on subsequent balance performance in healthy young and older adults. However, age- and task-related differences in balance responses to fatigue could not be confirmed statistically.
Overall, aggregation of the available literature indicates that mental fatigue generally reduces balance in healthy adults. However, interactions between cognitive resource reduction, aging and balance task complexity remain elusive.